malia sinkler, final woa

Final work of art

I'm going to be completely honest and start off by saying that this project was very rushed. It didn't turn out how I had imagined it but the general idea got translated okay. My original plan was to have a symbol of activism in front of words or sayings. I then changed that to wanting to use mono printing for the background but that didn't work out so well. Then I decided I wanted the background to look something like the picture above but I couldn't get it right and didn't have time to perfect it. I changed it to just lines becuase that would have been the fastest way to get it done. For the symbol I wanted to use a foam plate and print it over the rainbow colors but I wouldn't have had time for that either so I just used sharpie. For this project I really didn't have any goals that stayed with me. I changed my plan so often that I guess one of the only "goals" that is still relevant is getting the general idea of my thumbnail sketches onto a different and larger paper. One of my goals that was lost was being able to write words in a bubble form neatly. I've never been good with writing in different fonts in general so I was hoping to improve. I obviously didn't end up accomplishing that goal too well. A goal that is always there for every project I do is being able to at the least translate my main message into my work. Just by looking at my project it is evident what is shows. The rainbow background represents gay rights and the raised fist is a widely popular symbol for activism. To sum up my feelings toward this project Im joust going to say "eh". It's not horrible but it's definitely not what I had planned. If I could redo my final exam blog I would probably change this to my least favorite work of art. So I guess you could say I'm not too happy with it. 

Reason why this is late: I finished my final exam post and submitted it and I went to start this one. My computer had low battery so I went to charge it and it wouldn't and still won't charge. It died and I can't put pictures into posts on my phone so I had to wait until I could come to my grandparents and use their computer. I totally understand if you take points off for it being late since it's so close to the end of the year tough!

sinkler, final exam

Final blog post

1. What type of art making process (drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture) did you enjoy working with the most this year? Explain why.

The type of art making I enjoyed the most this year has been printmaking. I really like screen printing and mono printing but I have used mono printing more outside of the unit. With mono printing I really like the different colors and combinations you can use. There are less limits and you can honestly do whatever you want with it. I was also able to make shapes by using cutouts and placing them over the paint like I did with the heart below.With the foam plate I messed up quite a few times with which direction the prints would come out but besides that I really liked how it looked with black ink. Overall this is definitely one of my favorite units of the year.

2. What type of art making process (drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture) did you enjoy working with the least this year? Explain why.

The type of art making process that I did not like at all was painting. I learned very quickly about how completely horrible acrylic paint is. I can't even put into words how much I struggled with not only painting with it in general, but mixing it (see below). However, one thing from this unit that I did really enjoy has been using watercolor. I have incorporated it into several other projects so far but I think that goes for many other people as well. But that was the only thing I liked and even then my loathing towards the rest if it lies in triumph of the few parts that I enjoyed. After having completed all of the required painting, I feel completely comfortable saying that I never want to do most of it again.

3. Which piece of art that you created this year do you feel was your most successful? Explain why.

I feel that my most successful piece of art so far has been my window that I did with watercolor. This is surprising becuase I actually never finished it, but I just really likes that way it looks. I really enjoyed making the 'wooden' frame becuase it was fun trying to get that type of texture. It was the same way when painting the water. I tried to get different hues of blues and purples to give it a wavy effect. I also utilized salt to make the sand look crystaly(I don't think this is a word but it gets my point across) and shiny. I am very proud of this work even though it still remains unfinished.

4. Which piece of art that you created this year  do you feel was your least successful? Explain why.

I feel that my least successful piece this year has been my metaphor project. I chose clay and I had expected it to be easier to work with. I also had higher expectations for myself. I wasn't able to completely accomplish my goals which was disappointing but most of this is due to my immaturity on how to work well with clay. It was also made so fragile that the main part of it broke just by setting it on a table. I should've picked a medium that I can work better with for a project such as this. I don't hate this project as much as acrylic paint in general, but it's definitely not my favorite.

Personally I think I enjoyed this semester more than the first. I like many of the projects and units more. It also seemed a lot more fun and independent. I would definitely take art again next year if my schedule wasn't so full next year.

malia sinkler, metaphor

"Those who stand for nothing fall for anything." 

-Alexander Hamilton

Reference:

Thumbnail sketches:

Work:

Metaphor project

For this project I choose the quote "Those who stand for nothing fall for anything"  from Alexander Hamilton. The idea as to who I wanted the quote to come from may or may not have spurred from my obsession with the Hamilton musical. Aside from that, I'm not completely sure how I feel about the outcome of this work. I'm not ecstatic about it but I'm not necessarily disappointed either. I haven't had a chance to paint it yet but I'm hoping once I do it'll change my mind a bit. I had originally planned to use clay, make a large empty well, and show emotion on a face of a person standing over the well. I accomplished 1.5 of those things. I definitely used clay and I definitely have a well, but it's not arguably big. As far as the person goes, I realized that clay isn't as strong as I would have liked it to be. I had to make the person very tiny and there was no possible way that I would have been able to put anything on it. The second main goal that I had was to paint detail onto clay, but I haven't been able to paint it yet. I excited to be able to though, becuase I want to make the stones or bricks that the well is made of to look realistic. I don't feel like I accomplished my goals as well as I wanted (can that "well" be counted as a pun??? becuase y'know, I made a well) but I can't succeed on every project. Another thing that I wasn't so happy about, is that when I picked it up to take pictures the little guy and 'stick' over the well completely broke off. But that's probably my fault for making it too fragile. A last thing that I wanted to focus on was expressing emotion through something else besides paper. I feel like I've had that goal for many projects this year, but it's different for this one becuase it's not just a 2D model anymore, it's 3D. I don't know how much emotion it shows just being plain grey right now but in my head it has a lot. In my mind the well is alone and distant from everything, yet has many thing coming at it. The water inside represents everything that you would fall for like opinions becuase you're naive or don't care to form your own. The object that the person is standing on represents standing for or in in this case, 'on' nothing. I hope that my message that I wanted to show came through with this project.

malia sinkler, Window

Work:



The frame.

swampy area.

full image of progress so far.

unfinished sky.

bottom half with the water and sand.

Inspiration:

For this project I decided to use watercolor to make a window with a background of water and sand. At first I was aiming for it to look like the ocean but I developed it into more of a lake. I feel that the way the frame came out it should have a more rustic look to it. If I had done maybe a white frame it would have felt more like an ocean scene. I'm not disappointed that it didn't turn out exactly how I wanted becuase I enjoy the feeling I get from it. The feeling that I wanted to express with this price was something along the lines of longing or wanting something more. I believe that I captured that fairly well. To get this feeling I hoped to make the water feel distant yet alluring.
One thing that was very important to be able to do was to make it look like the landscape was behind glass. I was not able to do it becuase I was too scared to possibly mess up the water and sand. I may possibly go back and use acrylic paint to give a glare. I also wanted to make the window look as real as possible and I feel that I tried as hard as I could to do that. I'm very proud of the frame having a somewhat wood-like "texture". I spent that longest on that part becuase it was very important to make it look clean and aged. The frame sets the overall feeling for the whole piece. For the sand I made the beige darker in some spots and lighter in others. I also used the salt technique to make it look grainy while leaving a few specks to give it some sparkle. To make the water I also used darker and lighter areas to make it appear wavy and unsettled. One interesting thing that developed was the direction it would be presented. Originally I had the after at the top but I just didn't feel like it looked right. I turned it upside down and it looked way more natural. Even though I didn't get the chance to finish yet, I am very happy with the progress so far.

Sinkler, Midterm Exam

1. My favorite type of art making this year has been printing. Specifically mono-printing. The unit has a whole has been my favorite becuase of how many different ways to make prints. You can use paint for mono, Ink for relief, and I never would have imagined using a screen to make designs on T-shirts! I also really enjoyed seeing how everyone else's prints came out because I felt like they all came out really good for everyone. The only small struggles I had were with relief printing. Carving the foam plate and using the ink were easy but I did forget that it would print the opposite way around. It didn't mess anything up but it was a small thing I forgot about.The main struggle was with the markers. I either put too much or not enough water. Eventually I got it and it actually turned out way more beautiful than I thought it would. Even though I ended up liking how the marker relief print came out I thought that my best prints were using the Gelli plates. Mono printing was the most enjoyable because I could use whatever colors I wanted. You can also use so many different materials to make patterns and designs that the possibilities are endless. For example, when I was trying different things for my final piece on printmaking, I used paint brushes to give the paint a splattered look instead of using a brayer. I would definitely be more interested in using printing in my future.

