Dearie Lovie: artwork

Out of the Archives: Reconciling Opposites Project

It's been awhile since I've shared some work with you guys, but I always enjoy sharing projects in their various states. This is the temporarily finished product from a project I turned in two weeks ago. The project was to "reconcile opposites." It was exceptionally open-ended (which is a good and bad thing). We were encouraged to pit design principles against one another (textured vs smooth / large vs small / color vs black and white / etc), while still finding a harmonious balancing or reconciling of said opposites. It took me longer than I'd care to admit to come up with an idea for this project.

I kept getting held up on the "reconciling" part. It's not hard to focus on emphasizing conflict and differences, but to somehow combine them and make something work together at the same time is a bit more challenging. I started beginning to think about the concept of yin and yang and that led me to depicting left brain versus right brain visually. Left brain processes logic and systematic data. It's fluid and rational. Right brain processes information in segments and is responsible for things like creativity.

So, that taken into consideration, I got to work. The left brain side was constructing using a gridded guideline and lots of pen tool that built on top of each other. It was set to grey scale and given a font that matches the overall systematic, grid look I was going for. The right brain side is segmented, no two pieces connecting, and colored in bright mismatched hues. There's more twists and turns and dynamic energy to the right side. The text is incomplete and segmented as well.

I would like to keep pushing this piece. My instructor and I even talked blowing this up huge and approaching it from a mix media standpoint, which sounds incredible.

Thanks for letting me share my first piece of the semester. Hopefully, I'll be shaking a bit more dust off the pen tool in my next project!

Want to see other out of the archives projects I've shared? Click here!

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, by Ashlee

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Out of The Archives: Sylvia Plath Inspired Scanogram's

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, by Ashlee

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Excerpts From My Notebook

I have an obsession with little black notebooks (I did a post very similar to this one in 2012 which you can read here). I've had one since junior high or early high school and unintentionally have found that they're one of the best creative resources in the world for me. I won't lie to you and say, "Oh, my goodness I write in it everyday and sketch and keep it with me at all time so I can record every fascinating idea that's ever crossed my mind!" No, that's definitely not true. However, they are so essential to me creatively that I even mentioned them in my designer toolbox post awhile ago.

It usually takes me a year or two worth of sporadically consistent (does that even make sense?) use in order for me "fill one up" and feel like it's time to start over with a new one.

They're the perfect place for keeping lists and ideas and writing down quotes. I often sketch for projects (academic and personal) and use it for ramblings of all sorts. It's the perfect place for any rough idea or to-do list. I like my little black journals because they don't have to be anything except what they are. It's an unfiltered, no pressure space for me to do whatever I please...and I love that. I even love the time I'm away from it because then I can go back and get re-inspired by all the content all over again. These journals capture moments in my life in a different way than a traditional journal or blog (which I have one each) and it's good to have. Like I've said before in that previous post, "it's a messy slice of heaven."

So, this year I'm hoping to finish filling up my current little back notebook and share with you some pages throughout the year. I'm not sure I'll make it a regular feature, or anything like that, but I do think it will be a good way to show you little peaks into other portions of my life.

I know this isn't a traditional Valentine's Day post or anything like that, but thanks for just going with it. I had my hopes of gathering up sweet red and pink inspiration, but wasn't really feeling it this year. Instead, I'm treating myself to a cupcake and planning on going to a baseball game. Nevertheless, I hope you're having a marvelous day.

Do you keep a journal, sketchbook, or notebook? What does it contain? Let me know!

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, by Ashlee

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Out of The Archives: Motion & Perspective Photos

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, by Ashlee

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Out of the Archives - Pinhole Camera Negatives

You may or may not remember me mentioning that I'm taking Photography I this semester, but nevertheless I've finally started making progress and taking some pictures now that we're three weeks into the fall semester. I was actually really nervous to take Photography I. I'm a graphic design sort of girl - sit me in front of a computer and I'm yours. I even like drawing so set me up with an easel and some charcoal and we're all good too. I am not the type of girl you can hand a camera and shove in a dark room, so I was less than thrilled to hear from my adviser in the spring that I needed to start taking classes to qualify as my minor focus within art. Apparently my university art department requires you take so many classes in your major focus (for me - visual design) and a certain number of classes in a minor focus to complete your art degree.

