Studio B
Holly L. Laws, Jamie E. Walters
Materials and Natural Forms
I took a piece of cardboard about 4 inches in diameter and cut it into a circle. I then cut a triangle in order to make the flat cap dimensional.
Here I made the flat circle with the triangle cut out into a dimensional cap by using hot glue to adhere the two triangle edges together. Here you can see the textured inside gills layer and the layer to represent the smooth cap.
The cap is made from a hand made paper with holes hotglued in pleats around the top and hang over the edge. I then used a glue mixture to collage the paper to the top.
I took a piece of cardboard about 4 inches in diameter and cut it into a circle. I then cut a triangle in order to make the flat cap dimensional.
1. What did you learn about yourself and the way you work during this assignment? It was a little intimidating coming in as a non-traditional student and seeing all of the creativity of the younger students. I learned not to compare my art to anyone else’s because we are all on our own journeys. I also learned that I get inspired by the subject matter but also materials that I love.
2. Did the fabrication of the first mushroom inform how you went about making the following mushrooms? Explain why or why not. Yes and no. No, because I wanted to do something different with each mushroom. Yes, because we were limited by similar constraints on each mushroom in regard to materials.
3. Did opening up the parameters of the assignment for Mushroom #2 help your creativity or were you overwhelmed with options? Explain. For the second mushroom, I used cardboard like in the first mushroom, but I ended up collaging book paper and adding black hot glue because the parameters were opened up a little. I think that this helped my creativity because there were more materials available. I was inspired by the book pages because I love to use them for collage in my work. I was inspired by the black hot glue because..... It is black hot glue! How cool.
4. How did using color for Mushroom #3 change how you went about the assignment? What did you do differently? For mushroom 3, I was inspired by a bright yellow piece of cardboard. I immediately thought of primary colors and Piet Mondrian. So that inspired me to create an abstracted mushroom in primary colors, squared in shape. I also incorporated embroidery thread for the gills.
5. Mushroom #4 began with a completely different material and fabrication technique. How did your design thinking or way of working change to accommodate this shift in materials and fabrication techniques? I think that changing the materials and technique made me rethink my approach to the mushroom. I had to learn a new skill to solder the mushroom, which I didn’t care for at all. But, I used paper materials to show the cap and stem and the wire represents the gills. I chose to use more paper materials than wire.
6. Thinking back on all four mushrooms, give me two examples of where you feel there was a real creative spark in how you solved a design or fabrication problem. For mushroom 2, I was very excited to be making a stinky cap. They are beautiful. I was really looking forward to making this type of mushroom and incorporating new materials. I chose to use an adhesive that I had never used before and didn’t know existed- black hot glue. I used it to create the gills inside of the cap and the inky black that drips from the edges. I didn’t know how I was going to create this until I found the black hot glue. For mushroom 3, I was excited that I was allowed to abstract my mushroom and decided to make it square because Piet Mondrian used many squares and rectangles in his work. I used this to make a small composition on the flat top of the mushroom. For mushroom 4, it was challenging to find a way to represent all of the holes in the bridal veil mushroom. I thought of many ways but they were all complicated and involved my hands being too close to an open torch. I was immediately in love with the paper I found and it served its purpose beautifully.
7. What particular aspect of this assignment was the most challenging for you? Be specific. The most challenging part of the mushroom assignments was the soldering using wire and very large torches. It was a little scary and the construction was difficult. My joints didn’t want to stay or they would pop open when put in water. I finally had help from a teacher and completed my framework for that mushroom. Then, it was challenging to find a way to get all of my paper materials to adhere to the wireframe. I found that hot glue was the solution.
8. Discuss how working in this particular iterative process moved your work to a place it could not have gone had you only been required to fabricate one mushroom. I liked starting simple and having guidelines and then progressing with each new mushroom. It taught me that you can make beautiful things from simple materials. If I had only made the first mushroom, I would have not learned that I could push the designs and add certain materials to my mushrooms. I have recently started saving my ‘trash’ to make more mushrooms. With each of the 4 mushrooms, I found a different one to represent. The first one was just a simple mushroom with a cap, stem, and gills made from cardboard and hot glue. Then I was inspired to branch out a little and I ended up making my interpretations of a button mushroom, an inky cap mushroom, and a stinky cap bridal veil mushroom.
9. Which mushroom do you feel is the most successful? Explain why. I feel that they were all successful because they were creative within the boundaries of the assignment. My favorite one is the inky cap because I got to use a material I had never used before and out of them all, I feel that this one is more my style of producing art.
10. Which mushroom do you feel is the least successful? Explain why. The last mushroom feels like the least successful to me because I had a hard time creating the wire frame. I love the handmade paper cap I have covering the wire so that it barely shows. I think next time I will go back to cold contact wireframes.
11. If you could do anything differently in this assignment, what would it be and why would you change it? I think that I would keep assigning more mushrooms and opening the boundaries of the assignment even more with each one.
12. Tell me one more thing about this assignment or the work you produced for this assignment that would help me understand who you are as a budding visual artist/designer. I am a teacher and can be very resourceful. I fully appreciate the opportunity to be creative on a budget and this is something I can use in my classroom. I like that I opened up and made things that I normally would not think of, such as mushroom 3 where I used colors and shapes I normally would not have.
