Midterm Recap

I’ve decided I’m going to start posting about my week in art every friday, but before I can do that I need to put up all I’ve done this semester up to this point. This has been an amazing semester! I was chosen at the end of last semester as a showcase scholarship winner, so at the end of this semester and next I will be in a student showcase with the other two scholarship winners. So I’ve been pumping out a ton of art in preparation for it! It’s just kind of worked out that the semester before I decided to became an art major I finished all my basics, so I have the awesome opportunity to just take art! And I’m taking a lot of art! This semester I’m taking Painting II, Figure Drawing II, Fiber Arts II, Printmaking I and Art History I. Yes, I’m having a blast! My professors and classmates are the best! I’m in love with my department!! Here is what I’ve been up to for the past seven weeks.

Painting II

Of course I had to start the semester off with a door! How could I not? I am “The Door Painter”, as they call me! I had a lot of fun working on the wash (the background) on this one, its my favorite so far. I have finished it but I don’t have a picture of it done, I keep forgetting to get a picture of it.

We did a class collaboration like the second week of class. Derrick (my professor) had a roll of some kind of vellum like material, so we all got a chunk of it and went to town. The piece I did for the collab is on the left. The finished collab is on the right. I think it turned out really cool!

While working on the wash of that door I had to kill time (several times) while it dried. So I just started throwing paint on a canvas. It’s really cool to me how you can just start adding paint with no direction and it can turn into something!

This painting, titled “Bushman”, was a series of accidents and frustrations that turned out pretty cool!

I wanted to do a larger scale painting, so I went and got the roll of canvas from Derrick’s office and cut off about six feet worth of canvas off, pinned it to the wall and primed it. I was working on it a few days ago outside of class, and the two other showcase students, Kailan and Andres where in the studio as well (along with several other awesome people). After the three of us talking about doing a collaboration piece and Andres punching it several times with paint it was turned into a collab piece, possibly for the show in december. I’m really liking what they are bringing to it, even more then what I have done!

A new series I’ve started with scribble faces.

 I just started my second door. I’m going to be painting an old friend from high school, Brooke, on it.

 I love that The Tyler Museum of Art is on campus, because as an art major its really easy to just cross the street and see good art! And its even better with other art majors!! The TMA has a really cool exhibit right now called Contemporary Texas. It’s a must see if you’re in Tyler.

Figure Drawing II

This has been a really good semester for figure drawing. We had two models last semester, we have had four models this semester and one that will be starting soon! It’s really nice because they are all shaped so differently so we get a nice contrast to draw.

Here are a few blind contour drawings I’ve done. Blind contour is where you stand beside your paper where you can’t see it and you draw what you see, usually without picking up your pencil off the paper. As a figure drawing II student I have to go into the form, so it gives some cool results!

Negative space drawings with charcoal.

Long Drawings, all of the charcoal drawings are still in progress.

Art History I

I’ve been wanting to take Art History for a while now. Its two of my favorite things in one, art and history! Its really cool to me to see how people of the past have tried to explain their surroundings, how they told stories and made their lives more beautiful. It’s also been nice because strangely enough being an art major has made me miss studying! who’d thunk it?

Printmaking I

Unlike all my other studio classes this is my first go at printmaking. I’ve pretty much fallen in love! I love the attitude that TJC professors have, you’re more likely to make better art if you make a lot of it! In the seven weeks I’ve been in class we have already made 5 prints! One collograph print, two one color linoleum prints, one reductive linoleum print and we’ve now on screen printing.

The two prints with the white around them are mine. It’s a fun feeling seeing your art hanging up!

The beautiful press!!!

“Bird in Flight”: Collograph print with embossing.

“Sheep”: Linoleum print of a photo of two sheep I took this summer.

“Pasadena Wall”: Linoleum print of a photo I took of  Jordan in Pasadena, CA.

“Sea Monster Attack”: Relief linoleum print

My first attempt at screen printing. I still have a few colors to go.

Fiber Arts II

Fiber arts is so much fun! I love how easy going it is, it’s pretty much a stress free zone. Having a semester of weaving under my belt its cool to be able to just come in and set up my loom pretty much without help. This semester I’m working on a Mexican Poncho. I’m weaving the materiel in two sections, the middle section, which I’ve finished and then a second piece that I’ll cut in half for the side.

I broke down and bought an inkel loom. It’s a kind of loom that dates back around 3,000 years in india. It makes belts and straps, and it weaves very fast. I’m working on straps to make headbands.

I’ve started the sides of the poncho, but I’ve picked a difficult pattern, so the set up is taking me a long time. The third image is what the pattern should look like. Hopefully it will turn out!

Art Clubs!

I’m involved in two different art clubs on campus, the Art Club and the Egyptian art club.

This week in art club we did an art attack! An art attack is where we pick a spot on campus, and add some kind of art installation without permission. We covered a window in Potter Hall with gallery show postcards. It turned out really cool and it was a blast doing it with these awesome people!!!

Egyptian Art Club has been meeting the last three weeks on Friday, the first two meeting I was out of town so I was able to join until this week, but it was really fun! We learned about Tribal designs and then started brainstorming for a big projects which will probably involve spray paint on carpet!