Weekends with Jess are the best

This weekend was pretty amazing. Not just because I got to see the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special or watch the Stars, but because one of my closest friends, Jessica, was in town. And I got to take her to her first hockey game.

 

She got into town Friday night and she was actually really excited to "go hockey-ing." Despite having no idea what was going on, she was a great sport about the whole experience and got into giving some of the Rangers fans around us a hard time for rooting for the wrong team. Jess might have had absolutely no idea what icing was or why people were "put in time out" or even what the "Standing Cock" was, but she had a great time.

 

And then we met a couple guys that had two extra seats. Behind the Stars bench. So she got to get really close to the action.

Saturday we spent the day at the Kimbell Museum and got to go through their brand new Piano Pavilion (which opens to the public this weekend). We also went through the Picasso and Matisse exhibit that is on loan from the Chicago Museum of Art. Both of us were really excited to see the exhibit but we were totally blown away by the extensiveness of the entire show. It was art that spanned almost a hundred years and at least fifty different artists. If you all haven't seen it, I highly recommend you do because it was just amazing. After a stop at the always amazing Museum of Modern Art, we did end up parting ways so she could spend some time with her family here in Dallas.

It was great to see Jess again and be able to catch up on the past few months. Sometimes, its nice to be able to just spend some time with a friend that has stood by you through so much without judgement and not even have to talk about some of the major changes in your life. Sometimes its nice to just watch movies, drink wine, "go hockey-ing" and look at art.

Its also good to know that the next time she's in town I'll have someone to keep me company when I finally go get my first tattoo.

When did writing become a chore?

When I was younger, I used to write all the time. I would write poetry and short stories and even in a journal (almost) every day. At one point I wrote a novel (it was probably more of a novella, but that's besides the point). Now, I seem to struggle to string together a coherent blog post once a week. I'll draft up three or four posts a week, but somehow they never seem to be "good enough" for me to actually publish. I don't know when it happened, but I seem to have lost faith in my own writing. 

Maybe this is because I've tried to use this place to write about so many different things that now nothing really seems to fit. I don't know all of the people that take the time to visit to read what I've writted. And I'm worried about leting you all down. All of you nameless, faceless people out there. I also feel bad that there are those of you that visit on a regular basis and have nothing new to read. When I'm this inconsistent, it makes me wonder why you all even come here. Not that I'm saying you shouldn't. 

But I need to get over whatever fear I have of just writing. Writing isn't a chore, it isn't something to be afraid of. It is something I enjoy. I need to embrace that. 

So, I've actually started working on a short story. I'm not sure if it will be something I publish here, or even at all, but I think it will be good to start working on somehing like this to get back into writing more than just updates on my life and how disappointed I am in politics and whatnot. I'm also going to make a commitment to publish something at least once a week for the rest of the summer. I'm going to try to make this blog a bit more varied as well, I'm going to try to upload one piece of artwork that I've created in addition to a written post once a week. 

I'm hoping that this will help me get back to the creative part of my life that love and seem to have lost touch with. I'm also hoping it will make this blog an even more enjoyable experience for all of you. 

ARTC 1353: Gradients and Blending

Tonight's class was all about gradients and blending. While I knew there was a lot that you could do in Illustrator in order to manipulate these elements, I've never really looked into what all they can do. Our assignment tonight was to create a menu for a cafe and utilize the skills we learned tonight. We also had to include the following elements:

• Text
• A blend applied to an object and made into a new shape
• A menu item you have created
• A gradient applied to an object
• A menu item from the symbols palette
• A menu item showing color blend
• A menu item showing shape blend

I think I managed to hit all of the requirements. I had a lot of fun creating this menu and I'm looking forward to working on the perspective assignment.

ARTS 1311: Balance

This week's assignment in my 2D media class was focusing on balance as well as critiquing each other classmate's Water Conservation projects.

I must say I was a bit disappointed with the critiques. I wanted to try and stay as polite as possible, but sometimes that's hard when you can easily tell someone threw their project together in about ten minutes. I was also disappointed with the critiques I received. I knew there were many things I needed to work on and pointed them out myself. What I was not happy with was people trying to say a certain aspect was wrong or tearing my image apart because I gave them a poor critique. Oh well. I guess that's really why I'm not a fan of being assigned certain people that you have to review specific aspects of their project.

