Time Capsule Blog Post

The items I put in my box are each special to me in a different way. Honestly I don't think a lot of them were special when I first got them but they are now. All these items make me really happy when I look at them. My personal 3 favorites are the silly bands, because looking at them reminds me of how grateful I was to my parents when I got them and it reminds me to appreciate them more. I put a tag from a pair of shoes I got this year, they are from Rue 21 and I got them for the first time I sang with the jazz band this year and went out of my comfort zone, the tag makes me kind of proud. And last i put a broken camera memory card that has all the first pictures I ever took on my first nice camera, I was taking those pictures when I started to consider photography as an occupation and it makes me really happy. It also reminds me of my sister and the strong bond we created this year and I can't wait to see the pictures 20 years from now.

End Of The Year Reflection Post

This year has been one of my most enjoyable art classes ever. The assignments that we got were challenging and all the different areas of art we got to experience were very interesting. My favorite was absolutely the mixed media.  At the beginning of each assignment I thought to myself that this would be the one that I wouldn't be able to do. But I am extremely pleased to say that I surprised myself every time and was proud of the work that I was putting out. The biggest thing I learned was not to doubt myself before we even got the materials to start working and to just go with the flow of my creative thoughts.

Totem Pole Story

     It was a pretty windy day, and when your parents tell you not to do something it almost goes in one ear and out the other. We were just trying to have some fun it the water quickly took us in and wouldn't let go. It was me, my sister, and six other cousins of ours. A huge wave crashed over us and almost knocked the wind out of me. We all kicked as hard and as fast as we could, but that seemed to make us go in the opposite direction of the shore. We were calling for help, as loud as you can when your stuck in water that is taller than you and you have diminishing energy. I distinctly remember holding Francesca's  hand and being smacked in the face, wave, after wave, after wave. I also remember her screaming over and over again for help. Eventually all the cousins held hands. Through a breaking wave I saw the life guards trying to get to us, but they were struggling the same way we were. One last kick threw my shoe to the ocean floor as a life guard hastily grabbed my hand. Because we all had been holding hands we made a human chain with me being the connecter of the life guard and all my cousins. After what felt like forever we started to come closer to the shore. My parents were waiting at the edge of the water freaking out. Once my feet felt land I fell to the ground like my legs were jello. I hugged my dad and he carried me to our spot on the beach. Everyone was fine, just a little shaken up. Even though that whole thing happened, we all ended up going back in the water. My mom was against it but we weren't scared. We all knew that something like getting caught in ripe tides, happens to everyone. 

Fortune Cookie Book Page Response

"Your future is as boundless as the loft of heaven." I felt that this was the hardest project for  me because I had a very loose plan of action. Also while working on I was glad that I messed it up a little bit because it gave me the idea to add color and I think it adds more depth to the picture. I chose that fortune cookie because I felt like that fortune gave me the most meaning. The ways there was meaning to me was, what will my future turn out to be? Will it be clear? Who will be in it? Who will I have watching over me? And for me I tried to incorporate those questions into my art. The forest with the person sized hole in it is to represent heaven and the future or what could become of it, then I did a transfer of a human to fit that spot as if fitting into the future but still unsure, then put the transfer of the eye in the middle to represent someone always watching over me and I also made the eye deep in rolled back tissue paper and modeling paste to make you look for it because you cant always tell who is watching over you, then I painted the whole piece a dingy pink color because it pops and makes it harder for the eye to choose what to look at, that's also why I put tissue paper in certain spots all around because no one can predict their future so it is not clear. 

Art x 3 Response

This assignment was really interesting because when it was explained to me I was really excited, then when we started to get into it I realized we weren't working together with two other people in our class and I was confused so it was explained in a different way. One person was to start on the assignment and a person from a different class would get it and work on it a little more and then it would reach its final person in another class. The last person had to finish it as their own work. I personally had a tough time giving away my first collage because I was super excited about my first idea and wasn't taking into account of the fact that I wasn't going to be the one finishing the piece. The second time I got a piece I had to ultimately give up I was more accepting and less attached to the piece. The final collage was difficult at first to start because I wasn't sure what to with a profile and a few different words but as I got more into it made more sense to what I was trying to portray. This assignment reminded me of "when life hands you lemons make lemonade" we were given a piece of art (lemons) and we had to figure out a way to deal with how to make it our own (lemonade). I think it taught me to work through not being able to figure something out at first glance. 

