Thursday, March 28, 2019

jenn jones - lighten up!

(about two weeks before the show)

i spent some time looking at the work of corita kent and also the philosophies of simone weil. both were so uplifting and inspiring. after taking another look at the three illustrations i made, i realized they were not very uplifting. i like them, but made them in kind of a pessimistic/realist mindset. i'd rather show some spirit.

i've been moved by so many words recently. so i decided to write my own and look through my sketchbook/phone notes to find words as well.

Wall Marginailia



By exploring the shapes used in the modular structures I am creating I designed and linear poster to occupy wall space and display the process of the work. Beyond that I have created and type of mesh from the unaltered flat file. I intend to use this mesh as wall sculpture to the adaptability of shapes created for modular purposes.

Monday, March 25, 2019

Posters

Here are the posters for each product. I also started printing the boxes for the products and assembling them. I realized the paper I am using is thicker than I expected... so I am slowly figuring out that so the folds will hold and the boxes will stay closed. 








Sunday, March 24, 2019

Emily Fox - titles? help thanks

I'm stuck trying to figure out what to title my work.

Right now the words I have written down are:

Woven
System
Layers
Thread
Order/Disorder

and my ideas are

"Systematic Threads"
"Woven Systems"

I can't tell how I feel about any of these and would love some feedback! Thanks in advance guys!

Saturday, March 23, 2019

jenn jones: "oof. that's kind of dark" (FEEDBACK APPRECIATED PLS)

if its anything i've learned so far, its that you absolutely positively cannot have light without darkness. in a way, after trying so hard to focus on light this entire year, my thoughts have always been going back to darkness. entropy. we cannot always be lights. and we don't have to worry about the light leaving us, because it is not generated from us; it is from something bigger.

whenever i get a good idea for a concept, i sometimes think to myself "gosh. that's kind of dark". and that's funny to me, since i'm such a happy person, and i'm trying so hard to make art about light. i thought that might be a good idea for a show title.


i've been holding back on God words and God imagery. honestly, i'm afraid of how people will perceive things like that. not many people enjoy religion very much. and my art is usually just pleasing to the eye, and heartwarming. i hardly ever show my existential / very spiritual / very christian side. but that's something i need to just get over. i have something i want to say, and that's all that matters in the end.

and not going to lie, coming to this realization has made me kind of giddy with excitement. almost like, i want to tell everyone about this! because christianity has become warped by many bad people who think they are doing good things. i want to voice my side, plus scripture, minus theirs. offering anybody a fresh take on a religion that has saved me over and over again is cool. i can't help if talk of religion rubs someone the wrong way, because that doesn't discern me. i'm doing this out of peace.

here are three illustrations paired with verses that help explain my concept how God is light, and darkness is an integral part of life.

this one is self explanatory. i drew this last semester and am more than glad to bring it back.

i got this idea thinking about how Christ is the lamb of God, and it took such a dark thing such as the crucifixion to bring salvation to the world. to make sure jesus was dead, a soldier thrust a lance into his side. so this is a lance in a lamb.

this is about persevering through hardships. the praying hands are literally dead, but still praying. because we all feel dead sometimes. and the olive branches resemble hope and peace of good things to come. i may find a new verse for this illustration, but i like this one for now.


since i have the space by the window, i would like to touch these up and screen print them onto something the sunlight could shine through. either that, or just on paper, and then i can come up with something else to use with the sunlight.


i'm feeling a lot better. and i'd really appreciate feedback/critique!

Thursday, March 21, 2019

Emily Fox - Playing Catch-up

So it's pretty clear that these blog posts have not been where my effort has been going.

Right now I'm working on my promotional material(s).


I am planning on using a logo that I've developed for myself over the past few years. This consists of a book, a ball of yarn with knitting needles, and a brayer. This represents my work as well as my own interests in books, fibers, and printmaking.

In the background at the moment I have used a scan of one of the prints I've made. I lowered the opacity to hopefully make the design less busy, but I'm not sure if that worked. In the past I've used this logo printed on a solid color.

I'm probably going to get my cards printed with Moo, so there's the opportunity to have different card backs if that's something I want.

I also am planning on making postcards that will have a similar image, but at full opacity and without my logo on top of it.



Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Bollinger – Creature Comfort

I feel as though I've really been having a battle with my senior project with what it is and what I want it to be. I thought more about the "cathartic" meaning behind my own personal walks and tried to find a better way of connecting that sensation to what I previously had been observing in other people. It has been a real challenge for me to try to formulate the emotion I felt while conducting those studies, and coming to terms with it. I am not a very personal person, I have never really "aired out" my emotions and constantly being asked "well what does it mean" or "what do you hope to achieve through making this" was daunting to me because I still hadn't (and maybe still haven't) figured it completely out, I just had a natural attraction to collect that kind of data.

The project title I've currently decided on is Creature Comfort; the phrase means- material comforts that contribute to physical ease and well-being, such as good food and accommodations. It's the things that make living just a little more tolerable, it's the coffee shop, the peacefulness of a library, the energy of a public event, it's the walks. It can encompasses a cathartic type of experience too, but it's more than that. It's the human experience.

I feel as though in my maps, studies, and journalings I have always taken the backseat as an observer in this world. That is also reflected in my photographs; particularly the ones of the lights cast from peoples homes. I use the emptiness of the streets to my advantage to frame the shot, and a single room illuminated in the darkness and inside the frame of someone's life. Just a second of it, or however it long it takes me to walk past it. An acknowledgment and I pass. There's even personality to the quality of light or the kinds of drapes, I wonder what kind of person lives there. What does candle light mean? Or dainty laced drapes, does someones grandparents live there? I desire to get close, but not too close. It's lonely, I admit, but I'm not trying to be self-pitying (that's also something else I've been trying to combat), it's more of just questioning and reflective.


Posters for Products

I have been trying to figure out how I want my posters to be for awhile and was kind of stuck. I didn't want it to be a repetitive design of the product and packaging so I have a various ideas of what they could be. I realized that many poster ads for products sometimes don't make sense. For example some have an image of an animal or a scenic view and somehow it is tied to the product.

I remember doing a project in Using Images where we would put and image along with a phrase...so it is relatable to what I am doing now. I have came up with two ideas so far. I could use stock images and also take photos. Another option would be using memes. The products I have created are based on problems in our modern society today, and memes are very popular in our culture today. Not sure about it, but I thought I could have some fun with it!








































Since my glass shelves are 8x10, the posters will be 10x20 banner size to align evenly together. Also here is a plan of how my installation will be with a corner wall space.












I was thinking how I would incorporate my process into the show so I thought of having two white shelves with my herbal boxes I made last semesters (grey boxes). The other side will be the 7 products I made.

Monday, March 18, 2019

AndrewTricoche_Guess Whos Back

Spring break gave me a little extra time to work on thesis. I still had work in Boston on Monday, Wednesday and Friday but I used Tuesday and Thursday to put stuff together. Here are some updates on my work:

- Decided on 2'x1' canvas for "scrolls". Canvas is bought and is in process of being painted...
- Decided against a book for the "voice prints" and made some discoveries:










I continued making voice prints, and realized with these last four, that I wasn't really taking spacing into consideration because I wanted to stick to a system of margins, etc. I started loosening up, and let the rough measurements of spacing and rythym in vocals determine the overall length. These still need to find a medium, because I want to be able to mark these up to show other sound variables. Each piece will have a unique height and text box width based on rythym/speed of the vocals.







Maybe just choosing frames of different sizes and seeing which fits most naturally. I'd love each frame to be a color associated to the emotion of the song, but slim so it's still out of the way.

-I also designed myself a business card.




I'm still working out the back.
-I submitted some show name ideas. Hope to discuss those.
- I also reworked the idea for the joy vinyl case, though looks stale now.
- Decided on using the DAAAAAAAAAAMN! for the mural. Not sure if I want to include the other phrases, "Yah Baby" and "Friggen Sweet"

Besides all of this, I'm finishing up working out some designs for the Open House coming up, A die cut Student Ambassador pin and laser cut signage, plus some vinyl.
Also a strategic plan/license plate installation/mural/business card/signage for work at MassDOT.

