Keltie Ferris and Chuck Close

Keltie Ferris' art space is in an apartment in NYC. This piece might reflect her view out the window of her studio. The lines around the piece look like a frame or a window. The paint has a blurry look and seems to represent things and places that are hiding. Also, she said she had a feeling of solitude. This is also reflected in her work, as her art reflects her desire to connect to the world around her, the one she sees out her window. 

ShSh, Keltie Ferris

As Chuck Close said, "If you are overwhelmed by the size of a problem, break it down into many bite size pieces." This is reflected in most, if not all, of his art work. Also, because he has faced so much adversity, he has had many problems that he's had to overcome. For example, I wondered how he painting the tops of his paintings because they were so high up, but then I saw the painting being spun down so he could reach it. His work space is set up to accommodate who he is.

Self-Portrait ll, Chuck Close

Beginning of second piece

Today, I started working on my second piece. I decided to do a painting based on the photo Emma took in Montana. I like the idea of doing an animal because that's different than what I usually do. I'm not really sure where one of the front legs is, but I will figure out something.

1st Finished piece

I finished my first piece today. This painting (on the top) is based on the photo (on the bottom) that Emma took in Puerto Rico. I liked the coloring of the photo, and it was taken by the same spot I made another painting of, so I thought it would be cool to have a series of paintings from the same area. When painting, I decided to leave out the person.

208 Squares #3

This is my third piece of the 13-piece series. My theme is Me. I chose to include soccer, art, food, music, and sleeping to represent me. I used a stencil, spray paint, and colored pencil to create this piece.

208 Squares #2

This is my second piece of the 13-piece series. My theme is nature. I decided to paint a sunset and a couple branches and birds in front. Then, I framed it with scraps from another painting I made of a flower on bricks.

MFA visit

These are pictures of some of the works of art that I saw and liked.

Seinfeld/Brady Videos

Elements of the creative process you see and hear about.

Symphony and Scrimmage:

• Tempo, finesse, rhythm
• pace, tempo,
• big guys provide the foundation, the base
• middle guys bring the lumber, the cellos and french horns
• the little guys bring the lighting, the violins and trumpets- soloists
• deployed in the delicate balances under the leadership of just one, the conductor
• reacting to what others offer
• bring energy and enthusiasm but also the level of excellence out there
• learn the function of every role
• synchronized
• one step ahead of everyone else
• communicate without words
• symphony of symbols needed
• emotion
• when all of those things come together, result denies belief and excites imagination
• beautiful game --> finesse, strength, anticipation, confidence,
• adds up to something much bigger than anything else
• a sight to see
• unexpected is always there

Jerry Seinfeld 

• think of something you think is funny and go from their
• uses yellow pad of paper and specific blue pen
• connective tissue that gives tight smooth link - pull together to be just right

Make a special note when you see a parallel to something you do in your own wok or that you feel relates to the process of making visual art.

• Similar to when Jerry thinks of something funny and goes from there, when I am doing some piece of art, I start by doing one thing and then let it influence me and continue on from there. Also, like they talked about in the Tom Brady video, there must be a conductor. I am the conductor of my own art, and I communicate without words through my work.

The Creative Habit, by Twyla Tharp

Ms. Tharp suggest several methods for "scratching". Describe what Tharp means by "scratching" and select three of her methods you think would work for you and describe how you could use them to get going this term.

• Ms. Tharp describes many different kinds of people's methods for "scratching." By this she means there are many ways for getting inspiration and ideas. These ideas range from traveling to another country to observing falling rocks to going into vintage clothing stores. The main way of "scratching" that I can relate to is changing my environment. I do this when I am traveling or just driving to school. I often get my inspiration from things or places I see. I use nature in most of my work. I also use reading once in a while to get inspiration for my work. 

Ms. Tharp also gives several warnings. Which of these warnings do you think could apply to you and how you can you see using her advice to combat them?

• Don't start with perfection. Just start, and as you go along, add more detail.
• Don't always rely on others. You need to plan ahead of time if something happens, because if you don't, your piece might fall apart.
• Plan your idea but not too much. You need to make sure there is some wiggle room.

208 Squares #1

This is my first piece of the 13 piece series. My theme is playing cards. Cards represent games and having fun, so I drew a few cards, glued down a piece of clear paper, and then used string and paint markers to make a tic-tac-toe board on top.

First thoughts, future thoughts

Background information:
I have been making some kind of art for most of my life. I really began to love art during a middle school art class at my old school. It all started with a painting of a bowl of fruit. My experience of art and this class is what I wrote my college essay about.

Interests:
My favorite material to use is acrylic paint. I hope to use it a lot over the next two terms along with some new materials I have never used before. I also enjoy photography. Maybe for the final project I can combine both paint and photo to make something really cool. Usually I make 2D pieces, and that's what I intend to do for the most part in this class. One theme I love making my art about is nature. I like painting from either observation or from a photo I have taken. Usually, I include lots of color in my paintings.

Ideas:
I want to make a series of paintings based on a photo. I have yet to take a photo that I will use, but I have taken some example photos as ideas.

