Projects

One of the things I like to do at school is to see if I can guess what field of study a student is in by looking at them. I do pretty good most of the time. Interior designers are easy to spot, they look high-class. Fashion students are usually pretty easy too, they're either fashionable or have their own fashion that starts the trend. Most graphic design and web design students look pretty normal: minimal if any tattoos, more often natural hair cuts and colors, clothes not too weird or too trendy. Students in the animation program are sometimes difficult to describe, but I can usually spot these "colorful nerds" with their pink spiked hair and anime comics attached to them. They don't all have pink spiked hair of course, some are green. Culinary students are the easiest. They wear their uniforms of black and white checked pants and the white double-breasted black trimmed shirt and are always carrying food!
My friend Jerrad is a culinary student. When he talked about the slow cooked greens they made in their American Regional class, I decided I should show him how regular Southerners cook greens. We made dinner together: he made pan seared tilapia topped with sautéed mushrooms and onions in a white wine reduction sauce, he also made the acorn squash I suggested by baking it first with salt and white pepper then mashed it with butter and rosemary, and I made the collard greens. Simple, easy collard greens, nothing fancy, just delicious! And he really like them. Of course, I loved them because I made them and I know what I'm doing. I will share my knowledge here:

First, wash and chop your greens (no stems!). Next, fry a few strips of bacon in a deep stock pot until crispy. Crumble the bacon and while pot is still hot, add a little water to cover the bottom. Scrape the bacon leavin's (apparently this is called "deglazing", but whatever). Add a handful of greens and cover. Let them cook down for a few minutes, then stir in another handful of greens and, if needed, just enough water to keep the bottom of the pot covered. You want to essentially steam the greens, not boil them! At the last handful of greens, add a splash of apple cider vinegar and salt and pepper. Let them cook down until they are all a beautiful dark green.

In other news, I completed a project in my Color Fundamentals class using my nemesis of a program: Adobe Illustrator. I had a good idea and I was able to make it work. The teacher liked it and said I followed the directions as to how many groupings of colors was supposed to be present. Other students had some good themes too: Fairy Tale, The Kraken, Fashion.
Mine was Random Thoughts.

it's all in the interpretation, see

With this drawing challenge I've been doing, I realize more now than I did before that to draw or paint people well, the expressions are all in the eyes and mouth. I did notice this before, but since I wasn't practicing, I didn't "get" it. Also, I realize the importance of the artists interpretation more now. Sure, I can draw my feet or a chipmunk with an acorn in his cheek, but did I put my interpretation in the drawing? No, I haven't. But I am learning, so I'm sure it will come to me.
Today's challenge is to draw something with my favorite color. My favorite color is purple and I think I'm going to try a dragon. I painted a dragon before for a friend of mine when she had her bookstore. It will be different using colored pencils though, I'm sure.
So here is that and also the other drawings I did earlier this week.
All critiques are welcome, although I'm sure I already know what needs improving. Enjoy!

my first dragon...she's stealing jewels!

an animal I think is cute

my favorite outfit...pajamas!

something I've never drawn before...my feet

supposed to be my mother...she's wearing a turkey hat

another word for challenge is....(not this!)

Seems like all I do lately is go to work (which I don't care for too well, but it's a job and I need some dollars) and go to school (which I love and wish I could afford to go everyday). Sure, a few sporadic days I go out and find something to do with someone, but it's  not enough. So, I found this challenge of sorts on a website deviantArt. Its a 30 day drawing challenge, so far I'm on day 3 and realize how much I need instruction on getting things right. I can see what's wrong, I just don't know how to fix it. Here are my pictures so far:

day 3

day 1

day 2

The first one was easy, I was able to capture my persona using props. Day two is supposed to be a picture of my friend Jarred. I got frustrated with this one because I couldn't get the eyes and mouth right. So I gave up before I tore it up. Day 3 is the worst. These two women are really great, my friends Sherry and Melinda and I drew them to look like old men. I realize that the expressions are found in people's eyes and mouth and I just could not get their eyes and mouths right and I don't know how.

