Setting up my Senior Studio Blog

At the beggining of the term i forgot to work on this blog post. My original thoughts on my senior studio project were to create a stencil of my friend Isabel with some sort of design in the backgreound. Throughout the course I was always pretty sure of where I wanted my project to go and what I wanted it to look like. I wanted it to be sleek and well put together yet i wanted the bottom layer to be a collage of newspaper.

What is my Plan

I would like to include in the show the stencil I have been working on for the past trimester in senior studio. I will be making a couple copies of the stencil but only including one of the copies. the materials i used include 28" by 22" stone edge paper, newspaper, yes paste and spray paint. I believe my piece would benefit by standing alone or father apart from other pieces of work. I took a picture of the layout but was unable to load it on to the computer. If I could have I would have shown a picture of the way i wanted my peice to be hung.

A Response to the Field Trip

The field trip was very interesting. Being able to learn more about the art/gallery world from Joseph was informative. Going into multiple different galleries and observing the trends in the art scene currently was very enjoyable. The galleries seemed so empty and unvisited due to the economic crisis.

preparing to visit the galleries

I plan on attending Parsons The New School For Design in the fall, do you have any advice for to upcoming artists such as myself and how do artist maintain their style and desire to make art while still attempting to sell it in galleries?

What is the trend in galleries lately and what sells?

Why do certain styles sell at certain times and not others?

Articles about the "Boston art Scene"

over the past year there has been an obvious shift in the Boston art world. A great deal of galleries are closing moving suffering and unable to keep up with the higher rent prices because of the drop in the economy. A great deal of gallery owners are closing or handing down the business to other younger men and women. There is a trend that if people are buying artwork it is simple and less expensive then the artwork they might have perchused before the recession.

Week 3

I have narrowed down the sketched i did and decided to focus on a picture that i took of my friend isabel. I have started making that picture into a stencil and will begin to cut out the pieces shortly. I plan to create a college underneath the stencil in hopes of giving it a somewhat aged and textured look. 

Surviving The Critique

The critique is a critical part of an artist process. Any good creative mind needs someone else to look and examine their work to give them further input into what they could do which there piece and where they could go with their idea. The critique can be helpful to our class by sharing with one another and receiving constructive feedback from people who have not been working on it for a long period of time. According to this chapter and past experiences i can get out of this critique good comments that will help my piece develop further and help to better my art. I can be a helpful participant in my classmates critique by offering constructive criticism and noticing certain things about there work that could be improved. I think the critiquing process is important to young artists.

Alternative Exhibition Format Response

during the remainder of senior studio i am going to be experimenting with spray paint and acrylic paint in stencils and collages. I would like to accomplish a series of portraits with specific designs in the background formatted to fit the persons personality and the situation in which they are in. 

Week 2

During week two i have accomplished a series of line drawings and designs that will potentially become part of my final project in the form of stencils. 

Art & Fear

"By definition, whatever you have is whatever you need to produce your best work." (26)

Part of being an artist to me, is working with what you have. I will sometimes play around with things i have around the house when i run out of art materials such as charcoal and paint or nice paper and canvas.

"Ask your work what it needs, not what you need." (36)

I have a hard time knowing what to add to my work and when it is finished. I will often over think it which makes me more careful and sensitive to what i do with my work stops my work from moving forward.

"After all, artists themselves rarely serve as role models of normalcy." (40)

I think that this quote is interesting because I do believe that artist are rarely normal and always have some sort of unique trait that divides them from the common man. I think that this is what makes them so creative and allows them to grow as artists and create such powerful artwork.

"What is sometimes needed is simply an insulating period, a gap of pure time between the making of your art, and the time when you share it with others." (40)

Sometimes there is a need to put your art down after making and and let it sit before showing it to others. There could be something you did not see before or maybe its just that you need some time to be with your artwork and just sit.

scratching, by Twyla Tharp

According to Twyla Tharp scratching in the process of brainstorming thoughts and ideas for a creative project. Scratching is a method in which artists spark small ideas that can develop and "open doors."Out of the many suggestions that Tharp gives for scratching the methods I can see myself using are reading, everyday conversation, other people's handiwork, and listening to my mentors and using their paradigms. all of my methods of scratching contribute and are the beginning of my final piece. 

In my studio work, my form of scratching is listening to the conversation around me from my peers and sometimes models. For me scratching is also listening to music, reading poetry or reading a good book, visiting museums and galleries, and taking in the ideas of my teachers and friends.

Getting Started

The Artist's Studio

While looking through the studio visits portion of Hamlett's Website i found a variety of different objects reappear in the many studio spaces.  I noticed that there was always large sturdy tables and comfortable chairs to work at. There was also always a wide open space and decent lighting. Often there was also some form of music and different kinds of sketch books and writing utensils. frequently artist have inspirational objects strewn across their room and things that help their creativity flow. 

Artists at Work: Workspace and Process

Artists develop spaces and methods for making their most authentic work as part of a daily artistic practice by making their surroundings, wherever they may be, their studio. Artist bring inspirational objects and things close to their heart such as pictures, music, sketch books and random objects to "nest" in their studios. Also most artists tend to carry around a sketch book so that if they are inspired by something as they travel they can jot down some quick notes or a sketch. In general artist consider wherever they go their studio space because often they are not able to be in their studio all day.