BFA Juried Exhibition 2014

Microchroma, Fall 2013

Chalk pastel on paper

______As a Bachlor of Fine Arts major, I have the opportunity to enter my work into a juried competition among other BFAs for being displayed in an off-campus gallery for a few weeks. I was pleased as a pokey pineapple to discover that two of my pieces ended up being selected! Both are installation floor pieces that were done last semester for a Drawing Concepts class. I had to set them up one early morning alongside faculty and other BFA majors as we all figured out the proper placements for the works; I believe a true gallery environment with hardwood floors and controlled lighting really makes the work pop compared to a classroom setting, so I was sure to snap a ton of pictures, which is why you all haven't seen these before!

______The first piece I'll show you is a floor piece comprised of a multitude of pieces that I hand cut from thick Bristol paper. I then made drawings that were cellular or body-like in nature using chalk pastel on those pieces. As you move from the outer pieces to the center, the image "zooms in" on the one above it, thus rendering it more abstract. It was very time-consuming, but working with a buttload of smaller pieces instead of one large entity made it more adventurous and bearable. I feel this piece opened a whole new world for me; I'm hoping to push similar ideas further in my coming years.



______My next piece was lucky enough to claim the famed "glass floor" on the second floor of the gallery. I was delighted it fit so perfectly there--I was afraid I would have to leave some strips out or have an uneven placement of them, but everything fit snug as a tiny cactus in a tiny cactus holder. For this one, I snipped a (clean!) white bed sheet into squares, stacked the squares in groupings of ten, inked minimalistic drawings on the top square, and used alcohol to bleed its memory through the layers.

______It was entertaining observing people get so close to both of my works to point and try to figure out what was going on. As I was taking pictures, one guy asked, "Is this yours?" and I nodded yes and he said, "It took me a while to realize what was happening. And then I grasped it and had an 'aha!' moment." He told me it was neat how even very similar marks ended up producing different results, and he and many others told me which their favorite "row" was, which was delightful to me!

Wash Out, Quiet Squares, Fall 2013

Ink, alcohol, fabric, glass

______The event itself couldn't have gone smoother--I was sure to make myself as frilly as possible, donning a confectionary, twirl-worthy dress and my geek-chic Triforce earrings. There was a full gallery of people: fellow art students, faculty, and family members made up a hearty chunk of the attendees, but there were many others beside that. I also spoke to a few polite strangers about my own art on display and I really think it helped my own confidence--it's flooring (ha) to see that people are interested in what you're making and how you're thinking!

______(sighs deeply) Yep, I'm gonna miss all my senior art friends who are graduating in just two weeks. Two weeks! What even happened to the semester?

(first group photo above taken by Greg Randall)

Here and There

______I'm glad that most of you enjoyed hearing about my dream in that last post (and I seriously had a nice time reading all of yours, as well!).  I think it's tons of fun to write down dreams and reflect on them, and sometime this summer, I'd really like to start illustrating mine.  I think that'd be fun--drawing something that you barely remember and all.  Sometimes, I'll only recall snippets of dreams, such as how last night I was a secret agent on a mission in a post-apocalyptic hospital and ran into my partner agent dude who warned me about the swarm of earplug bees that were on their way.  Thanks for the warning, fellow secret agent bro!

______Bahaha, but alas--my dreams have yet to be illustrated anytime soon.  However, until then, here's a little collection of some drawings and such from my sketchbook so far this year.


 




______Drawing II, Fall 2012

Oh Deer!

_____I was playing around last night and ended up with this quick little doodle. I like the idea, but I think it could have come out a lot better. Also, my poor yellow marker has officially reached the end of his lifespan. Rest in peace, O yellow marker-- you served me well!

No Color? No Problem!

______It has been quite a busy first semester of college.  My finals were last week, but now I am free! Free to mindlessly play the Sims and build houses, adventure through the new Zelda game, take some outfit pictures, and bake.  I've already whipped up a batch of molasses cookies, frosting-drenched sugar cookies, and a few dozen butterscotchies!  Paula Deen would be smiling so hard her mouth would fall off if she saw how much butter mother and I bought today.

______Besides buying massive amounts of butter this Christmas break, I decided to take pictures of  my Design I art projects.  I felt the need to document it in one ridiculously image-heavy post.  That being said, shall we begin our marvelous journey through the world of design-y fun?

