Journal Entry #9

Last night, I watched the movie The Tree of Life in hopes of finding some inspiration for my thesis project. However, I was left with more questions than answers. The movie was extremely confusing in terms of plot. There wasn't much dialogue, so that didn't help. And, most of the time, when there was some dialogue, it was being whispered. Despite the fact that it was a very strange movie, it did have some awesome visual effects. About a quarter of the movie was nature scenes -- under water, volcanic eruptions, mountainous landscapes, outerspace (the Big Bang), etc. From what I got out of it, the movie was about life -- the beginning, the middle, the end -- and all the experiences we gain from it. Even though the movie confused me more than anything, it did push me to view "life" more carefully. Thinking about the aspects of life shown in the movie will likely help me in creating my thesis project.

Journal Entry #8

Materials: 
1. Pushpins
2. Buttons
3. Bottle caps
4. Pop tabs
5. Washers + bolts
6. Paper clips
7. Corks
8. Cotton balls
9. Beads
10. Marbles

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Savatree.com
· An average American uses about 750 pounds of paper every year, and 95% of homes are built using wood. That means each person uses the equivalent of one 100 feet tall, 16-inch diameter tree every year for his or her paper and wood product needs.
· The average tree in an urban/city area has a life expectancy of only 8 years.
· The tallest tree in the country is a Coast Redwood growing in northern California's Redwood National Park. It is 369 feet tall and over 2000 years old!
· Trees are the longest living organisms on the planet and one of the earth's greatest natural resources.
· A single tree produces approximately 260 pounds of oxygen per year. That means two mature trees can supply enough oxygen annually to support a family of four!
· Water originating in our national forests provides drinking water for over 3400 communities, and approximately 60 million individuals.

Treesaregood.com
· One of the tallest soft wood trees is the General Sherman, a giant redwood sequoia of California. General Sherman is about 275 ft or 84 m high with a girth of 25 ft or 8 m.
· The 236 ft or 72 m high Ada Tree of Australia has a 50 ft or 15.4 m girth and a root system that takes up more than an acre.
· The world's tallest tree is a coast redwood in California, measuring more than 360 ft or 110 m.
· The world's oldest trees are 4,600-year old Bristlecone pines in the USA.
· Tree rings provide precise information about environmental events, including volcanic eruptions.

Weekendgardener.net 
· The most massive living thing on earth is the Giant Sequoia in the Redwood Forest of California. It stands nearly 30 stories tall and 82.3 feet in circumference. Its weight is estimated at 2,756 tons.
· No tree dies of old age. They are generally killed by insects, disease or by people. California Bristlecone Pines and Giant Sequoias are regarded as the oldest trees and have been known to live 4,000 to 5,000 years.

· There are about 20,000 tree species in the world. The United States has one of the largest tree treasuries second only to India.

· The largest area of forest in the tropics remains the Amazon Basin, amounting to 81.5 million acres.

· Arbor Day was first observed in Nebraska in 1872. That state is now home to one of the world's largest forests planted by people - over 200,000 acres of trees.

· Some trees can "talk" to each other. When willows are attacked by webworms and caterpillars, they emit a chemical that alerts nearby willow of the danger. The neighboring trees then respond by pumping more tannin into their leaves making it difficult for the insects to digest the leaves.

· Knocking on wood for good luck originated from primitive tree worship when rapping on trees was believed to summon protective spirits in the trees.
· Trees receive an estimated 90% of their nutrition from the atmosphere and only 10% from the soil.

· Trees grow from the top, not from the bottom as is commonly believed. A branch's location on a tree will only move up the trunk a few inches in 1000 years.

Tree-facts.com 
· Trees can increase the value of a house by 10%.
· The tallest tree in the world is a redwood in California which is 360 feet tall.
· 4,000 lbs of wood are produced annually by one acre of trees.
· Trees make water cleaner by filtering rain.
· Tree rings indicate the age of a tree.
· Trees facts reveal that trees have psychological benefits. Both blood pressure and muscle tension drop when people are shown or placed in a tree environment.
· If you want to save on air conditioning costs, plant trees. They can cool a building by up to 20%.
· there are 5.2 million trees in New York City alone.
· The value of a full-grown, healthy tree can fall between $1,000 and $10,000.

Journal Entry #7

While talking with one of my professors, I have finally come up with a subject for my thesis project -- a tree. Trees represent many things, but, most importantly, they represent life. I plan to create a life-size tree using objects such as buttons, thumbtacks, paper, cotton balls, etc.

My next studio journal entry will contain research on trees and a list of materials I have collected or plan to collect to create the tree.

