New Camera!

I got a new camera a couple days ago. A step closer to pursuing my dream of being a photographer. I purchased the Sony a330 DSLR. It has interchangeable lenses and image stabilization. It is absolutely amazing! I love it! It takes beautiful pictures and is easy to use! I'll post pictures soon!

Photo Shoot in the Park

     I recently did a photo shoot with a friend of mine to build on my portfolio and of course have some fun! I wanted more practice with people shots instead of my usual landscapes. They turned out pretty well. And after editing, I was really happy with them.

Here are some of my favorites:

Brynn, my wonderful model. :)

5 Everyday Objects

1. Money - silver, hard, round, small, and doesn't change. 

     Its original meaning and function is value used to exchange for an object. The value of money has changed over time and is of different value in different countries.

2. A Stuffed Animal - soft, squishy, any colors, many shapes, and many sizes.

     Its meaning and function can be sentimental, entertainment, or for aesthetic purposes. Its meaning changes depending on who has it (a child or adult), where it came from (store or family member), or how much it cost.

3. A ring - round, metal/plastic/wood/etc., small, smooth, and many colors.

     Its meaning and function are cosmetic and aesthetic. This meaning can also change based on sentimental value or cost. But the function rarely changes.

4. Sunglasses - round, hard, transparent, smooth, and metallic.

     Its function is obviously protection from the sun and its meaning is more about defining your style. The meaning can change based on what current styles are in or out.

5. Comb - plastic, hard, many colors, small, and pointy. 

     Its function if to brush your hair. It doesn't really have that much meaning except how important our society finds physical appearance. This meaning can also change with current styles.

The 11 Most Important Things To Me

1. Life - my connection to nature

2. Love - the one thing that people live for and die for

3. Family - the people who truly love you for who you are

4. Friendship - the bonds you make in your life that nothing can ever sever

5. Sun - life on earth wouldn't exist without it

6. Earth - our mother planet

7. Happiness - my goal in life

8. Passion - life is dull without it

9. Freedom - the most important thing to fight for, a natural right

10. Discovery - to continually search for new beauty and ideas in life and within yourself

11. Existence - something I can't quite wrap my head around, but its the basis of everything

Project Idea!

     I just came up with a wonderful idea for my project! The guidelines for the project is to find an everyday, common object and change it and transform it into a new object. This transformation is supposed to be quite meaningful and maybe even controversial.
     So one of the first objects that came to mind in class, was money. It is used everyday and has a value that we as a society have created for it. But in actuality, it is utterly useless.
      So my idea is..... to construct a tree out of quarters, nickels and dimes! The leaves can be made out of dollar bills. And I will use glue to hold it all together.
     The meaning behind it is quite important to me. It expresses the way that society has traded in something incredibly valuable to humanity (trees) for something that we have simply defined as valuable (money).  I hope that it will make people think about what we consider as valuable in today's society and how it may be quite wrong. It also shows contrast by making a natural object out of a man made object. What do you think?

Andy Goldsworthy

Andy Goldsworthy is a 3D sculptor that uses only objects found in nature. He is also titled as a photographer and environmentalist. All of his work is a non-permanent display because it is outside and made by natural objects, such as rocks, sticks, leaves, and even the sun.
     I think Goldsworthy is amazing. I appreciate his patience, his connection with nature, and his ability to make something so beautiful and symmetrical out of such raw and imperfect materials. He creates such beautiful linear qualities within his work. His ideas and imagination amaze me every time.

Here is some of his work:

This is made completely of sticks and uses the reflection in the waters surface as part of the art and beauty of the piece, as well as making it symmetrical. This piece is so beautiful to me. Its also quite amazing that he didn't even use any kind of unnatural adhesives. The linear qualities force your eye to circle the piece over and over and never let your eyes leave it.

This is made of rocks, obviously. To me it resembles an eye. I also find it quite interesting that many of his works of art form circles. This may be coincidence or it may have a deeper meaning. After all, his art is made from nature and what is more natural than the circle of life?

This piece is also made out of rocks. This one has sentimental value to me because when I was younger I found a rock like one of these that was somehow split perfectly in half. Every time I see this picture it is the first thing I think of. I still have the two halves of that rock to this day.

This one is made of rocks and a stick. I appreciate how it is an objective piece of a tree made out of a stick FROM a tree.

This on is a bit different. He used his own body as a huge part of the piece. He laid on top of the rock while it snowed to create a silhouette. 

My Sketches

The Crumpled Paper Sketches

Idea for Sculpture

Idea! I used this as my linear quality in my sculpture!

The idea begins to transform...

A random idea...

Another random idea...

Original idea transforms again...

And the set up for my presentation!

