Artist Statement

When I was beginning this project, I had not a clue what images I was going to use or even what Alyssa story to tell. I knew in my mind that my artwork had to look wild and crazy because that's how her personality is. I started off with the long boarding story and this image is by far my favorite, mostly because it looks like something I've never done before.

It took me a bit of time to decide what other Alyssa stories to tell through my artwork, but one at a time they hit me. Where she is wearing the tribal head dress is the image symbolizing how I remember meeting her for the first time. A casual hang out in our living room ended with her in that thing. Also, in the top left corner is Alyssa looking ferocious in a lion hat the last day I saw her after her accident. Once again, she was just chilling in her room all alone in a wild hat.

I was at a lost for how to portray my final image because the story is long and must be told in order to understand. Basically, Alyssa went out to Q Bar for the first time with people she had never gone out with before. She drank long island iced teas, blacked out, and was found on the side of High Street by a random couple sent from heaven. They called me from her phone, I begged them to bring her to me on Summit because, of course, I too was very intoxicated and had no way to go get her. They did so, I gave them $20, Alyssa accused them of kidnapping her when being carried out of the car, and I spent the rest of night chasing the hysterical girl around my friend's house trying to make her go to bed and making sure she didn't pee on the floor. I was just glad she was safe.

What I did not realize about my projects until I was finished was how the three connect in their own way. The tribal head dress image represents the first time I met Alyssa back in January. The blackout bar story is about 3 months down the road of knowing her, and the long boarding incident happened recently, about 5 months of knowing her. In a way, the images show a sequence of events with my experience with Alyssa, and I am very happy to have had her as a roommate because I have never met someone like her and could always count on her for a laugh and a good time, at any time of day.

Final Projects

Blog 10

Thus far in the project, I have changed my ideas numerous times and have been playing around with all of the different filter options. I have managed to work out of order, starting with the plot (middle) of my story and the ending. The reason being I am debating on what to do for the first image to start the story.

The first image I altered was the long board. I started by using the paint bucket and coloring the background black, leaving it blotchy looking due to it being on wooden floor boards. I then filtered the look to Plastic Wrap and thought it looked intense, making me change my original idea of having items on this image. I moved the items (beer, sign, mask) onto a new document, made the background black, and altered the size and rotation of the three images as well as filtered them all to Watercolor. I am not sure how I feel about this one and feel it needs more to it. My final image as of now is a picture of my roommate, Alyssa, with her cast still being a wild child because her fall barely stopped her from still being a party girl and you would have thought it would. I used the sketch filter and then Charcoal and proceeded to alter the contrasts and such to my liking. I love the final image of her, but feel nothing about my photos flow and I need to work on that.

Pre Final Images

Ideas for final

My initial ideas were to document my route to work at Easton Mall, the day in the life of a cat, or the life of a bum. Instead, the winning idea came to me when my party animal roommate returned after a month of being home for a month due to a broken leg. I decided her story is hilarious and needs to be the topic of my final. The first day she purchased a long board, she spent the day drinking beer and learning how to ride it. Her night ended with her riding down High Street, drunk, on a long board, wearing a scary Halloween mask, attempting to scare those she passed on the sidewalk by hissing and screaming at them. Of course it ended in her falling and breaking her leg and every ligament in her ankle. She's graceful, to say the least.

Blog 9

I did not understand the ending of this article and expected something totally different to happen. The blind man and the husband were drawing the cathedral, and I do not understand why the blind man insisted on doing this exercise. Also, I was confused by the way they talked, mostly the blind man, because he repeats unnecessary parts of the sentence every time he talks, or asks if the person he is addressing gets what he is saying. 

I did, however, enjoy the article and how the husband finally gave the blind man a chance and realized he could sit in the room with him while his wife slept and not feel too awkward. Also, I found it lovely how the blind man and the woman with cancer got married because everybody needs a significant other in their life to support and love them.

