Final Project: "I Once was a Tree"

This project, in many ways, made itself. The materials ultimately guided my artistic choices and even inspired me to deviate from my original concept.

The assignment was to make a collection and a means of display. I like to think of the lampshades as a collection of 3D frames (also a means of illumination), asking you to contemplate what's hung. The paper I used for the origami is actually pages from an encyclopedia of The Trees of North America, ironic right? The piece is, above all, a conversation about materials. Humans take and utilize natural resources so much, and when is or isn't that ok? Does being an artist give me license to rip apart a book, cut tree branches, rearrange them, and turn them into an installation? Contemplate that.

The gift of luck

For our generosity project I chose to give people the gift of luck. I left pennies face up everywhere I went, for people to find. The hope was that someone would stumble upon a penny with heads up and feel lucky the rest of the day. It was a simple, whimsical, and rewarding project.

10 Day Performance Piece: "Long-Distance Cultivation"

This project has to do with something very personal: maintaining relationships over long distances. It more specifically has to do with staying in touch with my family, & the intentional cultivation that is required to keep bonds alive. 

Each day I would hang a paper lantern and plant lavender in a terra-cotta pot while singing Edelweiss. Each element of this meditative ritual was important. To begin with, the lanterns are a symbol of illumination, shedding light on the concept of "Long-Distance Cultivation." The lavender plants are a reminder of home; I have very strong associations with the lavender that grows in our yard, lavender lemonade in the summer, and the lavender lotion my mom loves. Thus, the lavender plants are about home & family. Yet, they are far from the sun, soil, and water they need to thrive. They are living things that require time and care to maintain, just like relationships. I miss you who are far away! 

P.S. There are five people in my family, so five pots with 10 plants (one for each day) is also very fitting. 

Sacrilege or Sweet Truth?

"Beauty is truth, truth beauty--that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know"
~John Keats

Drawing on Objects-Alteration through mark making

I may have cheated by making more than one object... The assignment was to alter an object by drawing on it. It's a fusion of sculpture and drawing. 

Definitely had to go to multiple stores to find farfalle (bow-tie) pasta.

Design Concepts

Our professor had us build sculptures that demonstrated certain 3D design concepts. We were only given a few minutes, wood scraps, and other miscellaneous items in the room. 

Continuity

Closure

Shadow

Repetition

Assemblage: "The Merry Gathering"

This quirky piece was a new challenge for me: assemblage, and I must say, I'm rather content with the outcome. 

What happens when you transform a motley crew of kitchen implements, banister tops, mysterious wooden nobs, paper, and fresh fruit? 

You get a Merry Gathering.

A piece about a place: "Open"

This piece is about a lovely, lovely place. It's an abstracted depiction of the physics patio outside of my favorite building on Westmont's campus, Winter Hall. The drawings are variations on the floor plan of the patio, and the same curves are echoed in the layers. 

Sigh. This place... Such a view of the ocean. Such a sense of expansiveness. Such a vista for sunsets. Such a haven...

 I almost don't want to tell you about it, because it's such a delicious secret. 

The Expanded Version of "Open"

I took the opportunity to improve this piece by adding additional elements to it. I was trying to give it more of a feeling of expansiveness.

Oh, Albert... always so wise

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

― Albert Einstein

Diagram a Movie

This is a two part diagram of the movie "500 Days of Summer." The numbers in parenthesis indicate days on which important events in Tom and Summer's relationship occurred. However, the movie does not tell the story chronologically... rather, viewers are given scattered scenes out of order. To make sense of this, the movie incorporates a screen with a drawing of this bench/view (a significant place for them) and the day of the scene in advance. The arrows in the diagram indicate how the movie actually unfolds in relation to the chronology of their relationship.

An additional element, drawn on a sheet of transparent acetate, graphs both Summer's belief (or lack of belief) in love, and Tom's belief (or lack of belief) in love. The intersection of the two graphs happens when Tom loses his idealism and confidence in love, & Summer meets someone who makes her believe in love.

If you've never seen this movie... WATCH IT.

Havaii

to intentionally create mutual memories for the fostering of camaraderie & esprit de corps