Blog Reflection

I have really had a great experience Blogging for the past 15 weeks on different topic pertaining to this class. I never had blogged before and was really great to learn something new and find a way to express myself via the internet on a page of my own. I do plan on continuing on with this page document my experiences as an art student. It nice for me to have to reflect on in the future and maybe even show that this is work I have done in a resume when applying for a teaching job.

If I end up with a classroom room of older students I might just very well use this blogging methods for work. It a great was for students to interact with each other and talk about how they feel in a more casual than formal environment.

Creating a Digital Portfolio

Creating a digital portfolio can be rather intimidating at first. There are many questions you ask yourself before you start. Such as what pictures do I want to include, should I have a theme, and where shall I place my resume in the beginning or on the last page? These are just to name a few. I found this page that takes you step by step in how to organize your portfolio in photoshop which is great because it is one of the programs we have been dealing with in class. I can use this to gather all my photos and reconstruct them to have an optimal appearance for my portfolio. Click Here to check out this page. Another thing I looked at was a pdf file that asked similar questions that was running through my mind about creating my portfolio and gave some really great answers. I will definitely be looking back to reffer to his answers Click Here.

Creating Conversations

Looking through my classmates blogs the two I chose on my own stood out first visually to me. Once my eye was caught I read through the blogs to find a blog that interested me the most. For me I comment on two portrait blogs. I think what is was for me was the unquiness of the pictures they posted. They were both different then a standard portraits people would normally think of which caught my attention. For my classmate that was above me on the list I comment on the logo's because I really liked the websites that were used as inspirations for the project. I saw them as very useful and insightful.
I would use Blogs in an upper level class like in a high school. I think it is a great way for students to talk to each other and share information they have found whether it through their own text, pictures or hyperlinks. I would more than likely use a blog in a similar format with a forum like we are in this class.
Blog Sites I used:
http://mccacm49.blogspot.com/2010/03/images-for-inspiration.html#comments
http://babiea89.blogspot.com/2010/03/b9-self-portrait.html#comments
http://penvosam01.blogspot.com/2010/02/online-resource-for-logo.html#comments

Working in the Classroom

Since we now live in a world were technology is constantly evolving I want my students to have a strong grasp on to present their work in digital format. Ideally I would like to be teaching in a high school. I find that it some students who want continue you on in the arts don't a proper portfolio. I want to give students that opportunity to be able to present their work in a professional manner. On this page I found information on creating portfolios with Adobe Acrobat. I would use this education resources in my classroom to guide my students to organize their work digitally into a portfolio. Click Here Another great website that I really enjoyed looking at was the apple website. There are a lot of great things apple computers do. There were links on how to get funding for apple computers in the classroom which I felt was good a source for in the future id I ever need to getting grants for my classroom. To learn more Click Here. On exploring the last website I came across a blog that was posted on getting your students to think about historical thinking. I really liked what she had to say for I want to teach my students art history. I want my students to be excited about history and what importance it holds. Here is a link to that blog

Adobe InDesign Part 2

After watching the first videos a couple of weeks ago I thought I had a really good grasp on using this product. When it came down to using it in class I actually was struggling more than I thought I would. So for this blog assignment to watch more videos I took this opportunity to watch the original vidoes over again nw that I have had to so play around with InDesign. I think my frustration lied with knowing how to do certain tasks and not know how to combine certain things I did. Watching these newer videos tied in these parts that were frustrating to me. Although I don't have InDesign at home I am looking forward to coming back to class and applying this new found information.

Self - Portriat, What I want to portray

What is a Self- Portrait?
Is an extension of who I am as a person inside and out. It a representation of my emotions, dreams and characteristics.

What are the distinctive things that make me "me"?
I am a very outgoing and funny person. I care about animals and children deeply. I really want to make a name for myself as a teacher and help influence the lives of other.
How do I want people to see me?
I want people to see me as a funny and caring person. I want to show my love for all things and the compassion I have for the world.
How can I express my many different sides?
I like to use color as an extension of myself using calm colors like blues to represent my calmness and hot colors like reds to show my inner passions.
How can I reinvent myself for various purposes or times in my life?
Depending on what the scenario is conform to what is asked of me. If it involves professionalism I will tones down my crazy side and show my more organized punctual side of me. I am always reinventing myself from a day to day basis.
How am I changing from day to day or year to year?
Day to day I am changing and growing as a person trying to better myself and reach for my goals. I want to have a good future and achieve all my dreams and aspirations. In order to do so I've stepped away from my past where there was no hopr of achieving anything and found the road that lead me to the present to become that person I am deep inside.
Who do I want to become?
I want to become a inspiration art teacher that touches the lives of the children I have in my classroom. I want to be the force behind the passion they develop and the person to come to for the drive they need. I want to become a partner for my girlfriend and eventually marry. I want to have a family and live a happy and fulfilling life.