Journal Entry #6

A post sent to me by my professor:
http://pvedesign.blogspot.com/2011/10/flying-colors.html

An interesting post relative to my thesis idea!

The images below are those included in the post.

Journal Entry #5

The professor I am working with for my independent study has introduced to me medium unlike any other with which I have worked: processing. This medium, from what I understand, involves coding pixels to create images. The following site explains "processing" in detail:
http://processing.org/learning/pixels/

He provided me with color values (codes) for each pixels of an image.

The image below is the one that resulted from the code he gave me.

Journal Entry #4

When I opened up Pinterest today, approximately the first twenty images were works by a particular artist -- Andy Gilmore, who received his BFA from SUNY Empire State College.

After looking at his work on a variety of sites, I chose a few of my favorite pieces by him...

Journal Entry #3

It would be great to do something similar for my thesis...

"In Germany, couples will take a lock and attach it to the bridge's fence. Then, they throw the key into the Rhine River for love and good luck. So, the fence is covered in locks all across the bridge."

Source: Pinterest

Journal Entry #2

My new favorite website is www.pinterest.com

I go on the site almost every day, and come across the most interesting and creative things.
The following are two "pins" I found that are relative to my thesis idea (parts coming together to create a whole):

This piece was created with pieces of rolled up colored paper.

The typography here has formed as a result of negative space between stitches. 

Journal Entry #1

During my Independent Study, the professor I am working with introduced me to Andreas Gursky. I recognized one of his works, but the rest I had never seen before. Gursky's works are seemingly based upon a similar idea to the one I currently have for my thesis.

Copan, 2002

99 Cent, 1999

Prada, 1996

Avenue of the Americas, 2001

May Day V, 2006

Interview Blog

1)    For how long have you been making art?

"I don't remember a time when I wasn't making some form of art, be it drawing, painting, singing, acting, etc."

2)    When did you first become interested in art?

"Isn't that in some way the same as the first question? I suppose it was when I realized that I actually had some basic level of skill in it, especially by comparison to the majority of my peers at the time."

3)    I see you enjoy “Alice in Wonderland.” What is the attraction?

"It's not a specific attraction to 'Alice in Wonderland.' Though, I suppose I do have a soft spot for that specific story. I think it's more about the idea of twisted fairytales and topsy-turvy things. The strange, abnormal, unusual. I tend [to lean] toward darker things usually, and a lot of 'Alice' is either dark, or able to be turned dark. For example, American McGee's 'Alice.'"

4)    What do the “Alice in Wonderland” pieces mean to you? Do they represent anything in particular?

"Answered above? This also seems kind of like it's the same question as the one above it."

5)    Your piece “The Hand” is definitely my favorite of all the works I’ve seen by you. It stands out from the rest because it is so different, particularly in terms of color palette and subject matter. What inspired you to create this work?

"Actually, it was a photograph from a climbing magazine that a friend of mine loved and wanted me to paint for him, so I did. I also wanted to challenge myself to a new level of realism, higher than any I'd quite tried before."

6)    I just noticed one of your other pieces. The one with the nude woman and the meat hanging in the background. This is another great piece! It sort of reminds me of “The Hand.” Are they meant to be similar?

"Not really, it's supposed to be linked to the bikini meat painting. They're kind of about the way women are stereotypically viewed. Or about the way someone once made me feel. Art therapy 101. Haha."

7)    Which one did you make first?

"The hand came first."

8)    Do you prefer painting or drawing?

"I think I prefer drawing, but I happen to greatly enjoy both."

9)    Have you ever experimented outside those media?

"Very definitely, yes. I do costume work, meaning actual outfits and makeup. I've also made a claymation film (in a group project for a class) and worked with paper, jewelry, tape, sculpy, clay, fimo, etc. I've done woodblock and linoleum cuts/prints. And… I don't know, other stuff. I honestly can't remember all of it."

10) Where do you normally create your pieces? Do you have a studio?

"I work wherever I have the space or inclination, I guess. This semester/year I have a studio, but in previous years I just worked either in the communal paint rooms or in my apartment."

11) What would you say is your primary reason for making art?

"I enjoy it."

12) Do you do any freelance work?

"I've done some freelance stuff, not as much recently as in the past, though."

13) What are your plans for the future?

"Not sure. Currently, I'm planning on going in to early childhood education. Not really that art-related."

14) If you had your choice of careers, which would you choose?

"Umm, probably a broadway singer/actress. Haha. Or a surgeon."

15) Are you ready to graduate? Or do you feel like you would like more time before stepping out into the “real” world?

"I'm ready to graduate because I'm ready to move on towards what will actually be my future profession. But, at the same time, I'm enjoying the communal aspect of school, and don't quite feel ready to give that up yet."