Late Art 220 Day 4

This is the re-uploaded (because I never noticed the first post didn’t go through) Day 4 post.  Sabbatical. Usually when I heard that word used in movies or TV, the ever so common joke “You got fired huh?” followed behind. So listening to  a 17  minute lecture as to why it benefits was pretty newfangled . But, what got me thinking wasn’t so much about the sabbatical, rather the idea that as designers and artist we sometimes need to get out and press restart.

It’s common knowledge that when working on something it’s good to step out and take a breather, engage in something else, and return with hopefully some fresh perspective. But I then started to wonder about the bigger picture. I noticed that sometimes I find myself in lulls. Creating or drawing the same old things, or only looking at, and getting inspired by the same old things. While, I do often venture out and try to learn as much about as many new things that can hopefully influence me for the better. I am always trying to better myself, and retain as much as I can, so that I can use it for the future. But I wondered if this tactic (while ideal) will eventually burn me out?

So I got to thinking, is trying to push your creativity to the edge every second a positive or a negative force? Does maybe stopping for a bit and relaxing in your mind, a good thing too? Will giving yourself a break allow you to better yourself? I am not sure.

               

Art 220 Day 5

I just realized my last post never went through, so I will be uploading that later. So! Already on the third week of class. Jimmy had us to an exercise were we listened to a story that ultimately led up to us drawing what we imagine would be behind the a door with our name on it.

                I am currently taking a class called TVF 250, and the biggest theme throughout this class is self-identity. I read an entire article, on how our name has such great influence on how we identify ourselves. So, bringing it back to Jimmy’s class, when given the option of drawing what is inside a room that has MY name on it, I couldn’t help but think back to my readings of self-identity. My name is not only a way to identify me from others, but it is a way to label myself. So, the question was how do I view and feel about myself, and how would I represent that with a drawing.

                Since I for the most part enjoy myself, and take pride in the things I enjoy, I knew that a great way to represent myself visually would be to draw and image of things I enjoy visually. I like cute shit. I really do. I love things that are imaginative, childish, and whimsical. This is because as an individual I identify myself as a kid at heart. A little girl who loves to surround herself with things that give her joy. I am not impervious to the negative, but I definitely make an effort to not seek it out, or try to change it into a positive.  Cakes, Ribbons, smiling faces, angels, and a cotton candy queen would be inside the room with name on the door, and I am proud of it.

Day 3

Wow. This class continues to surprise me. Today, the theme was PROCESS. Or at least I think it was. So our teacher, Jimmy, asked us to rearrange ourselves by our birth dates. Simple enough. After we had successfully organized ourselves, Jimmy told us that in the future, we would most likely be working collaboratively with others. A very important life lesson. I couldn't help but agree more that knowing how to work well with others is a very helpful skill.

I have always considered myself as more of a leader then a follower, but one thing that i have learned through trail and error is that you are not the only one who thinks that they're the leader. While you may think your plan is the best and most efficient one to get the job done, someone else may be thinking the same thing. So, after many past altercations that have taken place between two people who may think they know what  needs to be done, I have learned that taking a step back may just be whats best for the group. It's very easy to butt heads and slow the entire group down. Being a leader means doing whats best for the team. Shut up for a second and LISTEN to what leader #2 has to say. It may also be that the group prefers their idea more.

Art 220 Day 2

Second day of class already? Jeez. So Jimmy, our teacher, started the class out by writing the phrase Visual Literacy on the board. After some discussion, and Wikipedia searches, I came to understand visual literacy as; understanding and comprehending what you see. That got me thinking on how we translate and interpret what it is that we see.














 For instance when you see someone waving at you, one usually interprets it as a greeting, or a way to grab your attention. That is the general interpretation. People Assume that person is say "hello" not "Did you know milk come from cows?" So keeping this is mind I thought about how a graphic designer need to keep in mind how things may be translated by their audience. The graphic designer, if speaking to a large audience and is trying to convey a certain message of point, needs to also look at their design and say, "How will my audience translate this?"  Food for thought.

Art 220 Day 1

Today was my very first day of winter quarter of 2013, Art 220, Concept development.  Rather then starting out class with the expected tedious syllabus reading, that drones on forever. Our teacher, Jimmy, made us sit in a circle and indicated that we will be playing a game.

It was a rather interesting game. The rules were to introduce yourself, and state 2 facts about yourself and one lie. The class would then guess which was the lie. It was quite funny learning some truths about certain people. For instance I am now aware that 2 of my classmates own Teenage Mutant Ninja turtle pajama bottoms. While the game was very fun to play, it also had its point of teaching the class about trusting one's gut feeling, and instincts. Our teacher explained that in this course, rather than listening and relying  to our teachers instincts we must learn to rely on our own. I couldn't help but feel that I maybe shouldn't be relying on my gut so much seeing as how i continued to get my guesses wrong hahaha.I think the game was a successful icebreaker though and helped the students feel more at ease with not only the teacher but the other students too. It was also quite refreshing not having to listen to the teacher read the syllabus, unfortunately, right after the game was done, Jimmy went ahead and read through the syllabus. This immediately crushed my high.