Lighting Workshop

These are from last semester--all Illustration majors were required to attend a lighting workshop in the BBOX performance space.  I'm not sure if you can read my scribbled handwriting, but the topmost sketch is drawn from 2-point side lighting, the middle from "Rembrandt lighting" (creates a triangular patch on the cheek) and the bottom from bottom lighting (also called "up" or "foot" lighting..)  All are five-minute exercises executed in sharpie.

Looking Back, Looking Ahead

Second semester has begun--I feel like the course load is much greater than last, due to the fact that I've been up past two o'clock nearly every night since my return.  I sent in my portfolio for Competitive Scholarships last night, so I've included a few of those images in today's post.  It would be great to get some money for next year, considering I've had to dip into my savings account time and again to make up for no work-study job this year.  Some good news: I accepted a job at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp (http://www.bluelake.org/employment_staff.html) for the summer, which should be a lot of fun.  I went there twice during my grade school years, and the atmosphere is a great combination of rustic living, intense study, and of course the usual camp activities like swimming and talent shows.  I will be a Cabin Counselor and Health Provider (which basically just means you are certified to handle emergency medical situations in case they arise) in addition to assisting faculty with class instruction in the visual arts (drawing & painting, ceramics, and fibers).  I'm looking forward to living there for the summer.  In the meantime, it's work, work, work. Don't get me wrong, it's a lot of fun, but sometimes I wish there were more hours in a day to get everything done!

Anachronistic Drawing Final

For my Life Drawing final we were told to do an anachronistic piece that transformed the original state of an old master drawing by putting ourselves in the scene as a fully modern player.  I chose a well-known drawing by Albrecht Durer (top) titled Adam and Eve and replaced the apple in Eve's hand with a different kind of Apple... It works as a pun as well as a commentary on the cultural and societal impact of technology (Mac in particular, which is the preferred operating system for most visual artists)  I'm sure there are a half-dozen other interpretations you can make from a piece like this, but I'll leave it at that.  Overall it was a fun project, and I learned a lot trying to integrate my style of drawing while keeping true to the meticulous air of a Durer engraving.  That man had an extremely steady hand and a lot of patience!

Catching Up...

Okay, so my scanner has officially bit the dust, which is the reason why this post is so long overdue.  I have so much catching up to do I don't even know where to start... 

This morning I braved the cold, laden with a semester's worth of lifesize drawings, sketches, and in-class studies to make the (seemingly) long trek down to the Main Building, intent on documenting my work before finals really start picking up.  I photographed around 40 pieces before the camera's battery called it quits...  I'm hoping to get all the images up here in the next month or so, according to relevance and/or theme.  

These two drawings are life size, done in one class period.  It was a little difficult to work on such a large surface, considering we had to tack our paper to the homosote walls, which meant our backs were to the model.  It was definitely an exercise in scale as well as memorization--looking over the shoulder, making a mark, and looking back again.  Overall I'm pleased with the results--it's refreshing to change things up every once in a while.  

Right now I am looking ahead to Thanksgiving Break, which starts this coming Wednesday.  I'm excited to see my family in Michigan, eat home-cooked meals, and not have to climb a ladder to get in and out of bed!