Day 1

Monday August 7th 2017. 

I didn't sleep last night. Call it anxiety, call it caffeine, I'm not sure the reasoning but I barely slept two hours over all. I kept planning little aspects of my life that are terrible decisions in the daylight. 

Blueberry smoothie cleanse sounds so magnificent and easy in the middle of the night. 

I have recently realized that my vocabulary and grammar are not what I thought they were, and that reading and writing more would improve them. I'm going to try to blog everyday for 100 consecutive days and see if anything changes. 

As I sit here in Rochester New York, drenched in lavender essential oil, drinking my french press coffee, my husband is avoiding getting ready for his day upstairs. He's enjoying this time to himself and looking at the news or playing a game on his phone. I just messaged him that I need to use the shower in 5 to 10 minutes so he needs to get it together. The shower just started. 

We just got married in central California. It was quite possibly the sweetest week I have ever been apart of. Everyone was so happy - other than my family. They looked miserable. I'm coming to terms with the fact that you can't win them all, and they're all adults and should have been able to navigate it. I sure would have. 

Nonetheless the week was magnificent. There was so much love and so much happiness and everything went perfectly! I don't think I really slept that week either - but that was for more excitement than blueberry power smoothies. 

We were married on a beach surrounded by almost all of our closest friends. We made it incredibly hard for them to get to, yet nearly everyone we invited came. It was lovely. One of my favorite aspects of the weekend was how involved in the wedding each attendee was. From the setting up of the tables and centerpieces, to literally deciding where the chairs were going to be set up, everyone put a hand in. It truly made it a once-in-a-lifetime event. 

This next weekend is our first of three receptions in Pennsylvania. Gail, my mother-in-law, took care of EVERYTHING. I'm so grateful and excited. It's going to be so relaxed and perfect. My mom is coming Friday and leaving on Monday for it. I didn't get a lot of time with her in California, so I'm pretty excited to have her here now. 

Well Matt, my husband, is out of the shower. Until tomorrow. 

day 5

Today the update is I'm working. i put more cups on toby, put some weight in his rear and he stands on his own. here are some pictures!

Day 4

Today I worked on finishing the shape of Toby. I bought 500 more yards of plastic wrap putting the total at 600 square feet of the clear goodness. I wrapped it around the pencil rod so much that you couldn't see it anymore and it was sparkled white due to the plastic wrap's consistency. I built up the plastic wrap around the head and belly to create a little bit more of a form than the pencil rod allowed. Once this was complete and the structure looked smooth and magical I added a bit of the sliced solo cups to the structure and played around with adhering them to the body. This turned out a little different than planned, and I'm working to get it how I'd like it. Here are some pictures.

Day 3

Today I brought in a variety of types of clear plastic. I was initially thinking metal but after pricing what it'd cost and looking at my bank account, idecided that I needed an alternative. I went to three different stores tolook for colored clear solo cups, but to my dismay they only had the solid colored and clear colored ones. Once I decided to grab the clear ones, i also grabbed clear plastic silverware and plastic wrap. Ideas spiraled in my head about options what to do with these ranging from melting the silverware onto Toby to create his form, to covering him entirely with plastic wrapand melting it. One idea was to cut the cups into spirals and spiral them around his form possibly painting them later- which was the winning idea. I sliced the tops and bottoms of the cups off andcut them into spirals. I got a package of 24 and found that I will need at least four more packages. I also covered Toby in plastic wrap in hopes to diffusing the visual stye of the metal under the clear cups. In turn Toby is beginning to look sparklie and mystical - which was the goal. here's some process pictures - i can't adhere the cups until I have bought and applied the rest of the plastic wrap that I hope to form Toby with.

Day 2 Toby

Today I've begun thinking about different types of coverings for Toby. Last tuesday Santiago and I spoke of different ways to keep Toby sustainable outside. This included covering him with metal sheets and painting the sheets the different colors. I wasn't exactly excited about the shiny smooth covering, but thought it was a start. I imaged this looking like a precious moments giraffe with its bubbly edges and soft face. I do NOT want to make a precious moments giraffe. I've been looking at different ways to cover metal structures and have stumbled upon a wide assortment of sculptures. I like the irregularity of the coverings and would like to combine their ideas into Toby. Here are some photos of what I'm talking about. The shape of the objects have been made by layered metals. This creates a texture among the forms that I especially adore. I was thinking something like the first photo, but on Toby.

Toby the Giraffe

Today I decided to document the work of Toby day by day. This is what happened on day 1. I drew up some ideas then made them out of wire. I then picked the best design and made it out of pencil rod.

beginning and ending.

I am finally done with all of my masks. they totally didn't turn out how I expected but still convey what the initial design was. I ran into a multitude of issues, but the result was pleasing. I'm in the process of documenting them now, and will update my blog with the photos as soon as they're done.

