Digging deeper into Art

A piece of art can be interpreted in various ways. The less details shown, the harder one must think to make an understanding of what the artist was trying to show through the use of shapes, color, point of view, and how it could connect to either one's life or the community.

In these two paintings, I wanted to design a look that connected to the novel "The Bean Trees" By Barbara Kingsolver. One of my paintings was inspired by a painting from the book "The Painter's Eye Learning to Look at Contemporary American Art" By Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan. The other painting was a moral I understood from reading one of the chapters of The Bean Trees.

Andy Warhol, Campbell's Soup Can, 1964 silk screen canvas

My third painting I created to connect to The Bean Trees is a can of Dole Mixed Fruits. I was inspired by a simple painting of Campbell's Tomato Soup I found in The Painter's Eye Learning to Look at Contemporary American Art. 








When I first came across this painting, my first thought was "WHY?" Before reading the meaning behind why Andy Warhol painted this, I tried think of a reason of why a can of soup was important. My first intention of this painting was connected with hunger or poverty. The access to a can of tomato soup in a grocery store is highly obtainable, considering most are at most $1.00 each. Yet this wasn't how he interpreted his painting.

Why is this image so famous?
Warhol wanted people to be drawn to the fact that a big can of soup is displayed on a museum wall. As people analyze the painting, not much would come to our minds thinking of how this is significant. His reasoning for this was that, "...the shape of the can, solid and compact, pleasingly proportioned, the color of the label, the crisp contrast of red and white." (Greenberg and Jordan 81) all these attributes would change the point of view of someone walking down the soup aisle of a grocery store. He believed that the precise painting of a can and the use of basic details depicted how "our daily life are glorified by art." (Greenberg and Jordan 81). His last line of this paragraph I feel really ties in the whole understanding of why I painted.

After reading his interpretation of Tomato soup, I set my mind to find a meaningful representation of an issue in society to connect with a can of perishable foods. While I tried to think of connecting food to The Bean Trees, I didn't want the representation to be simple and straightforward like vegetables to relate with Turtle. I thought of the book as a whole of how the government is unreasonable towards immigrants like Estevan and Esperanza. After a hard 2 minutes of thinking, I came up with the idea of canned Dole Mixed Fruits. Warhol's last line was, "And that, in the end, is what it's all about." (Greenberg and Jordan 81) helped me realize that the idea of painting a can of fruit wasn't crazy. Having people realize that art is surrounding us helps them analyze objects more in depth to try and answer questions of how to solve problems in our society.

The DOLE reality

Why fruits you ask?

Fruits, so many different types grown in various ways. All of them taste different, some sweet some sour. I saw a can of mixed fruits important because everyone of the fruits no matter what flavor is sealed in a can. I saw this as a government full of diverse personalities and ethnic backgrounds. The topic of stereotypes and prejudice against certain racial groups are very crucial and important to me. I painted a can of Dole Mixed Fruits because I saw this as an opportunity to show that the government in the 1980s was unfair. The government not accepting "illegals" in the country made me very angry as I read the novel. The reason for Estevan and Esperanza being in the US is to find a safe hiding place to stay away from interrogations in the Guatemalan government. Having the government kick people out when they are in danger shows how cruel white people are towards people of color. The painting I created I wanted to show people that this is how our government, schools, communities, and neighborhoods should be like in order for there to be no harm towards one another. Art shows the DOLE reality of how our society is like.

For the color choices of this painting, I did not put much thought into the color of the fruits because many of the fruits on the main label are fairly similar in color; I mainly painted, red, yellow, orange, and a blackberry to show somewhat of a diverse community. My painting skill have not perfected much yet but some techniques I believe I could have done to make the can look more compact and slick would be adding tapes on the sides to have a smoother and straighter line to express the cylinder shape.

Process of Stippling definition 

Night Blooming Cereus 

The painting on the left is a part of my process of making the night blooming cereus.

For the stippling effect, I used the back of a new pencil to assure that the stamp of the flat rounded eraser would be noticeable to show texture and depth in the flower.

The shape of the flower doesn't have sharp edges because I wanted to show the soft and fragile appearance of how special it was to show the moral of appreciating what you have at the moment it’s there. 

I used the colors lavender, magenta, vibrant orange, red, forest green, light green, yellow, and jade green. I mixed these colors together to create a vibrant flower to capture the beauty of a night blooming cereus. After painting the flower, I didn’t want to leave the background blank so I used 3 different shades of green to represent the types of vegetables and importance of wisteria vines brought up in the novel. The choice of colors I used to create the painting are very vibrant because I wanted to show depth and the flow of emotions that was going on when Edna had shown everyone the flower. How I interpreted this scene was since the flower only blooms one night a year and the fragrance disappears when you cut the flower petals, the meaning behind this was to cherish what you have now even if there’s a possibility of you losing it. This applied to Taylor and Turtle’s relationship if Taylor had lost Turtle to the state orphanage for custody. 

*I originally made this painting for the art project of making a new cover for the novel, but I figured making a painting would show much more detail and meaning when one is analyzing my art.*

Although the book did not say anything about stippling effect for acrylic paint, the idea of stippling is simply shown in the front cover and in one of the paintings of visual effects. The stippling is not as clearly represented in this photo but, the dots are gradually darker as they go from left to right. The effect shows by giving off more detail and provides a strong structure of a realistic photo of a subject. 

Greenberg, Jan, and Sandra Jordan. The Painter's Eye: Learning to Look at Contemporary American Art. New York: Delacorte, 1991. Print. 

Overall, I feel like the interpretations I am making from my art are quite confusing but understandable after reading the text and taking apart each piece to analyze how I'm truly thinking. For my next paintings I will try to incorporate a part of modern society to assure that others can relate to the art or comment to help me improve my artistic view. 

Do you have any suggestions of what painting techniques I should try to improve the visual effects of my artwork?  

If the only clue I gave about my paintings were "The Bean Trees", how would you have interpreted the artwork? Especially my painting of the canned fruits! 

Leave a comment down below! (:

Soccer: Placement Is Key

I have been a die-hard fan of soccer since I was only 4 years old. I fell in love with the game the first time I stepped on the pitch and scored my first goal when I was playing recreational soccer at the age of about 4 and a half. At that age most of the kids that play have knowledge only enough to know that we had to chase a ball and get it into the goal without using our hands more than the other team does. Still, the excitement and thrill of being in a 0-0 game with everyone working as hard as they can to put the ball in the back of the net is what made me follow and keep on playing soccer until now. Even though I have played soccer for a long time I know that everyday I can improve and become a better player. So, to learn and gain more knowledge about the game I decided to read a soccer book called "Soccer Strategies: The Top 100 Best Ways To Improve Your Soccer Game," by Ace McCloud, for my 2nd quarter IRP project. For this blog, I chose to focus on a very vital part of the game and that is controlling your shot and placing it, not trying to hit it as hard as possible. This is very important because many people think that when you have a goal-scoring opportunity the best thing to do is smash the ball as hard as possible, this usually leads to the ball sailing way over the goal or wide of the goal because there is no control over where they want to hit it. To have more success in front of the goal instead of hitting the ball with as much force as possible, slot the ball where the goalkeeper won't be able to reach and place it in with just the right amount of power so that the shot is controlled and it hits the back of the net.

In the book on page 14 it says "Shooting the ball in a good location is a vital skill that many people do not practice enough. Placing the ball into the goal in a strategic location is much more effective than trying to smash it into the goal with no real direction in mind. A big mistake strikers can make is hitting the ball too hard and missing the goal entirely," (McCloud 14).

In both of those shots I took, exactly what the book was saying happened, the mistake I made was trying to smash the ball too hard and then I didn't even get the ball on goal. This is a major letdown for many players that don't focus enough on placing the ball in an area of the goal but just think about ripping the ball as hard as possible. This even happens with many professional players when they shoot because they don't focus enough on a location in goal and then it is very embarrassing and disappointing for them to see how far off they were after they blast it completely off target.