MP 5

I chose to have the ability to talk to stray cats because I've always loved cats and feel bad for the stray one's. Stray's are normally either extremely needy or extremely mean, making people not want to take them in, when it isn't the cat's fault they are like that. If I could talk to them, I would tell them how to behave in order to help each of them find a loving home. I decided to pick this ability by first thinking about Eliza Thornberry from the show The Wild Thronberry's because I was obsessed with it growing since Eliza could talk to all animals. From there, I narrowed it down to just talking to cats. I chose to make a cartoon photo of myself to go along with the cartoon cats, while the background is a real image, as well as the bucket of fish and bag pipes. I am happy with my final outcome and find it very humerous and different than anything I've done thus far in the class.

Blog 8

The article "In the Water" confused me the majority of the time. I understand it was his form of a graduation speech, but the way he jumped from example to example to an explanation was not easy for me to comprehend.

I did, although, enjoy his thought series of how learning how to think is learning how to have control over what and how you think; what you choose to pay attention to. Until this, I had never thought of thinking in such a manner, but now I see it in a new light. It's so true, everything he says about this subject. When you don't pay attention due to being unable to be interested in the matter, you start thinking about other things to entertain yourself, choosing what you are wanting to show your attention towards.

MP4

My chosen images are pretty self explanatory if you read the dates. My grandfather passed away early this morning at nearly 90 years old, which is amazing. He is my hero and will always be; we share the same exact humor and always saw eye-to-eye which doesn't happen with everyone in my family. He attended OSU back in the day and also wrestled here. When I told him I was transferring to OSU, he was ecstatic that I would be sharing his alumni school being I am his only grandchild out of 9 of us to do so. Making him proud is now the center of all my attention which is why I chose to make a memorial for him in front of the Union. I chose this spot because the Union is a major vocal point of OSU and gets seen by all, almost everyday. The spot sits right on High Street so all the passing cars can admire my hero. I wish everyone had a chance to meet this man, he was always good news and upbeat, even while in pain the past few years; he just never let it bring him or the family down. For this monument, I would use engravement on the stone, much how like the "O" is, only I would add color to my Grandpa Lou so he stands and looks lifelike.

Blog 7

In the article, I found that I feel the same way with brushing my teeth and how it is simply a routine task we don't pay any attention to on a day-to-day basis. When he talks about the worries from bleeding gums and the puffy face in the morning, I have experienced those exact thoughts on days when I make it a point to note brushing my teeth in the morning. It's amazing the things you can notice about an everyday task when you take the time to make it a significant event in your day, forming it into art.

I found it difficult to understand how the art of brushing teeth would be captured say for a art gallery. It is something which requires the motions to make it art and putting it into a still-frame may not give it the full affect. Even more, others observing the art may not understand the purpose if it is not the whole picture of the arm use and gums bleeding when brushing.

Meaning of the Objects

The photo of my Grandpa Lou and my stuffed animal Bunny are my most prized processions I have in Columbus. My Grandpa lives in Florida, is almost 90-years-old, and not doing so hot. Even with his illness and loss of part of his memory, he has kept his amazing sense of humor and is able to keep everyone who comes in contact with him smile. I idolize this man and wish more than anything I could fly to Florida and see him one last time before it's too late. The stuffed animal bunny, named Bunny, was a gift this same Grandpa's wife, my step-grandmother, gave me when I was a newborn. I do not know life without the thing and sleep with her every night as a form of comfort. Also, it is a special connection I share with my Grandma due to not everyone accepted her right away, but for me, she's the only grandma I've known on my mom's side and love her like blood, making me her favorite grandchild.

I have a love for cat's and every year my Grandma Risko buys me a cat calendar for Christmas. Since I work two jobs while going to school, I live a hectic life and the calendar is how I stay organized and always know where I need to be and when. The cats are just an added bonus to my obsession and make me happy while I'm staying on top of things. My cell phone serves as my connection to family, friends, and work, all important factors in my life. Living away from home, I call my parents and brother every other day to hear about their lives and tell them I love them. My cell phone is a way for me to connect with comfort. I work at Oakley and have developed a passion for the brand. For my future career, I hope to continue my work with them or in some form of the extreme sports industry, which is why the sunglasses I wear either on my face or top of my head everyday are who I am, style wise.

Photo of Grandpa- Hero
Bunny- Essential Comfort
Calendar- Life Connector
Cell Phone- Backbone
Sunglasses- Brand Passion

MP3

When viewing my project, a stranger would think I am a very odd being between the bunny and the cat calendar. Truth be told, I am very weird so it's not a bad thing if one assumes this from the images. The broken Oakley sunglasses may tell one I am materialistic but really I just have a passion for the brand I work for. I hope one would infer I'm fun by all the colors, but if they don't they should. My glowing Grandpa in the front shows my love for my family and how I always put them first. I have let the wallet gone unnoticed up onto now because although it is important to me since it is home to my money and identification, it is not essential to my life like my grandpa and bunny.

Blog 6

Growing up, I loved the show Emergency 911 so right away that caught my attention for the entirety of the article. The story of Worth was very enjoyable since it does have a happy ending. For the month where his brain was trying to piece itself back together and he talked a crazy talk, I found it humorous, the things he blurted out. Reason being, those absurd comments are right up my alley for my sense of humor.

I found it a little difficult to keep a concept on the time frame of the whole ordeal. For instance, the period of time when he was in the coma from the time he was just in ICU. The dates were helpful from John's journal notes, but I was more concerned with what Worth was rambling to keep tabs on the dates.

MP 2

When creating this project, I focused on the idea of walking to class in the morning and not being the most observant person bright and early in the day. I look down most of time, hence the background of my project being an alley, a crosswalk, and campus sidewalk. The photos show the major landmarks I use in my mind to document where I am as far as distance away from class. My senses are not in full affect at 9 in the morning, so all I really notice is the noises on my journey; mostly traffic and the rustling of leaves. Also, the brightness is something I notice when stepping outside. I chose to use the opacity for every photo because I am not fully awake on the walk and by dimming the photos, I feel it resembles my mood at the time of seeing the objects.

Wexner Experience

The David Smith exhibition was very interesting to me. I was particularly drawn to his work that was made out of painted steel. The pieces Albany (IX),  Construction in Rectangles, and Big Diamond all jumped out at me and drew all of my attention. I believe it was because of the use of geometric shapes formed into a bigger picture out of steel with added color. With the color, depending on the piece depended on how much and where he used it. With Big Diamond, all the parts of it were painted completely either orange, tan, or grey, whereas with Construction in Rectangles, the bright, almost neon's, were splashed around in random placing. At least they seemed random to me.  I enjoyed this exhibition and seeing his use of all the shapes to form a bigger piece of art, especially how he used steel and aluminum.

Response to Photos

When taking the first ten photos, I did not have to think twice about the set-up of my photo and what angle I was going to capture it at at. I was able to go around my house and find cool looking objects and snap the picture and see the results. With the second set of ten photos, I had to take a good chunk of time to be sure I understood what was being asked of me to photograph and make sure I captured it to the best of my ability. I enjoyed both, but the first one was an easier experience because it did not require too much thought. My favorite images are the one of my fish and the close-up of my friend. I like the fish because of all the colors in the photo from his fins to the rocks. The close-up of my friend is my favorite because of the reflections off of the iridium on her sunglasses.

10 Photos

Ant

Asymmetrical

Bird

Campus

Close-Up

Radial

Scene

Symmetrical

Stable

Unstable

Pics

Blog 4

I enjoyed "NippleJesus" and found it very interesting to read and kept my attention the whole time. Dave's story of the artwork and his interactions with it were very understanding. By spending all his time guarding the picture, he began to feel as if it was his own. I imagine the feeling is similar to that of a person when they are babysitting; for that time being they care for the child as if it is their own because it is their total responsibility. When the picture is destroyed and Martha is excited, it was quite a turn in the story but once she explained herself, it made sense to me for her to do outrageous things for the soul purpose of a reaction from the public. This was my favorite article thus far and has taught me the most and I have nothing problematic to say about it.

