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Impressionist Way Back?

By: Kayla

There were may influential impressionists during the late 1800s to early 1900s, but none like this woman.  Who? Are you asking?  Well Mary Cassatt of course! She was born May 22, 1844 in Pennsylvania.  She is a distant cousin of Robert Henri.  She spent 5 years of her life in Europe.  Visiting many artists from such cities like London, Paris, and Berlin.  She is best know as a American painter and printmaker.  With this, Cassatt often created images of the social and private lives of women, with particular focus on the intimate bonds between mothers and children.  Her art is quite stunning, if you look below.


Source: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Cassatt

Boating Party
By: Mary Cassatt

Summertime
By: Mary Cassatt

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How to Create a More Powerful Painting

Article by: Ian Roberts

Summary by: Kayla

When I read this article, it really hit me.  You don't have to create the world around you specifically when it comes to your art.  But more of your own perception of the world around you.  It is very important though to have a design concept in mind.  Then you need a roadmap (an idea of where you are going with this).  Careful take time for every mark in your artwork.  Every mark matters.  Thumbnails are a must!  Use a view finder. 

(yes Stamper he's said a viewfinder!) This is to isolate or crop your design idea!

Stand back and evaluate your progress and think of more ways for improvement.  And finally have a good design concept in mind!  It makes your artwork more appealing! 

Not Bad!

But this is Better!

Article: http://www.artistsnetwork.com/articles/art-demos-techniques/use-design-to-create-a-powerful-painting-by-ian-roberts

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Egyptian Jewelry

By: Kayla

As we all know Egyptian jewelry was a big part of their Egyptian culture. Glyptic art which is ancient Egyptian gem carving was really popular back then and its purpose was to show off one's power, glory, and possessions.

Colors were important when it came to their jewelry and the gems on them.  Red resembled life & power.  Green was for fertility.  Blue was symbolic for joyousness.  Their jewelry was also used for such religious significances such as for special occasions for mummification.

The types of jewelry the Egyptians wore varied from coral pins and chunky glass bracelets to ankh cross rings, gothic pewter pendants and silver thumb pharaoh rings to vintage bead necklaces.  Although precious stones were not attached to their jewelry,  they still were quite valuable.   A vintage bead necklace can cost up to $130.00 or more!

Early craftsmen used gold when making their jewelry. Amethysts, garnets, opals, topazes, and quartz are several gemstones that were used in such jewelry. 

Any thick glamorous rings represented real Egyptian royal lines.  Egyptian jewelry was often etched with the present pharaoh, pictures of crowns,  Egyptian inscriptions, images of animals and ancient symbolic representations.  Some of their jewelry they wore for luck, also.

With this idea of Egyptian jewelry reflecting on my concentration of culture I would like to create with my metal smith project some Egyptian jewelry as well.

Article:  http://www.abcarticledirectory.com/Article/History-And-Facts-About-Egyptian-Jewelry/785090

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Culture Influences?

Russian dolls

By: Kayla

"All real things in Russia are done in the villages". -Ernest Poole

There are over 6,840,507,000 people in the world right now.  Each with many different cultures.  Americans, Hispanics, and Africans are a few to name.  My concentration is on illustrating different cultures of the world some commonly known and others not so much.  My ancestors came from Ireland and Russia.  And I wanted to know more about specifically Russia since not many people know much about this huge country.

Russian families mostly are proud of their country and try to pride themselves on being able to prosper under such conditions.  They have great respect for the elders and guests in their homes.  Most of their families live in small apartments with 3 or more generations sharing 

what little space they have.  

I am brainstorming some ways I can express in one of my artworks, my ancestors' Russian culture.  I am thinking about a young Russian girl in a grassy field and in the middle ground her mother lining clothes on close line with a small cottage in the background behind her.  There are a few more ideas, but I really like this idea.  

Russian Villagers back in 1800s

Typical Russian toy

Source: 

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/russia-country-profile.html

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The Breadth of History in One Bite Article

By: Kayla

Man with Crossed Arms
By: Paul Cezanne
(Lauder's Collection)

For 10 years the Neue Galerie has had one main mission.  That is to showcased German & Austrian art and design for the early 20th century. This was determined by the 2 founders Serge Sabarsky and Robert S. Lauder.  Lauder mainly showcased art revolving around territory, medieval art, French impressionist drawings, etc.