______Why yes, yes we shall.

______The first-ish assignment of ours was to break apart a square so that you could still tell it was a square but it wasn't a square.  I feel the need to say square one more time.  Square.  There.  Yeah.  So. That's about it for this one.  Moving right along...

______This was a word thing where we had to design the word in a) a font that described the word and b) made it kind of look like the word.  It's hard to put into words, but I feel that you citizens may know what I'm attempting to say.  I chose the word "eternity" and gave it a grandfather clock-esque font and spun the word around a hollow circle. 

______For this assignment, we had to pick two shapes: one organic (avocado) and one mechanical (a ship wheel) and repeat them in a manner that is oh-so-pleasing to the eye, hnnnnnnyes.  This was when I learned that my art teacher was also a fervent appreciator of avocados.  Avocados are a fruit which more people really should know about, yes yes.  Purchase one at your local grocer today.  And smell it.  And appreciate it.  And consume it to harness its avocado-y goodness and heart-healthy monounsaturated fats for hair and skin so gleaming it will blind your enemies.

______For a homework assignment I went absolutely crazy with, we were  to draw a random shape (mine's that Nike swoop gone cray-cray) then envelope it in a variety of textures.  I sketched out broken glass, swirly hair, chain-like scales, and a bundle of rope to "rope it all in" (ahahah I am so witty, who's still got it?  I've still got it.  Aww yiss).

______This assignment was to make a shape from two shapes and give it some movement (so that it moves like Jagger?).  If my dad was here, he would probably say something along the lines of, "I have seen the arrows, but there are no Indians."

______Finally, this one.  And finally, this last assignment was a beast.  A big, hairy, successful beast.  I had a party and a half drawing it, and its my favorite piece thus far, though it required much diligence and hard work.  I drew madly from the start of the class to the end of the three-hour long class for nearly four classes to get it done.  The assignment was to make a book cover while using the elements and principles.  We didn't have to choose a book that actually existed, though I sorta did with an altered title.  One of my favorite books is Alice in Wonderland, so I shortened the title simply to Wonderland.  My dream job is to illustrate books and book covers. If only, if only.

______...Well, that concludes the reminiscing of my Design I projects for le first semester of college.  I learned a lot from this class, which was really nice, especially since the last two years of art class I had in high school I felt like I did not absorb as much artsy knowledge as I could've.

______But hey, I suppose that's what college is for, huh?

We Think in Generalities, But We Live in Detail

________I actually finished this a long time ago, but it's been framed in our school's library for probably about a year now and I was never able to take pictures of it; thus, the other day, I decided to smuggle it out since I wanted it back.  I unhooked it from the wall and busted out the library doors, frame and all, then dissembled it in the art room and sneakily snuck my prize home.  I felt so dastardly and agent-like.  Those librarians never suspected a thing.

________Then again, they saw me and didn't give two damns--er, what I really meant is that it was like a James Bond movie up in there with the 007 theme playing in the background and bullets whizzing past me in slow motion and everything.  Too rad for words.  It's a shame you weren't present.

____Yeah.  So. This be sharpie and ink, and it 'twas quite fun to draw.  I just love ink and making lots of wonderfully varied lines that slope and curve in and out of each other.

Drawing Out Loud

"Mannequins," sharpie, 2008



"Those Lovely Bones," Sharpie, 2009

"Erosion," Sharpie and ink, 2008


"Pine cone," sharpie, 2008

Some of the freehand sharpie art I've done in the past year or so. It's funny, these all started as assignments that I just wanted to get over with, but then they ended up as being some of my favorite drawings ever. They're all a lot bigger than they appear, except for the top one, which is just two sketchbook pages. The pinecone is about three feet tall and the mannequins about two feet wide. I love to do lines-- they're just so expressive, imaginary, and can evoke such strong statements, plus you can do just about anything with them!

Just last week before Thanksgiving break my teacher asked my to design a logo for her embroidery company that she's starting. I was so honored, oh my goodnesss! I thought, "what a wonderful way to test myself!" even though she never paid me. I'd feel bad if I asked for her to pay me, besides, it was just a test to see if I could do it. So, I made this for her and she liked it. She asked me to edit some things, although I liked the original best out of all the edits: