blogs/websites i love

Biba Schutz

Megan Auman

Margaux Lange

Tord Boontje

Arthur Hash

Annie Chow

Alex Pardee

Inspirational ENAMELISTS

HARLAN W. BUTT 

[artist Statement]: 

"My influences often come from the flora and fauna of the places I have lived, their colors, textures and shapes. But as human being I also live in a world of relationship, interaction and communication and so imagery, even of nature, can be metaphorical as well as literal.

Earth Beneath Our Feet: Horizon #1

MARIA PHILLIPS

ARTIST STATEMENT: "My obsession with time and the aging process has been a recurring theme in my work for the past decade. This preoccupation has fueled my interest in non-tradtiontional processes and materials in order to further examine the relationship between the natural 

and the man made. i incorporate non-precious metals with natural and found objects as well as elements based on industrial and anatomical forms. Manipulation a

nd subversion of these materials results in forms saturated with tension. Repetition of elements produces mass, an outcome that can be both seductive and cha

otic. Fabrication and electroforming permit the cultivation of new forms, while various surface enhancements influence the concepts of the work. Continual investigation of new processes and mediums are what compel, stimulate and challenge my creative process."

charcoal

I will always have a love for drawing with charcoal. It's been a long time since i got my hands dirty with it but tonight i just couldn't help myself. I'm usually so busy with other things but tonight i treated myself. I felt like nothing was turning out very well but i just kept trying. I think one quick drawing of Bobby came out okay but practice makes... better. 

all natural dye

Red Onion skins:   I've been working in produce at a little, family owned grocery store for about 5 years now off and on, and surprisingly i get a lot art ideas from work. I like the forms, shapes, textures, etc found in nature in produce. When restocking the red onions today, a lot of the loose skins were left in the bottom of the box. I had heard that an older lady used to collect them from us around easter to use them to make dyes. I took a bag of onion skins home (everyone thinks i'm such a weird art girl) to experiment making a dye. 

I boiled them for about 5 minutes and instantly it turned the water brownish red then as it boiled it turned into a nice maroon. I strained it and let it cool. I probably should have let it boil or sit longer but i really wanted to see how it looked on paper. I used it like watercolor paints and gave some paper a red wash. As it dried the dye turned green!? 

Completely dry, the red dye turned into a brownish green...  weird, right? I'm sure if i did some research, there would have been a right way of doing all this but i honestly just wanted to get my hands in it. The green color was actually really nice and i'll still use it but it was just a surprise. 

So, if you'd like a green, all natural dye... boil red onion skins.

inspiration in poems

Bobby and I have been reading a bunch of Stephen Crane poems and a lot of them really get my mind going. I'd love to do some drawings or paintings from them or even some jewelry. I think it would be awesome to etch the poems in a piece. Here's one of my favorites:

Many red devils ran from my heart

and out upon the page,

they were so tiny

the pen could mash them .

And many struggled in the ink.

it was strange to write in this red muck

of things from my heart.

future project ideas

With spring semester fast approaching, i've been thinking about future projects and where my research is going. I have finally established my own style and i think i should go with it instead of trying to come up with completely different ideas like the one i had earlier about researching old medical instruments. I want to some how connect my korean heritage with my american life. I'd really like to make a statement about my experience being a korean adoptee. It's something that makes me different and it's almost a way for me to work out/ heal issues that i've had to deal with. 

Today I was thinking about ancient masks, their meaning, uses, styles, etc. I looked up korean masks but once again i've come across the dilemma of little information out there. No books and most of the info is very vague. The carved wood masks are beautiful in the contours and forms they take. The craftsmanship of the ancient ones are admirable but there are thousands of  cheap replicas out there today made for key chains, magnets, touristy trinkets, etc.

i've also been looking at other examples of masks/ face

 armor/helmets from other cultures and times. It's so interesting how each culture had their own version of masks. I think the greek/roman face armor and helmets are interesting and are always a general  point of interest. There's a lot of images and information out there about them. Also, masquerade masks are always admired for their beauty. I've always had a set of masquerade masks on my bedroom wall that i thought were the prettiest things, i loved them and still have them. People are obsessed with them, i think because they were used to hide identities at balls. There's a playful, sexual mystery and allure about them.

