"Blood, Sweat, and Tears"

The term “blood, sweat and tears” became a literal event for me in my last sculpture project. As you may have seen my recent Facebook status, “I got into a fight with a glue gun and lost.”, all I can say is it was painful. In my sad humiliated defeat, which I have the scares to prove it, I managed to finish my project. Four blisters and a patch of missing skin later, I had a 50” cardboard sculpture.

The goal of the project was to use plane. In a simple term, it means to use space in three dimensions on a flat surface. Each person was given two sheets of 3’X6’ cardboard and a large amount of hot glue. We had to use every piece of cardboard for the project, no more and no less. We also had to make these sculptures half to life size. Don’t ask me how the professor would be able to know if we followed the rule of using all the cardboard, but I didn’t feel like trying to get away with anything. The complicated aspect of the project was avoiding to come up short of cardboard. If I used too much, then I would have an incomplete design. If I used too little, it would be obvious I did not plan my design well because I would have useless pieces.

Another parameter I had to meet was to make my sculpture resemble the human form, nature, or architecture. Well, as some of you may know already, most of my artwork has imagery of the human form. So, I decided to make a human head. My design had the head made from strips of cardboard instead of solid pieces. This would allow me to build larger and gave me room for detail work. This would make the head hollow as well.

My plan was simple at first when I sketched it. However, I had to rely on a lot of math skills to make sure I scaled the piece right to fit the cardboard. It took me about three days to measure and grid out the cardboard. I measured the sketch in inches and divided the measurements by two then changed the inch sign to feet. The next step was to cut the cardboard. After several attempts to cut the cardboard in one slice, I found it was easier to score then cut through.

Wednesday was an adventure. As usual, I was on my way to Elliot for softball practice. I decided that I wanted to cut all my cardboard before Thursday so I would only have to assemble the pieces. Not even thinking, I placed all two sheets of 3'X6' pieces of cardboard in the back of the car and took off. About half way, I realized where am I going to put Michael? The passenger seat was almost flush with the dashboard and the back was all cardboard. By the time I got to Elliot, I decided to cut the pieces before practice, but the question I still had was "where?" Thankfully, my art teacher was kind enough to let his old art student use his room. So for the next hour and a half before practice I was cutting away. I was able to finish. The last obstacle I had to overcome was my knees. As I had already experienced earlier in the day while measuring the cardboard, I noticed after standing in the same place for a while that my knees would get stiff. It happened again just fifteen minutes before practice. Well it turned out it took me a much longer time to warm- up that day. The life lesson I learned that day is that I am getting old...lol.

So Thursday, I was able to hobble over to the Ceramics building. I started the frame of the head. I did not realize it would be so large. I worked from 11 am to about 2:30 p.m. I was a little fatigued and decided to get lunch. Lunch turned into calling it a day. I packed up my large head into the car once again, but this time it was not flat. The head stayed in the car and I took a nap. On Friday, I reasoned with myself that I could finish my project at home but a change of event caused me to doubt. The little cousin was coming over for an afternoon. And just like that I was off to the studio once again. I spent a good half hour by myself which was nice because I was able to listen to Martini in the Morning. The music kept me sane from not burning my sculpture on the spot. I had a problem getting the sculpture to stand. I scrapped the long neck and made it shorter. This helped the cardboard from buckling and it gave me extra pieces for detail work. The time flew by. I got a little hungrier and a little more tired, but I had no choice to stop then because the project was due Monday. I got to a point where I could add detail. That was easy until I had a lot of extra cardboard I did not know what to do with. I decided to use the excess as interior support and as space fillers. In the process of maneuvering around the already placed pieces, I was burning my hands left and right. That's why you don't mess with grandma, because she has her glue gun..lol. The studio glue guns were a little different. I was burning myself because the glue was running off the cardboard. The moment I put glue on the cardboard I could smell burning cardboard. The glue was even bubbling. I found the pain was the kind that was delayed and then all of a sudden you are in the air from the shock. Besides that, I finished the project around 6pm. I had been in the studio on my feet for seven hours. Believe it or not, but Friday was my fall break. Some break that was..lol. My day did not end there; I still had to go to the football game. Here is the youtube link to what craziness happened that night:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaD8DFgxYjk

It was a long day for me on Oct 9, 2009.

Monday, we presented our work. The professor liked my sculpture enough he is considering hanging it up in the classroom. We also took pictures with our sculptures. Hopefully I will be able to get a hold of the pictures and post them. Well, one project down and many more to follow. Our next project for Sculpture is to make three clay vessels.

Well, I'll be seeing you,

Anti-Gallery

The Anti-Gallery is a different kind of idea of what people think of art shows. Pacific had its first in September 25-26, 2009. The students had one side of the gallery and two professors had the other side of the gallery to fill. The idea behind this show was to break the boundaries of using pedestals and frames. It was interesting what everyone decided to do.

The professors used one form to present in the gallery. They used a simple cone to convey their idea. On on wall was a series of clay cones, looking more like icicles as they dried, with measured spaces between each series. The positive and negative shapes created a consistent pattern. The cones were on wires. When the wires moved, it gave the image greater depth. Another piece was of protruding cones from the wall in a shape of a box. When the light hit the cones, it gave an interesting cast shadow. There were also two cones placed on a platform. I think it was interesting because I passed it three times until I noticed the cones there. The last image was a live video of blue cones that were projected on the wall. It is a newer kind of video installation to art. The professors' side of the show was more uniform than the students.

