to begin with the end

so last week i got my pinhole camera pictures done! super happy with my prints and so was the professor. she also made us make up the 'rules of engagement' for grades and class critiques. one of the punishments we came up with "miss a critique, you do one on your own the next class and must bring in a snack to share".. our professor liked that. one of my friends from last semster's class looked at me and said "don't be offended, but i hope you miss one... your food is awesome". no offense taken!! but really, all she had of my 'food' is rice krispie treats and cake.

but here is my problem. i need to order my supplies and i still don't have my refund. i checked the website that would tell me what i owe or get back.... it says what my refund will be, which means the grants came through and it's only a matter of days that i get my refund (i hope). my supply list isn't very long, but the professor said "those are minimums for the amount of film". DANG! well, my friend just might get her wish and i'll miss a critique. thank heavens we won't have them every week like in the intro class.

my art-lecture class was fine. i thought we were going to have a 'slide quiz' on monday so i really studied for it. turns out the test was wednesday. for the quiz, the professor shows us ten slides... we have to give two facts about the piece she is showing us. if all we knew was the title and the artist, BAM! there's our two facts. if we didn't know them... any fact that we discussed about the piece would do. for example: in the marriage of arnoldfini... what's the significance of the one lite candle, or the dog, or why they are not wearing any shoes. stuff like that. i knew the title of all and the artist name for all but 1. but for good measure, on the off change i got one of them wrong, i threw in a third fact for each.

we also had another paper to write. this time it was on our favorite color. we had to tell how it was made, why it was significant, why an artist chose that specific color for a piece of work... lots of stuff. i chose blue, i found a ton of info on it. did you know, at one point, to get the color... you would have to saok the leaves of the woad plant in human urine for three days? ICK! and not just any urine, but that from men who have been drinking alcohol! ya know, i think i'll send crayola a thank you card for making it possible to get our colors without the work. i'll keep ya posted on my grade, cause as of today, still lacking the grades for those things.

soooooo, hot professors class is slowly becoming my least favorite. had i known all the drawing that was gonna be done.... i would have totally skipped out. well, too late now to drop it. so here is what i turned in for our project two:

 up close of my sneaker, cut paper (pain in the a--), watercolor pencils.

my professor liked this one better "texture is there, we know what it is, and we always see a stop sign with running shoes..." i don't! i used the treadmill.... not stop sign present. ANYWHO

he would have liked this one more if the colors were more vivid (just used the watercolor pencils).... or in other words... done with cut paper like the other. if i had a bit more time (aka, not procrastinated) and had more patience (i really wanted to curse out loud for the difficulties i was having with the other)... i would have. i might still later.





so this next project has us taking pictures of animals and simplifying them. think of sports teams logos, or the WWF logo with the panda... stuff like that. again.... I CAN'T DRAW, at least very well. so i went with three that i think i can do. i chose a peacock, two elephants together, and a white tiger. since the finals have to be in black and white, how hard could the tiger be, right? well, the prof seems to think it will be difficult. i got the peacock done in class and just now finished the elephants. i had to trace them because i was just having a hard time getting the lines right. and since i don't have a working black ink felt pen or sharpie... i used charcoal. not exactly the same effect, but i gotta make do with what i have until that refund comes through. i'll probably have to trace the tiger....  scratch that. i KNOW i will have to trace the tiger. i'll post them when i get all three done.

phew.... still with me?

couldn't wait

so you know i made that pinhole camera.... well today was a photo work day. YEA!! i got a few (well, two) prints done and thought it was amazing! i was afraid it would turn out since the sun decided to play peek-a-boo in the clouds.... without much 'peek'. when i took the first photo and brought it in to develop the 'negative', i have to admit a little surprise curse came out my mouth. sorry, but it was just so shocking that it worked. i had to go get another!!! thank heavens the temperature wasn't so cold, that exposure time was a very long minute and a half (for both). the second picture, i went to the little creek by the photo building. i set the camera on my knee (not wise) so it's more blurry than i wanted it to be, but it came out too. i waited for the prints to dry and then made the positive prints from them. so amazing!! mostly cause i sandwiched the prints together (print side to blank side) and exposed the printed negative from behind. if this makes no sense to you, sorry.... one day you could come with me to the lab and see it all done. so here are my pinhole prints

negative.... i think i like it better

 positive! this is the entrance to the baseball fields. i love the 'fish-eye' look that the rounded canister gives the photos.

negative

 positive. this is the creek by the building. i know, you can't really tell because of the blur and fish-eye.. i still like it. i may just stick with pinhole stuff for my final project. (i know, fourth week in and i'm already thinkin final)






i did make prints of my nighttime rolls. only three were worth the time. but i'm only putting up the two i like the most.

got up close to a tree with a million lights. turned the speed down to 'bulb', held the camera still for a few seconds, then moved it around.... i kinda like it.

 i liked the effect of the reflecting pool with the lights, so i took a few pictures. this is the only one to turn out, and it's a bit dark. i still like it. how cool would this be in color! next semester i'm doing digital, for sure hitting the temple up at christmas time!

