Design II - Paper as a three dimensional object

I was looking over the posts I made of work from my art program at school and noticed I hadn't posted this one. This was from my Design II class and it was an extension of our first project where we took paper (Bristol Board) and folded it into boxes and other 3D shapes. This was supposed to help us transition from 2D to 3D design. We were supposed to "go wild and crazy" according to the instructor, but I got a little carried away with my craziness. I titled this piece "Air Show" because it was supposed to represent the maneuvers the USAF Thunderbirds and other military acrobatic flying teams do as they wow the crowds.

Until my next post,
Diane

One piece of paper -- Design II second book

Here’s the second book I did for my Design II class. Our instructor, Peter Giscombe, said this was a problem solving class and it was. We kept a journal through the semester to write down ideas, web links and our thoughts. At the beginning of the semester he said there would be a point in the class where we’d probably want to curse him out. I hadn’t reached that point (yet) and was having a great time. I really liked the section where we made books. I made this one using one piece of paper. That was the challenge to myself through a good part of the semester – what can I do with one piece of paper. I used watercolor paper for this book and got the coloring with walnut ink. I then used a bunch of collage rubber stamps, many from Inque to decorate it. I used salt in some places on the wet paper and also some dry walnut ink crystals to get various effects. I liked this one and made another for Peter to show other student. He got the projects I didn’t feel like keeping. Hope you like it.

Until my next post,
Diane

Where I've been

This blogger thing is great. I've been posting now for 10 days and I've been gone. That's right, I've been goofing off on the ski slopes of Sugarloaf USA in Carabassett Valley Maine. For the 5 years or so hubby and I have been joining a group of folks and making the trek up to Maine. We stop in Connecticut to visit family and then join the group. We get a great group deal with condo accommodations, a welcome party Monday evening with a free drink and door prizes, lessons if you want them, a five day lift ticket and access to their fitness center with pool and hot tubs.

The picture I've attached is the wire sculpture I did for my Design II class. I used a package of door shims and painted them white to give the sculpture a little more appearance of movement. It is a bit out of proportion, skis have gotten shorter in the last decade but not THAT short. You get the point though it is a skier. This is sort of like my Scream sculpture -- a bit off but I still like it -- I must have since I kept it.

Until my next post,
Diane

Design II Plaster of Paris Sculpture

Some of you might not consider Plaster of Paris as a sculpture medium. At the community college level in a Design II class where you are trying to cram in a bunch of techniques into a 15 week semester Plaster of Paris was our sculpture medium. We used milk cartons as our mold; poured the plaster in and let it sit. It sets quick and is pretty easy to carve/cut. The theme was open and I tried a 3D version of Edvard Munch’s Scream. The original is now back in place at the museum of his name and being restored. I think when you see my piece you recognize that it is a representation of the painting which is good. As a sculpture piece it is OK. Maybe not my best work but I did keep it which says something.

Until my next post,
Diane

Design II My first book

Design II was another of the required Fine Arts courses in my computer arts program. I was excited when I reviewed the syllabus and saw we were going to make art books. We got a demo from Peter our instructor on the various zig zag or concertina style books. We were supposed to use canvas or other cloth to cover the book as opposed to paper. The book was supposed to be decorated and not left blank to use as a journal or a scrapbook. I went with an Asian theme. I used Bienfang watercolor paper and I used my spray watercolors again. After that was dry I added some stamping, stenciling and embellishments. I used embossing powder on the cover and then added some coins from SkyBluePink.

Until my next post,

Diane

Design I Color Wheel

This was fun…mixing and learning about color. I mentioned in a previous post that we only had two yellows, two reds, one blue, one violet and one green plus black and white colors of gouache. The inner wheel the one shaped like a pie is has the colors above (minus black and white) out of the tube then mixed to make the colors in between. Next we have tints (white added), shades (black added) and tertiary colors. It was fun to mix all these and know that you can make a lot of different colors with just a few tubes of paint.

Until next time,
Diane

Design I Collage

For this project we had to incorporate these two bottles into a collage. How you displayed these bottles was your choice. We used magazines to create the collage. I decided to make a beach scene sort of a message in a bottle type thing. The only piece of paper I altered is the one I rubber stamped some scribbled writing on. You could cut or rip your paper into pieces. We had to use either complementary colors or colors that are adjacent on the color wheel. I went with the purples and yellows (complementary). Play a little “Where’s Waldo") and look for two bottle shapes and three seagulls imbedded within the collage.

Until next time,
Diane

Design I black and white

This was an assignment in how to make an ordinary simple object look interesting through repetition. The object I chose was a simple clip that you can get at any office supply store. Draw the object in a few different views and pick the one you like. Next turn it 90 degrees and keep doing that until you get an interesting pattern. It is a poor mans way to try to imitate M.C. Escher but without the wonderful dissolves and illusions he did. This was painted in black gouache with the edges in Prismacolor marker for more precise work. As I was painting the design I started to see the inverse and decided to do a set.

Until my next post,
Diane

Design I first assignment

This was my first assignment for Design I. First find a twig/branch/leaf or something with some shape. You should have seen the class walking around campus looking at the ground. You would have thought someone lost a contact lens or something. Draw the item. Take tracing paper and make a mirror image or copies until you have an interesting but simple design. Possibly add a design element like I did since my item was a bit too simple. The whole point is to emphasize the negative/positive aspects and to learn to paint with gouache (pronounced like gwash). Gouache is an old style paint. It is a watercolor but with an added ingredient to make it opaque. It dries quickly to a matte finish. It comes in MANY colors but for class we only had two yellows, two reds, one blue, one violet and one green black and white. We “made” the rest by mixing. Since this was our first project we used the paint right out of the tube and didn't need to mix. We only needed to get the correct consistency by adding water.

Until my next post,
Diane