Artist Statement - The Closet

     My project is titled "The Closet." It is made completely out of wire hangers and nylon. There are four curvy structures of various sizes all hanging at different lengths from a wire hanger covered in velvet. Nylon covers each of the structures but has many holes in it. Behind the hanging structures is a silky blue backdrop. There is a light in front of the piece that casts a shadow on the backdrop. This creates a deeper level to the sculpture.
    The reason for the title "The Closet" is for starters, because of the obvious use of hangers and nylon, and also because of the image I was trying to portray. That image being the average person trying to hide their average lifestyle with elegant expensive looking belongings. I show the average lifestyle with the use of wire hangers and torn nylon. The fake wealth is shown through the silk backdrop and the velvet covered hanger. The eeriness and shadows in the piece also strongly represent the things about ourself that we choose to hide away from society.
     Overall, I was very happy with how my project turned out. The symbolism and title seem very fitting and obvious to me. The materials were perfect for portraying what I wanted. I am only curious as to how it will come off to others.

Here are some pictures of my sculpture:

                                                                          The Closet

Project Stress

     So my art project is due today. And even though it is done. I am stressing about how I will fasten it to the ceiling, where I will put the light, etc.... And on top of being stressed about my project, I have a horrible head cold. :( What a day to have two huge assignments due! (The other one is for my english class).
     Because this is my first art project of this particular nature, I am very nervous about how it will compare to the other students. But then again, art is a place to express who you truly are. So I guess, no matter how bad or good my project may be, I should just embrace it! I am hoping to make it over to the art room plenty early so that I can be sure everything is going to work out properly. Plus, I want to be able to see my project completely set up when I write the Artist Statement. I have written an Artist Statement before, so I already have some ideas in my head of what I will write. But I definitely need the full effect of my hanging sculpture before I can finish it up!
     It is difficult to transfer an idea in your head into a 3D representation. So I hope my project does my mind justice! And I hope it is enough to impress my teacher and fellow classmates. Wish me luck! :)

My Favorite Quote from Matt Bodett

"Its okay, everyone's a little crazy."

My Photography

I thought that I should show you some more of my photography..... so here are some of my favorites:

This is Ray. I took this picture as soon as I saw him perched there because it was so perfect. This picture to me shows curiosity, playfulness, and nature. You'll notice that a lot of my photos consist of nature.

This is a condo in Maui. I love the line going through the center that forces your eyes to follow it through the entire picture. Line is such an important component to photography and all forms of art. And once again, nature.

This is The Baths in the Caribbean. I love this picture because of the deep blue of the water and the balance between the large rocks on the rights and the three lone trees on the left. 

This is my friend and model Sierra, also a freshman at Boise State. She was sitting in the seat of my brothers 65 Chevy (a beautiful truck I might add). The angle is really interesting in this shot. Angles can be really fun to play with in photography because its like seeing the same thing from a whole other point of view. And from each angle, it means and portrays something different. 

What does this one mean to you?

My Art Project

     The art project I am making for class is a pretty interesting idea..... but is becoming difficult to create. I am in the process of making a hanging structure that will be accompanied by other smaller hanging structures. They are made out of wire and covered in a nylon skin. The holes in the nylon will let light through creating at in the shadows.
     I love line and light in art, so I am very excited to see how it turns out. I just hope all of the technical parts work out okay. And I want to find a way to add color to it. I need color in my life.....
Here are some example of interesting shadow and lighting art:

The Art of Schizophrenia

     Today during art class, we went to the Student Union Building to look at the opening art display of Matt Bodett. His work was quite interesting. It was amazingly thought provoking. I knew that he was schizophrenic before I saw his work, which helped me make sense of it.

     Then we got a chance to hear him speak. His explanations made his confusing art make perfect sense. He did not seem the slightest bit disturbed. He told us three stories: the artist, the schizophrenic, and the elephant and the owl. I got deep meaning out of all of them, but I'm sure everyones interpretations were different. I wish I would have stayed after and talked to him. I feel we could have had a quite interesting conversation....
Here is some of his work:

The body of work we saw.

Kind of scary to me.

My favorite. :)

Frank Gehry

     So at Erin (my art teacher's) suggestion, I looked up Frank Gehry. He is a famous architect who works out of Los Angeles. He is however Canadian-American. He began exploring art and architecture at a very young age and is now 81 years old. I found it very interesting that he commented about his dad being unsupportive and calling him a "dreamer." I think it is  amazing when young kids can push through that kind of attitude and still follow their dreams. Because maybe he was a dreamer, but no one ever said a dream can't be a reality.
     Gehry's work is contemporary architecture. I can see why Erin would think he is important for us to know because his work is so...... controversial, you might say. Because on one hand, there is no doubt that it is in fact architecture, but the amazing creativity and beauty almost makes it sculpture. In my opinion, Gehry has defined contemporary architecture of our time. I greatly enjoy his work. Here are a few of my favorites:

I like this one first of all, because of how high it sits off the ground. I am one of those people that likes heights. I also think the combination of the purple metal and yellow gives it such a beautiful contrast. The flowing curves of the metal are inviting, yet the unstable look is not. I just love the contrast.