The students created seven clay projects from the following themes: Movement, Repetition/Pattern, Form/Shape, Negative Space, Balance, Texture, and Line. The works were made in the same gallery where they were shown. That is probably one of the strangest concepts. The students worked on each project. Each would rotate clockwise every 24 minutes. The results are evident of seven different people ideas and concepts that formed into one work of art. It showed each person building off of the other's idea and to make something, even if it was unrecognizable. I witnessed four station changes. The gallery show was a bonding experience for the individual artists and the viewer, which is opposite to what I have seen in other galleries. Other galleries seem to keep people at a distance; it is rare anyone overlaps another for fear of breaking the art piece before them. I discovered if one takes a few hours out of their day to just watch the process of art, then they can gain a greater understanding of the work and the artist. I think this gallery was a success for the concept behind it. The only problem I saw was there were few people in attendance. It is a shame that people were unable to see the series of station changes I saw. I do not know if more publicity or mandatory appearances would benefit the show, but it would not hurt to try. One thing that might help is to be able to move around the gallery easier and possibly some chairs. Although, the experience sitting on the floor with the artists has been fun too.

I enjoyed talking to the artists during the reception. I was able to talk to a lot of them about their experience as an artist and student at Pacific. It seemed easier to talk to them because they are students like I am. It also helped that I was more involved in the pieces and was able to ask more questions. One student said that she could notice which parts of the projects belonged to which student. She continued by saying that she could tell by people tool strokes and techniques. The students sounded like they enjoyed the process. I am looking forward to the next gallery event like this and I hope I will be able to participate in something like this as an artist too.

I'll be seeing you,

Playlist of the Week~Sept 28th-Oct 5th

KLOVE plays songs that just reach the heart.

So here is what I have been listening to this week-

• Let the Waters Rise by Mikeschair
• It's Your Life by Francesca Battistelli
• Alive Again by Matt Maher
• What Faith Can Do by Kutless
• I'd Need a Savior by Among the Thirsty
• Closer to Love by Mat Kearney
• How He loves by David Crowder Band
• City on Our Knees by TobyMac
• Mess of Me by Switchfoot
• Hallelujah by Ben Cantelon
• Forgiven by Sanctus Real

I also found out Phil Wickham will have a concert in Lodi on Oct 18th!

September 16th~ First Art Workshop

I had my first art workshop a few weeks ago.

OK!!! The workshop was AMAZING. For all you clay people, Onggi pottery is way different than traditional American style with scoring and slipping. For those who don't know what that means: there is no water involved when forming the pot. I know crazy. Everyone, here is a youtube link of the making process of these pots over time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twgJ6ZGYrT8

The artist name is Adam Field. He spent 10 months in Korea to master this technique. It is pretty amazing. He said that the process was one of the fastest ways to make a large pot. He never said it was the easiest, and it is so true.

There are more youtube videos on the making of Onggi Pots. The pots are used for storing food.It helps fermentation of foods like soy.

The actual experience on my part was exciting. I sat in the Ceramics studio for 6 hours just watching this guy make these pots and talk about how he uses his techniques for his other works. The design he does on the porcelain pots is amazing. He has a blog called Dirt, if anyone is interested. The way he makes coils is baffling. The way he made the pots reminded me of slabs stacked on one another, then he pinches the clay together like a pinch pot, and then uses the wheel to make the pot smooth and round. The wheel itself is a traditional wheel made out of pine. His tools are water logged wood with leather secured on it. The wholeprocess is traditional, from the way to the pot is made to the way the tools and equipment are arranged. Oh and by the way, the perfect evenness of the pot is all by eye.

Something I learned about life: The process is just as great as the finished project. The process would include the trials, the failures, the thousands of times starting over, the early mornings, the late nights, the constant planning until the goal is reached. Wow. It is something I have been thinking about. I wonder how often I have thought about my art work like that or even life. Like high school, sometimes I felt like I just want to get it done (senioritis).

I have missed ceramics so much. The experience makes me want to get back on the wheel. I cannot wait until I get some free time for class projects. Kick wheel here I come.

I'll be seeing you,

Welcome!

Hey there it's me. Well I have been trying to figure out a way to keep you all updates on my life, college experience and art. So, why not? I made a blog. Feel free to ask any questions. I'll try to update as much as possible.

Well, so far I am at Pacific, Class of 2013 yeah! College is great so far. I'm always busy doing something whether it is writing papers, finishing projects, or working in the studio. I am a Studio Art major if you did not know. I'll be studying for my B.F.A. (130 or 140 units...O_O), that does not even include the two minors I was planning on: Film studies and History. I think my schedule will be busy. I am taking four classes this semester: Sculpture, Survey of World Art to 1400, Two Dimensional Design and Color, and Pacific Seminar I. Each class has challenged me to stretch my boundaries of learning. The atmosphere is completely different from Elliot. People have a different beat they set their lives to. I miss Elliot often but I know I'm at a different point in my life. One difference I have seen is people show up to class when they want. I do not know why, especially since it cost so much money to go to college but that is their choice.

I am still living at home, but I did paint my room for a new atmosphere. All I need to do now is hang my cityscapes I painted on the walls and I'm done. I also got a laptop for college. I can't wait until I get some cool software for it. So much potential. :) One major addition has been the art desk. It is well broken into since the summer.

I am still playing softball. I play for the USA 18 competitive team. Its been an exciting season so far. College and softball, I don't know how DI players do it. I must be crazy to even do a travel team.

Well first one down and many more to follow. I'm off on a new phase of my life now. Have a great week everyone.

(I can't think of a catch phrase...so) I'll be seeing you.