Hannah Höch

I highly enjoy all of the art history classes I have taken so far, and am sure I will also enjoy the ones coming soon in my future (7 in total!). It is so interesting to see how art has progressed throughout the years, and how artists have constantly reformed what art is considered to be.

As pieces of art come to me that I find to be extra inspirational and influential, I want to start making note of it on this blog! So here is the first :)

Hannah Höch 

Cut with a Kitchen Knife Dada Through the Last Weimar Beer Belly Cultural Epoch of Germany

1919-1920 

Dada

First of all, I love Hannah Höch not only because of her artwork, but because she is a woman. Looking back in history, woman make up a very small portion of working artists, especially those lucky enough to be recognized by the masses. I believe the few that are in our history books need to be appreciated to the upmost extent. Second, she deals with gender and political issues that I find to be incredibly ballsy for the time in which she was working. In the future, I would love to take influence from Hannah Höch and design a lesson plan for high schoolers exploring gender roles and photomontage.

Hopefully Back in Action!

AH! The semester is almost over. Finally! It has been super hectic and I have clearly had no extra time to update. For the first time in forever I actually had time to do some drawing/watercoloring for myself tonight. So here it is!

It's Ms. Bailz with her hoop. I love this photo of her. It truly captures her, and the type of lady she has become. I hope to take this quick painting and transfer it into an actual large scale, oil painting this summer. Potentially a summer project in the works :)

Accepted!

I made it into the BFA program :)

I will update more in depth soon. Life has been far too busy lately...

Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree Application

I turned in my application for the Bachelor of Fine Arts program at Central Michigan today! I am hoping for the best. I thought I'd share my artist statement and the 10 works I submitted.

Portfolio

Artist Statement

The BFA program will help me progress as an artist and support the type of mixed-media art I would like to pursue. My interest is primarily 2-D art. I enjoy painting, photography and printmaking and would like to experiment more with mixing all three mediums and establishing my own artistic voice.

            The work in my portfolio reflects the format in which I would further develop through my courses. Air Pollution was something I created in high school, but is a piece I frequently come back to because it demonstrates the type of art I want to be producing. It includes a manipulated photograph, done first with Photoshop and then furthered by hand, a collage of drawn images, painted imagery in the background and many layers of inks, chalks and acrylic paint on top. The layering method of different mediums is something I wish to further pursue. Finding the perfect materials to express an idea, and not being bound by the rules and restrictions of them, feels adventurous and exciting. I like the idea of being a well-rounded artist with experience in a wide range of areas.

            Portraiture is the format of work I would like to further explore. I really am a true introvert type of a person. I get scared and nervous when talking to people, but at the same time I find people extremely fascinating. I find that a lot of my inspiration to create art comes from the fact that I feel very shy and awkward most of the time. Trying to understand human emotion, and furthering that emotion to convey a completely different topic is something I have attempted and would love to continue to do.

            At this point I do not have particular standout favorites in the art world, but I have found I most frequently gravitate towards portraiture. For example, a printmaker that I enjoy is Barbara Elam. The portraits she makes seem to be memories of hers. The people aren’t proportioned perfectly, or necessarily look real, but she has a definite style that can be seen in all her work. A painter I enjoy is Victor Rodriguez, a hyperrealist painter. I am very attracted to the idea of taking portraits and pushing them so far as to have the viewer question whether the image is a painting or not. These two artists have very different styles, but I find both to be very influential.

            Overall I feel the BFA program fits my needs because I am a very driven person, interested in really developing as an artist. I am also an art education major and being a teacher later in life is all the more reason for me to have as much experience in the studio as possible. The BFA program would give me more opportunity to practice discussing and supporting my own work, something I know will benefit me not only as an artist, but as a teacher as well. 

Here's hoping for the best!

Spring Break 2012

It's been awhile since I have last made a post, so here is an update.

I've been on spring break! Much need. So nice. Ahhh.

I joined 3 other girls from school (all in the education program as well!) on a trip to Mammoth Cave National Park and then Nashville, Tennessee to see Mumford & Sons in concert. It was an amazing time. I could not have asked for anything better. Here are some pictures from the trip!