I contemplated taking drawing since I really do enjoy it, but the homework would be ridiculously time consuming and messy. I then thought about exploring printmaking, but the only section offered was at 8:00 in the morning. Homegirl does not function before 9:00 - so that was out. Finally, I was left with Photography, Ceramics or Painting. I settled on Photography since it seemed most applicable to my major.

I was and still remain a little intimidated though. However, I think that's normal when you bleed over into other focuses. There are so many people whose major is Photography and who are so dedicated, passionate, and knowledgeable. Photography I is an introductory course that focuses primarily on black and white film development and I almost felt as if I were insulting them by signing up for a class when I had never dealt with film, didn't know the first thing about manually handling a film camera, and was absolutely 100% in the dark about the processes and procedures that happened within a dark room. I'm happy to report that we're three weeks in and it's not so terrible. I'm starting to dread the class less and be more inspired by it. My knowledge base is growing and that makes me so incredibly happy. It's rare to learn an entirely new skill-set when the majority of college classes feel like a regurgitation of information I've learned repeatedly over the years in some form or another (yeah, I'm calling you out science and history).

But, to get back on track, I'd like to talk about the pieces I've decided to bring "out of the archive" even though they were only produced a few days ago. This week in Photography I we decided to experiment with self-made pinhole cameras. The process to make the cameras was relatively cheap and easy (maybe I'll share a little DIY as to how I made mine soon?) and it was fascinating to see the negatives develop.

The bottom two images are two different negatives from the pinhole camera. The top image is a test strip positive of the bottom most negative image. This test strip was the first negative I'd ever developed into a positive image. I was testing to see what exposure time I should use for my final image. We were advised to throw the test strips away once we determined the right amount of time, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. It looked way too cool and I was too proud.

Overall, a majority of my images developed less than stellar, but I have to remind myself that I'm still learning and to enjoy the process along the way.

If you're interested in more, you can see more things I've brought "out of the archives" by clicking here.

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, by Ashlee

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Out of the Archives - Architecture Inspired Foam Board Sculpture

This was the sculpture that launched a thousand tears, for more reasons than one. This sculpture was a result of our third project in 3D design. The assignment was to research the history of our art building, built by Arkansas native and wildly accomplished architect Edward Durell Stone. In addition we were supposed to do a little research on modernism and post-modernism architecture and then photograph elements of the building that related to either.

From all that, we were supposed to derive a larger sized abstract sculpture. Yikes, right?

I stayed up two full days (in addition to several 3 hour class periods) working on this project. I spent time cutting through foam board and organizing and then reorganizing layouts. I also received a nasty glue gun burn that has left it's mark to this day. This project was gnarly and I quickly realized foam board is not the prettiest or most forgiving of mediums.

On the day this project was due, I brought my car around and attempted to fit it in the backseat. It was much too large. My next plan was to try and fit it into my trunk. No luck either. I then proceeded to freak out. I called my roommate, who drives a truck, but she was in class and unable to help. I then called my friend Jenny, who called a guy friend - who allowed us to blindly borrow his truck.

By the time we got his truck it was a torrential downpour outside complete with hail (of all things). JUST MY LUCK. Of course, I couldn't put the sculpture in the back now. It would be ruined. So I was forced to break the project in order to fit it into the single cab. It was the worst moment of my sleep deprived life. So, there I was in a race against the clock - my broken, albeit huge, project jammed against me with me attempting to drive some guys truck in a storm where I literally could not see two feet in front of me. I was so panicked and stressed out.

Somehow I made it though.

As I rushed my project into the art building and found the classroom, my instructor then informed me and everyone else that she had decided to cancel class because she didn't want us to ruin our projects in transit (which is exactly what I had just done). She sent the email five minute's after the class's normal start time. I literally wanted to break down and die. I hadn't slept in two days, I had broken my project, borrowed a truck, and was soaking wet. UGH.

Eventually I was able to mend the project as best as I could, even though there were minor disasters during that whole process as well (such as me stupidly gluing my French cleat on backwards). In the end my project received a good critique and I got a good grade - but it was still the project that launched a thousand tears (at least on my part).

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, by Ashlee

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