Perception of lines: A creative approach

In my past posts, I have talked extensively about how different lines affect the mood of a piece of art, and this week, I will further this concept. Previously we have explored how lines feel, and now we will look into the role of the viewer of a piece of art.

I have repeatedly spoken to the importance of using lines in art, and the effect it has on a viewer, and now we will put ourselves in the role of the viewer. Elaine Clayton states, "We use our five senses to give context , or meaning to everything we encounter. Art forms such as lines and shapes represent elements from our experiences in the world, either symbolically or literally" (26). In other words, the artwork that an artist produces is only the beginning of the artwork, and the viewer's interpretations complete it.

This picture is an example that Elaine uses to demonstrate how to use your interpretation of drawings. The lines and shapes alone seem to more sad than energetic. The downward slope of the line, and the gentle wave creates this emotion. Although it has no recognizable shape, we can still see the emotion behind it.

Here we have the same picture, but rotated. The rotation brings to light what the shape actually is: an eye with a tear drop. We saw the saw the shapes as themselves, unattached to a finished product. Art is what we make of it. Do you find this to be true?

Clayton, Elaine. Making Marks: Discover the Art of Intuitive Drawing. Atria Paperback, 2014.

Origami Triangular Prism

Origami prism 

one of the most greatest reward you get when creating origami models is that it further your development in the wold of origami and also creates opportunity to produce individuality. Unlike the other origami building a triangular prism involves cutting.  "there are already so many possible ways to fold most models and no cuts, that when you lose these restriction you lose a sense of direction"(Shaffer 18). when making origami many people always go back to the rules and guidelines and refuse to cut cause they refer to that as a cheat and cheap way to make origami when in all actuality it just expands your creativity and sense of setting new guidelines.

"A triangular prism is a prism composed of two triangular bases and three rectangular sides." (Shaffer 23) When creating the triangular prism it is important you follow the whole product based off the bases and sides because of the alternate sides on the origami.

do you think cutting in origami is ethical?

Shaffer, Jeremy. “Origami to Astonish and Amuse.” Amazon.com, 6 July 2001, www.amazon.com/Origami-Astonish-Amuse-Jeremy-Shaffer

The Culture Behind the Art

The Culture Behind the Art 

The origami art was originated from japan .The word "origami" comes from the Japanese language. "Ori" means folded and "kami" means paper. "Used as an inclusive term for all folding practices, regardless of their culture of origin. The goal is to transform a flat square sheet of paper into a finished sculpture through folding and sculpting techniques" (Shaffer 11).  Origami is the art of paper folding, which is often associated with Japanese culture.  Origami folders often use the Japanese word refers to designs which use cuts.

Folding pieces of paper was a valuable gift used in japan. "When origami was first practiced, however, it was a craft only for the elite. Japanese monks folded origami figures for religious purposes. Origami was also used in various formal ceremonies"(Shaffer 12).ceremonial paper folding were important, these models would act as a certificate of authenticity. As paper became more affordable, common people began making origami figures as gifts or creating folded cards and envelope. 

Can origami still carry that deeper and cultural meaning or was it lost due to its wide population throughout the whole world?

Shaffer, Jeremy. “Origami to Astonish and Amuse.” Amazon.com, 6 July 2001, www.amazon.com/Origami-Astonish-Amuse-Jeremy-Shafer

The Benefits of Drawing With Your Non-dominant Hand

"Relying on my memory of forms, I challenged my unskilled 'other' hand to recall those shapes. The goal was not to get better at drawing with my non-dominant hand, though in short order I could see improvements. The goal was to see my accidents, memorize them ... and overall look of my artwork," (Sherman 68). According to Sherman, as difficult as using your non-dominant hand is, it can be very useful for recognizing your stylistic mistakes and common mess ups you make in your artwork. Below are some examples of art shown in the book that compare and contrast dominant and non-dominant hand drawings.

"By using your non-dominant hand, you will discover a new language for your line and form," (Sherman 68). To attempt this activity I used my left hand to draw a person, like shown in the book. Although this exercise is about improving mistakes rather than just learning to draw in certain way, I was pretty impressed with what my left hand can draw.

I would highly recommend others to try this activity if they have basic drawing skills (because is will admit, this is a lot harder than normal drawing). I definitely enjoyed drawing in a new way, so I will likely try this again.

My question is, Do you guys think using your non-dominant hand to draw, can help you improve your artistic skills?

Bicknell, Sarah. Sherman, Whitney. Playing with Sketches. Beverly, Rockport Publishers, 2014.

Does origami benefit your mental health?

Can folding a piece of paper benefit your mental health?

When most people think origami they usually think of origami as a fun activity to do when your bored, but what they don't know it that doing origami has many benefits. Origami provides both mental and physical  with exercise. Origami helps develop hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills and mental concentration. The author Jeremy Shaffer says that the first stage of origami is to decide what to fold, one must come up with idea that practical and realize the importance of concentration, dedication, and creativity (20).  The paper craft of origami has so much thought and  process behind the making and directly stimulate your brain.

Paper folding challenges me to higher level as I follow instructions, learning new skills and activities."More difficult than coming up with the new ideas is actually folding them. Although this requires awareness, a lot of designing ability comes through experimentation and experience following diagrams"(Shaffer 15).  the author explaining that every fold has a perplex meaning and shows your ability of learning new skills. paper-folding allows me to create basic shapes such as squares, rectangles, and triangles.

Do you agree with Shaffer point of views on origami?

Shaffer, Jeremy. “Origami to Astonish and Amuse.” Amazon.com, 6 July 2001, www.amazon.com/Origami-Astonish-Amuse-Jeremy-Shafer

Drawing Techniques: Emotion in your Lines

As an artist, drawing does NOT come easily to me. In my blog, I will try to understand the very basics of  drawing. I will analyze the emotions and feelings that can stem from a single line or shape, and use them to better connect the artist to the goal of their piece of art.

In Elaine Clayton's book, "Making Marks", Elaine has an insightful, although outlandish approach to drawing. She calls her drawings, Intuitive Stream Drawings. These "in the moment drawings" supposedly are insights into our thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Although I don't completely agree with Elaine that stream drawings can interpret our subconscious mind, she is a talented artist with thoughtful techniques. In her book, she states, "Shapes evoke emotion and trigger associations out of the unconscious and into our decision making process, the same way lines can" (Elaine 38). This shows the impact a line can make on a piece of work.

An example of how we can see emotions in lines is in these two:

Study the two lines. What do they make you feel, what do they make you think of? Do you see how one line is relaxed and the other is "angry?"

Artist use these lines in their artwork whether you realize it or not. Look at these two pictures.

Do you still see the same angry and relaxed lines? 

If you look at the sun and moon in reality, the shapes and lines are very much the same, yet they are easily distinguished in a drawing because of how people generally draw them. The sun is bold and bright, it is intrusive, and our eyes are often drawn to it in a picture and in life. The moon on the other hand is inconspicuous, small, enigmatic, and dark. People are not generally drawn to it. The lines used help to highlight these associations.

I think that it is important to be conscious of how artwork affects the audience, and that with the right lines, we can be thoughtful in our drawing.

Thank you for reading! I hope you learned something new! Let me know in the comments what you thought of these techniques and how they affect the effect of the picture.

Clayton, Elaine. Making Marks: Discover the Art of Intuitive Drawing. Atria Paperback, 2014.

Using Common Materials in your Artwork

"This exercise is an adaptation called the Exquisite Corpse... the drawing is constructed using sticky notes... Using them spurs collaboration and promotes healthy competition... As the drawing grows, so does the opportunity to grow the drawing's complexity," (Sherman 54). This artistic exercise is based on a group of people working together to add to an art piece. In this exercise you and others add a sticky note and add to the artwork that was there previously. Here, below, are some examples shown in the book.

 The book states that this activity is commonly done by "inviting friends or colleagues," (Sherman 54). However, In this activity I decided not to work with others, but by myself, (since the purpose of reading these books is to boost our personal skills), So I added a sticky note each day and added to the art I had made the previous day. Overall I feel this activity was nice to try, and I did feel that this was abstract compared to the art I normally prefer to do.

I would highly suggest this activity to others if they wanted to attempt something other than their normal artwork. I feel many people could gain from this activity. So my question for you reading this blog post is,

Does working with others to make artwork help improve your artistic abilities?

Bicknell, Sarah. Sherman, Whitney. Playing with Sketches. Beverly, Rockport Publishers, 2014. 

Importance in Variation of Art

"When I started Art school, I had a Yale-trained drawing teacher, Micheal Economos, ... His reputation for hard work and relentless exercises  preceded him. Here is the first exercise, ... the one that made us mentally salivate for an organic shape to draw, the one that made me a better drawer," ( Sherman 20). The quote from the author above, speaks about special exercises using different types of line variation to create unique art and improve your skills as an artist. Here, below, are some of the examples shown in the book to give an idea of how people could use lines to make unique art.

 Overall, I think stepping out of your artistic comfort zone can be scary, but after you attempt an exercise like this, you may enjoy drawing more when there is a special twist to your drawing. As stated in the book, "this activity works to improve your skills," (Sherman 20). Personally, while I attempted this activity, I didn't see any improvement in my artwork, however it was a cool style of art to work with. I would highly suggest others to try this style of art or take on this type of activity.

Above, is my attempt at working with this artistic exercise. I used only lines in my artwork to fit in with the description of the exercise. Although this is not my favorite work made, I did highly enjoy trying a new type of style and attempting something I had never tried before.

Does trying different art styles (such as this one), improve your artistic abilities?

Bicknell, Sarah. Sherman, Whitney. Playing with Sketches. Beverly, Rockport Publishers, 2014.

Lines in Art

"The line has almost become a work of art itself."

Theo Van Doesburg

When creating - whether it be in ceramics, writing, or painting - I am always looking for new techniques to add quality to my work. In Deborah Stewart's book, Abstract Art, she offers countless ways to do so. From using charcoal over paint to add texture, to putting rubbing alcohol over paper, there are so many ways to add to beauty and interest to a piece. One of my favorite methods listed by Stewart is the use of lines. Stewart suggests that lines can act as great divisions of space (Stewart 59). Following this suggestion and her demonstration of it shown in Stewart's book, I decided to take on this idea of using lines in my first piece. To create them, I put two long pieces of tape across the blank paper perpendicularly. These would act as the lines. Then, I used oil pastels and covered the canvas in yellows, greens and blacks. Finally, I removed the tape too reveal the lines. Aligning the direction of my piece to Stewart's writing and her visual example of lines had impacted my activity immensely. Using lines, it made my piece one of quality, as it would've been a very dull one without lines. The lines defined my piece. They became the main focus when I took off the tape. Lastly, Stewart's suggestion impacted my piece through the use of tape. Tape is something that I would have never thought to use as a tool in drawing before, but I am very glad I read this section of Stewart's book and was prompted to try it out.

Next, I decided to continue using lines in a second attempt. Reading on in the same page of Stewart's book, she offered various tips on how I could arrange the lines in my piece. She suggests that "it is best to avoid diagonal lines dividing the space equally. Vary the direction of the angle...Avoid corner-to-corner compositions" (Stewart 59). This suggestion particularly is the piece of Stewart's writing that impacted my piece the most. When executing this method of Stewart's, I first placed the tape down the middle on the canvas. I then realized that this was a mistake since it divided the space equally, so to fix this, I proceeded to add four different strips of tape. Considering Stewart's tip, I made sure to place the tape going in all different directions and creating a variety of angles (which is seen below). When I was finished taping, together, the lines created a beautiful geometric array on the canvas. At the end, this intricate arrangement of lines had added uniqueness, interest, and quality to my piece. Since it was Stewart's writing that acted as my inspiration behind this arrangement, it is clearly shown that Stewart directly impacted my activity today through the lines on my piece.

Final Product

Do you think art is better as simple or complex? How do you think techniques like this can add to a composition?

              Stewart, Debora. Abstract Art Painting: Expressions in Mixed Media. Cincinnati, OH: North Light,               2015. Print.

Emotions in Art

"The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place, from the sky, from the earth, from a passing shape, from a spider's web."  

Pablo Picasso

Colors & Emotions

When trying to express emotions in art, the possibilities are endless. Using the elements of texture, marks, or shapes, emotions can be portrayed, but the element I will be bringing my focus to in today's activity is something different: color. Not exactly sure how I would execute the process of displaying emotions through colors correctly, I turned to Debora Stewart's book, Abstract Art, for guidance. Stewart claims that the colors you choose directly express emotions. For example, a painting with a primary color of red often displays a sense of power, intensity, or anger (Stewart 39). With Stewart's writing, I realize that each of the basic colors have with them a set of particular meanings and emotions. These sets of emotions act as prerequisites for artists when they go about choosing the colors they will use in their pieces. With a greater understanding of how colors can portray emotion through Stewart's writing, it impacted me to create my own set of attached emotions I feel correspond to each of the basic colors, which is shown above. As well the chart above, Stewart has also impacted me in my art. In my first mini-attempt to apply her concept that the colors you choose directly express emotions, I painted my own piece. During the process, I made conscious decisions to only choose colors I thought adequately expressed what I was feeling. A dominating red and green, along with other minor colors like blue, purple, orange, and yellow is what resulted through applying Stewart's writing. The final result of this application is below.

First Attempt

Adding Blue

Composition and Emotions Chart

Continuing the concept of exhibiting emotion through color in art pieces, I sat down and made a second attempt on a bigger canvas. Reading on in Stewart's book, I found that her tips on this concept helped greatly. She states that a great way to display emotion is to "experiment with paints for this exercise and only use colors that represent certain emotions to you...emotions such as joy, fear, sadness, happiness, peace, and isolation" (Stewart 42). Through Stewart's writing, it has impacted the direction and result of my piece immensely. It has allowed me to independently customize and choose my own emotions for colors, realizing that everyone will have different preconceived perceptions of different colors. This, in turn, has made Stewart's writing impact my activity by making my piece a very personal one, with each different color of paint I used having personal meaning to me (you can use my chart above as a key for the colors). The final product of this is shown below.

Finished Product

What form of art do you think best portrays emotion? Music, paintings, dance? Do you think there is a right way to portray emotion, or should that be up to the artist?

              Stewart, Debora. Abstract Art Painting: Expressions in Mixed Media. Cincinnati, OH: North Light,               2015. Print.

Modular Origami

Modular origami is an origami technique that requires two or more pieces of paper that builds into a single unit. It is something I have never done before, but have always wanted to try it out. It takes a lot of time and effort to create one module, but takes even more time and precision to put the entire piece together. The author says that origami is enjoying the creation and the exploration of new possibilities and inventions (Kasahara 60). This shows how origami is the practice of inventing new things, and how creativity can bring out different forms in them. Origami is very difficult, but always completes itself with the feeling of joy and accomplishment.

I spent most of my time trying to figure out the instructions, as they were very complicated with different types of arrows and lines. Once I understood the meanings, I was easily able to create my modules that came out pretty clean and identical to one another.

As I was creating the modules, it had stated, "Make sure to crease the valley fold through all the layers" (Kasahara 63). This meant that I should make sure the fold I had made was very indented, making it easy to keep its shape and had a line on the module. This advice had helped me immensely when I had to put the modules into one single piece. The folds had allowed me to easily fit each end into the pockets required, making the origami take its shape to look clean.

What's your opinion: Do you prefer single piece origami or modular origami and why?

Kasahara, Kunihiko. Extreme Origami. New York: Sterling Pub., 2002. Print.

The Complexity & Simplicity of Abstract Art

"With abstract art I can create in the moment." -Peggy Guichu

          Among the great abundance of languages that exist in our complex world, one that can be understood by all is the language of art. Art is such a wonderful thing. With each new idea that blooms within an artist's mind, it holds the capacity to create new forms of beauty that are truly indescribable. Whether it be through painting, literature, or music, art has the ability to make you feel. And with that, I've chosen Abstract Art as my activity for this quarter's IRP. 

       Abstract art is the act of using multiple components to create a composition that does not reflect our actual visual reality. When drawing, before I even begin to start a piece of art, I make sure that I have a clear plan set out for what I will create. I ensure that measurements and details are all sketched out. However, according to Stewart, this is what you DON'T want to do. In abstraction, you must let go of the outcome and be open to change along the way (Stewart 26). Keeping this in mind during my activity, I found that the text completely rewired my brain and the process that it usually went through when drawing. It impacted the pressure of my strokes, the colors that I used, and the finish product. As I drew, I saw that I was working only based on what I was feeling. I used dark, expressive strokes as well as soft, happy ones, following no outline throughout. This impact on how I drew was reflective of Stewart's tip of letting go of the outcome because to draw without an outcome in mind usually requires you to follow some sort of procedure, something I excluded to make my piece abstract. In addition, the text impacted the direction that I took when drawing. At the beginning, I decided that I would stay consistent to a darker color scheme. Applying Stewart's advice that I should keep an open mind to change, I decided to then do so and add a contrasting lighter color scheme on the right side. The text impacted my activity by adding much more interest to my final product.

Before

       Along with that tip, there are 4 basic components of abstract art: line, shape, texture, and color, that you should also keep in mind (Stewart 46). Regarding the element of shape, Stewart says, "You can use shapes as a way to divide the picture plane. Having variety in shapes within a composition adds interest" (Stewart 45). While I drew, Stewart's insight had made an impact on the entire direction of my piece. Keeping in mind that variety would add interest, Stewart's tips encouraged me to use 2 shapes that looked very different, triangles and circles. Along with that, the text further impacted my drawing because I then focused on making each triangle vary in size, dimension, color, and texture, and for the circle drew it very large so that the variety of shapes would be more apparent. In addition, Stewart also impacted my activity by giving me the idea to use triangles and circles to create division in my piece. As you can see below the triangles mark the left division and the circles mark the right division. 

 Even if the end product turned out pretty bad, through the text, Stewart helped me improve my art skills by broadening the approach I take when it comes to drawing. Thanks for reading! :)

After

Picture of me drawing

"Hope"

What is your view on art? :) What is your favorite form of art? What types of art do you create? Would this be something you might want to try?

              Stewart, Debora. Abstract Art Painting: Expressions in Mixed Media. Cincinnati, OH: North Light,               2015. Print.