I've decided what to do next for my project. Over the past few months I've been very interested in body language. The difference between individuals, the similarities and differences that we consider the norm, and just basically what body language does to create a person's identity. From this I wanted to create a sculpture that creates a certain feeling within the viewer, that's light and airy although the sculpture will be made out of mostly metal which is heavy and stoic. Looking at these ideas after I had written them down I decided to make a caryatid that was solum and created an awkward presence among the viewers, or a medusa like statue that created fear among my guests. From this I decided to go for something I've never truly went for; humor.

I then decided to make an animal and more distinctly a giraffe. The initial idea was to make his head go through the gallery ceiling, or sitting like a child with his feet straight out and licking his face in content. Among brainstorming I dabbled on the idea of making an elephant and making him look light as a feather, but as elephants are so loaded, I decided to land on a giraffe. I then bounced between a literal feeling of the giraffe being a goof, or a less than obvious representation that will create joy within the viewer - i chose the ladder.

From this I decided to create a ten foot tall giraffe that was peering over onto my classmates' artwork. I'll compile a series of scaffolding that will hold the head and body together, and a balancing act among the legs to create a feeling of leaning forward. I'm still working on if I want to make the giraffe see through, or opaque or completely covered. wish me luck!

Update

So I just wanted to update my progress in the past month. I've been away on vacations and helping with a visiting artist most of march, but there has been some progress made! I have made the rubber mold on my wax sculpture for two of my masks. I plan on pouring melted gummies into one and molten sugar into another. It's just the head of the bust i'm using as my first mask, and i plan on altering them so they're not all the same. In order to not ruin the magic I'm going to refrain from uploading any pictures until the final result. The line up goes as follows

1) Denial - i have made the wax sculpture of this and will make the rubber mold once the first rubber mold is done. I will then put dark chocolate with the consistency of almond bark in the mold and have a bust of myself.

2) Anger - This one I plan on making out of nerds. I have a plaster mold ready to go and I plan on pouring nerds with some sort of adhesive together in the mold and creating an interesting backdrop that will be flush with the wall. (there will be some sort of enamel in order to not have the nerds colors run)

3) Bargaining - this one will be one of the two from the head mold I'm forming currently. I plan on melting gummy bears into the mold and cutting the mold in half between the eyes. I will then put gummy bears in a circular shape with the two halves of faces on the left and right side of the circle. the gummys will ultimately mix in the mask, but will sustain their colors when they're in the circle.

4) Depression - This one I'm almost done with. I have the plaster mold created and a powdered sugar positive from it. I just need to buy the black twizzlers rope and connect it like hair. I'm considering finding some sort of silver frosting to make tears on my face.

5) Inspiration - this one will ultimately come from the head mold i'm creating from my bust as well as #3, but this will be the only mask where my eyes are open. I plan on making a rubber mold then a wax mold where I alter the mask to have the eyes open, then I plan on making a second rubber mold and pouring molten sugar into the mold. This will then have a lightbulb in the center of it and look like a light bulb itself in the shape of my head.

All of this work will be done for the critique on Tuesday, and I will FINALLY update some pictures. I will also add one of Guillermo as I seem to have forgotten to last project.

Cheers

Refresher

Alright I'm almost done with the first mask (denial) and it's coming along great. I plastered my face and my chest and am making a bust out of wax - i'll upload a photo when it's closer to easily being understood of what it is. While doing this process I've thought about what I could do as an artist to make my artwork sustainable. If my artwork is inside it doesn't exactly matter, but if it's outside, wax will melt, plaster will crack, and rubber will crack. I'm still working on what I want the final products to be made out of but if my artwork is inside I think it'd be interesting to make them out of candy. They'll be a little too weird to put in a children's hospital but it's still something interesting. My first self portrait is a bust of me with a pleasant look on my face, hairless looking down; I was thinking chocolate for this one because it needs to be done. The next would be with me screaming or looking in pain and I was thinking multiple kinds of hard candy or melted sugar. I'm not sure how to make this buuuut it could be a nice colorful addition. The third (bargaining) I'm still working on. The fourth (depression) would be my face crying aluminum tears with long black hair. I'm not sure how to translate this into candy and keep it's impression, but i'm working on it. The last one I'm slightly really excited about. I want it to look like glass and make a lightbulb. I'd like it to be my own head, but a lightbulb. I'm not sure other than glass that will work right now but, :) I'm working on it. Keep you posted.

mask project

So over the course of the winter break I had decided that I wanted to do a series then display it in a gallery. Sort of of one last hoorah of college. I've altered my ideas to five masks to which i hope to have in some kind of hospital or psychology department in my life. They were to begin with me not knowing about my dad's real situation, then changing to me hearing about my dad's situation, then dealing with it in an emotional sense, then locking it up inside with the last mask of inspiration. I've thought it through and it really sounds like the five stages of grieving. I like this idea with the masks being self portraits and the last - instead of acceptance being inspiration. I'm not sure how I'll deal with the last two masks but have a clear goal for the first three and am excited to see how the whole ordeal turns out!

