my still life :]

this is my still life painting.

if you have any comments

or suggestions about this

just drop a comment :D

Still Life

Here is my still life. It is of olive oil bottles and tomatos. I decided to do it in ink. I have only worked with ink once of twice, and I thought it would be fun to experiment with.

Finished

I couple of weeks ago I posted the beginning of this. Well, here it is finished. It is mixed media (marker, pen, paint, paper, & sharpie). I would love to hear some feedback, and everything is looking good! Can't wait to see everyones work!

Beginning of Self Portrait

This is the beginning of my self portrait. It is water color, but I am only using black and white. I still have a bit of work to do, but it is coming along. I was wondering if anyone had a suggestion on what I could do for the backround? The rest on our on the way to be posted!

Thanks! :)

The End is in Sight

We still have a bit of time, but summer  is quickly coming to an end.
It was not a requirement to post on this site this summer, but it IS a requirement to do your summer assigments.
I will be expecting to see 5 completed peices from everyone.
Please bring them with you the first day of actual classes. We will be looking at what everyone has accomplished and and doing some critiquing and some discussion.

Additionally, please be aware that in late September or early October you will be attending a Portfolio Day review with a body of your work. This review takes place here in Cincinnati at the Art Academy, downtown. The purpose is to give you an opportunity to have your work seen by college reps who can give you some feedback. This will help you focus your efforts for creating your portfolio for college admissions.
Having your summer assignments done will give you a headstart on having the minimum number of eight pieces I will expect you to have ready for the review.
Keep in mind that NOT having summer assignments can have a negative impact on your grade and that's not a good way to start the year.
So, if you have procrastinated and left your work until now to begin, find your inspirationa nd get those pieces done! You will be glad you have done them!           

New Game Plan:

I am excited to see your work as it is posted. I look forward to opening the site and seeing new pieces. But rahter than my posting comments, I am going to leave that to you all.
I am finding that my posts are getting too long and I am not able to say what I have to tell you and see that you understand what I am saying. So I am going to refrain from posting anything further, as far as comments go, and let you react instead.
Feel free to say whatever you wish to each other as long as it is a positive comment.
Then bring your work to school and we will talk in person. But keep posting!

This is my "interesting photo", in poor quality. I've never really tried working with watercolors on my own so it was a god experience. If there is anything I can do to better my project, I'd be glad to hear what anyone has to say.

first post :o

so this is my self portrait.

its more conceptual than

realistic or anything.

i'm pretty sure that i am

finished with it, but if

anybody thinks that i

could do something more

than just leave a comment.

*ANNIE :]

Did you know?

I am pleased by what I am seeing from all of you. It is encouraging to see that you are working. It is exciting to check in and see what you have posted!
As I review your work and offer my feedback I take the time to really look at your work. I  try to give you some suggestions and ask some questions I think will spark some thought on your part.
Did you know that if you want to see a better view of your image you can click on it and it will be isolated (and often enlarged) in a new window?
This always helps me better focus on your work and see more detail so I can be more specific when I talk about what I see. I just thought you might like to know about this feature as you look at each other's images.

Not an excellent picture.
I am unsure if I am going to use this or not.
But, it's a work in progress, I kinda have an idea where this piece is going.

Not sure if I'll use this for anything.

I don't really know what it is, or if I'll use it but I have done about five of these sorts of things now. I did it one night to get myself used to drawing and now I do them all the time. I plan to start my self portrait tomorrow.

Work in Progress

Start of my self-portrait.

All right, Ladies!

Looks like Maddy is busy! It would be great to see more of this being posted.
Maddy, maybe being away from an art class has helped you to focus on how important this is to you.

In any case, this site can be fun and you ladies are missing out by not participating.
Let's get involved and start sharing what you are making (or let's start making something) and post!

interesting photo.jpg

Sent from my BlackBerry device from Cincinnati Bell Wireless

landscape.jpg

Sent from my BlackBerry device from Cincinnati Bell Wireless

Some things you don't know about me

Well I still don't have anything to show but I am posting anyway since I have something to tell.
I have been thinking art, even if I haven't been making art.
Today I went to Barnes & Noble with a gift card. I had something specific in mind. It would have been a book I have been wanting to read for a while.
Instead, I gravitated toward the art books. That can't be a surprise, but I am going to share 2 things about myself. I am a book-hoarder and a bargain shopper.
So what did I buy? I bought one bargain book and one regular priced book, both of which will come in handy for classes.
For sometime now, students seem to be gravitating toward the study of fashion. I have very little experience in illustrating fashion, although I have a great deal of making actual clothing; something else you may not know about me. In fact, I have made 3 wedding dresses in my lifetime: mine, my sister's and one of my daughter-in-law's. But I won't go into everything I have made here, but believe me when I say I know fabrics, fibers and sewing.
So the book I got regarding fashion, deals instead with illustrating fashion design and models. It has a lot of practical information about how to make your figures and fashion designs look the best they can.
I'm excited to have found this great reference book and think it will come in handy for those who choose to pursue this area of study.
The other book is also a reference book, but will be used for my second level of Fibers students. This book is designed to help inspire the designing of a fine arts quilt.
Here's hoping you are enjoying your summer so far. Don't wait too long to get started on your summer assignments. If you try to cram them all in at the last minute they will look like that.

helpppp.... please

The only one whose email I still don't have is Cierra.    :(
Maddy has been invited, but has not yet logged on.

The rest of you... GOOD JOB!