Not really sure where this could go but i was inspired by what i learned in my raising and forging class. Now that i kind of know how metal moves i'd love to try and make something other than a vessel.

late photos

late photos

RING PROJECT: sheet

-pierced out floral pattern (inspired by hanbok designs & part made up)

-20 ga bronze

-nickel silver tube

-sterling silver rivets

-2 finger ring: ring finger + pinky

-not supposed to be truely functional/wearable

blog to check out

thereweretentigers.blogspot.com

there's photos from a miami art fair. 

-some of the work is really interesting!

welcome to technology suzi

I will admit when it comes to the technology race, i'm usually in last place (and happy with it). I will avoid buying the new/hip products as much as possible because... well i'm cheap. I don't see spending tons of money on a product when in a month it will be the old model or broken. I have bought a few really nice electronic items in my life but experience has lead me to believe that they are not supposed to survive a year or two. It seemed like such a waste. I could not stand it. My father loves to to buy semi-nice electronics, so my house has become this electronic graveyard. For example, we probably have 3 or 4 PC laptops and 3 desktops that all slow as hell and/or have something wrong with them. 

This last semester I have come to realize how important technology really is to a student in the design/art field. It's been like pulling teeth with me but i am actually starting to like it. My dell laptop that i got when i started college just didn't have what it took to hold up this semester so i saved and saved for a macbook. I learned to use photoshop and illustrator this semester so i knew i was going to need them sooner or later.  

I got the standard macbook and even passed up the black one because it was $100 more for the same model. I also splurged and got the CS4 design standard. I'm on my new mac right now and am waiting for the software to be delivered as we speak. i'm pretty excited. i just hope the mac will prove my bad attitude wrong and last for years.

2nd life: Jaidynn Waffle

My 2nd LIFE PROGRESSION:

This whole virtual world stuff confuses the hell out of me sometimes. i didn't like all this stuff when i didn't understand it. It would frustrate me to the point of almost throwing the computer at the wall. It's not even that complicated, I just have bad computer karma (... i can't wait to see how the Rhino class goes next semester).

The goal for all this was to create something in 2nd life that had to do with our outsource project. So I started with huge cubes and uploaded the images of my work onto them.

I moved on to a sphere and more cubes. 

It then progressed to actually attempting to build walls and a ceiling... i forgot about a floor. Thanks Jan, Megan, and Amy for all the help. Once I got some help and actually dedicated a good amount of time, i started to get the hang of it. I was going to keep this exhibit but it didn't look very professional. I thought about how much time i had spent on my actual project that i did not think this did it justice. Plus there were some really nice ones... AMY! Amy's looked amazing, it was unique and creative... i was jealous.

After spending the weekend in a computer lab and today in between classes, i think i have a pretty nice display. Certain peers might not think it's much but for me this is a huge accomplishment! It's definitely better than just cubes. 

picnik

editing pictures!

I don't have a sweet mac so I don't have a way of cropping/ editing my photos from my camera. There's a website: www.picnik.com where you can upload a picture, edit, add text, effects, etc. all for free! I really like it and it's easy to use. 

Plus when it's loading it says things like "blooming blossoms... growing grass..." which i thought was a cool little detail.

branding

-Tiffany & Co.

I thought it was interesting to find a brand where the packaging is probably more famous than the actual products.

I'll admit, when i went on my senior trip to NYC i wanted so bad to buy something from tiffanys so i could have the blue box. I like the stamped jewelry because it had the label on it and i wanted to remember that experience. I bought the cheapest piece of jewelry i could find, a sterling silver band ring. i don't know what it is but i felt really cool carrying that blue bag around. 

VICTORIA'S SECRET

-no one wants underwear and bras from walmart when you can go to victoria's secret! This brand has successfully made itself SEXY and that's pretty much what they are all about. Now they have cosmetics, fragrances, loungewear, etc but it's all sexy because that's what the brand has become. Some underwear is not sexy at all but if it's from VS than it is. 

I've just realized that all of the brands i listed are sooooo expensive. I can't afford any of it but i wish i could. I guess that makes them successful because they have people wanting a piece of it. That's why they can have the prices so high because it makes the brand more desirable in some cases. Lower prices can make pieces seem cheap! 

more branding

-Tord Boontje

i 1st heard of him in jewelry I and Megan brought in the book for us to see (right). I thought it was such a cool book so i bought it instantly.   i love the patterns and the different materials he uses. Everyone now knows Tord Boontje's work after he did the christmas decorations for target a few years back. Now I see his work especially his lamps everywhere.

