I have curtains!

I printed curtains for my fibers project, and I'm really happy to have them up in my studio now.

Week 8 Reflection

Working on plates: 5.5 hours
Printing: 2 hours
Drawing: 4 hours
Writing: 3 hours






I just saw Bob Dylan at the Hill Auditorium, and he was amazing! Aside from that, I did some more drawings this week. I'm trying to work on different perspectives: lower and closer up, but I'm having a hard time achieving what I see in my head. I think I'm having such a hard time because I have a limited understanding of perspective drawing, so it is challenging to create the images I'm looking for. I picked up a book on perspective, and I'm planning to work through it in order to improve my skills. I don't want my drawings to be purely focused on perspective, but I think working on the basics will really help push the quality of my images.



I also worked more on my basement door collagraph from earlier. I cut down the plate and eliminated the text to get the darkness that I intended in the original drawing. I'm kind of tired of this image now, but I like it much more after the changes.


I also continued working on the bedroom drypoint, creating more gradation within the image. I'm much happier with how it looks, but I'm still working into a little more. I've also decided I like this image much better on white paper than gray. The white pops more, and it really shows off the contrast between light and dark. I've also been trying to think about how to include text with this image, possibly below it on the same sheet of paper, or on a separate sheet. I'm also wondering if the text should be printed, handwritten, or digital. I think it would be best printed, but I'll have to experiment with it. So, I'm planning to continue drawing, printing, and writing next week.

Week 7 Reflection

Printing: 4.5 hours
Drawing: 2 hours










This past week I continued drawing, and I made a few monotypes from a copper plate. I really enjoyed working this way, being able to quickly make an image and get the kind of lights and darks I want. I'd like to continue making monotypes, but I don't plan to work solely this way. I'm still really drawn to drypoint, and I will probably work with etching and aquatint eventually.

The small critique yesterday was very helpful because I didn't have much feedback from my peers prior to that point. It was good to see how other people read the images, which some people found creepy, while others got a sense of memory. It also really helped me think about perspective. I've been questioning whether I should try to get accurate perspective or play around with distortions in my images, and I think I need to keep exploring this to find the answer. I've also been less focused on writing lately, but I felt reassured yesterday that I should continue working on it because it adds more depth to the images. I don't want to include the writing in the image, but I am still considering how it could work in a book format. So I plan to continue drawing, printing, and writing to keep working through my ideas.

Week 6 Reflection

Continued working on aluminum plate: 4 hours
Printed plate: 1.5 hours
Reading: 9.5 hours
Looked at artists' books: 1.5 hours
Worked on project proposal: 5 hours
Drawing: 2 hours
Beveled edges of copper plate: 1.5 hours


This past week I continued working on the aluminum plate to get more darks. While it is darker, I think it could still use a little more refinement before I am ready to call it finished. I also beveled the edges of a copper plate so that I can make some monoprints next week, which I am really excited to do. I continued drawing spaces that I recalled from my childhood and plan to keep drawing so that I have plenty of sources to work from when I start monoprinting.

Most of my time this week was spent reading Psychology of the House by Olivier Marc and House as a Mirror of Self by Clare Cooper Marcus, which were both very helpful in thinking about my project proposal. I still found it difficult to articulate exactly what it is I am trying to do through my project, but I think my idea is becoming clearer both to myself, and hopefully to others, as well.

I also met with Annette Haines to look at some artists' books, and it was really enjoyable to see the various ways artists have put together books. So I am still playing around with the idea of making my own artist book.

Week 5 Reflection

Working on plate: 10 hours
Printing plate: 1.5 hours
Research: 5 hours






This past week, I worked on this aluminum plate using drypoint. I like where it is going, but I want to work into it more to increase the darks in certain areas. I really enjoyed getting back into drypoint because I love drawing into the metal. I'm also excited about Janie's suggestion to make monoprints, and I plan to do that next. I've also made an appointment with Annette to look at some artists' books next week, which will hopefully give me more ideas as to how text might be incorporated into my work.

I started looking at the work of Andrew Wyeth, and his paintings are absolutely gorgeous. There is so much meaning in his depictions of space, and each place or object seems to hold a specific memory. The work feels so serene, and it seems to capture a recollection of time rather than an exact replication of reality, which I find so intriguing and inspiring.