So if anyone has a way to contact Cierra, please let me know so we can include her on this blog. I want everyone to be involved.

Now... let's make some art and do some posting!

I'm not currently working on anything yet either...

... but I WILL be.
I have decided to complete the assignments with you! I thought it would keep me on my toes. And posting this on here will obligate me to do this. If I just thought about it, I might back out. One thing you will find out about me is that I am pretty competitive. So once I commit to something, I usually follow through with my best effort.
I have a new drawing book from Sophie and I will be using that for at least some of the work - to get new ideas and to pass information along to you.
I will post pics for you so you can see what I am doing.
thundercaaat - thanks for posting! I like your doodle and yes it is a big deal to be seniors!

Hopefully it will be a good year for all of you! But then... that is up to YOU! 
ttyl ~ the voice

First post!

Hey everyone! I am not currently working on art, BUT I will be very soon. I thought I would say guess what?! WE'RE SENIORS. I know that is kinda cliche to say, but I think it is very exciting. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far :) I can't wait to see what everyone will do with their creativity! :)

PEACE

WOW!! I'M IMPRESSED!!

I signed on to send an invitation to Kirsten and found we had way more members than when I had last been here!
You girls are Rockin' the Blog!!
Now that you're part of the group, feel free to post something. It can be a photo, a image that you have scanned of your work, or thoughts, or questions you might have.

I am not taking any classes (for several reasons) this summer, for the first time in many years. My fear is that I will not do as much art as I should. I am going to do my best to work and post my work along with all of you. That way I will HAVE to do something.

So now, let the games begin! And let's do some really interesting stuff!

Here's to you!

Thanks for logging in thundercaaat!
I hope you're finding your way around the place.
I see you have created your profile... interesting name.  hehe
I haven't heard from many of your classmates yet, as far as emails go, but I do have another invitation open right now so hopefully someone will be joining us soon.
The more we get involved, the more fun we can have, so maybe we can make it our goal to get everyone connected.

Okay here's your license to make good art! You are in the driver's seat!
Take a look at this summer's assignment list. It is simplified this year.
You have 5 pieces to make and you will be making most of the decisions.
You can decide:
how your work will look,
what you will use to make it,
how realistic or abstract it will be,
what size you will work, etc...
That gives you the license to make all kinds of decisions.
But with this freedom of expression comes some other choices:
Will you challenge yourself?
Will you try some new things?
Will you push beyond the norm?
This list can be boring, or exciting and fun.
Your sense of adventure and commitment to your art will be some of the determining factors.

How will you use your license?

Do Your Part

We have decided to simplify the summer assignment this year. When you look at it you may think it is no big deal and assume that you can put it off "until later". If you do, the summer may pass and you may have to rush to finish everything at the last minute.

That would be a big mistake!

If you want to know how important it is to do your best consistently, ask the AP Studio Art and Portfolio students.

If you want some details about the actual AP testing day, just ask those in that class who completed it last week.

If you are interested in the process of creating a body of work that fulfills the requirements for either class, they will be happy to explain that too. If you have questions about the recent gallery showings, they can explain it all for you.You just might want to take some time to get some advice from them. It is all very fresh in their minds right now!

As with many things, these classes are different for each person who goes through them.

A lot of what you get out of them depends on what you put into them.

My suggestion is to resolve to begin by spending time over the summer keeping a journal, completing your summer assignments thoughtfully, doing some reading on art-related topics, or visiting a museum or two.

Don't let the extra time summer provides pass you by without working on your art. Once it's gone you can't get it back. And wouldn't it be nice to walk into your senior year with several nice pieces to get you off to a great start?

Check out this site regularly. Read what's going on and leave some thoughts for all of us. Make sure you also take a few minutes to post some images and explanations of what you are doing (academic or otherwise). Who knows? Maybe something you share here will inspire a really good piece of work!

A Peek into the Future

Imagine that this is you next year!

This is an image from the Senior Show Opening of 2010. The student is posing next to her work in Molly Grosse's Photography and Fine Art Studio in Reading. You too will be given an opportunity to exhibit your work as the culmination of your senior year. Keep this in mind as you get ready to begin this last year of high school and use it as an incentive to sustain a high level of effort this year. Before you know it, Portfolio Day will be upon us and you will be showing your work to a college rep for feedback. You want to be able to present yourself well. So spend at least a part of your summer keeping your art a priority in your life. 

And remember to let us see what you are doing! 

Welcome to your new blogsite!

This site will serve as a connection tool for all of us over the summer and I hope throughout your senior year. It is a way for you to share with all of us what you are doing over the summer.
It can also be a way to get some feedback on your work.
As you complete your summer assignments, you can post them here as a jpeg and talk to me about them. You can also see each others' work and comment on it.
I will be checking often to see what is going on with all of you and will respond by posting replies, answering questions, giving suggestions and cheering you onward!

My first class of bloggers (2 years ago) found this blog to be a fun way to be inspired by each other, to compare what they were creating, to get timely input from me and to just have fun posting whatever was happening with them.

I hope you too will take advantage of this extra bit of technology to keep yourself engaged in artmaking and to keep your enthusiasm going.

Maybe I will also post some things that I am doing too. Contrary to my usual plans for summer, I am not taking any classes this summer and so will have to be disciplined to keep things going while I am away from school, just as you will.

Let's make a commitment to keep in touch and work together to get a good head start on your senior year. Portfolio Day comes early in the year for us and you will want to have some good work to show to college reps.

So let the (summer) games begin and... Keep Your Eyes on the Prize!