Blog #5

1. The most significant accomplishment I had in my Final project was creating meaningful artwork. The Big Idea for my final project meant a lot to me because I had a personal experience with my sister going through an eating disorder. I was hoping to show how serious an eating disorder is and I also wanted to show that it is possible for a person to overcome an eating disorder. I feel like I accomplished this goal in my work by my cohorts reaction to the images, they were amazed, not only by the images.

2. My most challenging learning experience in Photoshop was masking. The problem wasn’t understanding what masks could do, it was just knowing HOW to do all of the perks masks offer. By the final project I felt like I had a pretty good handle on how masks worked but I still feel like I could play around with them more to fully understand how they work. Considering I had never used Photoshop before, every concept was difficult at first, but I would have to say learning how to layer and control the color and intensity of images is something I mastered by the end of the quarter.

3 3. The two images I chose to compare and contrast are the images from my final project and quiz 2. They both deal with similar Photoshop concepts but the image from my final has so much more meaning behind it. Anyone could tell that there is so much more thought behind this image. The image from quiz two is just an example of technique and it is not as strong of an image.

Quiz 2

Final

Final: Body Image

Artist Statement

My Big Idea is body image with a focus on anorexia. I chose to explore this big idea because my sister struggled with this eating disorder for four years and nearly died. Since my sister has been healthy for nine years, I had to use photographs taken of her during the battle. For the first image I combined photos and a watercolor that I painted of my sister when she was sick. I hope this image conveys how serious anorexia is and how it can take up residence and consume one’s mind, body and spirit. Ironically, the word “eat” is in the middle of the word “death” and I intentionally positioned the word over her mouth.

In the second image I used a photograph that I took of Ashley after she defeated anorexia. In this shot she is obviously healthy and well with the eating disorder behind her, literally and figuratively. I also used the last stanza of a poem she wrote to further explain her victory. The color used in this image is inspired from the artist in my blog number four. I tried to make everything black and white except for Ashley. I want her to look full of life while everything else looks dull.

In both images my goal in Photoshop was to better my skills in masking and also perfecting all the other skills we have learned through the quarter. I also researched artists that use body image as their big idea in their artwork and I tried using some of their design techniques. I found this very helpful in creating my final images.

Blog #3

Caroline Morin

The illustrations that Caroline Morin creates inspire me so much. I think it is beautiful how all of her drawings are in black and white with just a hint of color and I would really like to use that technique in my final project. Her style is so unique because she uses a lot of implied line to keep her drawings very simple. In this case less is definitely more, which I would also like to use in the final project. I think her Big Idea may be women's fashion or women's beauty and fashion.

Mandrak

Mandrak is an artists that focuses on body image and eating disorders in their artwork, especially anorexia, which is the theme I want to use in my final project. I think it is beautiful yet disturbing how this artist has used old renaissance paintings as a theme in their work. When looking at the paintings the viewer is caught off guard because they would expect to see a beautiful, voluptuous woman, like you would in the time period it represents, but rather they see a very thin, sick looking girl. I also think this shows how our perception of a "beautiful" woman has changed over time. I think this message is extremely powerful and makes the viewer think. I would like to impact people in my final project like this artist has.

Quiz 4

I chose the two movies The Bourne Identity and The Notebook to blend into one movie poster. The Bourne Ultimatum is an action packed movie that is targeted towards adults, especially male adults. On the other hand, The Notebook is a romantic movie geared toward females. The Bourne Identity movie poster has an overall dark shadowed look, as well as a cold, blue/green color scheme. The Notebook movie poster also has just one color scheme, like Identity, but it’s a very soft and happy golden color, unlike Identity. The Bourne Identity poster shows Matt Damon, the main character in the movie walking toward the viewer in a strong manner with a serious expression on his face holding a hand gun. In the background there is a circle outlining Matt Damon, making it seem like the viewer is looking through a gauge of a gun, which means they are trying to kill him. This movie appears to look very serious and definitely appeals to men. The Notebook’s composition has the main couple, Allie and Noah, at the top gazing into each others eyes, nearly kissing. This fades into a sunset on a pond with the aged Allie and Noah in a boat. The poster explains the movie well because the story goes back a forth between the young couple and the aged couple. As most would say this poster appears as a chick flick! The text for each title is very fitting as well. The Bourne Supremacy text is very bold while The Notebook title is very simple and soft.

Midterm

Artist Statement

Through my two images I chose to explore the Big Idea of giving using the themes of volunteering, missions, teaching, and serving those in need. I took a mission trip to a very poor and corrupt part of Honduras mainly working with children. I would like to convey in the first image the deplorable living conditions most Hondurans face everyday. The elderly woman that lived in this home rescues orphaned children off the streets. She most recently took in the little boy shown in the larger image, and his twin brother. As the viewer looks at this image I want them to see and feel something very dark, cold, and depressing. I want them to see what I initially saw, that it appeared that this lady had nothing left to give, but she generously shared what she did have, which was love and compassion. In spite of their very oppressed circumstances, the Honduran people are hopeful, thankful, humble, content, and in many cases godly, which is what I want to reveal in the second image. Ironically, I set out to serve, teach and reveal God to these poor people, but they revealed God to me through their love, acceptance, and gratitude. Funny how God works!

Blog #2

My Big Idea is Giving/Volunteering. Calling, Serve, and Helping were the synonyms I chose for each visual cloud.

Artist statement rough draft

My big idea is volunteering/giving particularly in missions. I took a trip to a very poor and corrupt part of Honduras mainly working with children. I would like to convey how poor this country is and what kind of opportunities I had to help the people of this country. While working with children and an all girls orphanage I taught about God, sang, played games, made crafts, gave gifts, etc. I have been on a few other mission trips but this one had to most impact on me. This Big Idea is extremely important to me because it was a life changing experience. It made me realize how fortunate I really am. Before I went I had the mind set of changing lives, helping, and making a difference but in the end, the Hondurans really changed my life. It is just so humbling to see how happy the people are and how thankful they are for what they have, but the thing is, it seems to us like they have absolutely nothing! I am very passionate about giving and I hope to go to Honduras again.