After reading the book, these are the two new and very much improved shots that I ended up coming out with. As you can see, I clearly picked out a place in the goal where I thought that the goalkeeper wouldn't reach if I placed it there and put just enough power under the ball. The result of actually having a location of the goal to shoot at in mind rather than just smashing the ball as hard as possible and hoping for the ball to be on frame are very good because in both of these shots I beat the keeper and scored. This book has taught me a lot about how to increase the chances of scoring by doing this because I was able to read it and follow how it said pick out a location in the goal and hit it there. This is going to help me become a better soccer player all around because I will be more controlled over my game now and score many more goals which is the main point of the game anyways. Also, in the book on page 14 again, McCloud talks about how the number one and most crucial skill of being a striker is that you have the ability to put a powerful shot on goal, (McCloud 14). This from the book also shows how I and anyone who reads this can improve and become much better at playing soccer and being a soccer player because it helps you go deeper into the fundamentals of the game and explains how to get better at basics like scoring with a deadly shot.

QUESTION: HOW DO YOU THINK YOU CAN DECEIVE THE KEEPER THE BEST SO THE LOCATION YOU PICK TO SHOOT AT ISN'T OBVIOUS?



McCloud, Ace. Soccer: Soccer Strategies- The Top 100 Best Ways To Improve Your Soccer Game (Soccer Strategies, Soccer Skills, Soccer Nutrition, Soccer Drills). N.p.: n.p., 2015. Print.

Classical Ballet: Relevé

Relevé

Relevés are used for many things, the most basic thing is strengthening your toes, but in many dances/routines/solos a dancer will go into a relevé or demi-pointe in some way shape or form. Relevés like my last blog are very fundamental but very important and no matter your experience as a dancer you will continue to do them.

Like all things in Ballet, you will start in your starting positions, Relevés can be taken from any position, I will be demonstrating them from first position. There isn't much to say about your starting position, other than keep your hips squared and technique in tact. You start strong to finish strong, if you start a combination with good technique it will be easier for you to finish it with good technique.

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The next part of the exercise is to plié. Your plié will give you what you need to spring up and really lift, so be sure to utilize it to the best of your ability. Key things to note in your plié is to keep your knees directly over your toes, so if you ever notice that they are not, due to forcing your turn out, or not turning out, make the necessary corrections and adjustments.

The final movement is to spring upward straightening your legs, maintaining your turn out, and pushing up onto your toes. Make sure that all weight is being placed upon your second toe, and your feet do not sickle where your weight is being placed on the outside of your foot and pinkie toe which will make your ankles bend in an odd way. Keep your ankles straight and weight in your second toe. My book says "Relevé is always a fast, bright movement, the effort of which must never be reflected in the upper body." (Warren 350) I've never really thought of this because personally I have never had this issue, when watching myself in the mirror, but thinking about it I have seen other dancers do this where it looks like they pull themselves up with their upper body.

Thank you for reading my blog! This is all I have for relevés, I hope that you found it interesting or educational. Is there anything that you have struggled with during relevés? What was it and how did you correct it?

Blueberry Banana Muffins

My name is Alyssa Weber and I choose to work on baking cupcakes for my IRP this quarter using the book Cupcakes! From the Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn. Before I started looking at the book I really only knew how to make basic cupcakes.

Cover of the book I am using

While I was making these muffins I had some struggles and some successes. Some of the successes I had were the muffins coming out perfectly in terms of being under or over done, the muffins were also very moist. The muffins were fairly easy to make which I was happy about since it was my first time making muffins and it was on a school night. However, I did face some struggles, I had to put my muffins in for more time then they needed according to the cookbook it would take "20-23 minutes to bake" (Byrn) but it took closer to 30 minutes to bake.

