Last Two Drawings

Series: Relatives
Top: Roots
Middle: Rapacious
Bottom:Retiring

For the last two pieces assigned, I wanted to create something that was based on my previous piece titled Roots. I really enjoyed using charcoal and an ink wash on paper, so I thought it would be a good idea to carry this process over to two other drawings. I am also captivated by topics involving evolution versus creation, in which each of these pieces talk about. With the two additions to this series, I wanted to bring in another aspect to the concept, which involves the give and take between humanity and nature.

When I began researching for these two drawings, I was interested in primates and hominids in relation to homosapiens. Many primates have DNA that is from 96 to 99% similar to the DNA of humans. I find this to be very significant. Humanity overpowers any other species in existence on the planet and this power is abused more often than not. The resources in which the earth provides us are abused and many species are endangered. One of these species that captivates me is the gorilla, which resides in Africa. The gorilla is seen as a monstrous beast, but in reality, they are the most docile ape in existence. They are poached often and their population is dwindling quickly. It amazes me that an ape which shares 97% of its DNA with ours, is being so neglected. It is unbelievably similar to our own species, but people still take advantage of them. This greed saddens me.

Another aspect to these drawings is the willow branches. They represent the African Bush Willow, which provides a substance called Combretastatin, which aids in the tumor-cell killing power of radiation therapy as much as 500 times. This is tested on laboratory animals. Humanity is abusing animals for test and research facilities for the benefit of our own species. If this African Bush Willow becomes vastly used for medical purposes, it could be on its way out as a species as well.

For the first drawing, I drew one gorilla, which symbolizes the dwindling population. It has willow branches protruding from its fur because the gorilla also represents the earth and its resources available to humanity. The earth/gorilla/African Bush Willow is giving humanity resources that benefit our species, and this could be abused.

In the second drawing, I drew human hands, which represent greed. These hands are being given Combretastin by the willow branches, which are injecting it as though an IV would.

Emulation Project

I emulated Susie Wright for the Emulation Project. She does a lot of drawing and typically turns her drawings into prints. Her drawings start out as pencil on paper, and then she traces over the pencil with black ink. All of her pieces come out looking very graphic, which aids in the printmaking process. Sometimes she goes back into a black and white piece and adds a splash of color, such as red, blue, purple, or pink. Her subject matter comes from her own photography and sketches. She is interested in her Scottish heritage and natural history.


Since I am interested in natural history and where I grew up, I would like to think that I have some commonality with Wright. I also like to work from my own photography, as does she. I found it interesting that she devotes so much time and detail to one subject, which appears to be floating in space. Her pieces are very striking and bold in their contrast from flat black to stark white, which appeals to me. Her style is very clean in comparison to mine, and I thought that emulating this style would be a learning experience for me. The finished product turned out well, but it is not one of my best pieces. I learned that being clean, careful, and precise with ink is not my forte, but it is something different and I enjoyed this experience.




Hen = Susie Wright
Frog = Jillian Alberg

Influences Paper

For my Influences and Sources paper, I wrote about the following topics.

Influences and sources from the world outside of art:
Personal Belongings
- Why people own the things they do
- Objects can say a lot about peoples lifestyles, personalities
- Objects can create time lines
- Personal belongings create portraits
Domesticity
- Domestication of plants and animals
- People find it necessary to manipulate plants and animals to suit our lifestyle needs
- Give and take between humanity and nature
Nature/Science
- Meaning and possibility of life
- Where things come from, how they evolve

Personal influences:
My Father
- My natural talent comes from my dad
- He pushes me, gives suggestions and support
My Home
- Rural, wooded location
- Rich with life
Water
- Grew up surrounded by water
- Freeing, Fluidity
- Ink washes

Artistic Influences:
Susie Wright
Sol Kjok
April Gornik


Here is the link to it:

Paper

Myers-Briggs Personality Test

For the Myers-Briggs personality test, I scored INTJ.

The percentages for my score were:
Introverted 56
Intuitive 38
Thinking 12
Judging 56

This personality type is described as having little understanding for small talk and flirtation. Personal relationships are supposedly difficult for INTJs because the self-confidence that they typically have can abandon them or mislead them. They are capable of caring very deeply for a select few people in their lives and are willing to spend a lot of time and effort on a relationship. As I mentioned self-confidence earlier, INTJs are said to be very confident people and can sometimes come off as arrogant. They are very confident in what they do know, as well as being able to admit and know what they do not know. They stick to what they do know because it is familiar. INTJs are idea people and can easily visualize what might be. Anything is possible to INTJs. To reach the product of an idea, step-by-step processing is necessary for success. They have very little respect for slackers and the un-motivated people of the world.

I would say that this personality type fits me very well. I am definitely not one for small talk. I usually only speak when there is something worth saying, especially in critique settings. My usual routine for critiquing is only mentioning a select few things that I find essential for others to know. I could improve how often I do mention the things I am thinking. There are definitely times in which I think of something important, but bite my tongue. The ideas that I do mention are usually confident in reply, because it is something I do confidently know. I would say that it is usually easy for me to visualize what could be. I am always thinking of possibilities, but only mentioning these possibilities if I feel confident about it being worth saying. I usually do not come across as arrogant, but I definitely have. I try not to come across as arrogant, because it is honestly easy for me to do so. I usually only come across as arrogant when I am very comfortable with the person I am talking to. These people I would be comfortable with are a select few that I care deeply about. This personality type is said to spend a lot of effort and time on a relationship, and I think this fits me well. There are a select few people in my life that I do care deeply for. An example of this would be my boyfriend of 4 years. If that isn't a lot of time and effort, I don't know what is. I would say that I definitely stick to what I know, especially in my artwork. I realize that it is good to step outside the box, though I usually choose not to. I highly appreciate familiarity. I choose subjects that I have knowledge of and materials that I am familiar with. The past two projects I have done had subject matter that was familiar to me. The first project involved the objects in my own room. The second piece I did was familiar to me in subject matter in the sense that I took Life Drawing last semester and loved it. I am very familiar with charcoal and would use it all of the time if I could. This is partly because of my familiarity with it, as well as the fact that it is simply my favorite medium to work with. I stick to what I know, and develop what I know in a confident manor. I develop my work through step-by-step process. My processes may be incoherent and abstract to others, but they work for me. Planning is always important in my process to get a successful result. Research including photos and sketches are always necessary.