week 3 recap

what an odd week! i didn't have my one class thursday of last week because my professor lives in richmond (2 hour drive) and with the threat of snow... he didn't want to be stuck here. did we get the snow, NO! oh well. monday was a holiday, so no classes for me or the kids. i think my mom enjoyed her 4 day break from my kids. so the rest of the week i had my classes as usual and the kids got a snow day thursday and came home early friday (we barely got a dusting of the stuff).

photography was fun. not because i took awesome pictures, but because i made a camera! yes! you heard me!! it's not hard at all, my dad even said "we did that with the cub scouts"... scuse me for being behind the times. anyways, wednesday i got to class early enough that i made a contact sheet of my photos taken over the break.... soooooo not happy that they are so dark. but, it was night time photography and i haven't mastered that at all. there are a few potentials. when i get more photo paper i just might print them.

so on to the camera. super easy! but it did take us almost the entire class period to make them. thank heavens my mom had a canister that i could use, the soda can wasn't hard to come by (thank you grandma jones for the mt dew).... what?! you didn't know that you could use an ordinary (but light tight) canister and a soda can...? why yes, yes you can! let me show you

 my container... wasn't totally light tight, i needed to put black electrical tape all over the lid. i also painted the inside black, didn't have to be perfect, but mostly covered.

see that black tape? i wasn't covering up vital nutritional info, that tape is my 'shutter'. i cut a hole in the side for my 'lens' so peek through.

and here is where the soda can comes in. you make the tiniest hole possible in the can, then place it in the larger container, glue/tape it down and you have your lens. you can't see it, but the arrow is pointing to it. the smaller the hole, the sharper your image. all i gotta do is put my photo paper in the container (in the darkroom of course) then go out where it's sunny, and then 'take a picture'.


i was hoping to make some pictures this weekend... didn't happen. i need paper, money is a bit tight and i had all the kids with me. i think monday will be a work day for us anyways... i'll show ya what i come up with.

so my easy-a art class.... i got a b on my first paper. a page on a controversial artist. my professor's comments explained that i didn't really write enough on why he was so controversial (i chose paul mccarthy). i'm ok with that. if i want i could rewrite the paper... don't think so. i really don't like the guy and don't want to get in too deep with his nasty stuff. we have a new assignment to write about a color. i'm choosing blue, my favorite, and have begun the research. due friday, so i have time... and it's only a one page piece again.

design class! so our first big assignment was to draw an object 52 times in black and white, then another 52 times in color. well, because we missed a class, i wasn't aware until after all 104 drawings were done that i didn't chose a good enough object. i decided to draw my necklace.... i get his reasoning behind why he didn't like what i did. he said "i appreciate your effort"... which in art terms means "uhhh, try again". so i decided to draw my sneaker... he was fine with that. thankfully, i didn't have to draw it 104 times, this time only 6. (this all is an example of think-tank type work... lots of ideas, then you pick the best of those and work on them some more, then you pick the best one of the last pick and run with it). i really liked my stuff and found it to be much easier to find different ways of seeing my shoe. now i need to pick one (but i'm gonna do two) and really refine it and make it a final. i hit my mom's craft stash for papers of various colors and patterns.... when i finish, i'll let ya know what the professor thinks.

not a great artist... but i really liked some of these. if i could have done them in charcoal as a final... woo-hoo!

 i think i just was trying to get the project done, so i didn't really enhance or change anything (like the prof was hoping). really didn't like theses in color... in a way (very small way) i'm glad he wasn't a fan of the work.

top left and middle right are the ones i will be finalizing. i like all but the middle left and bottom right... wasn't feelin them. but i needed 6 drawings. the top left reminds me of roads though the apple orchards at a distance; the middle right is like a city seen from above....

a new semester

sooo... my first two weeks of classes have been the most uneventful ever! maybe it's because i'm used to everything, nothing really seems new... except for the fact that two of my classes take place in the old hospital. JMU bought the old place a few years ago, i think last semester was the first time it was in use. it is really weird for me to walk around in there... instead of nurses stations and patients rooms... lounge areas and offices or classrooms. some offices are just sad... no windows.

anyways. so my first class isn't until 10:45 in the morning, so no rushing around this semester. photography is the class, or more specifically "experimental photography". NOT THAT! get your mind out of the gutter! in this class we use non traditional cameras, a variety of development methods, and a variety or print paper. i do still have supplies to buy that will drain my grant refund... but not nearly as bad as last semester. well, the first two days we were just getting to know each other, look at our past work, and then talk about our visiting photographer that came the next week (this past one).

so Phil Nesmith was the visiting photographer. ( http://www.philnesmith.com/ ) he does some awesome work while using cameras and methods from the early time of photography. he "lectured" one day and the next was our demo day... we got to see his process from start (almost) to finish. the only thing we didn't see was how he mixed the chemicals. but it was very interesting. not something i would do, too dangerous for my kids to be around. i was the uber-goober and asked for his autograph in my photo journal. i figured it would give my professor a chuckle. we have monday off for MLKjr. day... so only one day... not much time for much of anything.