Midlife crisis

My dragon is a dick. He's driving me insane. The more I think about it, though, I feel like I should've seen this coming. Because I wanted to portray my dad as a dragon/monster, Guillermo seems to be portraying a dragon/monster. As this was an issue I didn't want to bring up, the fact that it's not turning out how I had meant him to are seeming obvious. I wanted him to portray a beautiful broken creature that was corrupting himself as he corrupted the individuals around him but he's turning out to be a broken creepy creature that doesn't have fire yet. I suppose we'll just have to see how this turns out...

Artist Statement

When faced with the question, “Why do I create art?” I always
want to retort with, “Well, why do you breathe?” As cliché as that sounds, it
gets the point across. I create art for a multitude of reasons the biggest
being, because I have to.

I used to create art because I needed to get an emotion
out of my being, whether it was good or bad. I began writing songs when I was
little because I was bored and drawing because I missed my dad and felt closer
to him when I drew. When I was in junior high and high school I began playing
instruments in order to get the energy and enthusiasm I had towards my everyday
life. When I hit college it became apparent that I was building the skills I needed
to succeed in life through this thing called art.

I create works of art for others to experience an emotion
that they weren’t experiencing, or just to share my gift. I love to inhabit a
space with my work. To show the viewer their inner feelings that they didn’t
know they were experiencing. I do this most efficiently through the artwork
involving my dad.

This past year I’ve been involving my dad slowly into my
artwork and now am involving him into every project I do. He got in a car
accident before I was born leaving him with permanent brain damage. In summary
he lives in an Alzheimer’s unit in Lincoln, and doesn’t know Lauren Brown exists.
He used to be a well-known artist in Texas and can barely copy a coloring book
line drawing. He remembers up to six months before his accident and sadly I was
born a little over a year after it happened. Through my experiences of getting
to know this man, I have found emotions within myself deeper than anything else
I have felt. I like to create art that I think of while meeting him or feel
when I’m thinking about him because it brings the most passion and emotional
work I’ve ever created.

In summary I do art parallel to why I breathe. I do it
for myself; the skills I build and the emotions I expose. I do it for others to
share my gift and have other experience an emotion. Lastly I do it to remember
my dad, and share what he’s unintentionally taught me with the world.

Final Door based Moment

This is my final moment progression print. I like that you can see where I started, how it evolved, and then the final product. I really like where it all ended up.

This is my render sequence. I wanted to depict the path of a person as they walked up to the structure, entered the new modern part, transitioned into the old part, went up a floor, went back into the new part, and then discovered the view. I like that is shows that the structure requires you to transition back and forth between the old and the new while still somewhat incorporating nature.

-V

door based model continued

So, I've taken the final moment I made based on the movement of doors and made a function space with it and attached it to the large barn of the site we are using. This is the same barn I took the study of doors from, that's the reason I chose this barn. I'm working on turning the moment into a space that can be split up into the three required programs: relax (gathering space), revive (summer/community kitchen), and refresh (hygienic core).
-V

These are my beginning ideas on how to integrate my moment object and the building I took everything from. It's a little bit like a modern transitional space. I want to make it so that no matter what you are doing you have to move from nature to modern space to old barn to modern to old barn to nature to etc. I think it will make you think about the transitions of time and volume and nature. (at least I hope so)

In this diagram I start to show how I would split the building into different programs. This is technically a literal floor plate for the building, so not so diagram-ish, but it gets the point across. The dark blue is hygeinic core. The light blue is the kitchen. The green is the gathering space. and the purple is really something that could go any way.

This is where I am right now. I've started to refine everything (except for materials) and I've added in the site. I'm really working on structure on and function coordinating with idea. It's a little tougher than I thought it would be, but it's working out okay.

Connection

After a few revisions of my idea (four, to be exact), I reached something that appeared to make sense. These rocks I've encountered were a bit expected, but where I've ended up, and how I move forward is something I'm quite proud of.

My final submission is a whole transformation from where I started. Originally looking at the new condition of the farm, and its current condition, and trying to document it's process and redefining it, I've shifted my focus to the whole idea of the family and farm life - and how they coincide with each other.
I first started out with the image of the lawn chair and old milk jug, and simplified the objects in the image to their simple geometries. From there, I derived lines, then skewed them all a bit so they began to interact with each other, much like the life on the farm. Starting to fill in the shapes with black, I started deriving interesting relational geometry. This step took me into Rhino, where I was, at first, stuck. I was too concerned with making it connect to buildings, like this huge volume of space, until I experimented with overlaying it on the site map.
Finally, the project began to define itself, as what I created began to graphically convey the message which had inspired me. What I saw was the shapes I derived from the picture was able to develop a personal and unique connection to and between all the pre-existing buildings on the site. What I had created was a site plan. In the model seen at the top of this image, I extruded the lines I created in my 2D process over the site, and used boolean difference to subtract where the form interacts with the original buildings of the site.