As for the balance assignment, I wasn't on top of it. I let life get in the way and wasn't ready to upload them until now. I did enjoy working on these images and thinking not only about how balance is used but also math, like the golden spiral and golden rectangle. Ratios are used in order to determine the rule of thirds in design. I may not like to actually have to do math, but I like the principles that have come from mathematics.

Examining Shiva Nataraja

The third piece I examined for my midterm was a very iconic piece from the Hindu religion. 

While there is no artist listed for Shiva Nataraja, there is a very large history behind it. This is one of the most recognized depictions of Shiva, even to people that know nothing about the beliefs that led to its creation. Created in the 11^th century and cast in bronze, Shiva Nataraja is one of the chief Hindu gods. He is the master of life, death, rebirth, and a fertility deity. But what exactly is this sculpture trying to show us? What is the story behind this iconic depiction of Shiva Nataraja?

Shiva stands on a pedestal, standing on a person. Without the knowledge of what is being depicted, a casual viewer may think that this is an act of cruelty. Instead, this is a symbol of Shiva’s victory over ignorance as well as the passage of spirits from the divine into material. The upper right hand is holding a small drum, symbolizing the origins of creation, as Shiva is dancing the dance in which the universe was created, maintained, and destroyed. The upper left hand is holding fire, symbolizing destruction as Shiva is also the god of death. Shiva’s lower right hand is poised in the symbol protecting from evil and ignorance. The final hand is pointing at Shiva’s raised foot, signifying liberation. The flames that surround Shiva as he dances are symbolic of the universe.  The snake winding around his waist is a symbol of the divine force within all of us.

Shiva is “the most important authority in the religious, political, and cultural world” (Ambegaonkar). He is known as the destroyer as well as the creator; this casting symbolizes both aspects of Shiva. This piece shows how Shiva is said to be “periodically destroying the universe so that it can be remade again” (Patel). The power and authority that Shiva has is a beautiful balancing act, expressing the harmony and rhythm of life. The dance Shiva is performing symbolizes the cycles of creation and destruction, meant to portray the way inner tranquility and outside activity can unite.

Shiva is important to the Hindu religion because he is more than a simple god, he is the answer for two of life’s biggest questions that religion tries to answer: How were we made? and How will we die? Shiva Nataraja takes what would otherwise be a terrifying topic and turns it into a beautiful dance, a simple balancing act. As every other religion has tried before, this is a way to try and answer the unanswerable questions that all cultures have. This is a simple reflection toward the sacred realm. Since humans have been able to create art, they have been creating pieces that would comfort them about the realm of the unknown. Just like every Christian or Muslim painting has done before (and still continues to do), Shiva Nataraja is a way for people to receive comfort from the emptiness on either side of life.

Prior to examining this piece, I had only looked at depictions of Shiva as a beautiful, sacred piece of art. After learning the history that is behind him, it is more than just a pretty statue. This is a piece with history and time behind it. So often do people look at art as nothing more than a pretty piece of something to take up space, but Shiva Nataraja is one of the few pieces that pushes a viewer to look past the initial impression and dig deeper into the real meaning and purpose behind it.  

Examining Claude Monet's "Valle Buona near Bordghera"

This is the second artwork I examined for my midterm. While my first painting was looking at Jackson Pollock's (an American painter) Portrait and a Dream, this is examining one of my favorite European artists. 

When I saw Claude Monet’s Valle Buona, Near Bordighera that he painted in 1884, I knew I wanted to write about this piece. Monet is one of my favorite, second only to Van Gough, so I knew that it would be a joy to write about one of his paintings. Even though I had seen Van Gough’s Banks of the Seine with the Pont de Clichy in the Spring, I opted to write about Monet’s piece instead, mostly because I knew I wanted to write about Pollock’s Portrait and a Dream, another man with a tragic background that left this world far too soon.

Monet created Valle Buona, Near Borgdihera with the use of vibrant colors. As an impressionist painter, Monet uses visible brush strokes and emphasizes on the colors and the feelings evoked, not necessarily the lines and contours that dominated the painting world at this time. As the name suggests, this is an impression of the scene, not an exact replica. By gazing at the painting, the viewer can feel the same sense of peace that Monet surely felt as he was looking at this landscape.  The beautiful blue of the mountains is set into contrast by the foreground, the vibrant greens and yellows of the brush. The sunlight filters through the blue sky, adding light and shadows to the scenery.