Blog 3

Walker's exploration of the difference between the theme and big idea of a piece, or series, of artwork is very intriguing to myself, and really makes my mind wonder. This concept forces you to think about every detail of the work, looking for patterns, relationships, similarities, and differences. The theme is easier to declare, being it is puppies or summer, while the big idea requires a little more thinking, going more in depth with feelings and purpose. I found this useful because it will make me focus more on the meaning I am trying to portray with my work to my audience.

I found it difficult to grasp the idea that Bartlett expresses about liking breaking the rules. When it comes to art, I feel as if there is never any rules and all work is different and has a unique purpose, as is. By breaking the rules, I think she is just expressing her self in ways new to that type of media.

Barrett's article focused on connotation and denotation, which I feel are both very important in any industry. The way one person portrays something, can be completely different from how another does. I learned from the article how discussing denotation and connotation out loud can help distinguish the objects which trigger differences in opinions. The denotations discussed in the simple example of cereal boxes were a great way to realize the resulting connotations, such as milk and fruit being related to adult cereals and cartoons associated with kid focused ones. 

I did not completely agree with the connotations associated with the Destiny's Child magazine cover photo, solely because I knew the significant purpose of the photo at the time it was published. It is accepting to say it is scandalous and such, but I feel the photo is mainly about the survival of the band members left and what they are yet to conquer in the music industry. This is when denoting parts of an image can get messy and cause all kinds of confusion and issues, even serious ones such as political or sexual.

Blog 2

The Kidd article was very interesting in the way it was presented. Through this tone, it conveyed the concepts of Left to Right, Big to Small, Top to Bottom in the matter of you can never avoid these things, it is just the way life goes. This intrigued me because it is very true. Ever since we were little, these were the ways we were taught to do everything.
What I found difficult in the article was the way it was presented in almost a war type language. It was as if someone was being attacked and must be on their toes and ready to go. I understand in a way why they chose to write it this way, it is just a format outta left field for this topic.
Hickey's article does an excellent job at relating basketball to the concept of graphic design as a way of expressing yourself. Basketball of course is done so in a more aggressive matter while computer art is just a matter of preference in the way you go about it. Also, there is rules for basketball that are set in stone and you get penalized if they are broken, but for computer art, relating back to Kidd's article, there is hazy boundaries, but you are not penalized when they are broken, you are simply expressing your creativity.
I found it difficult to keep my interest in the article because I didn't know where he was going with it. It was hard to die it into the class and why the sport of basketball was chosen to proclaim his point. I still am not sure I completely understand his point, but I think I have a good guess.
The alien like creature in the beginning of the Wechler's article threw me off from the get go. The main point I retrieved was faces are hard to design without them being distorted looking because of all the muscles and the expressions you can end up with in the final product.

Blog 1: Introduce Yourself

My first two years of education were spent at the University of Cincinnati, and I recently transferred to OSU for a safer environment. I am a third year in the process of deciding what I want my major to be. Marketing has always been my go-to, but I feel I need more to it so I am debating on a minor in Communications. Also, graphic design has interested me since high school, but knowing the design programs are very select has discouraged me from going through with that option. For my future, I hope to work in the extreme sports industry. I am not positive what kind of position I would like to do, I just know I would be satisfied with any job in that field. From working at my job at Oakley for the past year and a half, I grow to love the company more each day and would like nothing more to have a career working for corporate Oakley in California in my future. While working at Oakley, I also work at Varsity Club as a server so my time is consumed by work and school. When I finally get some free time, I enjoy watching the recorded television shows I recorded from the past week, drinking with my friends, going to bars, traveling back home to Medina or to Cincinnati, and working out. And I am obsessed with my cat.