Project 2 - Ink, Family, Layers - Title = Roots

The the two words I was assigned to use for the subject matter was family and layers. My first thought of family was a cheesy family portrait. I was stuck on that idea for awhile and became discouraged because I wasn't sure how I would represent family without it being cliche. After talking to Amy, she suggested that I should think about the meaning of the word family and how it can mean many things. The word family can have a meaning that involves biology and species, relationships, and familiarity. This brainstorming helped me come up with the idea to use the concept of mother and child. From this point, I thought about family trees and the circle of life, which I brought into this piece. It also talks about family roots with "Roots" being the title. As I drew this piece, I thought about the struggle of birth and survival in life.

The word layers comes into play with the layering of charcoal and ink washes. Ink was the medium I was assigned to use, so I chose an ink wash because I find them very freeing and loose in comparison to a tight, charcoal drawing.

During the critique, the class definitely had the right idea about what I was going for. People made comments about movement, motherhood, the circle of life, roots, and struggle. This is exactly what I was going for. One thing I was unsure about as I went into the critique was if I should have pushed the value more in the figure, or maybe if I should have done more with the background. I had the intention of making this piece soft in color and shading because life is fragile. This is also a very feminine piece and I was hoping to keep the colors light and soft for this reason. Now that it is finished, I wonder if it would look better if I had pushed the value a little bit further. It was mentioned by some that I should push it a little further, and some students liked it the way it was. This leaves me undecided for the time being, though I am leaning toward leaving it be since it was my original intention to keep it soft.

Project 1 - turning something ordinary into something extraordinary

For this project, I tried to think of the most ordinary place that I go on a regular basis. That place is my desk. I sat down in my swirly chair and took a spin. I took photos of the things surrounding me, and came out with three photos that particularly caught my interest. I chose a photo of a bobble-head, a photo of the dial on my record player, and a photo of some hand written text. I think all of these items that I took pictures of say something about me. All of these things are at my desk for a reason. I am very interested in the things I own and like to analyze why I own them. Domestic and homey things around me often become subject matter in my drawings, and I think this will continue. I love still life's. Most would find them boring, but objects have so much more meaning to them than people realize. I always think about where the object came from and why someone owns it - does it have meaning to the owner? This concept has always caught my interest.

During the critique, there were a lot of mixed opinions about this piece. Some stated that it reminded them of the Cold War or something Russian in nature. This is not at all what I was going for, though it is an interesting thought and I now see how they could draw that conclusion. Some said the text should have been left out. Some said it was working. Some said that the text should have been treated differently altogether. I was told that the mark-making of the objects in the background was nice and that the writing takes away from this. Now that I look at the unfinished version with no text, I like it better. I do wish I would have left the objects alone, however, this was a good learning experience. The next time I consider adding text to a drawing, I will need to think more about the outcome and how the piece is working at its present state.

Post on Preface and Ch. 1-3

Through the reading assignment, I found some similarities between Haynes thinking and my own. In the preface, Haynes talks about creation versus evolution. She talks about her interest in reading about Darwin's theory. I found this interesting because it is something I have always been interested in as well. In my own life, the debate between creation versus evolution has been significant. On page 9, Haynes tells us that books and nature are primary inspirations for her. I am also very inspired by nature. In chapter 3, she talks about teaching an 8th grade class (18). I really wish she would have shared more information in regards to this since I am going into teaching. She added that it wasn't exactly a successful point in her life because she felt overwhelmed by the structure she was expected to uphold. At this point in the Art Education program, I have been in the schools. I enjoy the structure that schools offer and am curious as to why this was not for her.

There was some text that I found inspirational throughout the reading. When she talks about the idea that art is symbolic for expressing cultural and personal ideas, I completely agree (XIV). I also like the part where Haynes explains that making and looking at art is a space in our lives for solitude, silence, and being in the present, when everything else in our world is noisy and information saturated (XVII). Haynes emphasized the importance of writing for self-discovery. She claims that writing helps you to understand who you are and what you believe (10). This really inspired me to include more writing in my research for future projects.

Something I highly disagree with was the statement, "I believe, like Beuys, that artists are not born with special talents, though certainly some people have inherent gifts and proclivities that would seem to make their learning easier." I personally think that the truly successful artists of this world were absolutely born with special talents. There are plenty of artists that are not as blessed as others, who learn as much as possible to become successful, however, this is nothing compared to natural talent. Some people have to work at being artistic. For others, it's like breathing. Either way is fine, but I have much more intrigue for people who are naturally talented.

First Post For Drawing 3

My name is Jill Alberg. I am an Art Education major and a junior. I have already taken life drawing, as you can see in previous posts. I am taking drawing III because my focus area is drawing. I have always loved to draw and believe that as an artist, if you can draw, you can do just about anything in the arts. As a future teacher, I find it important to be able to draw successfully, which is the main reason I am taking this class. I am primarily interested in nature and animals, which ends up being the subject of most of my work. I also make Jewelry on a regular basis. I mostly work with wire and polymer clay. The posted pictures are some examples of my work. Pictured here are some of my clay beads and and jewelry made with wire, string, and findings.