With this article that I have read,  I have learned that you could have a breadth with your artwork or have a certain concentration as well.  I have a certain concentration with my artwork.  This would happen to be different cultures now.  It's hard to keep to such a concept for your artwork but by reading this article, it has made me realize that that's the best way to go towards your artwork.  In my opinion you look more professional this way.

Source:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/04/arts/design/ronald-s-lauder-collection-at-neue-galerie-review.html?ref=design

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He may just look like some man from the 1800's, but there is more than what meets the eye when it comes to this man.  On December 16, 1866, an influential Russian artist & theorist was born.  He was credited for his purely abstract artworks.  Born in Moscow, he had spent his childhood in Odessa.  Later on, he had attended school at the University of Moscow and study law & economics.  Still have no idea who this man may be?
Well his name is Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky.  He had called his devotion to inner beauty, fervor of spirits, and spiritual desires. He had married his cousin, Anna Chimyakina in 1892. In 1903, he divorced her.  In the 1916, Kandinsky met Nina Andreevskaya. He married her in February, 1917. Then from 1922 till 1933, he taught at the Bauhaus school of art & architecture in Germany until the Nazi closed it.

He founded the New Artists Association of Munich. He liked creating many abstract glass paintings based on musical elements.  He published another book on Spirituality, relating to art, and he wrote several plays and poems.  He died in Neuilly-sur-Seine in 1944.
His is some of his art below. 

Compostition VIII
By: Wassily Kandinsky

Composition VII
1913
By: Wassily Kandinsky

Munich-Schwabing with the Church of Saint Ursula
1908
By: Wassily Kandinsky

Quotes:
"The more frightening the world becomes... the more art becomes abstract." ~Wassily Kandinsky
"Objects damage pictures." ~Wassily Kandinsky


Sources: 
http://www.wassilykandinsky.net/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassily_Kandinsky
http://painting.about.com/library/biographies/blartistquoteskandinsky.htm

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There are many historical artists that may catch your eye such as Pablo Picasso, Leonardo Da Vinci, Georgia O'Keefe, Mary Cassatt, Claude Monet, etc.  All of them were highly talented artists. But, there was only one among these artists that really caught my eye.  

Her abstract imagery of the early 1900s is among the most innovative of any work produced during that time by American artists.  She almost lived to be 100 years old! She was awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom from Gerald R. Ford in January 10, 1977. Any ideas of who this could be?

It would happen to Be Georgia O'Keeffe, of course! Born in the city Sun Prairie in Wisconsin,  she attended the School of Art Institute of Chicago.In 1907, she attended the Art Students League in New York City. She studied under William Merritt Chase. She was married to Alred Stieglitz in 1924.  She illustrated many landscapes within her artwork.  She began working with abstraction in 1915. She has also created many two-dimensional objects as well.  Here below are a few of them.

Petunia No. 2

Oil Canvas-1924 

By: Georgia O'Keeffe

Horse's Skull With White Rose

Oil Canvas- 1931

By: Georgia O'Keeffe

Abstraction
Cast Aluminum- 1946
By: Georgia O'Keeffe

Amazing aren't they? I thought so too.  Her artistic creations have affected my style of art by letting me be more free and not too focused on just one certain type of concentration.  My main concentration is Culture, but with this she has helped me decide to base my work upon many different cultures.  Not just American, Hispanic, & Chinese cultures, but many different other cultures too. 

To learn more about her, here are to recommended sources below.

http://www.okeeffemuseum.org/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_o%27keeffe

http://www.vangoghgallery.com/artistbios/Georgia_O_Keeffe.html

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Happy Jumping!

By: Kayla

When it comes to contemporary art, you have lots of it to see now days.  From art museums to houses, you can usually find some interesting artwork nearby.  There are many different artist websites to view and purchase their art from too.  Some that may catch your eye as an artist yourself and can affect your own art making decisions as well.  From www.artspan.com, the one artist that caught my eye was Tsend Chia-mei's artwork known as Happy Jumping.  I truly love this watercolor artwork! It is very vibrant and uplifting! 