Here are two self portraits of artists that I really like:Chuck Close and Andy Warhol




I choose these two artist but I like that style in which they work.
Andy Warhol has always thought outside the box and has has been very inspirational for me. Chuck Close as well has a very unwie style in which he paints that i find genius. I would like to somehow incorporate what they have done into my own self-portrait.

http://digital-photography-school.com/self-portrait-photography-tips

this was a really helpful website. it gave a a lot of useful tips on how to take a picture to work with and how tp create a powerful self-portrait. I will definitely be referring back to this website while going through the process of my own piece.

Adobe Photoshop

Although I did know some information already, I really liked all the videos on Adobe Photo shop I recently watched. Through the videos I can see how personalized you can make all your projects. The most beneficial video for me was how you can import your work from photo shop to in design. I'm preparing to create a pamphlet for this art show coming up and involves pictures to be placed within it. With this new knowledge on photo shop I can really highlight the objects properly and better prepare them to place within the text I created in in design.

Adobe In Design

So I just recently watched the Adobe In Design videos and absolutely loved them. I found them very useful. Currently I working with a collaborative group where I have been assigned to design a information pamphlet about an organization we are volunteering for. At first I was a little hesitant and stressed about the project. But after watching these insightful videos I have full confidence now that I can create something really useful. I really enjoyed all the informational videos about working with text. It is a great resource to know who to creatively use text with in your designs to make it more aesthetically appealing and also more professional.

Creating a LOGO

Creating a logo may seem simple at first but as I found in actuality it is a lot harder than it looks. Logo's are limitless in there design and there are so my directions you can take it in. For some visual aids on what other did I checked out this website called LogoPond which had many different logo upload to the page for people to view. Here a link if you would like to take a look as well. http://logopond.com/all/. It was really wonderful to see all the different takes people had on their logo design. Some were just text of one letter maybe two others just had a drawing design and some incorporated both.I'd like to think that this help me decide in the direction I would like to go in for my logo but at the same time I've thought of so many other direction to try I need some more hashing out of ideas. All in all I'm excited to get back into Adobe Illustrator and begin some new ideas.

Adobe Illustrator

I recently went onto the Adobe website and check out a couple of videos on Adobe Illustrator. I one never knew that they had a website that gave instructional videos which I thought was wonderful, and two never knew there was so much more you can do within Illustrator. Most of the time when you go one to these websites they give you text-ed introduction on what to do. But as a visual learner I saw it as really helpful to have a video aid in guiding me how to use the different tools adobe illustrator had to offer. I got me excited to want to try new techniques within this platform. I especially liked the video on the pen tool. I never knew about anchor point and handles and how you can draw over what you just did with your cursor within 12pxls. to make the line exactly what you wanted it to be. You can use these similar techniques with the paint and pencil tools as well and what was also really neat was that you can change the type of paint brush stoke to allow it to mimic real paint brushes. Another great piece of information I got was use shapes. It explain how to change the number of points in squares and starts how to move it through the pages and scale it using proportion, Another great feature with the shapes is that you can rework the corner to customize the shape you are looking for. I can now see how limitless adobe illustrator is and if you have it in your mind you can easily translate your ideas on to the computer.

Abtract Art Lesson Plan

For my power point presentation in class this past Monday I gave a slide show on Abstract Expressionism. I geared it towards High School students because I want them to do research on a specific artist and create their own style of Abstract Art uses the artist they chose as a reference. I looked through a couple of websites to see what other teachers were doing in there class room for this unit it and stumble upon this pdf that was similar to what I was looking for so I used it to aid me in creating me own lesson plan. If you take a look at this pdf it has the same core concepts I would like my students to have so they get a full understanding of this unit.

How Can I Use PowerPoints In My Classroom?

So for my first lab project in my AED398 I chose to do a power point presentation on Abstract Art. I already knew how to work with power point so I didn't need to look up any online source to help guide me along. Instead I would like to talk about the importance of power point use in a classroom setting.
In this era of technology many of us have become more of a visual learner. I know I am. A power point is a great tool to give a visual aid to a topic you are discussing. Instead of just a dry boring lecture a power point can enhance the subject matter and potential engross the class more. You don't need anything too flashy but something that just gives that little extra oomph. I for one will definitely use many power point in lesson I give especially when it pertains to references of art history. It is imperative to use as a guidance tool.

