Papermaking Photoshop

Emma taught me some basics in photoshop, such as how to crop, cut out, rotate, color, and special effects...These are cropped seashells for my Papermaking project. The shell is supposed to represent me keeping my emotions from others...keeping up a shield...but it also will have text involved either about my innermost thoughts that I want others to know or the things i hear and have to put up with from others. I haven't really decided which direction I want to go in. 

Weird Phenomenons...

I'm sure the boy was once a siamese twin or something like that but I can't help but wonder if he likes having all those digits. The boy is only 6 and they are going to make him "normal." I can't see how having this many digits would be a health concern. He would just learn to do things differently, have bigger shoes, hand made mittens for winter, etc. What is normal anyway? Who says this isn't? I bet he could swim better with those bigger feet :)


A 6-year-old boy shows his hands: one with seven fingers and another with eight, in Shengjing Hospital in Shenyang, capital of northeast China’s Liaoning province, on March 22, 2010. Ready to undergo an operation, the boy has a total of 31 fingers and toes, which outnumber the current world record of 25.

Notes from Teacher...

Hey Ashley-

sounds like you have a lot of good personal ideas -
you just need to brainstorm on selecting some imagery to serve as  
metaphors so you can start researching.

first really hone in on your concept - what it is exactly you are  
wanting to discuss -sounds like you want to talk about exterior / interior ( meaning ofyour self and our emotions, what you  portray on the outside being different form the inside r hiding what is inside - this has to do with SURFACE) this could be discussed in many different ways -  think about how something with a protective covering could serve as a great metaphor such as --  sea shells - they are beautiful , exterior with patterns which can be abstracted and zoomed in on, they also are hollow when we find them - you also bring them up to your ear and hear sound ( the ocean) instead of conveying the ocean you could use this as your breath or your voice - your inner voice,then there are animals which have protective devices / a shell an  exterior such as a tortoise - which has lovely patterns as well. as far as surface - there is the ground, beneath it is soil , roots-  where things are grounded above it is freedom - the sky etc....

hopefully this might get you thinking and researching - then come then  
come by the studio on tuesday between 11:35-12:35 and meet with me to  
show me what  you have developed and come up with
hope this helps!
best-cynthia

Figuring out my life...

   I'm skipping class today. Yes, I feel horrible about it and am regretting every moment of it, but at the same time I feel like I need it. The stress is really getting to me lately plus I haven't had one day off since school started. I've either been working, going to school, canoeing, grocery shopping, bowling, homework, etc. A couple of those were recreational but still I haven't had a day where I could just relax and chill at home all day. I do have work today at 4pm. The beginning of the day can still be enjoyed, though. I am going to use my day wisely to get some work done, but at a leisurely pace. No pressure today. Hopefully tomorrow can be the same except work in the afternoon.

  Oh so I originally wanted to talk about my topic for Papermaking and how far I had come. I want to discuss my lacking ability to let my emotions out. I hold it all in. I let out a little every now and again, but only enough to persuade the viewer. It gets overwhelming sometimes not being able to let it all out and eventually leads to breakdowns with me crying alone for an hour or so. These use to occur seldomly but in the past year have become more and more often. I can't really remember a time in my life when I did fully express how I was feeling. I have never been one to get excited, surprised, angry, etc. I feel those things, but others don't always see it. Maybe I just can't properly express myself, or maybe I just haven't found a person who can really see me, who really makes me comfortable enough around them to be myself.

  Thoughts on turning this into 6 panels...symbolism: locks, keys, combination numbers, colors, mazes, maps. It can tell the journey of finding this person or maybe having the power myself the whole time. Use mazes/maps to show the journey. (treasure map maybe?) Maybe I keep looking for a key but really all I needed what a combination number or vice versa. Colors can be either darker or more opaque until I reach the end and unlock the emotions, which are then bright full colors.
 

What to do....

Critique was today and it sucked ass. I knew it would be horrible because a) i hadn't come up with  a concept(geez am i stupid) and b) my compositions weren't really thought through(they were done last second) Teacher says I need to figure out what metamorphosis means to me and I need to try not to use animals or plants to portray it. There goes all that research I did. I also need to elaborate more on the changes in my life and what I am trying to portray. I am horrible with coming up with concepts cause I hate to sound like a whiner.
My life is great compared to others. Yeah I work two part time jobs, while attending school full-time and keeping myself fed and clean. But others endure way worse. I have a schedule and so far it is working fine. I don't get to visit my family as much and activities with friends are less as well as relaxing time. It is worth all the sacrifices and work to not be living at home, I think. Home is hectic, crazy, loud, busy, and involves too many responsibilities. I tried to say that my piece was about growing up but I haven't really grown up, I've just taken on less responsibilities. I only have to take care of myself now, while before I was helping take care of 6 younger siblings and my parents. I was always worried about the kids and what was going on in their lives. Are they being bullied, doing their homework, getting good grades, having troubles with friends, etc. After my grandparents passed away I was even more worried about everyone. My parents started fighting and not communicating to each other, except through me. I'm their oldest of seven so I am the one they talk to about their troubles. So I began to worry that they would divorce and I felt it was up to me to fix it for the kids. I knew I would be fine, I just want the kids to be fine too. I'm more maternal than I thought. Not saying that my parents aren't adequate cause they are great parents. Just that I worried too much about others, mostly my family, and issues that were not mine to worry about. Like I would worry about how much money my family would spend. I knew math and I knew about how much money my father made a year. I knew that we sorta had a budget but didn't always follow it exactly. It worried me. I never really worried about myself. I didn't care so much about the troubles in my own life. They seemed minute in comparison to others. I had troubles as a child, such as losing lots of friends, moving several times, making worse and worse grades in school, potentally developing diabetes or losing my pancreas altogether, watching my diet, fighting with my lack of memory, paying attention for any length of time during class, losing my grandparents in car accident, not being able to explain to people why I didn't want to learn to drive, etc. My family even thought it strange that I didn't care to drive, didn't care to date, didn't care to make tons of friends. Now that I look back I think it was because I didn't want more people to worry about. More people to love... and then eventually lose. I'm still the same in that way. I don't like to depend on others. I won't ask for help unless I am at a point that I don't have a choice.
Back to the point...I haven't really grown up. I have replaced my old responsibities with new different ones. Instead of taking care of others, I have to take care of myself now. Before, I took care of myself, but my mom and dad always made sure I had the utilities to do so. Now I am paying for those as well as my tuition, supplies, books, etc. I have to make sure I have food in the cupboard, laundry soap for the washer, sponges to clean dishes. I paid for my tuition last year but not all my supplies and food. All this money makes me question if this school is even worth it some days. All these loans are my new worries. Kids were replaced by finances. Don't even get me started on the fact that the state doesn't count me as independent until I'm 24. So no matter how hard I try to be independent legally I can't be. Ever since I was little I dreamed of moving out of my house and being on my own. Not that I didn't love my home, I just wanted to be on my own. I didn't dream of weddings and babies. I wanted an apartment or house with a dog, maybe.

Origami

I had a thought that since I am in Papermaking and I do enjoy 3D, why not combine them for my metamorphosis project. In case you didn't catch on, I am talking about oragami....this is what gave me the idea...

"Metamorphosis 1" was done out of aluminum by artist Lygia Clark

Yes, I know you are thinking this isn't paper or oragami silly. It just made me think of it.

One famous oragami artist goes by the name Michael Lafosse...

Michael G. LaFosse is best known as a paper maker and paper folding artist. He has been practicing the art of Origami for over 40 years, and has been teaching it for over 30 years. Michael is internationally regarded as one of the top origami masters in the world today.

Click on the link below to learn origami from Michael Lafosse

http://www.pem.org/sites/origami/

random origami patterns/instructions....

Metamorphosis Cycles

Bug Hotel

Mathematically-inspired bug houses designed to promote urban biodiversity

Winning London's recent Beyond The Hive , the "Insect Hotel" is a five-star refuge for bugs living in urban environments. Architecture firm Arup Associates designed individual compartments in a mathematically-derived pattern known as a Voronoi tessellation to house an array of species spanning spiders, beetles and moths.

Recently featured on Good, the competition was commissioned by real estate company British Land and the City of London with the goal of bringing biodiversity to cities and to celebrate the London Festival of Architecture.

Theme Chosen: Metamorphosis

I did a lot of research this morning and have so far condensed my theme to metamorphosis, I think. Still unsure if I just want to talk about the theme in general or get more specific as to what type of metamorphosis. The next step to my theme is to research other artists who deal with it already. "No need to reinvent the wheel," as all the teachers say. To begin I just typed metamorphosis into google images...I got M.C. Escher, whom I love but had totally forgotten he dealt with this topic. Here are some examples of his work that I will use to refer to....

Escher uses positive and negative in his works...hopefully I can bring that idea into my own work.

"Metamorphosis" by Judy Prosser(below)

Her great respect for the aboriginal people, and their spiritual connection to the land, has given Judy a direction which has evolved into a distinctive approach to painting them. Her watercolours often depict figures dancing freely in the Australian landscape, along with brolgas, dingos and other animals.

I just like this artist statement....by VIVI - Vivian Ginsberg Smith  I'm drawn to spherical forms, inspired by plant and animal life. I'm constantly inspired by the connection between nature and humanity. My spherical sculptures recreate the womb, a container for life. Growing up the oldest of five siblings, and mothering my family of eight, with seven grown and one almost out of the nest, nurturing new life and watching it grow is a deeply abiding and profound experience for me, which I express through my art. 

Her piece is titled "Metamorphosis Triptych" in case you were wondering how this relates. 

Here is another great artist, Octavio Ocampo. One can say he dealt with metamorphosis. It is more the trick of the eye sort of detail but very similiar in definition...you have to look at his works carefully to see them morph into something else. 

"I am fascinated by the forces of Good and Evil and the Sun (male) and the Moon (female). I live in Tepoztlan, which is a mountainous region southwest of Mexico City and is considered to be one of the most magical places on earth. Like the Bermuda Triangle, there is a strange and unexplained but extremely powerful, confluence of magnetic forces seemingly concentrated in the Tepozteco Mountain."

How has art influenced your philosophy in life?
I've had artistic talent since I was a child because I was always surrounded by art. I had the capability of piecing two different elements that would look like one flowing piece and then in detail they were individual pieces. I studied plastic arts in the city of Celaya, Mexico, and then I attended the School of Painting and Sculpture in Bellas Artes, Mexico. Later, I took some courses at the Art Institute of San Francisco, California. I used to paint figurative images that were most realistic in detail and frequently had the effect of double imagery in the same place. At the age of 33, I dedicated full time to paint and decided that my style would be what I call "Metamorphic" because when you look at my painting they transform from one image to another. My philosophy is that we live in various universes that are parallel to each other so I showcase that on my paintings. And since I am a Pisces, I feel like it's natural to me. I love to study the relations of the universe and philosophy.