Pop Print Response

This process was probably the least challenging thing we have done this year. The item I chose was a Donald Duck phone case. I chose this item because I thought it was really cute and anything Disney reminds me of my family and my grandfather. It wasn't too hard too draw because it was already in cartoon form and it didn't have any very detailed sections to draw. After drawing a picture on a small piece of paper, you rub the pencil on a small piece of linoleum carving stamp. The imprint of the drawing will show on the carving stamp. Then after bolding the lines on the stamp, you carve out of the it with a tool that comes in skinny to fat sizes. The carving process was not only addicting but it was my favorite part because it is very peaceful and less messy than the printing. The printing was also very fun. There were lots of different colors of ink and paper. The inking process was taking a small rolling pin type device and rolling whatever color ink onto the stamp and stamping an assortment of colored paper. The only process that took a long time was cleaning the ink tray, otherwise it was a speedy and gratifying project because so many different products were able to be made in a short time. 

Collection Reflection

In class we have been taking a look at an art form called collecting. So naturally, in the classroom, we have created our own collection. We voted on a color scheme everything had to be and the winner was blue. For me, this seems to show that you never really think about what the color of something is until you're asked about it. When I had to come home and find two blue things I thought it would  be hard but after looking around my house there was a multitude of blue things I never really thought about. Yeah they're blue, so what? Also looking back on it the things that were collected were all old frequently used items. It made me think of the movie Wall-e with all the old stuff that was dead kind of like the people. It seems like people use people like items and when they are done with them they "throw them away". But by collecting them back up again, to me, it seems like we are giving them another chance to be loved, a chance to be seen as a work of art and just feel appreciated. I think that says a lot about the time we live in to, the age of if it doesn't please me get a new one and throw the old one out. A lot of this stuff actually does seem to reflect my own interests. Cleaning, going to the movies, drinking water, ironing, getting called down to the office, bouncy balls, nail polish, and belts are all things I'm very familiar with and can absolutely relate too. The other great thing is that many other people can too and that is whats great about art.

Collecting Artists

All of the people on the list are collecting artists, which is using large amounts of different, or the same things, to create one great work of art. Some people without the "artistic eye" don't quite get it, its just a bunch of stuff in one place... why does anyone care? Depending on the artist, materials used, how they're placed and the end product is how it would be determined if it is art or junk. For example it would be more likely for a well known artist such as Andy Warhol to put a bunch of random stuff together into a work of art and have it be called art than say me, a random kid in New Jersey. Then the subject of hoarding comes up with some collecting artists such as Karsten Bott, a man who intends to collect one of everything. Could this be hoarding? Sure. Could this be art? Absolutely! [ in my personal opinion anything can be art if you try hard enough and really want to say something (: ] Now, I don't know about you but when I think of hoarding, I think of an unlivable home space where all different things are never thrown away and the person involved is just obsessed with not getting rid of anything because it all has meaning to them. When I think of collecting I think of something that has a meaning to the person collecting, its a lot of the same things in some cases, and the collection isn't threatening their life. Just a few things to think about. The next time you see a pile of stuff, take a picture of it and see if it gets famous. :) <3

Compare And Contrast

Personally drawing with the graphite pencils was not fun for me. It was very smeary and fuzzy because I erased a lot because I'm a huge perfectionist. The process was not fun, but the pride I felt when it was done was great. I didn't think it was going to look good but for me I'm very proud of it, I just didn't know if I'd be able to pull it off. The color shading however was much easier for me because I am more used to working with colors as a finished product instead of just empty black and white. The shading is also more comfortable because the pencils feel like cleaner movements than the graphite and you can layer multiple colors for your end result. One issue with the colored pencils is that they don sharpen very well.

Candy Jar Drawing

I am not quite finished my candy jar drawing yet. It has been incredibly more fun. I have always been a fan of coloring, it was something that you could do all your own, you choose whatever colors you want, you choose where they go, its great. The candy jar drawing is not exactly that, but it comes very close. The process that has been most effective for me is lots and lots of layering. With the candy jar drawing it is more strict because you have to draw what you see, but shading with color. I think I'm finding the candy jar more fun because color is so much more expressive than a black and white drawing. I think it captures more of the playful soul and the real depth behind the subject matter.

Bike Drawing

I personally express a particular interest in drawing. I cant really tell if I'm good at it or not, especially since I'm my own worst critic. This drawing was very challenging for me. I think I am better at designs/ cartoons than realistic art, especially something as complicated as a bike. My process was honestly going along each piece of the bike and drawing it little by little. For me the shading was the hardest part because I have never needed to shade any drawing correctly before and I had also never been taught how to. Overall I am super pleased with the end product and am extremely proud of myself for drawing the same thing everyday for a long period of time because if i were alone it definitely wouldn't have come out as good as I think it did.

Hi Everyone!

Hi, Im Sophia Loeber and this whole blogging thing is new to me, so I'm going to try and take it slow. I hope you enjoy the ride as much as I'm going to. This is a blog for my creative arts class but I think I might become a bit addicted to posting. Pictures of the work will be coming soon, be patient! Please enjoy and feedback is encouraged so feel free to comment on anything you want.

                   -Sophia Loeber