My Blueberry Banana Muffins

According to the original recipe, I was supposed to put a pecan topping on my cupcakes. I don't like very many nuts so I decided to change the topping. On the previous page there was a recipe for blueberry yogurt streusel muffins. Since the two muffins were very similar, I thought that I would try to alter the original recipe and put the streusel topping on my muffins instead of leaving them plain or using the pecan topping. I was really proud of how these muffins turned out because not only did they look really tasty but they filled my whole house with a heavenly scent as they were baking and cooling. I even took some muffins to school and gave some to my friends and teachers. When I went to visit my cousins I took some muffins and took the advice of Anne Byrn "I froze the leftover muffins and reheated them a week later for a hurried breakfast" (Byrn). They were a big hit with everyone I shared them with. One of my teachers absolutely loved it, and my cousin loved them so much that she asked me before I left if she and her husband could keep some because she liked them so much!

I told how I changed my muffin recipe because I don't like nuts, how would you suggest changing a recipe if there's an ingredient you don't like? Are there any foods you don't like?

Byrn, Anne. Cupcakes from the Cake Mix Doctor. New York, Workman Pub., 2005.

Sun-Blazed God-ish

EYE SHADOW
Simply Glamorous: Gary Cockerill

So this is my attempt of eye shadow, not too shabby, but not great either. I've always wanted to get better at eye shadow cause it creates a look natural, smoky, bronze, and etc. So lets get onto it.

The Complete Eye Makeup 

Text:
"10) Using a medium-sized brush, I applied gold shimmer eyeshadow to the main part of the eyelid, taking it into the natural socket crease and just underneath the eye at the inner corner.
11)I added a rich rusty brown matte eyeshadow to the outer corner and blended it into the shimmer powder on the lid to create more depth.
12) To combat the slight droop of her eye lids, I used a pencil brush and the same eyeshadow to cut out a crease just above the natural socket line, following its curve.
13) I swept the same color under the eye with an angled brush, taking it from the outer corner and fading it into the gold color at the inner corner.
14) Then I used a blending brush to soften all the edges and make the colors connect, with no hard lines.
15) I applied black mascara to the top lashes and let it dry before adding individual lashes and clusters of false lashes to add fullness, followed by another coat of mascara on the roots only to add dept. (The false lashes are optional and if you're doing this look for the daytime, don't go there.)
16) I lined the upper lash line with a black gel liner, keeping as close to the roots of the lashes as possible. Then I smudged a little black eyeshadow over it, creating the impression of a shadow above the lash line, which makes the lashes look thicker. ....
18) I applied mascara to the lower lashes, holding a tissue under them to protect the skin from smudges.
19) To finish off the eye, I added a little gold pigment to the inner corner and to the very middle part of the lid, so the shimmer is visible when the eye is open. This catches the light, drawing attention to the eyes and is great for an evening look. Using a smaller brush, I also added a touch of the shimmery pigment under the lower lash line at the inner corner of the eye." (Cockerill Pg.82)

Paraphrased:
Starting off, using a medium sized brush, put gold eyeshadow all over your main port of you eyelid up to the natural socket crease. Then using a rust brown matte eyeshadow put it on the outer corner and blend it into the gold shadow which creates depth. Use a pencil brush to cut out a crease above natural socket line with the brown eyeshadow. Also using the same color, use with an angled brush taking from outer corner and fade into gold color, and blend it. Put mascara on, and apply fake eyelashes, when going out at night. Line upper lash line with black gel liner, and smudge little bit of black eyeshadow. Then apply mascara to the lower lashes. To finish, at little bit of gold pigment to the inner corner of eyes to brighten.

Impact:
Following this tutorial, I learned how to correctly apply eyeshadow. I used to do it willy-nilly, but now my eyeshadow skills have gotten better. I learned what brushes are used for what, and where the colors should be placed.

Text:
"Tip Keep your eyes open when you cut out the crease on your socket line, so you can see where you're placing it . It needs to be visible when your eyes are open to create depth and make your eyes look bigger." (Cockerill Pg.82)

Paraphrased:
Keeping your eyes open when you do a cut crease, is easier so you know where you are placing it where it can be seen.

