Collage in College

This was my favorite technique to use all year. The process was enjoyable, cutting the paper and pasting as value. I liked using the conte with them and even if that is not really what we were supposed to do, I feel like it produced a more successful result. I don't draw with straight lines but, I feel like the viewer can get a general sense o f what object I am drawing.

I saw my grade for the final drawing. Not gonna lie, I don't understand. I thought it was the best drawing I had produced all year. It was unfinished but I think even then, it was close to finished enough that the effect created by the unfinished features was not distracting. Traci told me during critique she enjoyed the unfinished qualities. To each their own.

As for the class: You're a cool guy. You try to make a class like drawing 2 cool. No offense to you, but I didn't like the techniques taught in drawing 2. I felt like I was being taught to ignore drawing 1 and found that the drawings were I was able to use line variation and skills taught in drawing 1 were most successful. I don't feel like I learned from the erasure drawings but everything after that point made sense. Working with toned paper was helpful but, still drawing 2 ain't my thing. Critiques were really different from what I'm used to. I had Remy last semester. We would spend one class drawing, the next critiquing. We would take our drawings and pin them up in the middle of class and Remy would briefly critique the unfinished drawings. I got used to it, I liked it. These critiques were much more informal and that made me feel comfortable but sometimes and oftentimes, my drawings wouldn't get discussed. It was cool to know I wasn't the worst and I knew I wasn't the best already. But just because I am in the B-C category doesn't mean I should be ignored. I wish critiques would have been as informal as they were but we would talk about every drawing, every time. Drawing for six hours is a drag, regardless. Sitting for six hours on the floor, hunched over and drawing doesn't sound like a good time and it isn't. I like drawing for shorter periods of time twice a week so that I can come back to the drawing after a day off and see if I still like the drawing. This is not your fault, none of these complaints are really your fault. It was cool that you should us your work. Hope to see ya around.

Losing Count

Reference for exterior of building:

(MY INTERNET WONT UPLOAD ANY GODDAMN PICTURES)

I didn't enjoy ink washes. It just ended up being frustrating. The paper is ugly because it's warped. I give up.

Homework Meltdown

Forget what I said about ink washes. Attempted to draw the roof of the house next door multiple times, wasting Bristol board. Going in for another attempt. Have nothing but flat drawings to show tomorrow. Embarrassed almost at how streaky and awful they look.

Unsure

Never felt so lost.

Drawing from a photograph is significantly easier than drawer from life. The images just lay flat and still. Nothing changes and won't change. Feel like my drawing from a photograph, although unfinished, is one of my more successful drawings. Have a few drawings that I finished but haven't turned in. Like my self-portrait in hatching and my landscape, they are finished and look nice but for whatever reason, I can't remember to bring them in. Need to bring in: hatching drawing, landscape, finished photograph drawing. Ink washes are nice, feeling successful on those. Been practicing in my sketchbook.

Feelin' excited to bring in a cd.

XIII.

Essentially detached my pinky toe last Thursday, been dealing with that. Limping and can't walk very far. Cool story, bro.

Had a lot of trouble with the cross hatching homework. Multiple attempts. All failed, bringing in a half-finished drawing, need serious help.

XII.

It'd be cool if I could know my sketchbook grade?

XI.

Self-portrait as the Hamburglar. 

X.

Despite being sick, still pushing through. Taking cat naps and drinking lots of water. Working in the sketchbook and attempted the night drawing tonight. Having some trouble drawing with planes instead of line. 

I MISS LINE DRAWING. (Really though, the value is challenging and secretly, I love it)

Some personal sketchbook work:

I am a 13 year old boy sometimes. 

IX.

Wanted to go to the art openings but, have a respiratory infection. THNX LYFE.

VIII.

Art school is humbling. Hard realization that maybe you aren't the best at everything and no, no one worships the ground you walk on. You will not get the praise you think you deserve. Someone will always hate your work. Sometimes, everyone will hate your work. This doesn't mean anything. Strengths and weaknesses should be recognized and accepted. They are what they are. Take criticism and move forward. Nothing I do will be loved by everyone and I'm okay with that. Failure doesn't exist if an attempt was made. A bad critique is a good critique. Praise leaves no room for expansion. 

(I'm not trying to sound pretentious.)

Sick in class today. My drawing was muddy, should have paid more attention to the planes and didn't. Will remember that with the homework. Still having trouble with space. Will work on that, too. Will work on my cuticles, will work on balancing a checkbook, will work on making beignets, will work on being a nicer girl. 

VII.

TOMORROW I AM GOING TO BE THE SMELLIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD. 

recipe for garlic tea:

3 cloves of garlic, chopped and ground

1 green tea bag

lemon juice 

BOIL WATER, PUT GARLIC IN CUP, BREW TEA

(WONT BE SICK ANYMORE)

VI.

Worked on drawing today, pleased with the outcome. Like working on the Strathmore drawing paper, like the texture it creates especially when working with the tree. Think this is the perfect weather to draw a tree, so stark and dead. Calm. 

Spend a lot of time baking. Made homemade pizza with spinach, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and black olives last night. Made honey whole wheat bread and garlic sticks today. I wanna be a housewife. DOMESTIC 4EVA.

V.

Gunta Stolzl, fibers. First and only woman in Bauhaus. In love with her use of color and pattern.

IV.

Searching through animated videos to find good uses of positive/negative space, no results. Not particularly interested in animation, so instead and praying this is acceptable, I found film videos with a strong sense of contrast heavily impacting the meaning/feeling.

"Fish Sticks" by Andrew Drazek. Without the extreme contrast used in this film, the character would not be as well explained. The visual contrast builds his character giving the film a darker feeling, showing a darker side. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NBSuQLVpK4 (Can't embed the video because it has been disabled.)

"Hand Catching Lead" by Richard Serra. Uses the stark contrast to emphasize the quickness of the lead falling and the exact moment when it is caught. An in your face sort of action. 

Neglecting the blog sometimes because I have another (personal blog): http://www.essplode.tumblr.com

III.

I can barely move. Woke up this morning with a swollen throat, achey muscles and fever. Contagious, got it from a friend. Spent the day laying in bed, working in my sketchbook and trying to eat. Hard to when it hurts to swallow. Had a breakthrough with my sketchbook. Because I'm interested in working with fibers, I decided to do value studies both in traditional drawing materials as well as fibers. Sewing still lifes and interiors with value, doing planar studies with fiber sewn into photographs. Instead of just sewing into fabric, I want to sew into paper and photos both by hand and using a machine. 

Example of value study of drinking glass, embroidered onto fabric. Work in progress. 

II.

Covering paper in charcoal is annoying, drawing with an eraser isn't. Hand hurt after class but I liked the finished result. Had trouble remembering the project was  based on value and not line. Realized that I work incredibly slow and need to pick up the pace, had this problem in Drawing I with Remy, too. Most of the  personal drawing I do is line drawing  not value. Found an artist, Gary Simmons, who had a series called the Chalkboard Series where he worked with erasure marks. 

 

I.

Drawing major. Wannabe Fibers major. Love living in the South, like Memphis as a city. Close to home but far enough away. Want to be a textile designer, fabrics and patterns for clothing but could settle with just designing wallpaper or carpet. 

Spend all my time quilting, watching instant Netflix and this: