CONCENTRATIONS.....ba, ba, buuum!

Now that you know how to edit your photos, get on it and get them done! We will be creating breadth webpages within the next couple of weeks for this first set of images. Yes, this probably means that you will have to find time outside of class to use the D-25 lab in the library. Just be sure to check with the librarian for appropriate times (so you don't disrupt other classes).

On another note, we will begin working on concentrations.
A concentration is a body of related works describing an in-depth exploration of a particular artistic concern. It should reflect a process of investigation of a specific visual idea. It is NOT a selection of a variety of works produced as solutions to class projects or a collection of works with differing intents. Students should be encouraged to explore a personal, central interest as intensively as possible and are free to work with any idea in any medium that addresses three-dimensional design issues. The concentration should grow out of the student’s idea and demonstrate growth and discovery through a number of conceptually related works. In this section, the evaluators are interested not only in the work presented but also in visual evidence of the student’s thinking, selected method of working, and development of the work over time.

Please actually click on this link: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/exam/exam_questions/2135.html#name3
Be sure to look at all of the student samples for each of the categories. Try to understand why each of the samples were given the scores they were awarded. Have your sketchbook at hand while you are looking because you might have a fleeting thought on rationales for the scores or be struck with a moment of inspiration.

Become familiar with this website. It is your friend. Know your friend. Be one with your friend. We will be discussing your friend in class. Be prepared!

Cool artist Alert!

I found Beth Cavener Stichter by reading Mariah's blog. Here's her website:

http://www.followtheblackrabbit.com/index_main.htm

If you are interested in sculptural processes, I highly recommend reading the link called "Materials and Techniques". She has definitely shared a LOT of very useful information that probably took years for her to develop and discover on her own!

Photographing your artwork:

I was watching this video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz-3hKfgs5I about photographing your 3-D artwork. There are many videos like this that will help you with all sorts of stuff!
You will need to have pictures of everything you have made so far by Oct 25th. I have scheduled time for you in the photoshop lab on Oct 27th to learn how to access your images on the shared drive and how to process your images for your portfolio and for our website... please be prepared!

Also: Don't forget to get your pirate gear to school before Oct 26th. We will only be taking AP poster picture ONE time. No re-takes!

Dates to Remember:

• Oct 15-16: Pit-Firing at Sam's house this weekend got postponed until sometime in November... Not enough pieces to justify the cost or the effort. Stay tuned!
• Oct 19: Guest Artist Diane Lou. Plan on being here from 11am-6pm. You have been excused from your 4th period class. You will not be allowed to leave at lunch, instead I am ordering pizzas for you so you can work through. If you have sports or a job, make every effort to make arrangements so you can participate fully!
• Oct 26: Pirate Photo Shoot afterschool. Come with your pirate garb!
• Oct 27: We will be going to the computer lab to learn about the shared folder, processing images, and beginning exploration of concentrations.
• Oct 27: PUMPKIN CARVING CONTEST and service project. 3-6pm. Sign up in the ceramics room!
• Oct 29: Your family-inspired ceramic artwork is due. I prefer the work to be bisque-fired for durability, but will be accepted if it is greenware. The assemblage you began at the Diane Lou workshop needs to be finished and is due.
• Oct 30: Deadline for submitting portfolios to the NFAA, Young Arts Scholarship Competition. Seniors only. Registration deadline was Oct 15. http://www.artsawards.org/ Upload images here: https://app.applyyourself.com/?id=NFAA-YAP
• Nov 3: Get your artwork to Quinn or Laura for the Lakeridge Open House.
• Nov 3: Empty Bowls THROW-A-THON. 3-6pm. Our goal is to make a minimum of 300 bowls. We had to change to this date since Nov 5 is not a school day.
• Nov 4: Lakeridge Open House at 6:30.
• Nov 8: Loading of Noble Hill Anagama. I will need 3-4 students to help with this for our firing.
• Nov 10-13: Wood-Firing is back on!!! We are taking responsibility for the majority of the firing...so if you would like to have a piece, or pieces fired, you WILL sign-up for work shifts on these dates. Firing to be held at Noble Hill. See Amy for work shifts.
• Nov 20: Unloading Noble Hill. This is the exciting "Christmas Morning" of the firing, when you get to see of the results of your hard work. We will need 4-6 people for this job to help with unloading and the kiln clean-up.
• Dec 8: EMPTY BOWLS EVENT. Held in the cafeteria, cost will be $10, all proceeds benefit the Oregon Food Bank.

Our calendar is filling up quick! Keep checking the blog and also this particular post as I can edit it as our dates change or more are added. You guys are all doing a great job of staying organized and keeping up with the work. I'm super proud of you!!!

Items to Collect:

Diane has asked me to remind you to begin collecting items that will help you be successful in your mixed media assemblage workshop with her. Start looking now for interesting things from nature, from the street, from the garage, wherever. Find old boxes...cigar boxes, old/ antique cabinets, and crusty old drawers make great "frames" in which you can create your assemblage. Go to the Goodwill Bins with your friends and buy a bunch of stuff that no one else wants...Find things that are haunted by their discarded life. Bring in things you want to work with, and things you can share or trade to others in class.

I copied this from one of Diane's blogs to give you a sense of the kinds of materials that she finds most effective in her compositions:

"Rust and bones, broken toys and old text, game boards, gears and nests. Even as a child such odd, unwanted items evoked a pit-of-the-stomach response that bordered on exhilaration.
While I make no attempt to conjure up specific feelings in the viewer, the ambiguous juxtapositioning of familiar materials creates art that evokes half-forgotten, dream-like visions that beg to be interpreted by the viewer. The once-private discards of people's material lives that I collect for my art seem to carry universal memories with them, memories that can engage and mystify the viewer. Their beauty lies within the rust, the erosion, the wear, and the mere fact that they were once possessions."