Balance + Contrast

Logos + Fine Art This week we had two projects, the first one being an exploration of logo design.  For this project we learned about what goes into the designing and editing of logos. We then had to go through the process of designing a logo for ourselves. I found this to be a rather enjoyable project as learning about the different aspects of logo design was quite interesting, andI am pleased with my final design of a personal logo.  In my initial stages I decided to try a series of designs featuring a J or my middle name, Jade, spelled out. I have been introducing myself and going by my middle name for a few years now and I feel it resembles my identity better. I played around with combining this letter J with the color yellow, with the design of a bee, with the words; honest, homemade + simple, as well as a strong feature of circles in my designs, as I felt all these components related to who I identify as.  In my final design, I utilized aspects from the...

Value + Color In this project we had the opportunity to work with real materials to create different artistic tools in order to understand the course material.  The first project I did was the Value Scale, something I've done many times before in drawing classes. I enjoyed this project, however I wish I would've put tape down to be neater in the making of the scale.   Then I worked on the Color Wheel. This project didn't turn out the way it was supposed to as I couldn't find any acrylic paints in the store labeled 'Cyan' or 'Magenta' so I tried to pick a red/pink color and a light green/blue color that matched the best.  I definitely prefer the Value Scale to the Color Wheel, as I don't much enjoy woking with paints (other than watercolor). I believe the important discovery in making the Color Wheel was that magenta, cyan, and yellow are in fact the true primary colors, this discovery also happened to be the most critical information i...

Elements + Principles of Design: Reflection Journal In this project we were asked to capture photos that represent the different elements and principles of design. I worked on my project a bit differently, and combed through photographs I had already taken (as photography is my concentration there were many), and find photographs that were exemplary of the different  elements and principles of design. I used a photographs that ranged from up to 3 years ago, as that is when I started being quite purposeful with my photography and felt I had enough photographs that incorporated these elements and principles. I actually found this project quite enjoyable as I realized some of my simplest photographs were the strongest in conveying these principles. I also found that most of my photographs were of organic substances, mostly taken outside, or at the Botanical Gardens.   Below is a slideshow of the different elements and principles of design: Elements and Principle...

Color What is color and how does it affect us? Color is the light we see reflected from an object, and it can affect us in ways we wouldn't expect. But to understand some of the ways color affects us, we have to understand how it works. There are three different "cones" that interpret what your eyes are seeing and they are made up of red, blue, and yellow. Then from those initial 3 cone receptors, a myriad of colors is relayed back to our brains, through the combination of levels of light we receive through the different cones. However, this very technical process can have a surprising impact on our emotions. In the " Do You See What I See? The Science of Color Perception" video, it talks about how strongly the colors red and blue can impact us in our daily lives. The color red can effectively make players more confident in sporting events, and even officials tend to score red players more generously. Whereas the color blue calms us to a point that our se...

Aesthetics + Creativity This week we we're assigned two videos and an article to read, all dealing with aesthetics and creativity, and how they tie into what we consider art. Below I will review what I've learned from each source and extrapolate on how I understood the material.  First up is the CNN article on the neuroscience of art and aesthetics; " What the brain draws from: Art and neuroscience". This article talks about why + how: we recognize art, and its ability to please us. The most easily recognized form in art is faces, in fact we seek them out. " Our brains have a special affinity for faces and for finding representations of them..." This phenomenon occurs in everything, from modern-day emojis, to Impressionist paintings where a discreet patch of color may be recognized as a face.  The other thing our brains recognize more easily then would be thought are lines. Lines are a made-up thing, so how can they be assembled into a recognizable ...

Housekeeping: Setting Up Gmail Account, Blogger, etc. Setting up a Gmail account is a pretty easy thing to do, honestly the hardest part is finding a username that hasn't been taken. However setting up this Blogger was a bit more difficult. What seemed as if it would be a seamless setup (simply linking your gmail to Blogger to create an account) ended up being the most difficult part of this module thus far.  In this course I expect to learn about art and the impact it has on our community and culture. I expect to learn how to analyze and interpret art by considering its processes and subjects, and be able to look closer into the different implications it could have in different communities. Taking an online course is something I have never done before, but I am excited to see how effective this method of instruction is, I like the idea of being able to work at my own pace with this class and hopefully be able to work ahead. I feel positive about the class overall...