My Visit to the Albright Knox

Which artworks make an impact or impression on me? Why?
First I am always drawn to van Gogh's The Old Mill it is always amazing to see an actual van Gogh right before your eyes. This painting I feel expresses a lot of emotion and shows the creative talents of a brilliant painter. It is such a tranquil scene with many cool tones of blue it just brings you to a place of serenity.
Another painting that stand out is Giacomo Balla Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash. Having futurism the only avante guarde movement to come out of Italy in the 19th century and then to have one of the most iconic pieces right hear in Buffalo at the Albright is simply something in itself.
From the Surrealism movement my favorite, Salvidor Dali's The Transparent Simulacrum of the Feigned Image is a must see when visiting the Knox. Even though it is not one of his more famous piece you still understand the concepts behind what Dali was doing. You can see in the mountain a faint portrait of his wife which he did in many of his paintings. Landscape were a concept theme for Dali bringing them into these colorful world that only Dali could create.Joan Miro was another Surrealist painter that in my opinion added a lot of humor and sexuality to his pieces. It's funny to me because every time I go to the Albright Knox kids gravitate towards this painting. I think it's because of the playful it creates. The amusing thing is, is that what parents don't notice. Many of the characters in this piece of uniquely shaped penises and some even with implied vagina's and breast. The title Carnival of Harlequin is suggestive of something more than what we see. Lastly I want to discuss Claes Oldenburg. His plush version of the Island of Manhattan separated into individual plush postal codes is really amazing to look at. During the pop art movement Oldenburg created many ordinary objects into plush sculpture which gave a humorous feel to these objects in our everyday lives. To see one of these pieces is something worth while for this is another iconic piece that the Albright has in it's collection.


Which artworks do I feel a connection with? Why?
I always am drawn to modern art. Anything produced around 1940 to the present gets me really excited. Jackson Pollock I see as the father to the whole shift from what was seen as standard painting to something that was considered the death to painting. So different from anything seen before, Pollock to the actual experience of creating art just as important as the ending product itself. Convergence is definately one of my favorite pieces to see at the Albright Knox.Franz Kline is another artist from the Abstract Expressionist movement I really enjoy. It's simplicity in color reminds me of minimalism but the harsh brush strokes are so powerful filled with emotion. The painting that can be viewed of his at the Albright is called New York, NY. His unconventional use of house paints like Pollock changes the face of art in the up and coming art world. Continuing on another work I feel strongly toward is Andy Warhol's 100 Campbell soups. The pop art era talks about modern consumerism and the mass productions of objects. I can relate to this living in a society of materialism. Even the process of skill screening itself is a form of production. Also during the Pop Art movement is an artist Roy Lichtenstein who did Head Red and Yellow. He uses the dots that were seen in newspapers to create his art work. It reminds me of works done by Seurat but modified for the modern age. My final favorite is the piece done by Robert Rauschenberg called Ace. It is a large scaled piece that again has that sense of unconventional use of paint. Other objects are incorporated often he used cardboard boxes. It gives you a feeling of collage but with other materials other than magazine clippings. The grand scale of this piece has you staring at it forever. I tend to find every time I look at it I find something new.






































Which artworks would I like to know more about? Why?
Well for starters I really like minimalist work. I enjoy the painting by Frank Stella. I would like to further review other pieces that he has done. I'm not a mathematical person so seeing a piece of artwork like this stirs questions in my mind like "What methods did he use to create such a rigid geometric structure?"To venture away from my comfort zone I would have to say Folk Art is not really my favorite. I do find though Edward Hicks, Peaceful Kingdom very interesting. Although I have some ideas about the work I would like to get a little more information on the artist himself. Back to Abstract Expressionism Clyfford Still No. 1 I am familiar with this piece and the story how the Albright almost didn;t even get to have it in its collection but I am not so familiar with the artist himself or other works that he has done. It is definitely worth it for me considering my fondness for this art movement.Now we all know about Picasso and the works he did during the Cubist movement but for me not much is know about his Rose Period. This work called La Toilette was done right before he shifted to Cubist making his most notable piece Les Demoiselle d'Avignon. Lastly I will concluded with William Harnett's Music and Literature. This piece is very eye catching in its realism Trump Loyal to fool the eye. I would like to learn more about the techniques used to create such an illusionist mastery of creating paint into a photo like piece.

Why Do I Want To Be An Art Educator?

I want to be an art educator that's simple, it's narrowing down all the reasons why I do is the hard part.
The first class that I ever remember was in Kindergarten and that was my art class. I still remember her name. I looked forward for the days the rotations fell on ART DAY. Every since then I was hooked on Art. I knew even in elementary school I wanted to become an Art Teacher. It was those teacher I gravitated the most towards and thought the highest about.
Continuing on into High School my thoughts remained the same. The Art Teachers always stood out and seemed cooler than the other teacher. The Art room was always a refuge for me. I bonded the most with my Art teachers and I saw myself becoming what they were.
My summer were spent as a camp counselor at Camp HillCroft which had wonderful programs such as photography, weaving, printmaking, enameling and my favorite ceramic. There I developed an knack for the medium and when I returned to High School in the fall I took every ceramic class and sculpture class they had to offer. Which fortunately for me, my school had an extraordinary art program.
I have always loved art and art history and have a strong want to incorporate the purpose of art history in the classroom. I have always found that through the years my fellow peers never gave art history a chance or did and just didn't see the point. I want to start early with kids and teach the purpose behind why art has progressed and the movements which shaped the face of art through the years.
Children are our link to the future generation. I want to be part of change, whether it be in teaching new ideals or in the life of one child I want to know I was apart of something. This is my passion and what I believe in. Its an outlet to create ideas in to tangible objects. Art is limitless lets push this notion as far as we can.