We've got less than a month so finished printed pieces are the goal. I'll be staying late later today to print some of the voice prints if anyone has any suggestions for medium. I also want the business cards ordered by end of week. I'll use some time to design a show card as well (Do the macs have cd players? Because I'd load some animated type on a CD as an invitation instead. A Seeing Sounds on CD. It'd work cool with the mural, like you're invitation is supposed to be put inside the boombox.)

The Resurrection: Back from the dead

I hit a rut at the worst time and now I’m running till the end. I’ve been working on several book lay outs and poster layouts. Also layouts for the final show set up. I want to talk more about my place in the gallery to finalize how I will shape this installation since it does become site specific.

I've thought a lot about how i'm going to place these and I think the projectors will end up on a table or pedestals due to their general size. Plus, I needed a table set up with my books so I can more incorporate my pieces in with one another even though they could stand alone as well.

I’m creating a small set of books to add to the wall information. One will be the clear plexus book currently titled ‘invisible scripture’, the next will be the forgive me father book, then a small collection of one liners from my notes, and lastly a small collection of poetry on being a former Christian. I want all of this information present to show my journey through this information. There’s a lot of it and I want the viewer to be able to involve themselves in my world and my work.

As for the book structures, i've been reading about single bindings and have ideas of how to bind the plexy glass book. The poetry leaning towards simple binding so I can make a few in my time left. The father father book had worked well with a pamphlet binding and I want to keep that. The one liners is still up in the hair from a chapbook to a small stab binding.

I didn't add photos of the father father book yet because the layout has been adjusted slightly to fix the errors from it's last printing. I will post the pictures when I make the sample.

Picture time,

Here's my projection wall set up.
I've created a GIF for the I don't trust line and it'll flash through the 15 names i've chosen.




Here's cover and some layouts of my one liners book,
I wanted a book that wasn't just line after line by making each line really graphic.







Here's cover and some layouts for the plexy book,
I lined the title to the bottom so when assembled it'll be visible though the layers (It'll be on the front and back pages) and nothing will be over it unlike the rest of the book. I'm working on a few test sheets for size of of the smaller pieces but i'm confident it'll be okay.






Here's cover and some layouts of my poetry book,
This book needs work on the text specifically. I need to go in a improve the leading and kerning of each poem. I'd made the Jesus and Satan pattern in the beginning of the semester and I finally found a good place for it.



Promotional Materials

I have been working on promotional materials for the Thesis show. I began by contemplating what types of media to use and in what volume. I decided that Business cards and (4x6) cards are used in almost every thesis show I have seen. I began designing the business card first. I started by echoing the aesthetic of the flat pattern I created to cut modular panels and by using the patterns shape I created a layout. I then abstracted the pattern to create an icon/logo to unify my business card to the work I will be showing in the thesis show. I then created the backside of the card and began redesigning the my website listed on the card.

www.vincentmainetti.com

I am waiting on MOO to send me a sample pack of all their business card options. This will help me decide on which card stock to use.



After creating the design for the business card I will be using I moved onto the 4x6 card. I chose to echo the aesthetic of the business card design for this, but made some minor layout differences. Looking at the two cards next to each other I am unsure if the design should repeated precisely or differ. I am leaning towards them differing slightly. 


I am currently working on 3 posters to accompany my modular creations in the thesis show. I plan to have 5 small modular structures,  1-2 Large Structures and a video. Below is a link to a video containing one of these modular structures.

https://www.facebook.com/paulkotakis/videos/pcb.602702434079/602702394159/?type=3&theater

Saturday, March 16, 2019

Things are happening...

I made all the mock-ups for the 7 products I want to display. I sized them and made the packaging for them to fit. Eventually I will make the packaging thicker in order to hold each product. For now it is just printer paper to get an idea and feel of each product.

























I ordered a double set of bottles as 'testers" for people to hold and touch. Now its just picking out the small things to fix and adjust to have them be as perfect as they can be. I am also working on posters for each one which will be 14x20.

I also ordered my glass shelves... (I just need to pick them up) and slowly things are coming together. I am hoping to incorporate my timeline from last semester into the show to have some sort of background info. Maybe a small book?

Some titles I have swirling around for my thesis are:
- Twisted Quack
- Essential Remedies
- Solutions to the Modern Society
- Believe in the Quack