Special Edition Blog: Art Institute Chicago

March 25, 2010 a few of my computer graphic classmates and I went to the Art Institute Chicago. We started at the beginning of painting in history. At this point most painters where trying the get the details right. After awhile all the paintings were very detailed, especially the basket of fruit. Throughout history artists wanted the piece to look exactly like the image they are trying to portray. This became boring over time. Painters then tried to paint the piece in various ways. Now the fruit basket seems distorted and odd, but it is still art. The attention was more on the piece and not the detail. This was later in history and when art wasn't on the quality of the piece but on how it describes the artists. Now in history this varies and art is expressed in many forms to set a statement or just to create something beautiful or haunting.

Above are pictures of my favorite art pieces that I saw during the tour. I do not know all the artists of the pieces but I do know that Nate is posing in front of Van Goghs self portrait. The reason I love the painting of the volcano is because it reminded me of the area of Mordor from the books "The lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien. The painting of the head like figure I really like because the picture is not being held in by the frame. I love how the artist made the frame part of the picture. Usually painting are being held in my there frames but this frame is the painters canvas. To me this is a expression that there are no boundaries. The picture of the concrete door is one of my favorites because I was able to have someone else admiring it in the photo. This shows the height of the door and how amazing it is to see. You have to think of one thing when you see this concrete door and that is: "why?". Who would need a concrete door and why was it taken away from its location. It is very interesting and makes you wonder. The last photo which is of a wall with very disturbing pictures repeated like wallpaper and oddly there is cat litter sitting on the floor in front of the wall. The images are of a women sleeping on her stomach and the other image is of a dark figure being lynched. I still wonder why these two images are together and also why is there cat litter there. The reason I love this piece is because it consumes all four walls of the room and when you walk into it you feel like a part of the piece.

Finally the day ended and I headed on home with pictures in my camera and more knowledge about art that I didn't have before.

Special Edition Blog: Sister Salina Hicks

March 2010 my computer graphic class and I met up at the SXU Art Gallery to see the art of Sister Salina Hicks. She is a very clever women with her age in the 90's. I complimented her for being so sharp and moving to the beat of her own drum. She is very inspirational.

Sister Hicks used all medias in her art. My favorites were the paintings and the mosaics. All her pieces are very inspired my God and the Holy Spirit. She explained that she painted flowers because they are the beauty that God gives us in the world, the world can never be ugly with flowers in bloom. These were my favorite paintings were the flowers. They are so colorful and each one of them have a feeling to them. Also she explained the flowers are coming out of darkness and into the light of the painting. This explains the different values in the painting.

I am very happy I was able to meet her because she gives me the drive to be myself and be what I want to be.

week 10

Craft: My craft for my first actual layout was to focus on the image. Using the box tool I drew a box which I then went to file and placed in my picture. I had to crop the image down so there was no space except for the white around the image. To make the smoke bubbles I took the circle tool and drew a few different size circles. I then took the white pointer tool and distorted the circle to look for like bubbles. With the fonts I took the font tool and added individual words into the smoke bubbles. I used the font called cracked. I then made the colors of the bubbles a gradient of green and white and then the fonts black.

Concept: My concept for this page was to concentrate on the image. I centered the image into the fold of the layout to make it the focus.

Composition: The colors of the fonts and smoke bubbles compliment the image.This makes the image pop out more because of the colors being replicated in the title.

week 9

Craft: This was the first time using InDesign in this class. We practiced making page layout with one of our previous projects. I used one of my shoes that I created. First I took the box tool and made a medium size box where I wanted my picture to be placed. Then I kept that box highlighted and went into 'file' and chose 'place'. From there I chose a picture that I wanted to be in that box. After it was placed I moved it around until it was how I wanted it to look. Then I took the box tool again and made boxes where I can place text. Then I did the same procedure as with placing the picture and put text into the boxes.

Concept: At this point I didn't have a concept or style for my pages.