This one has a more solitary feel to it. The grey makes it look a little scary and mysterious. To me it resembles a castle, but with a more modern look and modern materials. The linear towers add to the castle appearance but the subtle curves make it stand out.

This last one is my favorite. In a way it seems to fit in, but the interesting curved shape makes it look futuristic. But more like the dark futuristic that you often see in movies. I love all the lines in it because they make your eyes scan over the entire building. I can't imagine what it would be like to stand in front of it!

Most Amazing Night Ever!

     So I was a bit of a slacker yesterday by missing my art class... which is odd since it is in fact my favorite class. (not sucking up I swear. lol) However, my reason for missing was quite epic; I went to the Dave Matthews Band Concert! I am a huge Dave Matthews fan and somehow I was able to score two tickets right next to each other the morning of the concert! How could I possibly miss such a great opportunity!? So after stressing about getting the tickets, missing class, and figuring out how to get my boyfriend down here..... everything fell perfectly into place.
     The concert was absolutely amazing. His voice and lyrics are so inspirational it blows my mind. And he played my two favorite songs: "You and Me" and "Crush"! And to make it all better, I got to spend it with my favorite person, my boyfriend. It was such a great experience. Made my year :)
Here are the lyrics to my two favorite DMB songs:

                                                                       "You and Me"

Wanna pack your bags, Something small
Take what you need and we disappear
Without a trace we'll be gone, gone
The moon and the stars can follow the car
and then when we get to the ocean
We gonna take a boat to the end of the world
All the way to the end of the world

Oh, and when the kids are old enough
We're gonna teach them to fly

You and me together, we could do anything, Baby
You and me together yes, yes (x2)

You and I, we're not tied to the ground
Not falling but rising like rolling around
Eyes closed above the rooftops
Eyes closed, we're gonna spin through the stars
Our arms wide as the sky
We gonna ride the blue all the way to the end of the world
To the end of the world

Oh, and when the kids are old enough

[ From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/you-me-lyrics-dave-matthews-band.html ]

We're gonna teach them to fly

You and me together, we could do anything, Baby
You and me together yes, yes

We can always look back at what we did
All these memories of you and me baby
But right now it's you and me forever girl
And you know we could do better than anything that we did
You know that you and me, we could do anything

You and me together, we could do anything, Baby
You and me together yeah, yeah
Two of us together, we could do anything, baby
You and me together yeah, yeah
Two of us together yeah, yeah
Two of us together, we could do anything, baby
to reach the end of the world

"Crush"

Crazy, how it, feels tonight. 
Crazy, how you, make it all alright love. 
You crush me, with the, things you do, 
I do, for you, anything too oh. 
Sitting, smoking, feeling high. 
And in this, moment, ah, it feels so right. 

Lovely lady, I am at your feet, oh, God I want you so badly. 
And I wonder this could tomorrow be so wondrous as you there sleeping. 

Let's go, drive till, the morning comes. 
And watch the, sunrise, and fill our souls up. 
Well drink some, wine til, we get drunk, yes... 

It's crazy, I'm thinking, just knowing that the world is round. 
I'm here I'm dancing on the ground. 
Am I right side up or upside down, and is this real, or am I dreaming? 

Lovely lady, let me drink you, please, I won't spill a, drop no, I promise you. 
Lying under this spell you cast on me. 
Each moment the more, I, love, you. crush me, come on. oh, yes. 

It's crazy I'm thinking, just knowing that the world is round. 
I'm here I'm dancing on the ground. 
Am I right side up or upside down? 
Is this real, oh lord, or am I dreaming? 

Lovely lady, I will treat you sweetly, adore you, I mean, you crush me. 
Oh it's times like these when my faith I feel. 
I know, how, I, love, you. come on, come on, baby. 

It's crazy, I'm thinking just as long as you're around. 
I'm here I'll be dancing on the ground. 
Am I right side up or upside down? 
To each other, well be facing. 
My love, my love, well beat back the pain weve found. 
You know, I mean to tell you all the things I've been thinking, deep inside my 
Friend. 
With each moment the more I love you. Crush me, come on, baby. 

So much you have, given love, that I would give you back again and again. 
Oh, the love, many now hold you but please, please, just let me, always
More lyrics: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/d/dave+matthews+band/#share