The Pink Dahlia

Release your inner Pollock!

2009-01-20T17:38:00.001-08:00

So, I should be working several projects that are do this week, but instead I am playing with my new favorite website. I recently stumbled upon Jackson Pollock's website and instantly fell in love with it. I have always been pretty wishy washy when it comes to Pollock...in general I really like his work, but sometimes I feel that it is too abstract. But most days I like his paintings. To learn more about Pollock the national gallery of art has a great online exhibit that shows many of his paintings and talks about his process.

Here are a few of his paintings that I like:

A visit to Jackson Pollock's website will allow you to create your own masterpieces like these:

Cardboard Stool

2008-09-16T23:02:00.000-07:00

Last quarter we were assigned to build stools out of cardboard. It was a challenging and very fun assignment. The rules were that we could only use a certain amount of cardboard, the stool could only be made out of 3 pieces, we could not use any glue or any other type of adhesive, it was to be made 100% out of cardboard. At full size it had to hold 250 pounds. The pictures below are only a scaled version of the stool, but I did make the full scale stool. While this isn't traditional art, I still feel that it is art. 3/4 view of stool

Bottom view of stool

Top of stool

la Pieta

2008-09-15T20:32:00.000-07:00

Ok so I have neglected my blog....but, really I think I am the only one that reads it!

My absolute favorite piece of art work is Michelangelo's la Pieta. I am amazed at how Michelangelo can make a hard cold surface look like soft warm skin. He was definitely a master sculptor. He had a very interesting theory on art. He believed that the pieces of stone he used contained pieces of art designed by God and that it was his job as an artist to free that artwork. He believed that God was the creator and he was just their to reveal God's work. I really like this theory that he had. Other artists of his time believed that they had Godlike status because they believed that they were the creator...thus being like Gods. It is so interesting to me to see the different views and attitudes of different artists.

The reason that la Pieta is my favorite is because of the emotion and tenderness that is seen in the face of the mother Mary and in her embrace of her son. I love the way she holds out her left hand, palm up, as if to ask God why her son was the one that had to be the sacraficial lamb. Mary's posture shows that she is holding Christ into her, holding him as if she is rocking and comforting a baby.

An interesting thin about la Pieta is how massive Mary is. If she were to stand she would look like a giant. She also appears to be very strong. Her robes are massive and act as a symbol of Christs burial cloths. It really is an amazing masterpiece and I hope to be able to go to Italy someday and see it in person.

Photography

2008-06-19T12:29:00.000-07:00

Photography is something that I have always wanted to get into. This spring I had the opportunity to learn a lot about photography. In my design class we were given a photo assignment and as part of that we learned about aperture, focus, shutter speed, exposure and other camera aspects. It was really interesting information to learn and the project was very interesting. The class was split in three and assigned to take photos with the subject of either, movement, value or space. I was assigned movement. Here are a few of the pictures that I took:

This one was taken at the Bellevue transit center:

Here is another one that I took at the transit center:

Here is one of Peyton riding her bike. I didn't end up using this one for the project, but I still like it :)

Here is another one that I didn't use, but like. It is a close up picture of the Seattle Temple water fountain.

2008-06-17T22:52:00.000-07:00

"Sunday Afternoon on the Island of the Grand Jatte", Seurat, 1884-6

This is one of my favorite paintings for many reasons. First, an amazing amount of work and detail went into this painting. Second, I remember seeing this piece when I was in elementary school and have remembered it ever since. I remember looking at the little dots that created the pictures...maybe seeing this painting as a child is what started my love for art?!?! Third, the painting is created using the technique of pointalism. Tiny little dots of color are placed just perfectly in order to create an image. It is really based on science. Seurat was a very smart and creative...and patient man. Fourth, it shows people of all social classes and walks of life enjoying the sunny day. There is so much to look at in this painting...it has a lot of depth. Seurat spent a lot of time doing sketches and studies for this piece. I don't know that I could spend two years on a single painting...my patience isn't quite there yet!

Tulip Bursts

2008-06-17T22:36:00.000-07:00

"Tulip Bursts", Erica Coombs, 2001

This is a watercolor that I painted while in Idaho. It is my favorite piece that I have done. I really feel that this is my most successful art piece. I love the energy and the colors in it. I really enjoy watercolors...they are relaxing and stress relieving for me.