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.