Joseph Cornell Box- Final

            I often think about what our world will be like in a couple years. How far will technology advance? We can even see how far it has come in our own lifetimes. We aren’t the only creatures on earth that are affected by the changes in technology.

            I wanted to create a piece that showed how animals might deal with our ever-changing world. It is an exaggerated piece that shows a slightly humorous solution. This piece shows animals adapting to technology instead of being phased out in a sense. Their entire world has been transformed, but there is no way they could possibly survive the way I have designed my piece. Neither could we.

Julie Mehretu Layers

For this project we were supposed to make a piece based on adding layers. 

Here is my list of layers:

1.     I had about seven kids help me out. They sat, jumped, rolled around, and some even spit up a little bit.

2.     I applied layers of water with a sponge brush.

3.     I got newspaper wet and tried to rub and imprint onto my paper with my hands.

4.     I found some maps on the Internet and traced them onto my paper using graphite paper.

5.     I left my paper on my kitchen table for a few days and just piled stuff on top of it when I needed to use the space.

6.     I added different lengths of white artist tape sporadically.

7.     I drizzled Elmer’s glue all over my paper.

8.     Same with hot glue.

9.     I used black finger nail polish to paint over some of the areas I had glued at random.

10. Same with the silver nail polish to give it some dimension.

11. I rolled seven dice and wherever they landed I made a mark with a sharpie.

12.  I connected those seven dots with a ruler like a constellation. I repeated this several times.

13. I put some black paint on a damp paper towel and threw it at my paper.

14. I watered down gray paint and smeared it on my paper with a wet paper towel.

15. I took graphite colored paint and just squeezed the bottle in a circular motion all over my paper. It was close to being gone so it also splattered quite a bit.

16. I hot glued black crayons to my paper and melted them with a hair dryer.

17. I smeared black charcoal all over my paper.

18. I peeled up some of the tape.

19. I sprayed dark spray paint all over.

20. I sprayed silver spray paint all over.

21. I sprayed dark spray paint over that again.

22. I peeled up some of the hot glue.

23. I hot glued white crayons on my paper and melted them with a hair dryer.

24. I dripped white paint down my paper.

This project was inspired by Julie Mehretu. She is an artist best known for her densely-layered abstract paintings and prints.We watcher her PBS art:21 episode. It was pretty interesting. 

Here are some examples of her work:

Learning to Love You More Part 5

This is project #63: Make an encouraging banner

I enlisted my friend’s help on this one. She was making some encouraging banners herself and asked what I wanted mine to say. I say ‘holla’ all the time. It makes me smile and usually makes other people laugh.

As an artist I was trying to think to think of a place to put my banner that it could inspire me. I chose my car so it would cheer me up as I drive.

It brought me closer to my friend that she recognized a phrase I say a lot. It also brought me closer to my husband. He climbed in my car and saw the banner and laughed and said he liked it. It helped make our day a little better.

This project appealed to me because I am always looking for a way to uplift myself and think more positively.

I think this project was successful in the sense that it cheered me up as well as someone else. It didn’t say a whole lot, but still brought smiles. I think it was enriching to my human experience because I realized that I am a happy person and deserve to be so. I need to be more positive and keep myself feeling good about life.

Learning to Love You More Part 4

This project is #27: Take a photo of the sun

Again this title is pretty self-explanatory. I found myself looking for that “perfect” sun. I didn’t want to take a picture of a noonday sun, but I also didn’t want my picture to be boring. I came home from class one night and this was the sun before sunset. It reminded me that warm days are ahead. I love summer.

It brought about the awareness that sometimes I wait for the “perfect” project as an artist. I think I am more of a perfectionist in that way.  I think in a way I learned something about myself as well. Maybe I am not so much of a giant procrastinator as I am a perfectionist.

This project appealed to me because I love photographing the outdoors. It’s one of my favorite things. It made me miss it a little bit. I don’t always have a lot of time during the school year to work on things for my own studio practice so it gave me a chance to do that.

I think it was successful. I got to take a picture outdoors and even though it wasn’t for my own studio practice I got to use it for a homework assignment. It was enriching to my human experience in the fact that I got to appreciate nature for a small moment and I need to remember that no matter how busy I get, I need to appreciate the world around me.

Learning to Love you More Part 3

This project is #11: Photograph a scar and write about it

I think the title is pretty self-explanatory. I got this scar from a meat cleaver last summer. I love cooking, but I wasn’t being very smart. Normally I am very kitchen safe. All my knives were dirty and I needed to cut some cabbage. The knife slipped and I got my finger pretty good. I had my mom come over and look at it to see if I needed stitches. Luckily I didn’t. It just bled a lot and hurt for quite awhile.

As and artist I was again inspired by things that make me who I am. Scars are life’s battle wounds that we all have. Each one has a unique story. It would be interesting to find some different scars and hear different stories about them for an art project.

This project brought me closer to the community I suppose by me showing a picture of my scar and telling people how I got it. Maybe it should go on a poster for knife safety? :)

This project appealed to me because I thought it would be fun to reminisce about one of my scars and how I got it.

I think the outcome was successful. It was enriching to my human experience and I remembered something that happened to me. I still use knives (except the cleaver) and I still love cooking.

Learning to Love You More Part 2

This project is #50: Take a flash photo under your bed

For this project I was supposed to take a flash photo under my bed. I wasn’t allowed to vacuum or alter anything under my bed beforehand. Take a photo under there with a strong flash, preferably with the camera sitting on the ground and make sure the photograph is in focus. I took two photos. One of the space under my bed and the other of the black matting under the box springs.

As an artist I felt like I tried to get a “creative” shot. I realized that even as I was trying to take a simple photograph I sill wanted to put my artistic flair into it.

I don’t know if this particular project brought me closer to others. Besides me showing everyone that I keep absolutely nothing under my bed.

This project appealed to me because I thought it would be an interesting photo to take. I wanted to see if I could be creative with it.

I think the outcome was successful. I was creative and ended up with a successful image. (As well as discovering more storage space for me.)

Learning to Love You More Part 1

For our final project of the semester we are supposed to take part in 5 learning to love you more project. Don't know what that is? Here is some info...

 About: 

Learning to Love You More is both a web site and series of non-web presentations comprised of work made by the general public in response to assignments given by artists Miranda July and Harrell Fletcher. Yuri Ono designed and managed the web site.
  
Participants accepted an assignment, completed it by following the simple but specific instructions, sent in the required report (photograph, text, video, etc), and their work got posted on-line. Like a recipe, meditation practice, or familiar song, the prescriptive nature of these assignments was intended to guide people towards their own experience.   
Since Learning To Love You More was also an ever-changing series of exhibitions, screenings and radio broadcasts presented all over the world, participant's documentation was also their submission for possible inclusion in one of these presentations. Presentations have taken place at venues that include The Whitney Museum in NYC, Rhodes College in Memphis, TN, Aurora Picture Show in Houston, TX, The Seattle Art Museum in Seattle, WA, the Wattis Institute in San Francisco CA, among others.   
From 2002 to its close in 2009, over 8000 people participated in the project.

www.learningtoloveyoumore.com

Part 1:

 I chose number 45 which is re-read your favorite book from 5th grade. 

My favorite book from 5th grade was 'Number the Stars' by Lois Lowry. It's about a girl who lives in Denmark with her family during WWII. Her best friend is Jewish and her family helps smuggle her and her family out of Denmark and into Sweden. 

I remember it taking me longer to read it in 5th grade. Now it only took a couple hours if that.