the other m/w class i'm in is 'art in general culture'. i was told it is an "Easy a" kind of class.... but i didn't care. i figured anything that can help me view art differently, appreciate even the nasty stuff, and help me get a better eye for my art would be worth it. this is not a class where you raise your hand, mostly cause the lights are off and the professor is walking around so much she just won't see you. i give a lot of answers because no one else will. i did get a great ego boost on monday. a kid who sits in the row next to me, but one seat back, was "whispering" to his friend and pointing at me.... i heard "art major... super hot". at the time i was looking off to the right (his side) and so i could see and hear him. i wanted to say "just because i'm a seat ahead doesn't mean i'm deaf". i decided to just accept the compliment as if i didn't hear it and just bask in the glory that i am still found to be attractive to the younger guys.

i have a night class this semester!!! t/th from 7 to 9:30!! thank heavens the professor isn't one to watch the clock... the first day we were done by 7:30, the next 8. i have already been assigned a project (due the second day) and now i'm working on the next. he doesn't shy away from starting early. did i mention that my professor is insanely hot!? i'm not the only one to think that. a friend from my photo class last semester is in this class.... she agrees with me. so this second project is drawing an object of our choosing 52 times! but not in just one position, we have to change perspectives, values, shapes... you know, be creative. the problem is that i can't draw very well. but i was able to get the 52 done on time, but class was cancelled due to the potential snow that we never got. the second half of the assignment is to do the 52 drawings over in color, tweaking, enhancing, or changing the originals as we see fit. not a big fan of this part.... i really like mine in the 'black and white'. oh, i'm half done with that part.

ok, i think that is about it. like i said, not much happening right now. but it still early....

well hello.... my name is terri.... how have you been? oh wait! you do remember me?! i know, i know.... been waaaaaaaaaaaaay too long since i wrote last. don't blame me. if anyone/thing is to get the blame, i'd say go for my photography class and physics.

so physics! for those of you who don't follow me on facebook, i actually passed the bane of my existence with a B! and i got an A- in the lab. this is the result of many hours trying to figure out those blankety-blank-blank physics problems in homework, passing the only exam (before the final) with enough bonus points to give me a C. i would love to see my final.... i really want to know how i did. my lab partner got a C in the class, and she did better than i did on the first test. go figure... i ain't gonna argue. if you remember (or not) i had to build a functioning robot in the lab. lab only met once a week for an hour... challenge to say the least. well, at the 11th hour we got our robot working!! to celebrate, i was introduced to a new burger joint (very yummy and cheap) by my lab partner... and then we studied together for the final. mostly i tried to help her complete her homework, which helped me remember all those dang equations that i just hate so much. one of my brothers and his wife had asked me why i was taking physics... i have no idea what possessed me, but i passed and now i am done with GenEds!!!

this is "artie" the arduino.... this isn't the completed version, but pretty darn close. this was taken right before thanksgiving break. he worked then.... it took every minute of every lab time after break to get him finished!














not much to say about my "methods of art criticism" class. not exactly an easy A... i ended with an A-... but it was fun. i had to write gallery reviews, abstracts about the most boring chapter readings ever. i had made the mistake of looking up some of the work by the various artists... i was curious as to what i was reading about (most of them i have never heard of). BIG MISTAKE!!! i had seen some of the most vile and disturbing pieces ever. i know art is subjective and not everyone will like everything... but some of the stuff we had to discuss just made me ill. but, the whole point of the class was to figure out what art is and why we call some things are and other stuff "junk".

my photography class was a blast!!!! expensive! it took a few weeks to put up some work that the prof really liked, praised more than anything... but so worth the wait. about two weeks before thanksgiving break i put up 15 pictures... she was impressed with the numbers AND said that they were all final print/project quality. i loved hearing that. at midterms i knew what my final project would be about, so i started taking pictures right away. spent every saturday at the lab developing prints, making reprints... by the weekend before the break i had enough pictures. the task next was to figure which picture and where to place it in the book (shutterfly,com was my friend). i was done with my final the monday of break, it was delivered by black friday, and i could just vegg the rest of the semester in that class. i did have to work on our collabrative project. as a class we were to each take turns wearing a bear costume and then take a picture of us doing something crazy or normal... so out of my comfort zone. well, i went around with a group, so my courage level was up a little. i wound up sitting in a chair right next to someone who was sound asleep... i just made an "oh my" kind of face and someone snapped the picture. the guy woke up then and was really confused, oh well. we then had to turn our pictures into stickers... fun! so.. easy A for me! and done early... so out of character for me.

 on of my professor's favorites! and this was a fluke. i tried to make my own version of "the three white dresses".... but the lighting wasn't on my side. but this close-up of my wedding dress did. it was even one of my pieces hung up in my first 'real' art show...

i love this picture.... and so did my prof. she said that it was so much more than a picture of the sky...











so if you're still with me.... i'll post again (i promise) about the first two weeks of this semester... not much has happened... but still....