2. This year I've struggle most with painting. It's been hard for me to mix the colors to what I'm looking for. It is very hard for me to be neat and stay "inside the lines" of what I'm trying to paint. I'm not completely sure why it's been so hard for me but I think some of it is just the fact that I don't like painting all the much in the first place. I have nothing against it, I've just never been all that good at it, but I am trying! When it comes to the mixing the right color, I can never add the right amount of a color so I feel like I just keep adding and adding and I never get it right. It's not a huge deal but it always bugs me when it's off. Painting is not my favorite unit but I can still make the best of it!

3. I feel that my most successful piece was actually my most recent. It was my final project for printmaking in which I used mono printing and watercolor. You could consider this to be my least successful piece due to how many times I changed my idea and wasn't happy with the result. But for me, despite the difficulties, the result was unexpected yet great. I had originally wanted to use mono printing for the whole thing but decided to use watercolor for the color instead. During the printing unit I had done a similar piece using screen printing except that one had no color and had words. This piece can also be interpreted in many different ways depending on the person. The only thing that bothers me about this work is that I mixed up the blue and purple even though I kept running "ROYGBIV" through my head. Overall I am very proud of this piece.

Final Blog Post: Print Making

Final Blog: Print Making

My work:

Inspiration: 

This project did not go the way I had originally planned. Not that that's a bad thing though! I had originally planned to do the rainbow colors with mono printing and practiced tons with different techniques. When it came down to it I realized I was sick of how the whole thing looked just with printing so I changed the material and the design slightly. I had taken inspiration from one of my smaller pieces I did with screen printing. It didn't have color but had the shadowed stick figures which is the look I was going for. I didn't use much observation on this project but I did stretch and explore by trying out water color which I had never used before. The result wasn't bad for it being my first time working with it. I also used expression with this piece. It could represent many things but when I look at it the first thing I think if is something along the lines of this. Creativity and people's mind's are all so amazing and are expressed differently for everyone. No matter who you are or how tough life may be you're always going to express things in your own way. One of the very last things I did was add the black drip looking lines. The whole thing was actually a mistake. I was just going to do a grey paint splatter looking thing around the figure, but it ended up dripping down. I felt like it represented real life mixing with happiness and positive emotions. Its hard for me to just pick one main theme and meaning. I'm very glad that I chose to take a different path and try unexpected things because I feel like it really paid off! This was one of the projects that I was super eager to finish once I started which is unusual for most things having to deal with any assignments. I'm very proud of my work and am totally open to trying new things in future works now!

Failed attempts:

Some of my practice tries didn't come out as planned. Many times I didn't work quick enough and the paint dried. Other times I put too much paint and it gushed all over and mixed together. I felt that It wouldn't turn out correctly if I tried to do multiple mono prints on one large paper, and make them look like on big print.

(insert failed pics here)

And sorry for finishing late, I don't have a very good excuse besides me just knowing how to successfully procrastinate something important for four days and then getting super anxious because its always on the back of my mind yet I can't find the motivation to do it ¯\_ツ_/¯

Mid process

For my project I am going to use mono printing. I am going to put a image into the print with color around it. So far I have many practice pieces but I'm still not confident with exactly how I want to dispute the color yet. I am also debating on using a large or small piece of paper. I will be using the colors in the last two pictures above but not the same image. I am also considering using more the one image. I use a lot of envision when trying try different ways of placing the colors. I wanted to do lines of color but am also experimenting a lot with putting the color around the object. I have developed my craft a lot. For example I ventured into using paint brushes instead of a roller to get the desired look. I wanted to get a somewhat paint splattered look and messy look with the colors and a crisp and clean shape inside.