Last 2 Weeks

M 11/11:
- Yesterday I chose the plane that I wanted to use in my sewing project
- I outlined the plane on my fabric
T 11/12
- Today I began sewing along my outline of the plane
W 11/13- X-block
- Continue sewing if I am at X-block
T 11/14
- Continue/finish sewing the outline of the plane
- Possibly begin turing it into a pillow
F 11/15
- Continue on the pillow
M 11/18
T 11/19
W 11/20 - X-block
T 11/21
F 11/22

Reflection #5

Looking Back:

• I am almost done with my Patterns and Repetition Project
• I made a big spiral type stencil and and spray painted it a few times on my canvas. That is the background. The shape represents human development and change over time.
• Then I added 5 pieces of string and glued them in lines and stamped on musical notes. That represents the change of music over time.
• Today I made a stencil of 2 mini people. I started spray painting them on. They represent people moving through time. 
• I also began thinking of an idea for my next project.
• I practiced different sewing techniques.

Looking Ahead:

• I have to finish my Patterns and Repetition Project. All I have to do on it is spray paint on a few more mini people.
• For my next project,  I want to sew an outline of a baby and an old person to represent people changing and growing over time.

Takeaways:

• For this project, I did something I haven't really done much before, and that is making art with symbols rather than literal images. This makes the work look more abstract. I really like the way it's turning out. Also, I incorporated many different shapes and sizes for the objects in my piece, which helps make it look much better. I hope to use the techniques I learned in this project for my future projects. 

Patterns and Repetition Photos

Reflection #4

Looking Back

• Over the last week, I have been experimenting with stamps and stencils on different materials. 
• I carved a stamp of a cool design to test out the potential ways I could make my next project.
• I also made a stencil of a soccer ball and spray painted it. It turned out surprisingly well. 
• I spray painted on this little metal piece and a piece of wood and those also look good.
• Today I experimented with a new stencil I made of a triskele, a symbol having to do with time. I tested how it would look if I did it multiple times and connected them. 

Looking Ahead

• I will continue to experiment with different ways to place my stencil of the symbol. I want to see what it looks like with different colors, fading, and positions.
• I have to figure out what other shapes and symbols I want to use and how I want to use them.

Takeaways

• After experimenting with my stencil and spray paint,  I think I have gotten a better idea of what I want for the background of my patterns and repetition project. I really like the symbol I found and will definitely use it. I have also learned recently that it's important to use more of a variety of techniques for each project so it will be more interesting. I hope to keep experimenting with different stencils and stamps. 

Shifting Time

Reflection #3

 Looking back:

• This week I finished the translucency project. It is of a tree, and each layer has different color leaves to represent the different seasons. I hung it up in front of a window to see if the temperature affects the paper at all.

Looking ahead:

• Maybe I will make another small project and test different translucent materials.
• I will continue to work and experiment in my sketchbook.

Takeaways:

• I like the way the different layers of the tree came out. I made it so you can look at it from the front and the back, and you will still be able to see the tree though all the layers. I hope to keep using transparent materials in some of my future projects. 

Reflection #2

Looking Back:

• This week I finished the newspaper project. It is mostly black and white but has a red string looping around the important parts of the piece. I titled the piece "Shifting Time."
• I began the translucency project yesterday. The project is based on time, so I chose to do something with the seasons of the year. My piece is a tree, and I will show how the leaves change color depending on the time of the year. 

Looking Ahead:

• I will keep working on the new project. I have to do the leaves for the Spring season.
• I want to experiment with some other materials that could make my piece a little more interesting.
• I also want to work more in my sketchbook.

Takeaways:

• I thought my newspaper project turned out very well. At first I wasn't really proud of it, but once I painted over all the parts I didn't like, it looked much simpler and more cohesive, which I liked. Also, I have used some other simple materials that I've never used before in my art, like tin foil and string. I hope to keep experimenting with other materials in my future projects.

Reflection #1

Looking back

• played and experimented with newspapers
• Read newspapers
• wrote down a list of themes
• picked a theme that interested me
• made a web about the theme
• searched for specific words and images that related to my theme
• made a collage out of my findings and used yes paste to glue them down

Looking Ahead

• use the gesso
• work in my sketchbook
• experiment with materials
• go to sleep earlier

Takeaways

• I feel that art class has been going well so far. I have used a couple materials I have never used before, such as Yes Paste. I have enjoyed looking through the newspapers and making a collage based on my theme, Time. I like this topic because so many ideas can come out of it. I am happy to start working in my sketchbook again. My goal is to fill it up completely. 

Time Web

Newspaper and Art

 Title Unknown by Nick Georgiou

I find it interesting that the artist put the piece out in public space (NYC). Also, it is humorous that the guy made of newspaper is reading a newspaper, and he is doing that very intently. It looks like it is a real person covered with the newspaper. It is so lifelike. Even though printed newspapers are becoming less popular, I like that the artist showed his appreciation of newspapers by using it as the material and the subject.

2014 Calender

I am making a calendar in which every month, what ever famous holiday is that month, I will make a piece of art (painting, photo, etc.) to represent it. Here are the ones of have completed so far.

New Years Eve (January)

Valentine's Day (February)

St. Patricks Day (March)

Christmas/Hanukah (December)