-Ed Hardy

This brand is everywhere! This brand looks like it's based off vintage tattoos. There's Ed Hardy clothing, shoes, fragrances, electronic covers, bedding, purses, etc... i think i even saw bottled water. I like the style but i can't afford anything by them. They've done a good job at getting their brand out there because all the celebrities are wearing it. 

-Juicy Couture

I originally liked this brand because it had dogs in their logo. =) I do like the style of

 jewelry, clothing, purses, dog collars/clothing, etc that they have. Everyone knows the logo and knows that it means $! It's expensive stuff and if someone has it, the show it off. It seems like they haven't been around for long but its a brand that appealed to the public so it became popular pretty quick.

"I love floraly shit"

RING #2 : sheet

-18ga bronze

-nickel silver tube

-sterling silver rivets

As we all know, I look at traditional korean patterns for a lot of my work. I can't help that i'm completely drawn to it.

After i saw Katy and Danielle's sheet rings i was really inspired by their sawing skills. Sawing is something that i've never really been very good at. No matter how much i try to stay on the line it gets messed up. Usually filing and sanding fixes it but i wanted to focus on that skill for this project because i know it was something i had to work on.

I pierced out a floral silhouette pattern out of sheet bronze. I looked at a lot of patterns and kind of made my own up. I like that it's not too obvious that it's floral. I wanted to try to incorporate the finger holes in the pattern, it makes it uncomfortable to wear though. It's more of an art piece than a functional ring. I also thought it would be interesting for the ring to have layers so even though it was a flat sheet, it still had dimension. 

can't sleep thoughts

Actually sitting down thinking about this semester, it's blown my mind how much we've all learned. Of course with every class you learn something new but this semester i feel like so much stuff has been jammed into my head. All of it hasn't even caught up... lists help:

-Raising 

-sinking (taken further than the tea infuser)

- bouging/ planishing

-soldering large forms together

-alittle bit of polishing

-tapering

-stretching

-making utensils

-patinas -> torch, immersion, saw dust, cotton 

-HINGES

-clasps

-etching! yay

-die forming

-some stone setting

-decking

-internal/ external framing

-outsourcing

-2nd life

-illustrator (seems like an easy, simple thing but it took HOURS for me to learn it and do it somewhat well)

-photoshop (alittle)

-blurb

etc, etc. I'm sure there are things that i'm missing but those are off the top of my head. I still feel like i've only had a taste of these things and i definitely need more practice in all of them but it's cool to think that i did all of that. 

This is the first time that i haven't had things done on their due dates in school (going back to elementary school!) I was always the freak out person that had to have things done on time. I still am like that but somehow things got away from me this semester. I was constantly working but somehow got way behind. It makes me feel bad enough disappointing myself but i never want teachers to think that i'm slacking off or don't care. I think everyone has sort of felt this way this semester... completely overwhelmed BUT if you just take a step back and look at all we have accomplished, it's pretty impressive. We are down to the last week of classes then finals but I think we will all be fine. I have definitely turned in projects that I would have liked to have been better but I also turned in some that i'm pretty proud of. Not everyone can be a Taylor and turn in portfolio pieces every time. :)

To all my fellow classmates, i pat you on the back and say "good job! you worked hard!" We can all sometimes feel bad about projects and cry about school but in the end we did our best. So let's finish out the semester still working just as hard and feel good about it.

branding

My favorite artists/ brands:

-ANTHROPOLOGIE

I love everything about this store except the prices... i wish i

 could buy something in it! Everything from bedding, clothes, to kitchen accessories are amazing. I'd like to think that my style is like that store. They are constantly chan

ging their window displays into classy art installations. I look forward to seeing a different display each time i go to the mall.
-HOLLISTER

Another one of my top f

avorite brands even though i can't really afford it. It's probably one of the top clothing brands for younger generations. Everyone knows the hollister logo and recognizes the $ spent. I like it for the quality and style.

 

-AMERICAN EAGLE

AE is another clothing brand similar to Hollister but more affordable. They have good quality products and usually have interesting pieces. I like the graphics that they are starting to use on t shirts.

Picture time!!

My old Metalsmithing I/ Casting- Blood Diamond project:

-10 bones carved out of wax, made into a mold and cast in bronze
-welded steel chains
-real brass bullet shells
-Copper vultures with "T.I.A."

[detail shot]

I want to fill my blog up with photos of my work!

back in the day...

I finally got around to photographing my first jewelry I project.
The project that started it all....

["Bear" -large dog sculpture: welded steel]

[Detail shot]

[small project]

Design and production

The other 2 necklaces: