Final Project 3

This photo is by far my favorite one of the entire summer. We had taken a super short 3 day trip up to Michigan for my Dad's job. On the way up there we came across this giant sunflower field! Naturally we had to stop to take some cool photos. I had never seen a sunflower field before but I had easily learned that they are one of the most peaceful and beautiful places on earth. This is one of my favorite photos shot there! I did a lot of editing on this piece to take out somethings in the background and jet trails in the sky but in the end I am super happy with how it turned out. I also tried to do an image transfer with this but it did not turn out so well so I decided to paint some acrylic over it, which also did not turn out so well! I decided to keep it thought incase someday I wanted to go back and turn it into something beautiful!

Final Project 2

This is my second final project. I took this photo on a photo shoot I had with my friends in mid August. It was a total blast and I had so much fun. It's hard to believe but this photo was not staged! she just started frolicking down this path and I was able to take some awesome pictures. Not only that but using Photoshops Lightbox allowed me to do some pretty awesome editing to it! I really love this photo because it shows the free spirited mood that this girl always has! The coolest part about this picture is that I also did an image transfer of it onto a canvas which I had explained earlier in a blog post. I have the image transfer here which I will be able to show you guys as well!

Final Project 1

So here is one of my final projects for my summer homework. The reason that I am posting this so late is because I found out today that photoshop was allowing a 30 day free trial download of lightbox which I was insanely excited about because I've always wanted to give lightbox a try! Anyways, this is a photograph that I had taken with a slow aperture to get the full strokes of the sparklers on 4th of july. After the big fireworks my family and I always come back and do fun things such as sparklers, snakes, stink bombs, ect. I really wanted to capture that fun moment of all of us together. The hardest thing was trying to hold the camera still to get the clearest picture possible but overall with all of the fantastic editing that lightbox allowed me, I am super pleased with this final product!

Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Website

I did not know that there was a website for all of the scholastic art awards! It was super fun to look at all of the winning works of art but I especially narrowed in on the photography section because that is what I'm really interested in. Truthfully, every single one of the photographs were AMAZING and they all had inspired me to take something that ends up in there this year. I had no idea that there was a writing award either! Considering that I am super into writing as well, that is something I will definitely be looking into. Overall, just looking and seeing that all of these pieces were done by students my age really inspired me to do super good work this year and really get something to win an award.

http://www.artandwriting.org/student-showcase/award-winning-works/#subset=18&art=Photography&art_portfolio=false&writing_portfolio=false&year=2014&state=All&awards=All&grade=0

This piece is titled "Bed Bugs" by Alana Southwood from Fort Wayne, IN. I find this piece really inspiring to me for some reason. When I look at it, it really reminds me of the ending of a relationship with someone or being deceived by a loved one. The fact of the matter is that this picture really made me feel something and that is why I chose to share it. I hope that I can make something that can make others feel something this year.

http://www.artandwriting.org/student-showcase/award-winning-works/#subset=11&art=Photography&art_portfolio=false&writing_portfolio=false&year=2014&state=All&awards=All&grade=0

This piece is titled "Blowing Bubbles" by Derek Oliwa from Rockville, MD. I have always had a passion for black and white photography and this one really stood out to me. While a little kid blowing bubbles is typically something that should be happy and bright, this photograph really evokes the mood that it is something very dreary and unhappy. I really like that about this piece because it is not typical and the irony of it is super interesting. 

Wisconsin Arts Board Website

I had no idea that there was a website out there that displayed as much art information for one state! I started to dig really deep into the website and found so many cool things such as the poetry out loud contest and quilting classes for kids. It was super cool to see all of the interesting and helpful actives out there. It is also awesome that some organization "nurtures creativity" because without places like these, our world would most definitely struggle. I want to use this website to enroll in at least one of their contests that they put out for high school students. I believe that applying for all these contests will most definitely improve my artist ability! Although there are really no pictures on this website to post, I must say that I was really inspired by all of the amazing events put together in Wisconsin just to keep art alive. It is something very near and dear to my heart and I am so happy that it exists!

http://artsboard.wisconsin.gov/sublink.asp?linksubcat2id=2689&linksubcatid=3574&linkcatid=3728&linkid=1653&locid=171

This sculpture is called "backyard bee keeping" by Chris Watten. It is part of the Phantom Galleries. Personally I have never even attempted sclupture but there is something about this one that I really like.  It's super fun and makes me feel happy. Coming from someone who generally makes and loves art that pulls at my heart strings, I really enjoy this upbeat fun looking sculpture! 

http://artsboard.wisconsin.gov/sublink.asp?linksubcat2id=2691&linksubcatid=3574&linkcatid=3728&linkid=1653&locid=171

This painting is untitled by Kim Rahal. It was put in downtown Kenosha in empty store fronts to transform them. This was done with acrylics which really  intrigues me because the colors are so incredibly vibrant! I love how abstract this piece is and was really drawn in by the colors on it. I would love to know how she got her colors so vibrant and would love to try to create a piece like this! 

Portal Wisconsin Website

When first opening the website, I was a little confused at what it was all about but then I realized how awesome this website was! I love the fact that it is all about Wisconsin and the art that goes on in it. Another thing that I found super cool is the fact that you are able to submit your own work to be displayed on the website. I also really enjoyed looking at all of the local photographers and artists; it's super cool and inspiring to see all of the talent so close around you. Not only that, but another thing that I found super interesting was all of the categories of art you could look at! One of the main things I learned was how cool mixed media pieces were, I will definitly be using some of those ideas to enhance my artwork this year! I had also learned that woodworking was considered a form of art. although I always knew that sculpting and such was art, I had never really thought about wood. It would be super cool to try this year considering my Dad owns a wood shop. Lastly, I had learned about all of the opportunities for artists around Wisconsin! Seeing all of the lists of events and fun activities that artists are needed for is something i'd be super interested in checking out this year and that will be able to impact my artwork as a whole.

http://www.portalwisconsin.org/online_gallery_image.cfm?rid=40413&artist=975&sort=medium&i=1&medid=16

This photo is called "Consensus" and it was taken by Lary Dickerson. I love this photo a lot, mostly because it was taken in the Milwaukee Public Library and that is where I had my best photo shoot yet when I was in Photography 1. Not only that but I love the composition of how the hand rails and mantle is aligned. It almost makes the piece feel a bit abstract.

http://www.portalwisconsin.org/online_gallery_image.cfm?rid=40418&artist=975&sort=medium&i=1&medid=16

This photo is called "Whirling Girlish" and it was taken by Lary Dickerson. I also love this photo by him because it gives almost a non photograph feel. I am always stuck to thinking that my photography has to be crisp lines and high quality but seeing something like this that is beautiful and blurry at the same time, I really do love it! This makes me really want to try new things with photography this year.

Image Transfer

So this is my first attempt at an at home image transfer. I'm hoping for it to be my last final project. I was just scrolling through my news feed on Facebook and this video popped up for how to do an image transfer to a canvas with plain printer paper. Naturally, I clicked on the video because I was totally interested. It turns out that you can do a transfer to a canvas with just plain printer paper with just using gel medium. So I went out to get some gel medium today and here I am! You have to let it sit for 24 hours and then use a damp sponge to peel the paper away and the ink is supposed to stay!! This is a super cool and easy/fun concept; I hope it works!! :) stay tuned for the final product tomorrow night!

Dream Catcher

Late night post: I've been having a lot of bad dreams so tonight I have decided to sketch myself a dream catcher before bed. Call me superstitious but maybe it will work! ;) this past week I have worked 5-7 days and had cheer practice Monday - Friday so I am pooped. But there is nothing a little late night sketching can't fix! 

Photo Shoot

After being inspired by getting my own senior pictures taken, I decided to grab some of my friends and take them on a shoot. I had so much fun and stayed up this late just to edit a couple pictures from the night (passion at it's finest). Granted I don't have the best camera here at home, I did the best I could and went through some editing to bring the pictures up to par! Overall I had a BLAST doing this and can not wait to start my future photography business! Here is a quick peak at one of the portraits I took tonight. :)

Senior Picture Inspiration

This past week I had gotten my senior pictures taken: it was a blast! I got them done by Jessica Lauren Photography and found out just how in love with photo I really am. Her name is Jessica and she does outdoor shoots with just her nice cannon camera and some things to enhance the lighting on your face. I was in awe of what she was doing and we talked almost the whole time about her path in choosing photography and all about her career. At the end of the session she had told me that any time I wanted to (probably next summer) I could come shadow her on shoots and she would show me some of her editing techniques and also have me help her along the way. I would be lying if I wasn't extremely excited! It's wonderful when things like this inspire you so much for your future!