Chia-mei Tseng is a self-taught artist. She was born in Taipei, Taiwan in 1952. Since her childhood, she was amazed by people such as their faces, expressions, body structures, and movements.  Her main concentration now is drawing and oil painting in New York.

With this art, the texture seems to be very rigid in some areas and soft in others.  The shapes are very organic. The line quality is curved.  There is only really a foreground and back ground in this.  There is lots of different values in this piece, especially in the woman's body & the water. The main colors in this are oranges, yellows, whites, greens, browns, blacks, some browns, etc.  The only pattern I see would maybe be all the vibrant colors in the water.  The proportions I would say are realistic.  There is great contrast, especially with the different colors in the water.  The balance is asymmetrical.  The only variety in this would be the different colors as well.  The harmony of this makes me feel excited and gives me the essence of living your life to the fullest.  The unity of this is quite complete, other than its balance.  Its shows quite an emphasis in the water ripples that she leaps over. Just seeing her in this pose give the movement of the water moving and her jumping.

This is a beautiful piece and I would love to show such life in my art! She has show me to be more outgoing with my artwork! :)

Sources: 

http://www.artspan.com/search_artwork.php?action=search&category=1

http://tsengchiamei.artspan.com/large-multi-view/People%20and%20their%20feelings/1550301-1-129991/People%20and%20their%20feelings.html#

http://tsengchiamei.artspan.com/mbr_bio.php

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Realism Anyone? 

By: Kayla

When it comes art, I like both abstract and realistic art.  There are many great abstract/realistic artists to choose from.  But, one artists I have found that really catches my eye is Jacqueline Gnott.  She likes to watercolor many contemporary still lives.   They are quiet beautiful.  She as you can see used her time and put a lot of effort into making these artworks very realistic.  I feel as if I could touch the rose in the vase painting above! And I just love it! Whether its flowers, fruits, ordinary objects, or whatever she really shows the detail with each one.  Her florals look to me like photographs to me!

She has a Bachelor of Arts degree.  She had taught at many different workshops including the Watercolor Workshop in the Midwest from 2004-2007. She has had her arts in many different competitions and won many of them as well.  She uses thick and thin lines and many different high/low key colors for each of her artworks.  

You can follow her blog as well on blogspot as well!

http://jacquelinegnott.blogspot.com/

Sources:

http://www.jacquelinegnott.com/

http://www.jacquelinegnott.com/Resume.html

Hope you joy her art below as well as I do! (:

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A Reader Dozes

By: Kayla

Sources:

http://www.artspan.com/search_artwork.php?action=search&category=1&page=2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elements_of_art

http://stephenwardeanderson.com/lg_view_single.php?aid=258088&atid=10895&iid=11&mgd_id=112391

   There are many contemporary artwork to chose from, but one that really stood out to me at www.artspan.com was the this artwork above.  It is called A Reader Dozes by Stephen Warde Anderson.  This artwork gave me mixed emotions when I seen it.  One was that it made me feel uneasy to look at it, fearing these small people around the sleeping man. But with this I thought it was creative to have these small people around with different situations going on.  Some of them remind me of elves, others children.  This honestly makes me think of children and how mischievous they can be. 

    Even though the proportions aren't as realistic, this artwork gives me the feeling that this could be in a small children's book. The texture seems to be rough around the man's sweater, the rug, carpet, etc. The form of this has many organic shapes and very few geometric shapes. 

  The space is very confined.  There is somewhat a foreground, middle ground, & background.  The lines within this piece are thick lines with a few thin ones.  Many curved lines as well as some vertical and horizontal ones too.  Value?  There is very little value.  Perhaps around the man's pants, the table, etc.  I see many primary colors here.  (Low Key) Reds, blues, yellows. As well as some secondary colors: purples, greens, & oranges.

