I have two preferred settings: doing absolutely nothing and doing absolutely everything. And while there's nothing quite like doing nothing for an extended period of time (who DOESN'T love that?), I have come to discover that I like doing absolutely everything even better. I've become aware of this over the course of many years of careful, scientific investigation (...yeah), but this week was a great reminder of how much I love being busy.
This Tuesday I got some fantastic news: I found out that I get to be a Graphic Design Assistant for my school's student government! I'll be part of next year's Communication Department, and while it may be just a volunteer position, I am SO excited to get started (and a little nervous too). The thing is, I know I will probably end up spending a giant chunk of my (already limited) time on this...and I wouldn't have it any other way!
There's something insanely awesome about knowing that as soon as you finish one thing, there's always something else to challenge you and engage you, and that this cycle will never stop. Right now, I'm about to help launch a promotional campaign for the Earth Week activities sponsored by my environmental club at school. AND I was recently asked by a girl on my floor if I would create some art for her. FOR MONEY! And sure, I've got all this plus class and homework and other activities and an interview on Saturday and an internship search. But someone wants ME to make them art, and that's pretty much the coolest thing that's ever happened to me.
So basically, this laundry list of current events in my life comes down to one thing: I like being busy. But it's more than just "liking" it; that buzz of activity helps me and inspires me. I'm motivated by the time constraints and the pressure, and it has helped me produce some of my best work. I love knowing that around every corner there's something new for me to try, but not quite knowing what exactly that might be. I love having all these potential (and now concrete) outlets for creativity. So maybe I won't be getting a lot of sleep anytime soon, but that's ok. Blasphemous as it may sound for a college student, I've got something better than sleep.
3/30/12
3/4/12
Tokyo
As I mentioned in my first post, this semester I leapt into my first college-level art class! It's been a really great experience so far, and a source of A LOT of inspiration. So you can expect to hear about it A LOT.
Hopefully I'll have pics of some of my earlier projects up soon if I ever get them back. But for now let's focus on my current project, which is very exciting to me right now! My assignment is to use various print techniques to explore spatial qualities with a foreign land as the subject matter. My subject? Tokyo.
So the girl who loves cities picks the biggest city in the world. SHOCKING. But I just can't get over how amazing it is. Since the biggest city I've ever lived in is Milwaukee, all of those people occupying one space is pretty much impossible for me to imagine. But when I try, it's absolutely mind-blowing. I'm an absolute freak for cityscapes and architecture and people and lights, so Tokyo naturally gets my creative juices flowing. It's everything I love about Milwaukee and cities, but on steroids. Really, really powerful steroids.
One of the most interesting aspects of Tokyo is the duality of its culture. This contradiction between modernism and tradition, energy and structure, urban architecture and nature is the main focus of my print series. I'm exploring this theme through color, symbols and line quality. The bright neon golds, violets, and greens of the city at night find their counterparts in the softer browns, pinks, and greens. My main symbols for the urban life are the Tokyo Tower, the Metropolitan Government building, and the metro system, while cherry blossoms, the gateway to the Meiji Jingu shrine, and the kanji characters for "Tokyo" represent the opposite.
Most of the shapes thus far were created with a matte medium/acrylic paint combination and stencils I created. The metro map and the kanji characters, however, are the products of Xerox transfers. It's a really cool process that I've never used before, but that I'd definitely use in my work again. In fact, this whole print-making thing is pretty new for me, as my only previous experience with print-making was basically torture. It's awesome to re-discover and explore techniques that you maybe only half-new before, if at all.
I'm seriously digging the interplay of the different textures and layers right now, so although I've got some work to do before I'm done (hello, white space!) I'm pretty pumped to see the final result. Here's to experimentation, new techniques and, of course, Tokyo!
Hopefully I'll have pics of some of my earlier projects up soon if I ever get them back. But for now let's focus on my current project, which is very exciting to me right now! My assignment is to use various print techniques to explore spatial qualities with a foreign land as the subject matter. My subject? Tokyo.
So the girl who loves cities picks the biggest city in the world. SHOCKING. But I just can't get over how amazing it is. Since the biggest city I've ever lived in is Milwaukee, all of those people occupying one space is pretty much impossible for me to imagine. But when I try, it's absolutely mind-blowing. I'm an absolute freak for cityscapes and architecture and people and lights, so Tokyo naturally gets my creative juices flowing. It's everything I love about Milwaukee and cities, but on steroids. Really, really powerful steroids.
 |
| The current layout and progress so far...pay no attention to the blank rectangle. |
One of the most interesting aspects of Tokyo is the duality of its culture. This contradiction between modernism and tradition, energy and structure, urban architecture and nature is the main focus of my print series. I'm exploring this theme through color, symbols and line quality. The bright neon golds, violets, and greens of the city at night find their counterparts in the softer browns, pinks, and greens. My main symbols for the urban life are the Tokyo Tower, the Metropolitan Government building, and the metro system, while cherry blossoms, the gateway to the Meiji Jingu shrine, and the kanji characters for "Tokyo" represent the opposite.
Most of the shapes thus far were created with a matte medium/acrylic paint combination and stencils I created. The metro map and the kanji characters, however, are the products of Xerox transfers. It's a really cool process that I've never used before, but that I'd definitely use in my work again. In fact, this whole print-making thing is pretty new for me, as my only previous experience with print-making was basically torture. It's awesome to re-discover and explore techniques that you maybe only half-new before, if at all.
I'm seriously digging the interplay of the different textures and layers right now, so although I've got some work to do before I'm done (hello, white space!) I'm pretty pumped to see the final result. Here's to experimentation, new techniques and, of course, Tokyo!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)