Valle Buona, Near Bordigherg is a peaceful and serene painting of a beautiful landscape. Monet was one of the founders of the Impressionist movement, this painting is painted in this style. While not nearly as famous as his paintings from his garden at Giverny and his paintings of the water lilies, this is a painting that certainly can hold its own.  While Monet’s most well-known paintings are from his garden in Giverny, he also has several paintings that were inspired by his many travels. Like his other paintings, Valle Buona, Near Borgdihera was created using Monet’s preferred medium: oil based paint.

Many of Monet’s paintings are simply looking at the natural world around us. Especially in a time when we are surrounded by so much technology and life can be superficial at best, seeing a painting that takes the time to focus on the natural beauty of the world around us is like a breath of fresh air. Even though this was painted more than 100 years ago, the same theme is quite apparent: the world around us is beautiful. While it may not have had such an important subject when Monet painted it, seeing the world in its natural glory is not something many people today take the time to see. The peacefulness that is evoked is a simple message to how peaceful and relaxing the world around us can be.

 Claude Monet is undoubtedly one of the leaders in the Impressionist movement. After examining Valle Buone, Near Borgdihera, I have a new respect for the way Monet was able to convey emotions with what, at first glance, is a simple scenery painting. As someone that has always admired Monet’s use of colors and the way he evokes emotions in the simplest painting, I have been amazed at how looking further into the history of the man and the painting have increased my respect for him.

Examining Jackson Pollock's "Painting and a Dream"

In my Art Appreciation course, the midterm assignment is to visit a local art museum and pick out four paintings, one from an American artist, one from a European artist, and two from other cultures, and write an analysis of these pieces of art. The next four posts will be my analysis of the art I have chosen. So enjoy reading my midterm split into four pieces! 

Jackson Pollock’s Portrait and a Dream is a beautiful oil painting Pollock completed in 1953. Portrait and a Dream was finished just three years prior to Pollock’s death in 1956. I was struck by the way this painting is not only simple, but after looking, the meaning of this painting and its purpose becomes increasingly sad and complex. While the abstract self-portrait is at first hard to understand, after looking at the black lines on the left and the black and red and orange mass on the right, it is possible to come to see the meaning in the chaos.

Pollock once described the painting on the left hand side was a portrait of himself, the portrait on the right was a portrait of himself “when I’m not sober.” While the left side is simple black and white, the right is a mess of colors and motion. The haphazard lines in both paintings show the way Pollock knew he was spiraling out of control, turning into a violent and uncontrolled mess. The right portrait is attacked with the colors he used, irrefutably alive even through the mess and chaos. The border separating the two speaks of his discomfort in much the same way that Van Gough used color to try to communicate the way he saw the world.

Portrait and a Dream was created during a time in Pollock’s life when he fell prey to his alcoholism and most of his paintings were the abstract images that were but a cry for help. While this was created in the downward spiral of Pollock’s life, he “believed the mess inside of him was somehow communicable and beautiful” (Jones). Only three years after this painting was completed, Pollock died in a car crash while drunk. While this painting was made at the height of his painting career and was even called “the greatest living painter in America” this was also during the time when his alcoholism and temperament had worsened (O’Neill).

Pollock’s Portrait and a Dream is looking inward, towards the human experience. Because Pollock has told us that this is a self-portrait, this is the way he sees himself, the audience knows that the main theme of this piece. At first glance, it may be difficult to see the beauty in the chaos of Pollock’s mind, after taking the time to look at the painting and understand what he is evoking, it is easy to see the complex way that Pollock views himself. He knows he is a mess. He knows he is falling apart. But he also can see the beauty that can come from chaos.

After looking into this piece more thoroughly, I’ve realized that there is more than just chaos on the canvas. I can see how Pollock was struggling to make it through his life. It is tragic that such a brilliant man died so soon, we can only wonder about what he would have been able to accomplish. After learning more about Pollock and this particular painting, I feel as if this is an even more powerful piece and I admire his talent even more for putting such an exposed, private part of himself out into the public eye.

Painting and other musings

Well, the past few days have been a bit hectic after the move, but probably not for the reasons everyone expects. Friday morning at 8:00 in the morning, movers arrived to move me out of an apartment for the last time and into a house. By 3:00 that afternoon, the entire house was unpacked and organized. Saturday morning I spent the day hanging a few of my paintings and pictures, Sunday I bought three large canvases to create a three-piece art work to hang in the living room. Since Sunday morning, I've spent my free time working on this piece.

