Final Artist Statement

When I first walked into this classroom, I didn’t know how much I was going to enjoy it. In terms of art, this class is also the one that has enhanced my knowledge of art. The most successful and my most favorite thing that I have learned this year by far was learning how to use Photoshop. I never really knew how to use it before, and now that I know how, I can use it as its own separate medium. I can also use it to enhance photos that I take in order to make them look better.

Some of the things that I struggled with were coming up with the ideas for the project. For example, I really struggled coming up with the idea for my surrealism project. I guess it was a little difficult trying to come up with an idea that I really liked, and had to look through various tutorials in order to find one that I could use. However, the reason why it took me so long was because I didn’t sketch out thumbnails. I know that drawing out thumbnails would make everything easier so that I know where everything goes, but I really don’t like to do them. That is where I need to improve in. Making thumbnails to plan everything out would be more efficient, and I wouldn’t be running out of time to complete projects at the last minute.

The project that connected most with my life was the personal quilt project. In that project, I was able to explore the many aspects of my life and visually represent them. The project allowed me to express myself and the events that have happened either through actual representations or through symbols that only I can remember. My life experiences affect my art, because they are something that I constantly have to deal with and are as much a part of me, the good and the bad. Because there are good and bad things that happen, my view on the world is similar, because I believe that there should be a balance between the good and the bad.

Although I really liked Faith Ringgold, Rene Magritte and Salvador Dali, the artist that I relate to the most is Barbara Kruger. I could agree with a lot of the statements that she depicts in her artwork, and the way she conveys her messages can sometimes give me the chills because of the power and intensity they have. That’s something that I would like to do with my artwork. I’d like to create something that has a powerful meaning behind it; how I create that piece of art, I don’t know yet.

As a final note, I’d really like to say how much this class has helped me learn to be open to all kinds of art. Before I came in, I thought I had an idea of what is and isn’t art. I’ve learned to not be as judgmental and critical, and instead appreciate the meaning or effort behind any work of art. Thank you Ms. Cook.

Blow Out and Panning

For the blow out photo, I had an f stop of F8.0, and a shutter speed of 1/2, and an ISO of 50. Instead of having a low ISO, I think making the ISO a larger number would have done the same thing. Although bumping up the ISO and lowering the shutter speed would have created similar effects, it still came out the way it was supposed to.
When a photographer is trying to take a picture of a moving subject that he or she does not have control over, the photographer may use a technique called panning. Panning is where as the subject moves, the photographer moves the camera so that it continues to focus on the subject. A panning photo should look like the subject is clear, but the background is blurry. I think I did an OK job, but the legs on my partner start to get blurry. To take this photo, I had the aperture at F 8.0, shutter speed at 1/15 and ISO 50. I could have done a better job by probably picking a different location to take the photo, because it was difficult to get the lighting right in the quad area.

Shutter Speed

Shutter speed is how long the hole in the lens stays open for. This is measured in fractions. For example, if the shutter speed is at 1/100, it is going to take a picture at 1/100th of a second. The cameras that we used have a shutter speed that stays open for 15 seconds, which is how we got the pictures above. All the shutter speed does is let the light in in the amount of time that is set in the settings.

In the pictures above, the room was pitch black, save a little light coming in from windows and the light that the other groups were using. In order to get the pictures to turn out the way they did, we needed to change the ISO to a lower number, change the aperture so that we were all in focus, and set the shutter speed anywhere between 7 and 15 seconds.

I would change the settings between ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed depending on the situation. If I wanted to zoom in on something to show depth of field, I would have to change the Aperture setting. If I wanted to catch a lot of light, but in a short amount of time because I don't have control of the subject, then I would increase the ISO and leave everything else the same. If I wanted to capture movement, or just experiment with light, then I would leave the shutter speed on for a longer amount of time.

My favorite picture is the one where we have our heads in two different positions. Even though it wasn't any one of our ideas, it was still a really cool idea, which made the experience a lot more enjoyable.

Aperture

The aperture is how big the diameter of the hole in the lens is, which allows for the depth of field to change. For example, in the first picture, there is no depth of field, which means that the lens is long, and the background is blurry. In order to attain such photo, the f-stop (how aperture is measured) has to be a relatively small number, so that the hole opens up bigger so that it'll allow more light in to focus on the main subject. In the second picture, the photographer used a larger f-stop, which makes the hole in the camera smaller.

ISO

ISO Flash

ISO 50

ISO 400

ISO 5000
ISO refers to the film speed of the camera, which is how sensitive the film or pixels are to the light that enters the camera, or how fast the light comes in. Imagine a ray of light, like a conveyor belt, that enters through the lens of the camera. . Different speeds of the conveyor belt, or light, have different results. Thus, if the light of the conveyor belt runs really slow, as in ISO 50, then there is going to be less light that enters the camera. If the light on the conveyor belt runs really fast, as in ISO 5000, then there will be a plethora of light entering the camera.

When I used flash in my photos, I realized that even though it added light into the picture, it also took away the natural light of the Christmas lights in the background. That is why as the photos progress from dark to low, the intensity of the Christmas lights increases. However, at high ISO speeds, it is important to make sure that the camera does not move and that the subject does not move because there is a chance that the picture will turn out blurry.

Flash

In this photo, the lack of flash helps the brilliant colors appear and seem more intense when compared to the darkness surrounding it. Although using flash freezes time and eliminates blur, while also getting rid of shadows and adding lighting to situations, it can also create unfavorable lighting situations and could also disturb the subject of the picture. If one is out in the sun, but the shadows of the sun creates shadows on the person who is getting their picture taken, then fill in flash would be a good idea to use because the flash will add in the light that is taken up by the shadow. Flash would not be a good idea when one is going to take a picture where they want to capture the colors because when one uses flash, it has a way of taking away the original color from the picture.