Final Doors Layout

This is the final layout I've done. You can see pretty well how I get from place to the next.

door based model

This is an exploded view of the model I have made from the simplified geometries picked out of the original model. I took the most major shapes and worked and reworked them until I got this shape.
I took the simple(r) geometries I had put together and joined them through Boolean. This made the interior spaces almost more complicated than the outside. So I sectioned it and tried to build it.

Physics wasn't exactly my friend in this project, but I finally got something pretty close to what I saw on the screen. I learned a very important life lesson through this project, just because you see it on the screen does not mean that you can build it in real life. I got pretty close, though, so I'm happy.

-V

Fungi Inspiration

Here is a stab at reality. This image, though not originally part of the project, is one way the exercise can be utilitzed. Rather than taking the literal three dimensional extrusion of our two dimensional abstraction images, I find using our two dimensional images for inspiration to create a new form more successful. This form of this structure is interesting and mimiks the manner in which fungal bodies grow upon their hosts. This image is similar to the two dimensional abstractions by sticking to the theme of geometric shapes but does its own interpritation. I hope this is the direction we will be taking this project and may contribute to my overall understanding of this fungal ideology.

Bracket Fungi Final Results

For the most part, this is the final product. The top section of photos is the final outcome of this process. Though I believe the first two or three steps were helpful, The last abstraction step or the making it into a 3D solution was pretty much a failure. As I began to extrude the lines from two dimensional images into three dimensional space, no decent patterns or compositional arrangements came about. Because of this I looked at my thrid step as a two dimensional picture of a three dimensional object. I then took this form and flattened some of the shapes to make them elevation shapes and some to be considered the top shapes. In a sense I composed my 3D image out of looking at my two dimensional drawings as if they were a perspective of an actual object. My composite image is rather boring and unsucessful but it is the only solution I got. Rather than to compose the 3D image out of the two dimensional images, I am going to take the general knowledge of form I gained from this process and apply it to the design of my buildings. I doubt I will actually use the images, however; I may use them for inspiration to derive the overall form of my final structure. Though the total process was not particularly successful, I did learn a new methodology for deriving fresh Ideas. In this case I think more can be learned from the failure of this process. Perhaps this means I need to step back to phase one. Whether I should simplify the overal formations of the bracket fungi into simplified geometric shapes, or keep them organic in nature is an interesting composition. The overall shape may be similar, but the three dimensional qualities could be very different. Hopefully the time I spent in the duration of this process will not be in vain but will aid as a stepping stone to reaching my final destination.

Fold, Space, Light

My beginning image was compiled from an assortment of squares cut from a photo taken at the farm. The process began with arranging the squares into a overall composition spaning the entire nine squares. After finding something visually pleasing and workable, I inverted the color to create ambiguous figure/ground. The purpose for this being to analyize the basic building geometry of the image.

Moment Two came from the understanding that that the mass of organic shapes, though complex, do not contribute to the DNA of geometry that I am searching for. That being said, Moment Two came from the rationalization and simplifying of form. By reducing the the unneccessary shapes and creating high contrast a more distinguished form or DNA is exposed.

Moment Three is what I would define as the bare bones or DNA or the image exposed as basic geometric shapes. With this moment or DNA an exploration into creating can be conducted.
Moment Four is step one into this exploration. The basic structure is constructed by folding up the squares to create a cube. More percisely, the middle cube was one side, the connected squares made up the other four sides. Lastly the top right square was places on the last empty side.The Fifth Moment is the Complex version or more developed composision of space and form. First I extruded the sides and pieces to set distances dictated by certain rules, such as, the end of another piece. Next, I introduced another cube into the center. the inserted cube is a replica of the original DNA (Moment Four). Lastly I lofted curves to create connections to the center cube from the outer structure.

Resubmission of project Idea - Tree lights

Branching

The branching of the leaf that I have been working with is the only part that is actually still intact. The leaf had many holes. This iteration is a reversal of that concept, with the branching creating trenches in the "land" and the holes rising above it.

Updated moment

I decided to abstract the barns from what my overlaid image showed. The two barns at the bottom left will be the originals along with the one right in the middle. The house still looks the same, but now I made the community center be the big barn at the top. Since the barns on the farm already look as if they just kept adding on, I wanted to give the community center the same effect.

After Critique

Here is the rest of my process... starting with my entire 3d process. I am leaving out the images from my last post since it's already on here.