AP Summer Art Project #5: NOT DONE.

So, I was instructed to take a risk... I just started drawing. I know it isn't one of the prompts, but I took a risk. As stated in the title, this is no where near finished. The picture is pretty bad quality. It was taken with a cell phone, so sorry. But, I wasn't sure that it was worth finishing.

AP Summer Project #4: Architectural Structure

Once again, a little more non-conventional. I tried a new technique, combining encaustic and Liquitex. I cute out 24 small squares, 24 medium squares, and 24 large squares. The smallest squares are composed of a marketplace scene in New Mexico on a postcard from the fifties or sixties. If you imagine that the smallest squares are pushed together as one unit, you can see the image as a whole. To help you identify this, look at the first column, second row. You will notice that in this square, the lower half is a darker/royal blue. Bring your attention to the square to the right of this square (column two, row two) and you will notice that the royal blue from the last square is continued in this square. This blue comes together to create a mountain in the background. In the foreground, people are gathered around a marketplace watching a parade of sorts. The medium and large squares are made of papers that showcase other New Mexican locations. After I encausted the three layers of squares together, I embellished them with thread, pins, wire, lace, ribbon, buttons, snaps, and even a brooch/ pendant (as the focal point). To create the background I placed a large piece of lace onto paper and used colored wax to create a rust orange, attaching the lace to the paper. After the wax had dried, I peeled the lace off of the large sheet of paper. The lace now had the same rust orange color as the background. I used Liquitex to attach it to a fresh white piece of paper. After it dried I attached all of the smaller squares with another coat of Liquitex. After this step was complete, I had a nearly finished product. I used the rust orange colored paper that I had pulled the lace off of to create a mat for the piece as a whole. The rust orange colored piece has a relief of the lace, which was a subtle but nice effect. I really like the idea for this piece. I hope that the architectural design is still identifiable in the photo. So, four down, ONE (summer piece) to go! :)

AP Summer Project #3: Inside of a Closet

Summer Piece #3: The Inside of the Closet. Like my second summer piece, this is not an obvious "closet." Instead, I thought of the inside of a closet. Things like clothes, shoes, jewelry, etc.(fashion) came to mind. Instead of focusing on the closet itself, I focused on it's contents. I used wax, pins, found papers, embroidery thread, thread, lace, and an antique button to create this. The lady in the center image is admiring her own shoes. I thought that she looked very "Flapper-esque", in turn she appeared to be very stylish. I also used the antique embellishment in the bottom-left corner. I thought that the colors in the button brought out the colors in the found papers. I experimented with a new technique (I couldn't really capture this with the camera) in which I ironed a piece of lace onto the center and peeled it off after it had dried. It created a texture that was more or less a relief of the lace. It turned out pretty neat. I have recently noticed that I enjoy playing with horizontal and vertical lines in my pieces. The lines are usually different lengths or widths, creating variety...This could possibly evolve into a minor concentration??? Apart from that, I couldn't decide if I liked the silver wax matting behind the image or not. I tried photographing it with and without the mat. Opinions? I think that I like it, but I am not completely convinced. I thought that it would be interesting to experiment with using the metallic mat to enhance the metallic details in the piece itself. Overall, I would say that I am slightly disappointed in this. It isn't horrible, I just had a completely different image in my head. I think that I really like the prompt, but I wish that I could have done a better job carrying out my plan. I definitely think that I will come back to this prompt at a later date.

AP Summer Project #2: Inside of a Cabinet

So, this is my second AP summer project. The prompt was 'the inside of a cabinet.' Obviously, I took a different approach than a conventional cabinet. Looking inside of the kitchen cabinet, I was inspired by a Morton Salt can. From this inspiration, the wheels in my head started turning and I created yet another mixed media piece. I used encaustic wax, found papers, cardboard, pins, wire, thread, lace, and embroidery thread. The piece showcases the evolution of the Morton Salt girl. From 1914 to 1968 the character of the Morton Salt girl was depicted in six different aged girls. Throughout the years, the young girl appears to grow older. I also incorporated the Morton Salt slogan, 'When it rains it pours.' Using encaustic wax, I layered a clear parafin along with a yellow and blue wax. I chose yellow and blue because those are the colors used on the Morton can. Overall, I think that this piece was a success. I thought that it could still be identified as an "Abby piece".

First Summer Project: Inside a Dishwasher

While this is a HORRIBLE picture and the piece is not yet mounted, this is my first AP summer project! The prompt was "The Inside of a Dishwasher." Of course, I put my own twist into the prompt. I used a variety of materials to create this encaustic piece. Instead of focusing only on the dishwasher, I decided to incorporate the idea of the Dishwasher Revolution. The burden of doing dishes was no longer a problem when the dishwasher was invented in the 1950's. Women were excited to have less work and this is demonstrated in this piece.