Built and Cultural Environments
The first step is to prep your item, in this case, a coffee mug. I covered the item with vaseline and cling wrap. Next, I tore bleached coffee filters into small squares. I chose this material because I love the translucent look of it. The last things that I needed were Mod Podge and a brush.
I used my brush to paint Mod Podge onto the cling wrap that has been adhered to the mug. I started adhering the small pieces of torn coffee filter on the upper lip and only went down the interior about and inch and a half. Then I began doing the same on the exterior, making sure the papers overlapped.
The first step is to prep your item, in this case, a coffee mug. I covered the item with vaseline and cling wrap. Next, I tore bleached coffee filters into small squares. I chose this material because I love the translucent look of it. The last things that I needed were Mod Podge and a brush.
Brainstorm When I had all of my sons at home (now they are grown), I used to take them to the pumpkin patch every October. We would pick out pumpkins. When we were at home, we woud turn them into Jack-O-Lanterns and keep the flesh for processing. I would cook the pumpkin, drain the water off, and put into freezer bags. There was usually enough for four recipes throughout the year. My specialty was pumpkin soup. It's an old Martha Stewart recipe. Many family and friends requested this dish
I decided to use this placemat I got at Ikea a couple of years ago because I like the green floral. It ties into the dyed ribbon and from the flowers.
The final tablescape with the orange tablecloth. I was happy with it without a tablecloth but when I put the table cloth under the pieces, it really tied everything together and looks great against the white and copper and green.
Brainstorm When I had all of my sons at home (now they are grown), I used to take them to the pumpkin patch every October. We would pick out pumpkins. When we were at home, we woud turn them into Jack-O-Lanterns and keep the flesh for processing. I would cook the pumpkin, drain the water off, and put into freezer bags. There was usually enough for four recipes throughout the year. My specialty was pumpkin soup. It's an old Martha Stewart recipe. Many family and friends requested this dish
Heading 4
Years ago, before my boys all grew up and moved away, we had a fall tradition. We would all go to the pumpkin patch and pick out pumpkins to make Jack-o-lanterns. I would meticulously scoop out all of the pumpkin flesh, process it, and put it in the freezer to make pumpkin bread, muffins, and soup for Thanksgiving. I used Martha Stewart’s Harvest Pumpkin Soup recipe and my family always requested it at fall gatherings. The white porcelain dishes, the soup tureen, little soup bowls with lids, and flowers, the smell of garlic and pumpkin on the stove cooking. These things bring back memories of all of my boys growing up at home.
I started with the plate, soup bowl and lid, and the soup tureen and lid. I used printer paper and Mod Podge to slip-cast the pieces. After removing them, I finished off the backs of the lids so that they could be interactive and included an accordion fold-down copy of the recipe and ingredients. Next, I slip-cast the water glass and vase with a coffee filter which looks like mulberry paper and has visible and flowing fibers and the translucent quality to represent water. After that, I chose my found object- a green floral, circular placemat that I bought at Ikea a couple of years ago. I then used the green from the placemat, and the orange from the pumpkin, to add color to my stark white pieces. In order to tie the pieces together, I created a floral arrangement from tissue paper that I had colored with watercolor, some in pale green and some in pale orange. I then tied the pieces together again with the use of copper. I spraypainted the stems that I created for the bouquet, the “Give Thanks” frame, the ladle and soup spoon that I made from paper clay, and the pumpkin that I created by wrapping jewelry wire. I then sewed the napkin and used a piece of ribbon that I dyed with watercolor to tie the spoon to the napkin.
Overall, I am very happy with the design. Elements go quite well together in textures, colors, and placement. If I had one thing to change, it would probably be to make the spoons on a wire armature and cover them with masking tape and then place a thin layer of paper clay to form the spoon and ladle. I just used molded paper clay and it ended up being too heavy for the soup tureen.
Intuition and Intangible Space
Study 2 works from 3 of the following expressionist artists and write a brief analysis for each. See photo for written homework.
I chose the feather shape to cut from the craft paper. I made different sizes. I used the techniques learned in class to create this sample.
Study 2 works from 3 of the following expressionist artists and write a brief analysis for each. See photo for written homework.
Think back to the first day of class and consider the description of this class that was discussed. Has the course met your expectations? Why or why not? If you can’t remember the description, go back and look over your syllabus before you respond.
At the beginning of the school year, I did not really understand what this class was about. The syllabus was not very clear but the teachers were very helpful.
How has this course challenged you this semester? Said another way, how has this course helped you to grow and learn? Please be specific. Are there materials or techniques that have been a challenge? Why? Have you been challenged to think in different ways than you have before? Did you find any projects to assignments not challenging enough? If so, please describe that experience.
This course was very challenging for me. I have worked 3D in the past but not in these ways. I learned how to slip cast and make a kinesthetic mobile. Working with wire was the most challenging for me.
Make a list of all of the new technical skills you have learned or refined up to this point.
Slip Casting, working with a torch, working in new ways with wire, and molding things out of trash- cardboard. I can see using this in my classroom in the future.
Were the course materials (syllabus, lectures, notes, assignments, rubrics) clear and easy to access? If not, what changes would help improve your experience?
Yes, but I think the materials need to be uploaded sooner than they are.
How would you rate/describe your participation and engagement in this course throughout the semester? What did you do well? What could you do better/differently as we head into the spring semester?
I really had to focus in this class, especially in the beginning while learning new skills. I think I enjoyed doing the mobile because I learned a new art technique to use in my future classroom.