Claire Sherwood Observations & Questions

Observations:

• There seems to be a recurring "perfect" theme.
• The frosting used to cover each woman's face is a different color.
• Most of the people in her artwork are women.
• It's ironic that in her video, "Begin," she's destroying it, so it's as if it's actually ending.
• There are a lot of pieces that require a set of something.

Questions:

• What is your inspiration for your artwork?
• What is the significance of some doilies folded or missing from "The Offering"?
• Why are the girls blowing coal and flour piles into each other's faces in "Flour and Coal"?
• What is the significance of the recurring frosting in your artwork?
• What is the material of the piece "Blued," and why is there a bump in it (it's not flat)?

Response:

I had no idea how much her mother side influenced her art. I didn't notice the domestic implications at first, but now I can visualize how her pieces have strong traces of femininity. I also didn't know that her and her artist friend made videos in response to each other, which I thought was extremely interesting. I've always thought about art being a way to express yourself and not a conversations of sorts. I was also really impressed that she took over 40 hours to create the frosting pieces for shows, especially since she has two kids. 

Jason Hackett Observations & Questions

Observations:

• There are various lines in his pieces, whether it's jagged, straight, curved, bumpy, etc.
• His pieces are mainly sculptural or ceramic.
• There are recurring religious images, such as Jesus or a cross.
• Many of his sculptures and ceramic work involve him piecing together various items, so the proportions aren't necessarily perfect or the lines don't match up exactly.
• There's a repetitious use of body parts, such as feet, hands, or faces.

Questions:

• Do you make all your pieces or do you find pieces and place them together?
• Where do you get the inspiration for your pieces?
• Do you have a vision or theme to create a sculpture piece or do you just place them together?
• How long does it take you to make a sculpture?
• Do you ever make a piece with the intention to break it?

Response:

I really enjoyed hearing the symbolism behind his pictures. For instance, the green feet in a circle actually represents a wreath, and the feet were actually bear paws. I would have no way of knowing that from simply looking at the sculpture. The last artist we spoke with had heavy symbolism in relation to his life, but this artist considered the aesthetic and functional appeal in some regards, such as if it were hanging on the wall, there may be size restrictions. I thought it was particularly interesting how he said he connects to his sculptures in the way that someone might connect to something more literal. It made me think how everyone sees everything differently based on their prior knowledge and experiences and to keep that in mind when creating anything.

Image Caption

1. There are 6 aisles of items to purchase, such as food, drinks, and medicine. There is a couple on the side shopping. There are large quantities of a variety of these items. This photograph was probably taken in a store that sells these items in bulk, such as BJs or Costco.
2. This photo has a stressful tone to it, because there are so many brands and options to choose from and because of the large number of items on display with so many vibrant colors, all trying to stand out so people will take notice and purchase them. It can be described as “organized chaos,” because everything is neatly lined up on each shelf but there are so many different options.
3. The store was probably just stocked before the photo was taken because all the shelves are full and all of the items for sale are neatly lined up. After the photo, the shelves will probably start getting gaps when people start purchasing items. 
4. The photo suggests that people like convenience, because this store doesn’t just sell drinks, it also sells food, detergent, medicine, and so on. They can clearly see all their options neatly lined up on each shelf. There are also several different brands of each item indicating that people like choices and that they have preferences to which brand they purchase otherwise there wouldn’t be so many brands. 

Tim Roda Observations & Questions

Observations:

• Many of your photos have at least one person in them, and many feature children.
• There's a lot of interesting patterns and textures in your photos.
• Many of your photos are in black and white.
• There seems to be a lot of conflict with the photos that include people.
• There's a lot of objects in the background of the photos that are inside, creating a cluttered impression.

Questions:

• Is the black and white in your photos done intentionally? If so, what is the reason?
• Are your photos staged or are you just an observer?
• Why are some collections named while others are just titled with the place and year?
• Do you know the people who are featured in your photos?
• How do you decide what to take photos of?

Response:

At first, I was extremely confused by a lot of the photos, because there was clearly a lot of conflict in many and most, if not all, of the people weren't smiling in the photos. I was wondering if the artist was trying to get people to take away negative emotions from it, but after hearing where he was coming from, it was comforting to know that that was far from true. He wasn't trying to evoke any type of response from his viewers; he was simply expressing his experiences through art. I really enjoyed hearing the explanation behind certain photos to understand that a photo that showcased him and his wife fighting didn't mean he had a lot of conflict in his life, but it could mean that one day they got into an argument.