    The principles of art are Pattern/Rhythm, Proportion, Contrast, Balance,Variety, Harmony, Unity, Emphasis, & Movement.  The pattern/rhythm of this would be shown through the wall, carpet, rug, the bookshelf, etc.  As I said before the proportions aren't precise and realistic.  There is very little contrast available to see.  The balance appears to be about symmetrical. There are different varieties of small people within this artwork.  My feeling of harmony for this I would say be unsteady and self conscience for if I fall asleep! The unity of this doesn't have a true balance of all the elements of art and principles too.   With the emphasis, I keep want to stare at the sleeping man and the closest people surrounding him. There are different movements within this piece with each person doing different things.  For example, the person trying to cut the man's hair with scissors and the other one trying to eat his potato chips.

   Even though there more elements and principles show in this art,  I still find this artwork amusing to look at.  Wouldn't you say so?  

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Plans for an Art College?

By: Kayla

     Not sure which art college is right for you? Not everyone is for sure which one is the best one for them.  But there are hundreds of art programs available in the U.S.  But there is one I must suggested sounds perfect at least for me. 

     Have you ever heard of Hollins University?  Hollins University is located in Roanoke, Virginia.  It is a private liberal arts university.  It is one of the oldest institutes for higher educations for women today. All undergraduate are for females only.  But, men are welcomed in the graduate programs too.  Hollins offers a small classes with the 11:1 student-teacher ratio.The most popular majors  would be English, Psychology, studio art, business, and biology.

     What are the college requirements for Hollins University? A student will receive credit for those courses taken at a regionally accredited college that are similar to Hollins courses and in which she has earned at least a "C" grade. In order to obtain a bachelor's degree from  Hollins, students must complete a minimum of 40 credit hours.  Your SAT score I must be at least 900. You must rank in the top two fifths of your secondary school class.  You must have at least a 3.0 GPA which is recommended. Hollins University charges a non-refundable application fee of $35. With special admission requirement a letter of recommendation is required. Admissions interview is recommended as well as a personal orientation & an interaction campus session with a campus visit.
      Depending on what major you persist with there will be different qualifications for each. Applicant returns Outstanding With Visual Arts you will need portfolio that consists your works in the last 2 years, a list of all your art studies in high school, privately, summer programs/camps. Applicants must return Achievement Award Information  Form to Office of Admissions. their art entries to the Office of Admissions by February 1st.  
     This school seems to appeal to me because its not to big of a school and not to small.  They seem to have different great programs and more.  It has a financial aid and more if I were to live on their campus.  They really seem to be one outstanding college!  So if you aren't sure what college is right for you check this university out! It just may the school you were looking for!  

     

Homepage: http://www.hollins.edu/index.html   
  

Admission for Hollins University:  
https://www.applyweb.com/apply/hollinsu/

http://www.hollins.edu/admissions/international/apply.shtml

Admission for Hollins University Art Programs:
http://www.hollins.edu/abroad/documents/hap_award.pdf

Sources:

http://www.hollins.edu/admissions/horizon/transfer_credits.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollins_University
http://www.hollins.edu/admissions/pdfs/creative_talent.pdf 

http://www.apply4admissions.com/Section3/00093/Requirements.html

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Have you heard of him?

By: Kayla

     Have you heard of him? Who am I talking about?  Well this artist was born October 16, 1877 and died November 17, 1958.  He was a English painter. He illustrated portraits, historical scenes, etc.  This was described as "the last of the Pre- Raphaelites".  

    His name was Frank Cadogan Cowper.  He was part of the Royal Watercolor Society and the Royal Academy.   He helped with the mural of the House of Parliament in 1910 with  Ernest Board, Henry Arthur Payne, etc. The mediums he mainly worked with were his watercolors and different oils.  He also worked on many different literary artworks as well. 

    His line qualities were mainly soft strokes with high value.  Many of his works were of portraits of women.  I would consider his color choice to be very low key for the most part.  I personally like his style of art.  His artwork know as The Ugly Duckling was voted the favorite painting by visitors of Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum.  So have you heard of him? Well now you have! :)

Molly Duchess of Nona

                    

The Ugly Duckling

What's With Interior Designing?

By: Kayla

     Have you ever wondered what’s behind the interesting career of interior designing?  I know I did. I thought it was a very neat career since I liked decorating, rearranging, combining new and different things together to just make a room tie together. But I realized the more I researched about it, the more I found out about what’s really behind this career.