During the many hours I've spent working on this piece (in my own separate dance/art room, I might add), I was reminded of a time many months ago that I spent a night painting, making pizza, and listening to music with a friend of mine. This friend used to draw and sketch a lot. He told me that he stopped drawing because his girlfriend didn't really care for it and never really encouraged it. So, after five and a half years with her, he stopped. Hence the reason why I felt it a necessity for us to have a night of art to rekindle his love of art.

I'm not saying that he should have let his girlfriend dictate whether or not he continued with a hobby, but it just baffles me that people are willing to abandon something they love just because their significant other doesn't really like it. Call me selfish, but if Austin didn't want me to paint or dance or continue with photography, I'd pretty much tell him to shove it. These are things I love and things that make me me. Why should I kill off a part of who I am just because someone that supposedly cares about me doesn't like it?

I guess I'm really lucky in the fact that Austin not only encourages me to continue with the things I love, but he's allowed me to claim an entire room in our new house for my own. He's let me take one of the extra rooms and use it as a place to practice dance and work on my art. Maybe I've just gotten used to such an encouraging partner that wants me to have things that are all my own outside of him and our relationship. And I want him to have the same things. Just because he likes basketball and baseball and golf doesn't mean I need to; those are all things he can enjoy (and moreso because I'm not there bitching about being bored).

Maybe what this all boils down to is the fact that I don't understand couples that feel the need to have everything in common and seem to eventually morph into one ultra-lame individual. I don't think I'll ever understand why people feel the need to do everything with their partner and why individuals don't want to have a life outside of each other. I wish people in that sort of relationship would also realize that they don't have to give up things they love and start things they don't really want to do just because of their partner.

And I also just wanted to brag about the fact that I own a house that has a dance/art room all for me!!

Complacency and Breaking the Cycle

I feel terrible that it's been three weeks since my last video! I've really been slacking!! I started this whole project with the thought that I would do one every week. When I decided to start, one a week seemed like a very manageable number and I thought it would be very easy to handle. I didn't really think about the fact that some of the things I wanted to talk about just wouldn't translate as well into a video. I didn't think about the fact that, as a perfectionist, I would complete a video, edit said video, and then be very unhappy with the final project. I didn't think about the fact that it was just easier for me to write. I didn't think about the fact that making a video is more of a challenge.

Well, no more!

As of today, I'm promising to put out a video every week. I actually do enjoy making these videos and I like the challenge of trying to do something that I'm not used to. Even though I did have the major setback of having my computer crash a few months ago and lose a lot of footage, I'm going to just pick back up and continue working on making new videos. I was a bit upset when I lost a lot of footage and videos and a lot of software that I used to edit videos .when my computer crashed. When I lost all of this, I just took a break and never really got back from this break. I'll be working on a new videos tonight and have it posted by tomorrow. I think what I need more than anything is to just jump back in and start making new videos. I can't wait around for something to happen and for me to feel it worthy of vlogging about, I just need to get my act together and get back to it. And, since the main thing in my life right now is the NHL Playoffs and my final few weeks of this semester, that's probably what I'll talk about.

Also, just as a little side note, I'm going to start uploading some artwork that I've completed. Art is a big part of my life and a great way for me to epress myself. It's also just something that I enjoy doing. So, I think I'll start to post a bit of that every now and then. I feel like I've gotten complacent in just writing a few things and posting them each week. And I'm sure you would all like a bit of variety... I've gotten complacent and comfortable and I need to break this pattern of writing and not working on other things. I need to expand myself as well as the contents of this site!

I'm looking forward to these new changes and I hope you are as well!

Day 17 — An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)

This is going to be a fairly short post due to the fact that I'm starting to get a little sick. So I apologize if this is a bit of a rambling post that doesn't make a lot of sense. I'm guessing its mostly due to the fact that Dallas weather is more fickle than any woman on the face of the Earth. In the mornings it has been in the low 30's and in the afternoon it gets up to 70. I know, people up in the DC and New York area are dealing with snow, but at least they know its going to be cold, none of this up and down. I kinda miss the constant cold, you can be ready for that but not this mess we have...

This is a painting by Claude Monet. He's famous for his work as founder of the French impressionist painting. He is one of my absolute favorite artists and I would love to one day own one of his original pieces. I love all of his paintings from his gardens at Giverny and his later work. His earlier work is fantastic, don't get me wrong, I just prefer his later work more. I feel like he really developed and become the artist we all love as he aged and delved more into impressionist painting.