This week has been all about experimenting with different media. Whatever my final pieces end up being about I want to work with different medias to create a more dynamic piece. So to start the week I spent a few hours on completing the stippled I had started the other week. My process began from a drawing that illustrates the interaction and relationship between a spider web and dandelions. This interaction focuses on my relationship with my mother and the whole idea of her being a strong yet beautiful spider web holding together delicate dandelions.

        This drawing was than transfered to a piece of clear mylar in the form of a stipple. Once the stipple was completely transfered I took everything to the printing studio and through the photo litho process I transfered the image to a photo litho plate. The final piece was about 11 inches by 9 inches. When the photo litho plate was completed I was ready to start making some prints. I started by making some normal prints to see how the print looked. 

       After that I began printing on different things to experiment and see how things turned out. A few ideas didn't work for example I tried to bring on canvas. I wanted to see how I would be able to combine printmaking and oil painting on canvas. The transfer of the ink onto the canvas did not work that well and turned out really light. I may try this again and try and ink the plate some more. I also am going to take some of the normal prints and try and combine the print with watercolor and see how that mixture works. 

        The last experiment I tried the other way was combining my print with one of the color studies I previously completed. This print is probably one of my favorite combinations. I love how the image interacts with the stripes of color. So I think this experiment is in more of the direction that I want to continue to go for my final pieces. I am able to use both my imagery as well as incorporate the color combinations to create that feeling.   

        Also this week I was able to go home for the first time this semester. At home I was able to interact and talk with my mom and find some inspiration and direction for my final project. I started to think more about different memories that define our relationship beyond just the emotions or feelings I would use to describe our relationships. Overall this weekend was good to go home and interact and it helped me find some answers and got me to think more in depth about my relationship with my mother. So I'm still trying to figure everything out and answer questions while having fun and experimenting with different media. 

          This week has been full of frustration, exploration, and new ideas. I have been struggling with the whole concept of how to execute my big idea. My relationship with my mom is so complex and hard to put into pictures, which is exactly what I am trying to do. After creating color studies and seeing how color could influence the idea and/or emotion that exist between my mother and I, as well as journaling and sketching certain object that I believed best represented my idea I once again got stuck and more frustrated. I was not sure of where to go from here so I started to think about what ?I like to do best and something which I have realized has been present throughout this entire process. I love to draw! I wanted to get my hands back into the drawing process and the freedom I feel when I do it. Furthermore, below are a few images that I have completed to start thinking about drawing figures and faces. They are very technical pencil drawings that focus specifically on the face. None of these images are of my mother or I they were just for fun and practice.

          Also this week our class took a trip to the Tappan Library on campus to research art and specific artist that relate to our projects. Here I looked a artist that included Gene Davis which focuses on color, As well as some aboriginal art that is very colorful and expressive. This was influencial in how color is used and applied to create a feeling. One specific image that I loved is a painting by Emily Kame Kngwarreye called Awelye. Another artist that I came across that started to influence this idea of focusing on faces is Vernon Ah Kee.  

          After look at these artist and have a small in class critique I think I have a good idea of the path I need to now take. In this next week and over break I am going to focus on my mother's face as well as my own face and the interaction between us too. I want to continue to draw and complete more expressive version  of our faces while using charcoal and even color pastels. I want to both draw from real time as well as from memory and explore the differences and see what kinds of meanings and expressions can be expressed through the two different methods. As well as drawing I am going to conitinue to explore the process of photo litho and finish a few of the images I previously started. With these I can explore ideas of color, layering and mixture of different mediums. 

       This week I spent a lot of time researching artists. I have been thinking about color, the use of certain color combinations and the meanings or emotions that can be evoked by color so I started to look into artists that focus specifically on color in their work. The first artist I looked into is Paul Feeley. The piece below is just one of his many color studies. His compositions are simple and focus just on the colors and what is evoked from the specific color combinations.  

         The next artist I found was David Allan Peters. I am excited about his work. He creates complex organic shapes made of layers of color. This in contrast to the white background creates a dynamic piece. When I first saw this piece I thought it was carved into, similar to what process I did to carve into the book, but once I read more ??I found out it is just acrylic painted on a panel. I love how it seems you can "look through" the layers of this piece and it has influences some new thoughts of where my two-dimensional works can go. 

         The next artist I found is Deneane Niebergall. Her work is very simplistic yet it draws you in. I love her use of prismatic and muted colors and I think that theses images are interesting, simple and elegant in a way. The shapes are organic and create a movement which is something I want to try and do in my pieces. 

         Besides my own personal research On Tuesday we went and visited our own University Museum, UMMA. Here we were given part of the class time to wonder around the museum and take in the art. I spent most of my time in the contemporary portion and looked at work by Robert Longo and Jules Olitski. The second place I spent most of my time was in the Whistler gallery. For a limited time his prints are being shown in the museum, so I took in all i could. The majority of his pieces are etching, which having my own experience with etching I greatly appreciated his work. They are so beautiful and show great detail that you know had to take hours upon hours to complete just one image. Besides the beauty of his work the one thing that I couldn't help but notice was the size of his pieces. All his work are only a few inches big which forces the viewer to come close to be able to see the imagery and all its details. 

        I love this idea of the pieces being small and having the to come inches from it to take in the imagery. This is something that got me thinking more about my own work and from this point on I think I want my final pieces in my series to be small. Some of his prints are below and they are beautiful! 

         Along with my research I have continued to do some work and small color studies. So this weekend I am going to start getting my fingers into some paint. I have creates some small canvases and I plan to play with oil paints and create some new color studies based on the feelings/concepts/emotions I am focusing on in my relationship with my mother.  Also this week I have continued to work on a stipple that I plan to turn into a photo litho print and experimenting with printing it on canvas. But I am still unsure about the imagery in this drawing so at this point I am not sold on it and will use it probably just for experimentation with the process of printing on canvas. Tonight I did some up with a new idea of imagery but I don't want to get my hopes up. I still love the idea of a stippled print and want to incorporate it into my final series so I am planning on playing with this new idea and hopefully not coming to another dead end. 

         I started this week off by sitting down and talking to my mom. We talked about our relationships, the physical aspects that exist between a mother and daughter, as well as the emotional aspects of our relationship. Specifically some things we talked about were the positive things and negative things and came up with words that characterized our personal bond. Some of the words that came up were easy, loving, complicated, aggravating, fun, comforting, etc. 

        Based on these words I began to create more color studies. By coming up with specific color combinations I have been trying to create pieces that evoke a certain feeling that comes from the given word. Some of the color studies are pictured below. The first study uses warm colors that are based on the word loving. The second image uses colors that are vibrant and engaging to evoke a feeling of energy and fun. The third color study uses colors that are light and muted creating a feeling of easiness and a calming feeling. 

        Along with these color studies I have also been working on developing some drawings that I am turning into photo litho prints. From both of these methods and  mediums that I am exploring I want to start playing with the idea of mixing them. In this next week I am going to mix and layer prints with paint. I am not sure how it will turn out but I am eager to see!