Fabric Drawing

1. A wide range of values is evident in my piece where the fabric folds and the light hits. I believe the folds are pretty dark in contrast to the highlighted parts and the shadows fade very smoothly.

2. I struggled a lot with the practice fabric drawings. I had to do them about 3 times until I started to actually capture the illusion of hanging fabric with shadows and highlights. My final piece was the first piece I was happy with out of the 4 that I had done.

3. I used a charcoal pencil to darken the edges of the fabric where it folds to create shadows and once I finished shading I didn't even need to use a white colored pencil to highlight because I had shaded those parts so lightly. I started out with more pressure along the edges and then used less pressure as I worked towards the middle. Personally, I find it easier to not use a lot of pressure on any of the piece but to layer the charcoal as I expand out so the edges become darker through layering.

4. Without the correct texture someone could interpret your object as something completely different! Texture is key to taking the final step in bringing your object to life and creating a realistic look.

5. If I were to do this piece over again I would practice shading more (since I understand it now) and master how to read the object and it's shadows better. Basically, I would do what I did but with more practice and more understanding of where to shade.

White Pencil Shading

For this exercise we practiced shading curled up tape but with white colored pencil on black paper. By using white on black I got a better idea of how to shade with different colors and values.

Contour Backpack

Contour Backpack

For this exercise the class drew a contour drawing of their backpacks in pen. Including all the detail on the backpack was difficult because of course you couldn't lift your pen. I lifted my pen more than I should have and I still didn't get as much detail as I would've liked to in my picture. I think if I wasn't so focused on making the picture look neat and perfect I would've better achieved the detail I was looking for.

Contour Rooms

Practice Contour Room

Final Contour Room

1. In all honesty I wasn't very fluent with drawing my lines. I lifted my pen way more than I should have and you can tell where the lines stop and start especially on the counter.

2. By drawing contour hands and a backpack I learned how to observe an object as I draw it in order to get the proportions, perspective and detail right. In my final piece this enabled me to fill the shelves with the books and art supplies that are actually in the room. Also, getting the proportions of all the objects right became a lot easier by my final contour room drawing.

3. An outline drawing captures the basic shape of the object while contour drawings allow tons of detail to be added to the shape of the object. 

4. It is important to not think too deeply about what you are drawing but to rather think about the lines you are drawing. If you focus on the size and shape and length of each line your piece will come together so much easier because you aren't overthinking it. I have trouble with overthinking my art.

5. After this piece I have realized how concerned I am with how it will come out rather than focusing all my attention on the aspects of my piece while I am drawing it. I am afraid to just go with it and let my pen lead me. If  I were to do this piece over I would think less and lift my pen less. 

Contour Hands

Blind Contour

To do a blind countour hand drawing we had to place our pen on the paper and draw our hand with our eyes only on our hand and without taking the pen off the paper until we are finished. It was very challenging becuase my pen wasn't moving at the same speed as my eyes were.

Modified Contour

Modified contour hand drawings are the same concept except you are allowed to look at your hand. This was still challenging for me because I couldn't lift the pen!

Final Exam

1. My favorite and most used tools this year are the needle tool, ribbon tool and slab roller. I know it sounds dramatic but I couldn't of made it through the class without the needle tool. I've used it to cut clay, score and slip, add detail and even poke holes in my parachute. The ribbon tool has saved many of my projects from turning out lumpy and lopsided. It's used to shave away clay which was very useful for the sgraffito tray. The slab roller made every clay project so much easier and less time consuming. It is used to flatten the clay out to an even thickness. This tool also saved my projects from being lumpy and lopsided.

2. Before this semester I don't really remember using any of these tools. The slab roller was the scariest to try out because it looked pretty complicated but in actuality it's easy to get the hang of. All you need to know is which way to turn the wheel and where the clay and cloth goes. After using the slab roller a few times I can now help others figure out how to work it. The needle tool and ribbon tool were easy to use and I have gotten better at using them for both their intended uses and more creative uses.

3. What is a technique you used in your artwork that worked well? Explain what technique it was and why it was successful.
Pit firing my pot was the coolest technique I used this semester. This technique uses other materials such as pencil shavings, grass and wire to create unique patterns and colors on pots. To do this you cover the pots in materials and wrap it in foil and then pots are placed in a hole or pit in the ground, covered with more combustible objects and burned. When I got my pot back it had such an original placement of browns and blacks. It almost looked like it was an ancient artifact.

4. Describe a project where the choices you made regarding material, size, technique, etc helped enhance this project.

My vessel piece was probably my favorite out of all the pieces I made this year. A few of the choices I made while creating the piece are what made it turn out so well. The first choice was with how I sculpted the body of the fox. I made the head, ears, body, tail and legs separate and then stuck them all together instead of sculpting it all at once out of one piece of clay. This made the body shape look more realistic and 3-D. The size of the body and the hole inside is perfect to hold a small plant or anything really. Another choice that made the piece so unique was layering the glazes. Although I wasn't fond of how the streakiness of the layered glazes looked, I got a lot of compliments on the color and how cool it looked.

5. What was your favorite material that you used this year? Why do you like working with it?

My favorite material that I worked with this year is definitely clay. Your options are endless with clay. There are so many different things you can make with clay and so many different ways to make them. I made bowls 3 different ways this year and I even got to sculpt my favorite animal! Another reason I'm so fond of clay is because of how forgiving it is. As long as it's wet you can re-sculpt something as many times as you need because it's so easy to mold.

 

Unconventional Material Challenge

Unconventional Material Challenge

The material I was assigned was square tiles. After running through a number of ideas I decided I would make a mosaic out of tiles.There was not an abundance of colorful tiles but I had enough blues, blacks, tans and greens to piece together desert scene. First thing I did was smash a bunch of each color tile into a bunch of smaller pieces using a hammer. Then I cut a thin piece of wood into a rectangle so I had something to glue the tile pieces to. Now I am still in the process of fitting together each tile and it's taking way longer than I expected. I think the reason I'm still not finished is because I'm a perfectionist so I'm making sure each tile fits perfectly before I glue it down. Also, I made the tiles super small so it's taking a lot longer to cover up the wood. If I were to do this over I would smash the tiles but prevent them from flying everywhere and keep them in a square so I can glue the smashed square on and the tiles will all fit together perfectly. Even though this project has tested my patience I think it will look really cool and abstract when it's finished.