MFA Show

This was really cool I though. Just seeing what other students had done that semester or year was very very interesting and I was baffled at the extraordinary work that was being produced by people that I was passing by on a daily basis. I really wanted to be able to talk to the people who created the works because I would have loved to see if purchasing some of them was a possibility. There were a lot that I had taking a great deal of interest in such as the paintings that were right as you walked in. None of them had heads. It was all simply people's bodies and actions that were speaking to you instead of facial expression which we normally rely on telling use how that person feels. It was awesome. I even ended up taking both my parents and my girlfriends parents to the MFA show just so they could see the type of work that happens within the FA department and how students get to where the are. I also really enjoyed the plaster sledgehammers. I would always see them inside our room in the back of the plaster area and would always wonder to myself about where those were going and how the person creating them was going to use them. Also, the bathtub idea was really cool and I enjoyed being able to see that work of art transform also from its beginning stages to it final product. All in all, these students did a great job with what they had and all their ideas were very thought provoking. So a big thanks from me and mine and I hope that everyone who could got a chance to see this show. Below is a photo of a unique piece of work from the show. Enjoy.

Artist Research

Well this is my final artist research and I chose to do it on a man named Chris Gustin. His works are abstract but in more of a simplified way. He tends to create these somewhat organic shapes with clay and other hard materials such as bronze that in the end make very interesting vases and pots and other random shapes. His stuff is pretty cool although there is nothing really about him or his artwork that really catches the eye. I was not very interested when I entered his site and actually almost instantly left the webpage because I didn't even know that I was at the right place. He does not present himself very well at all with a simple white page with a TON of text. Which is unfortunate for him because I think he should really be trying his best to get his name out there in a cool way after seeing what it is he has to offer. This is another guy in which I do not really know if I would ever go out of my way to see some of his work simply do to the fact that he is somewhat boring to me. Anyways, here is a photo of one of his works and if you are interested for yourself then go check out his website.

Final Project

Well here is my final project. I created to more traditional African style masks. I really wanted them to have the feeling that they were done traditionally by simple hand carving. With the one on the right, I used foam and a hand sander tool that I used to create a look as though I was chipping away at the wood with a hand carving tool. The other, the one on the left, was done using nothing more but a single manual hand carving tool. I am very proud of this mask because it turned out exactly how I had imagined that it would and even more. I didn't think that the paint's colors would turn out that way that they did which was awesome because I thought that these colors were very traditional and were much like how you would see the masks naturally. Also with these masks I wanted to do a better job at the idea of transformation with a material and so that is why I chose to do one mask out of foam and one actually out of wood so you would have something to compare the foam to. I think I pulled of the transformation effect nicely and I am super happy about my masks. The wood one on the left is not done though as I would still love to add some brass and some frilled hay around the edges to give it more character. Anyway, here they are and I hope you enjoy them as much as myself.

Artist Research

I chose Sam Chung for this artist research. He is a ceramics artist and his work leans more towards the abstract than anything else really. I enjoyed looking at what he had to offer with his work and was quite interested to look at more. Most of his work is very similar to each other. He tends to create these cool little vases type containers that have what seems to be the same type of cloud like design on them. They look really cool especially the ones that are more shaped and unique. I would probably have a couple of these things throughout my house one day because they would be great center pieces or something like that. Seeing his work sort of inspires me to do more with ceramics and hopefully one day know how to create something as cool and as abstract as these little vases things. His work is very calming and seem to take you away from the current moment as if to float away somehow on a personal little cloud. These make for great works of art and I enjoyed them all a lot. Well, take a look for yourself and you will know what I mean.

Artist Research

I chose Michael Wille for this artist research. His stuff is pretty cool and reminds me of the projects that I did in FA 102. His abstract collages are contrasting and very interesting but at the same time I can't really look at them for too long because I start getting bored with them. After being on his website for about 5 minutes I had already felt as though I had been there for ages and I really just wanted to back out of the page and look at something else. I don't know that i would ever go out of my way to see his work and I think that has a lot to say about how he connects with his viewers. I don't really know how many people would be that interested in his artwork but at the same time I have no idea and I my be wrong. Either way, I don't really have a whole lot to say about this guy except his work really isn't too great and unless you are a fan already.

Midterm Material Transformation

This was a little difficult for me to due because I seemed to be more interested in the carving aspect of the project instead of the transformation side. To a certain point I thought that perhaps I did an okay job because in the end the MDF that I used as the base or sand seemed to look like such. Although I maybe didn't do a great job with the transformation part I honestly think that I did a good job with the carving and I am proud of that. I liked creating something from nothing and being able to see it come out from the wood that is being carved. Making the squid was awesome and I used hand carving along with some sanding tools to get an overall smooth look to it and I used sanding machines from the shop in order to make the sand smooth. I think strongly that if I had painted my squid and sand and what not with the colors that the are in real life then I would have passed the transformation aspect with flying colors. A lot of people said that their project would not have looked transformed without changing the outside look somehow. All in all, I had fun and I like the squid that I created and the idea behind it.

Artist Research

For this artist research I chose to do a ceramics artist by the name of Judy Moonelis. She was simply the first name on the list that I saw and I ended up  being very happy with choosing her. As soon as I got to her web page I found my eyes widening at what I saw. Her work is very very cool and has a lot of mystery to it and some abstractness that just keeps you so interested and in the moment. I could probably look at her stuff all day long and I actually really wish that the university would get her to come her and have a gallery display because I would love to get the chance to see her pieces in person and maybe get a chance to ask her some questions. I chose to show a picture of what I thought to be one of her most interesting works and I really like this one because I have a thing with trees and things in nature. This artwork had me starring for quite some time and at one point I found myself shaking my head in order to snap myself out of the hypnosis I was in. I hope that you find this work as interesting as I did and I encourage you to check out her website.