First off, the training and education I would need to take if I were to persist with this career choice is that I would need to definitely to be in some training programs from a professional designing school or college/university. This usually takes two to four years to complete.  Graduates of 2 year or 3 year programs are awarded certificates or associate degrees in interior designing. Graduates with a bachelor's degree usually are eligible for a design apprenticeship program. There is a licensing exam for the interior design qualification though.  to be able to take it, applicants must have at least 6 years of education and experience in interior design and 2 of those years must be a post secondary education. Only those who pass the exam were given the title of Certified, Registered, or Licensed Interior designer depending on which state you are in.

The average income for a interior designer is about $44,950 a year. Interior designers make different incomes depending on which industry they work in. Those working in any Specialized Design services make about $52,490 a year.  Architectural, Engineering, and other related services are about $53,420 a year. Then interior designers that work for furniture stores make about an average of $46, 170 a year.

There are different variations of careers with interior designing.  Listed in the paragraph above were a few of the many industries with interior design.  You could work for Specialized design services, Furniture/home furnishings, architectural /landscaped  designing, etc.

The start up expenses with Interior designing are, of course going to be telephones, computers, fax machines, with also word processing and spreadsheet software.  Auto CAD  software can cost from $600-$1,400.  In addition, you may  need to buy book samples, manufacturers of wallpapers, paints, carpets costing about $250 each.  Not to mention if you were starting your own designing business, you can’t forget the hourly pay for your interior designers and service charges.  Also, there are many more expenses as well.

How in the world would you set up an exquisite portfolio for such a career?  Well with my portfolio, I would definitely  want to showcase everything I have done such as interior design projects and more. I would have great information about the many things I have done to get to where I am today.  Let’s just say they would definitely know who I am and what many great things I have to offer.

In all I think that if I wasn’t going with my first choice of nursing, that interior designing would probably be my second choice.  I have many ideas to be expressed.  I know how to get things done with a deadline, work with others as well as alone quite well, and I am very creative/artistic.  I think this career would be a very exciting and joyful career for me. :) 

Ha! Whoever knew there was so much to interior designing then just matching and rearranging things? 

Sources:

http://www.interiordesignersalarydata.com/

http://www.findyourartschool.com/articles/interior-design-portfolio-tips

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos293.htm

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Video Game Designers?

By: Kayla 

 

Video games are one of the most popular activities for Americans do play.  Many of them play them every day.  Games such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare I & II are just a few of the very popular games here are as well as Call of Duty: Black Opps.  The video games are immensely improved with animations, game consoles/systems, their popularity, etc.These animations behind these new video games are far more realistic then what they were twenty to thirty years ago.  These creators in my opinion must be very smart and creative to design such games.

Have you ever wonder about the career of Video Game Designers?  I personally haven’t though. But it sounds like a fun and  interesting if you enjoy playing video games and have some great ideas for a new game.

The training/education you would need though to become a video game designer to check out the video game design schools.  They have  computer science/programming degrees available for you to achieve.

The average income of a video game designer is about for the first three years experience or less , you can start off by making, on the average, $50,000 a year.

There are Senior Level designers who are responsible for outlining level objectives and flow within a video game. They are then required to create design documentation for that level. A level designer will typically be provided the design documentation, including mechanics, guidelines and mission outlines, from the senior or other lead designers. Lead animator works closely with the lead artists, lead programmers, & senior artists to create the characters used in the games.

The portfolio you would need for this job should include your experiences with video game designing as well as your ideas for new and improved video gaming. If you have a small game you have created yourself, that would be a smart choice to show off.  Future employers like nothing more than for you to show that you really have a passion for this and are highly interested in this field of work. Also, of course don’t forget your final thoughts of improvements and more! 

Is this career for me?

• Personally, no. I really am not into video games. I couldn’t come up with such elaborate ideas for video games. So I’m going to have to pass on this career choice. 

Sources: 

http://www.careertoolkits.com/video-game-designer/

http://www.patrickcurry.com/thoughts/creating-the-ultimate-game-design-portfolio/

http://www.animationarena.com/video-game-salary.html