Cameron

=**Concentration 3: Ambition** =  I really understand and enjoy my project at this point. The process is vital in my creation steps. I'm drawing and coloring but I'm also creating or recreating specific documents on which I draw and color (notebook paper, postcard, doctor's note). I guess what's ambitious is that I'm creating more intricate and specific documents at this point, not just notebook paper. In addition, my idea is gathering depth, not only how kids perceive our world, but also what that means for them, their development, and the adults that influence their views.

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=****Concentration 2: Evolution** ** =  Initially, my concentration started off rather vague. I thought I'd cover everything and anything that involved childhood. I started out by taking childhood drawings that I had found via the interweb, and recreating them as realistic paintings, drawings, etc. Not only was that rather tedious and time consuming, but it didn't speak to me nor did it say anything. So gradually, I moved away from that concept and began working from the kids perspective, interpreting adult themes in the real world as a kid might see them. My first piece reflected more of the innocence and sheer imagination that kids posses through their doodles, and how we almost lose that the older we get as mathematical equations and formulas ultimately prevail. That tension was present in that piece and since then I've began working in the same way for my other pieces. My second piece maintained that same child's perspective as I wrestled with the concept of the post and mail system, specifically relating to Santa Claus. Again, this piece not only demonstrates a child's innocence and naivety, but also expresses this notion of lying or withholding of the truth in the sense that parents condone letters to a nonexistent human.



= = =****Concentration 1: Generation** ** =  My first piece was generated through inspiration from an artist named Michael Scoggins. I was intrigued by his use of notebook paper; notebook paper is almost the embodiment of school and childhood work. I enjoyed how his material helped explain his piece, it's motives, and it's purpose. His materials were essential. I too wanted to do something with notebook paper and to use it to aid my concentration. Yet I needed to somehow alter it. So, the first step in generating my piece was transforming a blank 18x24 inch piece of white paper into a believable piece of notebook paper. I feel like notebook paper is so essential to childhood because of it's ubiquity in education. Starting in Pre-1st up until my senior year I've been working on notebook paper.

=**Digital Project**= //What aspects of working in Photoshop did you find helpful while working on these pieces? What do you like more about working with physical materials? How can you make use of the program in designing your conentration?//

I found the lasso tool and magic wand tool both incredible helpful. With the lass tool I was able to select a precise outline of my sketched guitar. Then, with the magic wand I could select a specific area and edit it. In both pieces I used the magic wand and then deleted certain regions. Combined with overlapping, this technique created interesting transparencies. And of course, the paint tool (gradient tool) was very helpful when adding splashes of color. Photoshop could be very useful with my concentration. I could find a picture of a childhood drawing, and then possible alter and distort it, transforming it into something entirely different. The picture could become more sophisticated or end up as an abstract jumble.

=**Project #4: Spaces**= //How would you describe the strategy we used for this project? What did it enable you to accomplish in your work that you would not have been able to do without this structure? What is simple, and what is complex? I want an in depth response to how the idea of strategy is essential to executing a successful concentration. What strategies could you come up with and what could they enable you to accomplish?//

The strategy I used for this project was extremely helpful. Using various sheets of colored construction paper I slowly built my composition. I think this strategy was helpful because it allowed me to visualize and physically separate the various portions of my piece. I was able to better separate, layer, and frame my piece. It was simple and intuitive; cutting paper layer by layer, yet it was complex when I had to finally paste the layers on and build the composition. It wasn't difficult, but it was rather tedious and intricate. The idea of strategy is essential to executing a successful concentration because how you create your work can emphasize what you're trying to convey with your work. For example, in my second piece about birds, I painted because I wanted to get broad, feathery strokes that would mimic bird feathers. Had I drawn using pencil I might've lost that effect, and in turn, lost something about that piece. Strategy helps structure a composition and depict something in a certain, specific way.

=**Project #3: Dramatic Self Portrait**=

If light were a metaphor in my piece I think it would symbolize the known or at least the understood. My image is quite confusing at first glance; you see glasses but no eyes, you see a rather blank, emotionless face. My expression only adds more confusion. It's not happy, it's not sad, it's not reflective, nor is it expressive. Quite simply, it's blank, somewhat mysterious and intriguing. It's hard to read what exactly I'm thinking. Which aids that imaginary persona I created. I'm mysterious, dark, and complex. I specifically brought sunglasses to the photo shoot in order to successfully pull off this mysterious persona I had in mind. The eyes are quite telling in terms of emotion and feelings. The eyes are very expressive and I think the lack of eyes, those emotional compasses, helped create my image. The most important lesson I learned from this project was time management. I finished in time and before the deadline, but I learned it was very helpful to take my work home if at all possible. You can actually accomplish a significant amount of work at home. Who knew?

=**Project #2: Object Piece**=

This project began from a simple drawing exercise we did in our sketchbooks. With only 10 seconds of allotted time for each image, my drawings were all fairly basic and each image looked either uncompleted or scrawny. Yet an idea was born. One of my ten second drawings was of a bird. This bird was small, puny, cute. A lot of times when we think of birds we think of them as being majestic, tranquil, or peaceful creatures. Yet, they have a darker, more barbaric side. They are creatures who must feed. They are predators, birds of prey. So in expressing the simple idea of a bird, I painted with the notion that birds are more than majestic but also quite visceral creatures. They are aggressive, dangerous, and instinctive. So my painting is quite obviously two birds fighting, yet it's more of the idea that birds aren't always as majestic as they seem. The gray bird possess an almost demonic, devilish feel, as if there is something evil about it. While the theme of this painting is not necessarily good vs. evil, many times that duality simply arises. The brownish golden bird would represents what's good. It's powerful yet yielding, graceful yet an adept killer. So while my painting fits the good vs. evil power struggle, I painted it with the thought of somehow expressing the duality of birds. Birds ARE graceful, and birds ARE majestic, but like I already stated, they must also feed, fight, and fend for themselves. Every animal is and has a predator and many times, the distinction between what is hunting and what is being hunted can become hazy. I used acrylic paint simply because I knew I could replicate the feather texture of a bird. I used a broad paintbrush, added a lot of water, and made large, sweeping strokes. This help give the birds that feathery look where the stroke started off heavy but slowly tapered off near the end. After finishing the painting, I went back in with colored pencil to add details. I added detail to the eyes, the beaks, and the feathers of each bird. If I had to continue you this idea as a concentration, I think I would express the hidden dualities of other creatures. Maybe not the majestic-predator duality that birds possess, but another duality that we don't always think about. Maybe the majestic-sexual/sensual duality of dolphins (only other mammals to have sex for pleasure), or the vicious-child protecting duality of pit bulls. Not sure, but a lot of animals possess those dualities.

=**Project #1: Cards**=