Third Studio journal

I said i will move on and leave the golden spiral behind. but i actually did another one! i tried to use chicken wire and wanted warp it with plaster. but because of technical issue and Patrick told me i have to move on and leave the spiral behind, so i stop it here. he said all the stuffs i have done so far is more on two-dimensional. it is less interesting. and he tell me to look up the artist Tony Cragg and Robert Morris.




He told me that to look up Tony Cragg and learn how to make a piece more three-dimensional and the round form of the piece. His works are very interesting that there are movement inside the piece.

 

Robert Morris is the idea that Patrick gave me that my idea has the potential to have the sense of falling. the relationship between the piece and the gravity. 

 i got the idea what patirck said and i think i will make something more 3-dimensional and rounded.

the other thing i did this week is trying to make the spiral out of WOOD!!! but i drop this project after Patrick talked to me. This week is full of failure :(

The welcome back show

We were asked to talk about the pieces at the "welcome back show". when i first go into the gallery, i made a right like i always did, i saw a black standing sculpture in the middle of the room and that catches my eyes. this sculpture is by

Travis Coatney

Glory Days

wood, steel, polyester resin, graphite

14" x 14" x 90"

2011

This is made by Travis, one of the sculpture instructor from LAB. I like his piece because the it give me different feel from different angle. it feels heavier in some angle while it looks like it is falling on the other angle. i really like how he show his piece, too. i love how he made a specific pedestal out of steel and makes the pedestal part of the piece.  

The other piece that i choose which i think is a little bit confuse is by

Dous McLean
Untitled
oil on canvas
8" x 10"
2011
and
Dous McLean
Untitled
oil on canvas
15" x 18"
2011

I love the painting. However, without the title, i feel a little bit lose about what are these all about and are they suppose to put together or they are individual pieces. With the small size of the paintings, i would like to see more of these and see how they work together.

Second Studio journal

 What did i do this week? I am still working on my golden spiral.
This time i am using plaster and trying to reverse the positive and negative space. as you can see on the image, i made a clay spiral and cast it with plaster in a wooden box.
 btw how to rotate the image? i was horizontal when i uploaded it. confusing )xo














So this is how it look when it comes out. the spiral has become the space and the rectangle has become the object. however, i cant make the rectangle to be the golden rectangle, because if i do so, there will be no support and it will collapse!!

 I also tried put the inside part front and back. this is more like a perspective thing. nothing interested me. this is the last golden spiral piece i made. i will move on to the other type of spiral form next week.

The first studio journal

This is the first studio journal. Don't know what to write...

Here is my studio in LAB. I love the studio in LAB, the studio gives me private space on my project. They have everything I need in the building. Wood shop, metal shop, plaster studio, spray paint room, ceramic room, and the most useful stuff in LAB is George's office, George has everything I will ever need.

I am going to show some of the works I have done for the first two weeks. I am currently working on some small pieces related to the spiral-shape. I am thinking the shape of spiral would be the basic element for my thesis. 

On the left is the first piece I made this semester, it is made of plastic. I put some sand on it before it gets hard, so i gives a little rough surface. The texture is pretty COOL!

On the right is the second piece using the same technique of the first one, but i made it bigger and thinner. I didn't take a picture of it when it is done, this is the process of how i made it. I used clay to made out a mold and pour the plastic mixture in it and let it set.

The plastic I used is from "Smooth-on" (http://www.smooth-on.com/). Go to the website and check that out, they have a lot of coll stuffs. They carry whole bunch of different plastic and rubber for molding and casting, many models from Hollywood movie used there products, too. The one i am using is particularly uses for casting.This material will get hard in about 10 minutes after you mix the the two liquid. You can see it turn into a white solid material from a clear liquid in couple minutes, it is pretty cool.

The first week is just kind of a experimental week for me. I didn't do much on the first week. Now, coming to the second week, I actually have some basic idea of what i am going to do for my thesis. 

The "Golden Rectangle". Do you know what is the golden rectangle? Check it out on wikipedia =P (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rectangle

). It is very a very mathematical rectangle that have carefully calculated, but it happens a lot in the nature to, golden rectangles are all around us!! For example, things that in our everyday life, AN EGG!! and a Snail!!!

I did some drawing of the golden rectangle, it spent me half and hour to draw the first one, it is pretty complicated for my first try, but it getting easier and easier. Want to learn how to draw it? Let's do it!!! i found this link is very helpful and full in detail of drawing this golden rectangle. (http://www.fractalgold.net/golden-spiral)

This is my first try. the picture is not so clear, but you get the idea. It is actually fun, it won's take you long, try it yourself. =P

Base on this golden rectangle or golden spiral. i have made something out of it. I try to bend a sheet metal into this kind of shape. It is the pain in the AXX!!! I think it is because the bending machine is not suppose to bend this kind of shape. But I did it, thanks for the help from Patrick. Although it is not perfect, but it came out nice. I love it. I am thinking going bigger so I can get a better spiral shape from it.

The other thing i did is this wooden panel. I draw the golden rectangle on the wood and spray paint the squares. Then I nailed the golden spiral!! It come out very pretty. The contract of the colors and the nails are very nice. I might want to use some strings and wrap around the nails and see how it looks like next time.

I have do some images hunting of spirals, some pictures are very beautiful. take a look of them, too. and of course, Spiral Jetty by Robert Smithson. If you don't know this, check this on wikipedia too LOL (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiral_Jetty)

 Oh!!! Tornado...it is dangerous but very alluring.