My Design Fundamentals teacher says "We're going to draw some thumbnails of your designs, then we're going to ink them. I know a lot of you have never inked before, so how do you get good at inking? You ink!"

Guess I'll keep trying to draw then.

Have you tried the opera? It's delicious!

I got to school yesterday and decided I was starving so I went down to the student lounge to get a snack and, surprise! I forgot my wallet! Well, I started counting the rogue change that had been scattered around inside my purse and began to make little piles of pennies and dimes. Students passing by saw this and a few donated to my cause. I'm glad they know what it's like to be hungry, I mean, we're all "starving" artists, there, right? After about five minutes or so I had amassed a small cache of almost five dollars, but I had to be in class, so my stomach would have to wait. At break, two classmates and I wandered over to the 7-11 for burritos and I was happy.

In Color Fundamentals class, I read about "synesthesia" which is when you hear color or can taste color for example. If you've ever experimented with LSD, you probably know what I'm talking about. I have not. Some people, however are naturally born this way and it seems like a really cool way to experience the world. I found out I was not born this way: I tested myself from the example in our textbook. An artist named David Hockney listened to an opera, L'Enfant et les Sortileges , and created this painting:

Ravel's Garden in Night Glow











I listened to the opera and didn't get anything - at all. I basically sat there wondering what the hell was happening and then got bored with that and started thinking about a sandwich.
So, I guess I'm going to have to rely on my eyes and logic to create rather than trying to hear or taste colors since I'm not interested in doing the drugs.

squeaky wheels still get hosed

Some of you don't know this, but I am a fan of George Takei (Mr. Sulu from Star Trek) on Facebook because he posts a lot of funny stuff. He occasionally has commentary on certain subjects and I enjoy reading them. One subject is that he is gay (which I knew) and that he used to be a Boy Scout (which I didn't know). Since finding that out, I've seen other news related to boys in the Scouts that are coming to terms with being gay and have been denied all sorts of Boy Scout things: badges, honors, etc.
 The BSA states in it's laws that the organization is open to all boys, I don't believe there are any provisions after that. However, I did read that blacks were not permitted to join until the abolishment of Jim Crow laws. Okay, fine, we in America had an absurd set of rules for racial inequality at one point and the Scouts overcame that, as well as other controversies in their history. That being said, I realized in reading all these articles that most of the time it's not the boys in the troops that have a problem with their fellow brother, it's the older leaders. And their probably old white men.
Now, I go to an art school, and maybe it's because I go to an art school, but the students there don't seem to care if you're gay, or black, or Asian, wear a ripped cookie monster t-shirt with Cavalli jeans or have green striped hair. We don't care! People are people and I can guarantee that you can not tell your heart who to love or what to do about it. You love who you love and that is that.

live long and prosper

My tongue does the dance of many flavors

My teacher for observational drawing has been teaching students how to draw for over 30 years, so I feel pretty good about this class. I need to learn how to draw. At first I kept thinking, "Am I the only one who has never taken an art class before?" Another student said she never had and she didn't feel confident about her drawing abilities, so that made me feel better to know I'm not alone.
"We'll be drawing from life," my gray-haired teacher said. "not from a two-dimensional photo. The light will be different. You'll see." She talked about our final project and how we will use our own items and stage them to draw that composition. I'm excited about this and I want to give it some thought. Who would the drawing be for and what should it include? Mom and Dad naturally come to mind first, but we'll see. Any thoughts?
Our first class assignment today was to sketch something she set up so she could evaluate us and gage our skills so far. We took about an hour to pencil out one of the objects she put out. I picked an exploded-flower-starfish-hybrid looking brass thing and everyone else picked the genie-looking bottle or the copper spittoon looking can. We put our 18x24 drawing pads up on the huge easels, which I've never used before. I had a small one when I was about 12, but I don't remember much about it. Anyway, I had a difficult time trying to adjust to drawing upright: how do I hold my pencil, where do I put my hand? The teacher walked around a few times and I finally told her "I don't know what I'm doing." She said, "You're doing well, you picked a hard one, but you have good perception." Then she explained again to the class that this was just an exercise to see where we are in our skills and that we will learn about depth and value and shading and a whole bunch of other things. She promised and I believe her smiling face.
Here is what I drew today:

Since class got out early today, I decided to try a beer at Park Tavern which is just up the fountain stairs from school. I popped in and a baseball game was on, but I sat at the bar anyway. I'm not afraid of these Rangers fans, I just wanted a snack. The menu is a short selection of gourmet delights. Between roasted red pepper hummus and the pulled pork sandwich with cheese curds, I went with something called "the little jar of jam". It's bacon jam (yes, you read that right) with a  side of pickled cherries, sliced brie and garlic toast from Italian bread. The pickled cherries taste like cherries, just a tad sour. The jam had the consistency of butter with finely crumbled bacon and had a delicate sweet barbecue flavor, which was enhanced with the pickled cherries on top. When I read bacon jam on the menu, I knew that was the snack I had to try! So, let me just say that if you are ever in the shops at Park Lane, stop in for a beer or glass of wine and a snack. I went at happy hour and paid ten bucks for a beer, eats and a tip. http://parktaverndallas.com/north-dallas-restaurant-wine-sports-bar-microbrewery-menu

After that delightful tidbit, I went back to school to partake in the Game Night that was set up. I met Jarred and he invited me to play a game called "Apples to Apples" at his table. This is a great fun game! I had never played it before, but I had seen it played at my beloved 806 in Amarillo. I knew I should have crashed in on those college kids playing when I had the chance. A few students popped in and out - you need at least four people to play - and we kept the game going for a while. Later, I meandered over to the food trucks parked along Greenville (road? boulevard?) and tasted Korean tacos. Yes, Korean tacos. The sauce was spicy like the kimchee red peppers and I had mine with beef, Jarred had his with pork. I thought of my friend Jeff and I think he would have liked it, too.

squash it with the gauche ('cause that's how you say it)

I'm excited that school is back in session, I like the idea of school: learning new stuff, seeing new people.
Today, my class was color fundamentals. This is an introduction to the principles of color and an exploration of color theory as it relates to design. There are a few fashion design students in my class and the rest of us are graphic design. The class calls for no prerequisites, but I think design fundamentals should be one of them because when the teacher was talking today about it, I was lost already. That is the class I had to drop last quarter because I couldn't get the loan I wanted (and needed to stay in line with the rest of my classmates). But, I have that class later in the week, so hopefully I'll be ok. The first few weeks we will be using my "favorite" program: Adobe Illustrator. (this should also be a prerequisite, because if I hadn't taken the intro class for it last quarter, I would totally have no freakin' clue today, at all)  This is one that left me crying last time, I loathe it and I'm horrible at it. In class, while the teacher was zooming along, I really felt as if  I still don't know anything, I could barely keep up. Most of my classmates are already familiar with this program and with color theory and mixing colors and the properties because they've had art classes before or have taken it in high school.
I have not.
So every single thing that comes out of the teachers lips is brand spanking new to me, just like when I went to Mexico to learn Spanish. Hue, saturation, gauche paint, value....I've only heard these words before, I don't know what they mean!
Well, I managed to do the assignment today and got started on next weeks assignment so hopefully that will help me keep up, but I didn't really understand what I was doing. I hope this will come with time when I have a chance to read more and absorb it on my own time.
Two of my classmates that I had in last quarters classes did help me after class, and I thank them! I don't know what I will do without them when I won't have classes with them in the next few quarters...make new friends, I guess?

me leaving for school today...Zara says "bye 'icki!"

I've got a lot of reading to do now...