Metering

The light meter measures the amount of light that enters the camera. Light meters also try to measure for the middle gray. In the first picture, there is not much light. That is because I focused in on the monitor, which made the light show everything else that was nearly as intense or bright as the computer screen. In the second picture, I metered in on Jess's face. This allowed for a wider spectrum of light to enter the camera because It is trying to show the light that matches close to Jess's skin. Spot metering can help me in the future by helping me get the lighting right in a picture that may have been too dark otherwise.

Surrealism: In the Land of Butterflies

In this dream, there are many things that are taking place in far as the symbolism behind the components of the piece. First is the butterfly. The butterfly could be one of many things ranging from someone who can't settle down, to one who feels like they can soar through the sky. This dream is a combination of both. This person feels like they can do anything they want, but does not know exactly what to do. That could also be why the background of the room is space. The blooming butterfly flowers could be interpreted as growing or beauty. Or because the flowers are made out of butterflies, in contrast to the previous statement about the butterfly, the stems could represent the path, and the different flower could represent the different outcome. However, the freedom represented by the butterflies is contrasted with the box effect that is created. This could mean that the person feels like they are trapped or are being boxed in by someone or something. The eyes in the back wall give the effect that there is someone watching her, and that the decisions she makes will not only be known by her, but others will know too. There is also a miniature version of the person on top of the flower step, which could be representative of how we are really small compared to the rest of the world.

Surreal Practice Tutorials

In the desert tutorial, we had to use different techniques such as using layer masks and creating a layer specifically for a drop shadow in order to use it as a shadow for the lamp post. We also created a gradient on the ground so that it would look more saturated. Then we added two images to the sky to make it look a bit more out of the ordinary Both of the tutorials will help me in my surreal project because it will allow me to create the dreamy and surreal effects that I will need to achieve for my surreal project. They also helped me get used to using the layer masks, which is something that i don't usually use, which are very helpful.

Art Show: Personal Quilt

The personal quilt was an assignment influenced by an artist by the name of Faith Ringgold who, through art, told stories about life. That was the objective of this project. Using Photoshop, I have created past, inside, outside, and future squares, that when put together make up a visual representation of my life. I tried to be as honest as I could with representing myself through the quilt squares. In all of the quilts I incorporated different symbols that I find dear to me; some symbols are obvious, such as trees, whereas others are less conspicuous, such as the rain. Because I am a very reserved person, the hardest thing for me is allowing people to see some of the things that really make up who I am. However, I think that that’s part of the overall experience. I thought of this project as more as a reflection of who I was, who I am now and who I want to be.

Graduation Program

After looking at the other students' graduation covers, I think that what makes my design strong is the unification of the lettering and the background of the cover. Although I think it adds something to the cover, I should not have added borders.
Graphic design is definitely harder than it seems to be at face value. Because I stick to things that I'm comfortable with and things that I like, it was hard to break away completely from it and try to make something that someone else would like. When that happens, it's hard to create work of art. That, however, is one of the main points of graphic design. It is to create something for someone else so they can use it. The affect graphic design has on society is monumental. It affects everything from advertisements, logos, and may even stretch as far as commercials.

Student Handbook

I think I had a good concept with the background design, and the idea of the torn paper laying on top of it. However, I do not feel like the two ideas balance out; it feels like they do not fit. I don't feel like I'm very good with graphic design. Thus, I felt like I struggled the most that my "client" would like. I believe that I did a lot better on my Graduation cover, maybe because I related to it more than I could to the Student Handbook covers.

Personal Quilt

All of my ideas for the quilt square came from the emotions I felt while creating each quilt square. Each square felt like it came with a different feeling because each one of them represents a different aspect of me. I am happy with the decisions that I made for my quilt.

I feel like my first square is kind of empty, which I guess is OK because it was the first square I completed and was still trying to figure out how the rest of the squares were going to fit together. I also feel like I could have done better on my last square because it doesn’t feel as unified as the other three. It also feels like my future square is a bit confusing. Although I know which career I would like to follow, I don’t exactly know where I want my future to go, which is representative of the confusing state of my future square. I do know that in my future I would love to travel to different parts of the world. The cultures and languages of the outside world are fascinating and beautiful, and I would love to experience as much of that as I can. I also include a piece of art that I completed last year. I really like the patterns and I wanted to include in my square that art is a big part of me and that I want it in my future. Lastly, in my future square I pictures of me and my niece and nephew to show that as they grow I will hopefully be there to see them.

The hardest thing about the project was to figure out how to come up with four different squares while also making sure that they are unified when put together in the end. One of the things I did in order to make sure that my squares would be unified was that I kept all of the squares open while I worked on the other ones which allowed me to see how the current square was going and to see how it would fit with all the other ones.

The main two symbols that I wanted to use in my quilt squares are trees and rain. I always find beauty in trees and have always been a fan of being in the outdoors. Because every time I go somewhere with a lot of trees and where the predominant color is green, I consider such areas to be peaceful and serene. I also like to think of trees as being a good representation for freedom. Their branches could be arms and the leaves could be fingers reaching for the sky. For that reason, I used the tree brushes to unify my quilt squares. I also used rain to symbolize something that would make all the bad things just wash away. I have always loved the rain; every time I remember the past the sound of the rain is always there. Even though the trees are obvious, the rain is a little bit more obscure because it is harder to see.

I tried to be as honest as I could with representing myself through the quilt squares. Although I had a bit of trouble starting off, I think it became easier to express myself visually. Because I am a very reserved person, the hardest thing for me is allowing people to see some of the things that really make up who I am. However, I think that that’s part of the overall experience. I thought of this project as more as a reflection of who I was, who I am now and who I want to be.