Impact:
Personally, I can never do a cut crease or just creasing in general, I have always closed my eyes, and I would just guess, but it usually never works, and it doesn't always look great. But now, I know how to do it right, and now my makeup game is stronger as ever.

Question:  What are your must-have palettes? Ones that blend nicely, and/or pigmented.

Peace Out,
Tia Nguyen

Cockerill, Gary. Simply Glamorous: Make-up transformations to make you look & feel fabulous. New York, NY 10010 St. Martin's Press New York

Classical Ballet: Battement Dégagés

Ballet Technique: Battement Dégagés

Battement dégagés (Battement being "beat" and Dégagé being "disengage") are a very common exercise at barre. They are used to strengthen a dancers toes and point. This is a very helpful exercise and will be very beneficial to the dancer, strong toes means higher leaps and quieter landings. "Battement dégagé is the basic preparatory exercise for all petit allegro steps." (Warren 95) it is very fundamental, but all fundamentals are very necessary.

 A dégagé, at barre, will usually start in fifth or first position, pictured I am starting in fifth. What position you start in doesn't really matter, it is usually by preference of teacher or instructor. Remember when you are in your starting position to lock your knees and turn your hips out as well as tighten your core and keep your body straight. These are all necessities in ballet otherwise your body will be very awkward looking.

 The first thing to do at the start of a dégagé is to stretch one leg out or "brush the leg outward" (Warren 94), remaining turned out, into a demi-pointe. It is important to keep both legs straight and both hips at the same level. If you find you are sinking down into your support leg, straighten it out and lift from it so your body is pulled up. The leg in front of you should still be straight and your demi-pointe should be very stretched.

 And the final step, the actual dégagé. Dégagé means "disengage" and it's quite literal, when the idea of this is to disengage the floor. In order to disengage the floor however, you must pushed up with a fully pointed toe. You should not actually be lifting your foot off the ground, but instead push off the floor with your toes as you point. Do not let your foot go up too far, dégagés are much lower than most other battements. When you re-engage with the floor remember to softly touch the ground as you do not want it to be audible. Téndu back to your starting position and you have finished the step.

This concludes my blog post, and I hope that you have learned something, new or experienced. It can be very nice to hear someone else's take on an exercise and what they think about it, so you can also do so if you agree or like what they say. Do you have anything specific you think about during dégagés?

Adding Depth

          Drawing has always been a hobby that I've been passionate about my entire life, but I don't usually put the time in to become better. I just sit down and decide to doodle either my own characters that I make from scratch, or I draw my cartoon characters from my favorite cartoon shows. I like to draw by simply using my imagination, rather than shaping out every detail, and I've gotten pretty good at it. By the time I finish this blog, my goal is to increase the depth in my drawings. The way I'll do this is by using different shading techniques to create a 3-d version of my drawing.

This is a fictional character I was doodling.

For me, drawing from imagination is either mixing a combination of characters I've seen on T.V making a new character, or just a regular character from T.V. Some people think that drawing and sketching is the same thing, but in, "Drawing for a beginner", by Mark Willenbrink, he states, "a sketch is a work of progress...on the other hand, drawing is an activity that is begun with the intention of producing a finished piece of art" (Willenbrink 16).  This is what makes drawing fascinating to me, is that whatever I'm drawing or doodling, I always continue to see my finished work. Also in the book, the author states that to create depth, you should focus on structural sketches because it'll help you observe your subject, (Willenbrink 17).



The drawing above is an example of dark and light shading techniques. There is a contrast between the different shades of the pencil creating depth.

Question: As an artist, do you enjoy drawing with your imagination and making your own characters, or not

Bibliography: Willenbrink, Mark, and Mary Willenbrink. Drawing for the Absolute Beginner: A Clear & Easy Guide to Successful Drawing. Cincinnati, OH: North Light, 2006. Print.