Happy Birthday Poppa!

It's my dad's birthday today! So I made him a pop-up card.

How do you like those poorly drawn Star Wars characters? ;)

100% on my art history exam!

The class average was a 79, so I'm feeling pretty good :)

Now I get to study my butt off for exam #2 coming up next week.

My Weekend in Chicago

Inspiration: Water

I've found that a lot of my life revolves around water. Work, sport and leisure. It's hard to explain just how much water means to me (and yes, I realize that sounds ridiculous) but it's true! I joined the high school swim team and fell in love with the sport in 2004. Because of that swim team I met the love of my life in 2007. I took up a job as a swim instructor and lifeguard that has provided me with most of my work experience, as well as numerous friendships and moments that I will never forget. And finally, I've had a pool in the backyard of my home, that has been the center of most all of my family activities since 2000. In these ways water to me stands for so much more than it actually is. It's friendship, family and love. It's truly inspirational to me.

These are some artist's images relating to water that I just love.

Damien Pyret's Swim & Steam series

                            

 

                            

 

Alyssa Monks

Today has been an upper and downer sort of day. Completely. 

Rest in peace, Grandpa Alex. Love and miss you.

Good news to make the day a bit brighter; I was accepted into the College of Education. Now begins the craziness of cohorts, mid-tiers and student teaching. 

Life Update

New fancy pens, woooo!

Just a bit of an update of what is going on in my life, relating to this blog...

I signed my minor yesterday. ART HISTORY! Oh yes, should be lotssss of fun. 

I have my pre-graduate audit this Friday, which one normally gets before their last year in college. Well, my advisor said it would be beneficial because I've transferred around so much, and have 2 majors, to really help me understand exactly what I have left to complete. So for me, it does not mean graduate in a year, but I'm hoping it does show me that all I have left is 2 (here's hoping).

Also, I am in preparation to apply for the BFA program. The applications are due in about 3 weeks. I really need to get this application right the first time, so I'm going to be spending a lot of time on it. I'll post my question responses and portfolio on here once it is all finalized.

For my Art for the Middle School class, we are going to start teaching at a Montessori school in a town close to Mount P. I am very excited! My friend Paige and I will be teaching a 1st - 3rd grade class (yeah, not a middle level class, but they needed help in all grade levels) every other friday morning. I'll try to document what we teach and the resulting art projects from the students.

...and I think that is it for now!

Valentine's Day

In the spirit of Valentine's Day and trying to be as cheesy and overly "Valentine-y" as possible, I made this for Ben! Valentine's beer! Of course an idea I discovered through Pinterest.

The process involved buying a 6 pack of beer and having a good time covering up the packaging with gaudy pink and red stuff! Difficult, I know.

My boyfriend Ben isn't a big fan of sweets, but he is a large fan of beer. I thought this would be a fun/cute little thing to give him.

Sketchbook

Just another sketchbook entry.

It's been a bit of an up and down sort of weekend. I started this on Friday and for some reason even sitting down to draw/paint felt frustrating. I'm pretty sure it's a bad sign when something you usually do to unwind keeps your frustration afloat. I put it down and picked it back up tonight. If anything, I'm just proud I finished.

Textbook Quote

Sometimes I love reading my Art for Life textbook.

"Music videos on MTV often rely on slick, suggestive images to make up for a lack of musical talent."

LOVE.

Middle School Art Journal

For my Art for the Middle School class, we learned how to make a basic sketchbook. Thinking back to myself as a middle schooler, I would have LOVED to know how to make this. Basically you take 3 sheets of paper, folded, and then put within one another, into what is called a signature. Make as many signatures as you want and then bind them together using a simple coptic stitch. Use two pieces of anything sturdy (something as simple as cardboard works) for the cover. Decorate the cover in any way you please and there you go! Your own homemade journal. :)

The 2 times I have done book binding in class I have absolutely adored it. It will without a doubt be incorporated into my classroom one day.

This is my journal with my personalized cover!

 I gave myself a bit of a scrunchy face, but whateverrrrr.