Color

Purple is my favorite color, because it's feminine but not as girly as pink. Pink seems like the favorite color of many little girls, but purple seems more mature. This shade of purple is darker than many, which makes it seem elegant and classy to me. It reminds me of the pattern of my bedspread, which also reflects the same. Because this shade is so rich, it makes it seem powerful. My prom dress was also a similar shade of purple, and it brings back pleasant memories for me.

Notice What You Notice

Cheetah Stuffed Animal

1. Soft like a blanket
2. Mostly a brown that's a shade of caramel
3. Made of tiny little hairs
4. Short hairs about 3 mm
5. Squishy but returns to the normal shape
6. 4 legs
7. 1 tail
8. 1 head
9. 2 ears
10. Black spots in odd shapes with rounded edges
11. Spots about the size of a dime
12. Seam down its back continued around its tail
13. Hair under the chin and on the stomach longer
14. Longer hair about 7 mm
15. Smooth and shiny eyes like glass
16. Eyes are a dark yellow
17. Stomach a lighter beige color
18. Area above eyes and below nose, chin, and behind ears white
19. Black around ears
20. Weight approximately more than 1 lb. but less than 2 lbs.
21. Inside ears a dark beige
22. 3 black spots on both sides of the mouth under the white fur about the size of a nerd candy
23. Seams around the longer fur but not through the longer fur
24. Nose made of black felt
25. Nose in the shape of an upside down isosceles triangle with rounded edges
26. Nose is wide, about 1 inch but short, about 0.5 inches
27. Bottom of paws made of short fur, about 2 mm
28. Bottom of paws a darker beige than the stomach, but lighter than the inside of the ears
29. Bottom of paws have 2 pieces of thread about 1 inch long each
30. Thread on bottom of paws about 0.5 inches apart
31. Seams on the back of the legs
32. White tag on top left of the back left leg with black type, about 2 inch long and 0.5 inches wide
33. Tail about 2 inches long and 1.5 inches around
34. Mouth made of black thread about 0.5 inches long and wide
35. Mouth thread about 3 mm down then curves into an upside down U
36. Mouth thread thicker than the thread on the bottom of the paws by 1 mm
37. Seam across head from the back of each ears
38. Seam from top of head down to its neck
39. About 50 black spots
40. Black hair, forming a diagonal line above each eye
41. Black hair continues on sides of the nose
42. Black hair on the side of the nose is a squiggly line
43. Black hair on the side of the nose is approximately parallel to the seams from the sides of the nose down to the long fur
44. Ears are about 190 degree circles
45. Ears curved concave toward the front of the face
46. Head about the size of a softball
47. Nose area protrudes about an inch
48. Legs about 3 inches long each and 2 inches around
49. Feet about 5 mm wider than the leg
50. Overall, cheetah about the size of a teacup dog

Art of Seeing Comments

Megan Kiley, Liz Lynch, Kofi French Cudjoe

• Strong movement and emphasis pictures
• Proportion and rhythm were very similar, so it's difficult to tell the difference between the terms
• Unity explanation was confusing to understand

Orlando Rivera, Connor Zazzo, Erin Brockman

• Overall, good job
• Great images
• Nice variety of locations

Peter Insdorf, Ben Dreiker, Micaela Figueroa

• Some posting issues (repeated images, grammar)
• Clear photos
• Good idea for space

Alex Medvedev, Morgan Rudd, Jeslin Ritz

• Nice overall images
• Could have a clearer unity explanation

Berkley Whaley, Spencer Haberman, Elizabeth Cox

• Creative texture image
• Confusing space image
• Could have a clearer emphasis image

Michael Ciluffo, Tara O'Connor, Michael Womack

• Great color photo
• Creative texture photo
• Confusing variety and unity photos

Stevie Ruzich, Frank Calo

• Very good and clear images
• Wonder where some were taken
• Strong unity and movement pictures

Partners:

Jennifer McElroy

Andrea Diaz

Ryan Horvath Observations & Questions

Observations:

• There are so many different textures in your work.
• There seems to be a nature theme.
• The blur in pictures recurs.
• Three sculptures appear to look the same, but different medium is used for each.
• Many of the pieces you can't tell what they are immediately.

Questions:

• Do you edit your photos?
• Do you use a digital or film camera?
• What is your favorite medium to work with?
• Do you have any themes or pieces that are grouped together?
• Is there any significance to the photos in the background of one of the sculptures?