 Galaxy is very mysterious...did someone made it, or it happens itself. It is very beautiful, isn't it?

 The satellite view of a hurricane looks always incredible. I hate hurricane, but i love the shape of it. very natural.

 I don's know what is this. But i think this is cool. LOL

Okay! Blogging what I am doing is not as bored as i expected, I actually enjoy it. if anyone could leave a comment, i will enjoy it even more. Thanks for reading. I think that is it for this week. I will keep updating this blog and let you guys know what i am doing. (if there is actually someone will read it lol).

NICOLE TESTA

Me: What make you choose graphic design as your concentration?

Nicole: I chose graphic Design as my major my sophomore year at Mason Gross. I came in undecided with a love for painting. However, my love for technology introduced me to Graphic Design and I found it very enjoyable. Graphic Design is all around you in everyday life and is functional, which I found very endearing. Also, I find it brings aspects of all different art fields together.

Me: Do you have a minor or another major?

Nicole: I do not have a minor, However my second major is Information Technology. 

Me: What kind of medium you usually use in your works?

Nicole: In Design, I’m relatively restricted when it comes to forms of medium. It depends on the project at hand. I have used many different kinds of papers and adhesive papers.

Me: Which medium you enjoy the most? Which software you most comfortable working with?
Nicole: Other than graphics, I enjoy using oil paints
and acrylics very much. I would say I’m most comfortable with Adobe illustrator, although I’m very comfortable with photoshop and indesign as well. 

Me: What have you found to be the most frustrating in graphic design?
Nicole: The only frustration that arises is when you don’t know how to achieve something in a piece. There are times where I want to throw my computer across the room. It’s difficult because trouble shooting may get in the way, but it’s like a communication barrier that you just overcome. Online tutorials really help out in the end as well as Shane in the lab.

Me: What other art classes you have taken and how do you like them?Nicole: I’ve taken drawing courses, painting courses, artmaking, visual thinking, figure drawing and some others. Presently, I’m enrolled in printmaking. I found my figure drawing class with Hanneline really helped me grow as an artist. I found that I learned to incorporate all my artistic abilities in one piece. For instance, you can think of a design as a painting, a drawing, a sculpture and include what ever aspects of art you want. It makes it more interesting when you step out of the box and cross such boundaries.

Me: As a graphic designer, seems like you have put a lot of 3D elements in your pieces, is there any particular reason for that?

Nicole: As you said, you like to experiment. I enjoy testing the waters and seeing how far I can go with things.  I like things out of the ordinary and I like stuff that really pops out. I want everything to scream look at me when a viewer passes it.

Me: Have you ever taken any sculpture class in Rutgers or elsewhere?
Nicole: I have never taken a sculpture class, yet I have touched on it briefly in other classes.

Me:Would you rather using computer or your own hands to make art?
Nicole: I would rather not chose. I like to do both and there are times where one suits a situation better than the other. I enjoy incorporating both my hands and the technological benefits of a computer.



Me: Where is your inspiration usually come from?
Nicole: My inspirations come from everyday life mostly. However, recently I have been interested in using a site called StumbleUpon in which you can browse a subject of websites on the Internet. I’ve found it to be very helpful, in learning new artists as well as their works.

Me: Seems like a lot of your works are painting, why choose graphic design but not painting as your major?
Nicole: I chose Design because for me painting is very much a hobby. Also, my paintings are very much design experiences. They aren’y exactly subjects but ways in which to create a design or decorative experience with the medium.

Me: The skateboard you made is very interesting, is that an assignment, just for fun or there is a purpose for it?Nicole: The reason I decided to the show you the skateboard was because people always think it’s so cool. It’s so realistic and almost like product design. Also, it’s probably one of my only substantial experiences sculpting something.

Me: Your works are mostly colorful, is color your main element in your pieces?
Nicole: I love color. I find it appealing to the eye. At times, it may not be effective, but it’s part of my artistic personality that does tend to poke through in my works.

Me: When you are creating a poster or advertisement, what is the most important thing you will focus on?
Nicole: Lately, i’ve been very concentrated on typeface.  I feel like my work is strong till the text is introduced. Text is very important in a design piece and can’t get lost or be pushed to the side. 


Me: Would you rather work on 3D object or 2D surface?
Nicole: It depends on the project at hand, However I do find 3D objects to be more exciting because they are a very different beast.

Me: Do you have any artists in mind that affect your style?

Nicole: David Carson is inspiring in the fact that he broke the rules and created his own graphic identity. However, I find alot of no names in technological design, such as with data interfaces t be very inspiring.

Me: Do you have anything in mind for thesis?

Nicole: I don’t exactly know. I do know that I want to lean towards a technical approach rather than a decorative design. 


Me: Are you working on anything at the moment?
Nicole: I haven’t been working on anything at this moment in time. I’ve been very busy, I wish I had more time for my art. I’m glad the semester has started cause it will give me a chance to hop back in. 


Me:What is your plan when you graduated?
Nicole: To get a job, hahhahaha.... I just really don’t know exactly what I’ll lean towards in the end.


Me: Is there an ideal job for you in graphic design?
Nicole: Like I have just said, my eye isn’t on an ideal at the moment. I’m hoping this year will help me tie up any loose ends and figure out my calling. Thesis should definitely clear it up some.

my first BLOG

OK...this is my first time blogging, kinda confusing for the first time, i think i will need more time to get used to it. everyone is welcome to comment and give me ideas =)