Composition: Same as with concept, I was just practicing and learning

week 7

CRAFT: With this project we used the style pen tool and the writing pads. I really like sketchy looks and layered looks. When making these objects I started with a basic 2pt pen stroke and drew out the outline very quickly with added lines to show movement. After drawing my basic shape I used a different color and drew over the first shape with a different way to describe the object. If the first shape had vertical lines, I would probably then use horizontal or diagonal lines for the next. I would then use either the charcoal stroke or the watercolor stroke for one of the shapes. I layered each picture with both the charcoal and the watercolor, either one on top or another. I always used black and a bright color, like green, yellow, and red.
CONCEPT: My concept was to show motion in the picture even though it doesn't have a background.
COMPOSITION: To show motion a used a lot of diagonal lines and the layers also add to the look of motion. My favorite car to shoe motion is the green one. The black charcoal lines overlaying the green watercolor really bring out the direction of the picture. The lines are vertical yet curve into the wheels. This gives a direct look at the wheels and shows my idea of motion.

week 8

Craft: My craft was the same as when I made the cars. I first used a thin stroke and drew out the background. Then I changed the stroke into a charcoal or watercolor type. After I drew out the background which was all in black, I went back and added color to the inside of each object. None of the objects are completely filled, they are just sketchy.

Concept: When I was first drawing the backgrounds I didn't know where to draw them at. I didn't like the idea of just a street or wherever a car may be. So since I am a Big Lord of the Rings fan I drew the cars in a scene from each book.

Composition: The darkness of the lines and sketchy colors make the picture look unreal. Since all the scenes are fictional the colors and lines do not have to be realistic.

week 6

"THE ALLEY SHOE"
"SUGAR KISSES SHOE"
"SEX ON THE BEACH SNEAKER"

Craft: To create these different looks for my first completed shoe, I thought alot about a scene and a different concept. For "the alley shoe" I darkened alot of the colors and made the inner details red and bloody looking. I still kept alot of the gradients in the shoe and the small details, like in the laces and face of the shoe. It give it that rugged look still but the red and black make it scary looking. With the "sugar kisses shoe" I just wanted to get all cute. I used an already created color pallette that had alot of pastel colors. I believe it was actually called candy. I eliminated alot of the writing on the box and also changed the 'subway' name to say 'candy'. This just adds to the concept of the picture. Then in the "sex on the beach sneaker" I played with the colors to make is look like a sunset on the beach. I kept all the gradients and also added more colors to each gradient to add to the sunset look. I created the shoe with all light yellows and oranges with a little red for the sun. With the background I added alot of blues and whites with a hint of purple and green. This lets the gradients describe the ocean. I removed all the writing on the box.

Concept: I had a different idea for all the new shoes. They are pretty obvious with the title yet the colors bring out a hidden concept. The "alley shoe" you would describe as being scary and dirty, yet when I was thinking of it I was actually hinting towards the store in downtown Chicago, but then the colors emerged and changed my idea. I was happy with the result.

Composition: Every shoe has a different feel to them. The candy shoe has many bright colors and makes me happy. The scary alley shoe makes me wonder and feel nervous with all the dark colors and reds, plus the title helps too. With the beach shoe the colors are warm and relaxing.

week 5

CRAFT: For this week I used a lot of gradient and feather. To make the shoelaces look less flat I used the feather tool which is up in the 'effects' toolbar. I also used the gradient tool for the far background to show depth, the box itself, the face of the shoe, and the silver buttons of the shoe. The gradient tool is located in the 'windows' toolbar. When I was using the gradient tool I also used the swatches bar that i can also find in the 'windows' toolbar. To make a new swatch of my own, I used to eyedropper and then pressed 'add new swatch' in the swatches bar. I got very detailed with the side of the shoe and the lacing throughout the shoe. The box is also detailed with the marking and things because I wanted to show the environment it is in.

CONCEPT: The concept of my picture is to show hard work and that the shoe is in a working environment. Since last week I focused more on the details and background and what can show the environment. I added some grooves to the shoe and also some dirt specks on certain parts like the white colored top. I also added a lot more detail to the box in the background so you can tell that the shoe is not in an office but in a store. To further show where the shoe is and the reason it is in that place, I will probably add some more detail to the box so that it is not so flat and that it looks dirty and used. I also will like to add more to the background behind the box or just some more dirt detail to the shoe to show that it is at a hardworking store.

