These are all works from when I was a student. They are all just different assignments that I did, but some mean more to me than others. Most of these are from my drawing classes, with a few of the works being from my beloved 2D design class. As I was going through these this afternoon I was noticing some interesting similarities and trends to my current work in photography. I think I even smirked to myself this afternoon, I found it a very intriguing discovery. I can't remember everything about these, but where I can remember info on the work then I will include it in a caption. Hope you enjoy!
This is one of my all time favorite pieces. It is a shame that it had a story and an inspiration behind it and I can no longer remember what it was. :( I guess even back then I had an obsession with eyes!! lol
Conte Crayon
This one is another one of my favorites. It was an assignment from my 2D design class on the "proper" way to shade with a graphite pencil. Our professor was extremely anal and eccentric, I think that I was the only one in the class that actually enjoyed him and his teaching. I was obsessed and still am with this technique he taught us.....it is one of my favorite things to do, though I haven't done it for quite sometime now. I took it upon myself to master this painstaking technique and later even employed it in my drawing classes with other mediums, such as the one above done with conte crayon. It takes a very very light touch, lots and lots of concentration, patience and always a very sharp pencil. This piece took me so long to complete that it was handed in terribly late. If I remember correctly the professor used it as the best example in the class.....and gave me one of the only, if not THE only A in the class. (he did not give A's often) In the end I ended up getting docked for being late so the "A" was no longer standing. One of the woes of being an obsessive perfectionist I guess. However, I floated along on the high of the impossible, perfectionist of a professor being impressed with my work.....in fact I still get tingles when I think about it today. :)
Graphite
2D Design
Ink on Vellum
2D Design
Construction Paper
2D Design
Construction Paper and Ink
Conte Crayon
Charcoal
Charcoal
What is kind of amazing about this piece is I used the shading technique with graphite, except I pushed myself to the limit by doing this crazy light area. Super light is the hardest to achieve evenly on the paper. I was able to do it soooo faint in the bottom right corner section with no flubs of the pencil that would create a darker blemish. I still can't believe I was able to achieve this on such a large space and I am not sure that I could do it now. Would take some practice I think for sure. I tried to get some close ups so you can see what I am talking about. 2D Design
Paper Collage and Graphite
Conte Crayon
Conte Crayon
I don't remember what this assignment was about or why mine appears to be so creepy. I wonder if everyone else's was this creepy looking.....I can not remember....hmmm.
Charcoal on Brown Craft Paper
For this one we had to take color photo copied segments of famous works and incorporate and build on them. Can you tell where they end and my work begins?
Chalk Pastels and Paper Collage
We all had our own marble to draw. No idea why I picked purple......have always disliked purple....hmmm. Maybe I was last draw or something.
Chalk Pastels
Posts
Oh and....as far as that shading technique goes, there is no blending tool used at all. No, needed eraser, no fingertip, no blending stick. Just the sharp tip of either conte crayon or pencil with very very light pressure over and over and over again.
ReplyDeleteWow - ok. I remember that still life setup with the animal standing on the African mask.
ReplyDeleteAnd about professor Widiapradja... you may have been the only one in that design class who liked him but later on he became my favorite person in the art dep't there. He told us that 2D design class was all that was leftover from how scrtict and meticulous the program was run in decades past.
Thanks for sharing all this. It takes me back to Fall '00 and Spring '01.
Kev-The elephant was actually part of that hat/mask thing. It was all one piece if I remember right. Do you remember the shading in 2D? It was crazy!! Did you hate it?
ReplyDeleteI know, when I was going through these yesterday it was really taking me back. You did everyone of these assignments didn't you? I think you were in the same drawing class as me at least, and 2D, and painting too, yes you were, we had like the same exact schedule!!! Makes me crave doing it all again too.....I really need to start drawing and painting again. It has been entirely too long. :)
I remember the shading. I thought I did an amazing job but he gave me a D or C and made me redo the whole thing. In the end I was really proud of my work although it drove me crazy. I think I got a B+ or A- (I think he graded easier if you took the ititiative to do it over).
ReplyDeleteI remember most of those drawing still life setups. It's been a long time. You should definitely do some drawing or painting. I took a life drawing class 2 years ago and it was tons of fun and I did better drawings than I ever had previously.
is that another silver ball in the tree?
ReplyDeleteAren't you clever Stephanie Sue. I am smiling cuz you noticed one of the similarities to my current work in photography. sigh. I love you.
ReplyDeleteI actually don't remember what that still life looked life in real life.....I don't recall it being a silver ball, though it does look like one. I think it may have actually been one of those marbleized plastic balls? the ones in the huge bins in Walmart. maybe. Anyway, this would have been a still life set up by my teacher......but I also found it interesting how it looks so similar to the pictures of the moon I took with the silver ball and also the silver ball sitting in branches of a tree......did I somehow remember this drawing and channel that when taking those photos? It surely was not conscious if I did........but now im finding this very interesting. I definitely have a fondness for Moonish things. :)
Remember these well. Loved them then and love them still. Talented!! K4
ReplyDelete