#2 in the Circles Series

So, I used found papers, wire, metal sewing embellishments, thread, lace, ribbon, buttons, pins, etc... to create this one. I decided that it would be neat to do a horizontal row of circles. So, after I used encaustic wax, covering each circle, it was time for the background. I layered the transparent brown paper from a sewing pattern about six times. I covered that in parafin wax and a small amount of white and yellow beeswax. I Then, I placed all of my circles, horizontally, across the background. My teacher suggested that I give the circles some kind of order since they were horizontal. But, we decided that using "A,B,C" to letter the circles or "1,2,3" to number the circles would look silly. So, I came up with another idea. If you look closely, there is a silhouette of a small, black sparrow in a different stage of flight in each circle. The bird starts walking and eventually flies away (going towards the left). Not only did the bird give the final product interest, but it gave each circle a focal point. If you click on the photo, you can see it even bigger. Just like in the last piece, a pretty good deal of detail went in to each circle. I really like how this one turned out. It might even be my favorite project this semester. How does it look?

My Inspiration for "The Circle Series"

So, as you may know, I have recently started to create a small series (so far there are only two, but I'm working on that). I use different found papers and a variety of other materials to create perfect, geometric circles. But, believe it or not, the idea of layering circles was not all that original. Wassily Kandinsky ( 1896 - 1944) is the artist of the paintings above. When I first saw the painting (the one on the very top), I commented that it looked like a seven-year-old could do it. But, upon further investigation, I discovered that the painting was not famous because of Kandinsky's ability to paint a perfectly round circle (obviously). It became famous because of his brilliant use of complimentary colors. Notice that all of the colors in the painting play off of one another, creating harmony. He also combined different thickness of lines, and created contrast and variety by placing straight lines next to circles. Kandinsky had an ever-changing style. In his younger years his paintings were very realistic, resembling Monet(INSPIRATION). In later years, his focus seemed to be very architecturally based. Some of these works resembled the style of Van Gogh or George Seurat (pointillism)(& INSPIRATION). Some of the later work was based on really abstract architecture. It could be compared to the shapes that Dr.Suess uses (INSPIRATION). It also resembled the artist that came to our class and presented "The Traveling Man."(INSPIRATION) Finally, Kandinsky created several pieces that used symmetry and geometry.

And then there is me... Abby. I have taken Kandinsky's art and made it my very own. Just like Kandinsky's pieces resemble those of other famous artists and techniques, my pieces resemble his. I took the concept of layering circles and using complimentary colors and I decided to take my own spin on Kandinsky. So, there you have it folks, it's okay to be inspired. Kandinsky proved that to me. (:

The FIRST in My Series of Circles

The task: 48 circles(there are 16 big circles,16 medium,16 small), each in different combinations of papers and embellishments, all coming together to create "my spin on Kandinsky." So, to complete this I needed a LOT of materials. A wide variety of found papers, buttons, pins, thread, wire, string, lace, ribbon, fabric and liquitex. This project is a 12x12in. and, believe me, it took what seemed like ages(about two weeks in class). I was very meticulous about cutting each circle with precision after I traced them. But, the bigger task was trying to come up with 16 different combinations of papers so that none of the circles looked alike. Another big challenge was laying the circles out so that some of the repeated papers were not close to one another. As I was in the process of creating this, I also decided that I wanted it to have a shiny finish, thus the liquitex. But, when I put the circles on the plain chocolate brown cardstock I encountered a minor problem... The mat looked WAYYY too simple compared to the very detailed circles. So I placed thread in the liquitex and I think that gave it a nice final touch. This is actually double-matted, which you cannot see from this photo. There is a light pink mat behind the brown one. I decided that pink would be an appropriate and flattering color. The pink mat complimented the pink in the circles. I really liked this project. One of my favorite so far. (:

SO... This is my first independent piece as an artist. Without any prompt from my teacher, I created an assignment for myself. In this picture the color looks a little distorted. It isn't that dark. Obviously, this is mixed media. I used acrylic paint, liquitex, buttons, lace, found objects, found images, pins, thread, and matboard. I really like it. As I intendended, it turned out looking very vintage. I really love the way that aged things look, so I try to incorporate them into my artwork. I also cut a dress form out of thick cardstock paper and painted it (on the left side). The research workbook pages below were where I developed my ideas and techniques for this piece. There are also two seperate image transfers. The first is the damisk print bordering the top. The second is the print, which reads "Une Femme Elegante" (Elegant Woman). Comments, questions, concerns?

Coming to an end...

Even though this semester is ending, I have something to look forward to. Ever since my art teacher has allowed the class to start our independent studies, I have really started to find myself as an artist. I have discovered that I really enjoy mixed media. More specifically, I love incorporating buttons, lace, ribbon, found papers, found images, vintage sewing accessories, pins, sewing needles, thread, acrylic paints, encaustic wax, Liquitex, and quite a few other mediums in my artwork. I am really eager to get to work on my summer pieces and become part of the AP art program. While I still have to work out a lot of kinks in my process, I am enjoying every minute of the adventure. In this semester I have made so many discoveries as an artist. I have really grown and developed a personal style. I have also grown to better understand and respect art of all different kinds. I am really glad that I was given the opportunity to take this class. I made so many improvements, not to mention some great friends and confidants. Everything I have taken away from this semester really makes it worth the while. Can't wait until next year. (:

More planning for my mixed media project...

These are all Research Workbook pages I did to plan for and experiment with ideas for my mixed media project.

MORE Research Workbook

More Research Workbook... PostSecret style