COMPOSITION: I used the gradient tool a lot this week to show different color values throughout the shoe since the shoe is old and worn. I also used different contrasts in the background to show depth.

week 4

CRAFT: From the beginning I used illustrator on the computer and created a tabloid size picture. I cropped the photo to show the very detail of the shoe and focus mostly on the curving and shape of the shoe. I used very little of the background. To start I used the pen tool to outline every shape of the shoe. I started with the sides of the shoe since they are very long and easy to curve. After the sides I continued into the center of the shoe and ended with the shoelaces since they are the top layer of the photo. When I was putting color into the shapes I created with the pen tool, I then used the eye dropper tool to place the color. When choosing color I took the eye dropper and chose pieces of the shoe that seemed damaged and worn. With the sides of the shoe you can see that more because the variation between colors gives the shoe good contrast. The next step I will try to accomplish is the detail in the shoe with the grooves on the sides and the stitching by the laces.

CONCEPT: I focused mostly on the curve of the shoe and the area where the shoe is set. If you look at the area where the shoe is placed it shows that the wearer of the shoe or even the shoe itself is used in a hardworking environment.

COMPOSITION: During this process I didn't get into a lot of the detail, but I did concentrate on the different variations of color with the sides and the face of the shoe.

week 3

COMPOSITION: I took this picture in the same location as one of my previous photos from week 2. I liked how crisp the shoe looked in this lighting as with the previous picture. Plus all the objects in the background have very pale and boring colors which bring out the bright white and the grooves of the shoe.

CRAFT: With this photo I leaned my foot onto the box in the background and bent my toe a little bit. Bending my toe made the crack in the side of the shoe open and more rough. I took the photo from the position of my ankle looking up the side of the shoe. I also cut off the shoe on the right a little bit and had a lot of the background in the photo on the right. Even though the shoe isn't centered in the photo it is still popping out because of the contrast of colors.

CONCEPT: Compared to the original photo that I took in week 2, this photo seems to express the personality shoe and the wearer better. Plus you can see the grooves and markings better in this lighting which can also tell you more about the shoe and where it has been.

week 2

Craft: My coworker was standing next to the bread cabinet at work and i always compliment him on how he stands. The lighting is very good and i didn't need to use a flash. I did not lay fully on the the ground but i did crouch and lean into the picture. I used no zoom. I did use the flower icon for close objects on my camera though. When I fixed the angle of the picture, I was focusing on the lines in the floor and the position of his feet. Also the wall in the back stops your eye and makes you focus directly on the first shoe, which then leads you back the the farther shoe.

Concept: Because of the way the shoes are positioned it gives them emotion. If you look at the surroundings you might be able to see that they are in a working environment and their posture would show that they are in control and ready to take the next task.

Composition: The lighting in this room was very bright so no flash was needed and the posture of the person wearing the shoes gave the objects more emotion.

Craft: The lighting in this room was also bright so no flash was needed. I also used the flower icon on my camera for a close object. The shoes were laying in this position when I seen them on the ground. I laid flat on the ground and set my camera directly onto the floor. Once i was positioning the camera I liked the way the heel looked in the middle of the picture and overlaying the rest of the shoe.

Concept: The shoes are black boots, which are usually worn for style and sophistication, yet in this picture they look worn and tired. This gives the shoes a story, either a long night out or someone who just doesn't care about stylish shoes.

Composition: I chose this shoe because I liked how the shoe was positioned. It was just placed in a corner but the idea of this big boot all flopped over and very worn looking caught my eye.

week 1

Name: Rhonda lynn Swanberg

Major: graphic design

After school fun: improv, Wxav radio, jamming out

Food: cheese stuff

Animals: lots and lots of cats

Music: rock stuff example; coldplay tattoo

Me: friendly and talkative :)