Inside a Collection

A collection can explain a lot about a person. Not only is it just a gathering of objects but it is a story in a way. It's as if each little piece is a page in one big book. A collection can show a person's interests, hobbies, favorite colors, etc. It can go on to explain happy memories or even go on to show their whole life.

                                               Collection: Code Blue

In class, we have been starting our own little school collection of blue things from each of our lives. The 'stuff' ranged from simple things like cleaning supplies and school supplies to some more personal things. Even though many students probably went home to grab the first two blue, unimportant things that they saw, I think that this collection still somewhat says things about our class. Now maybe we don't necessarily love using cleaning supplies or like reading biology textbooks but there are still objects in there that depict our lifestyle. For example, the make-up and nail polish. Our generation, mostly girls in this generation, are focused on beauty and the idea of "perfect". The fact that their are many nail polishes, make-up containers, and even perfume show that. Also the award, that itself could show the popular sports/ interests of our time. I also noticed some pieces of clothing/ accessories in the collection. When looking at them, in a way they can show the style of this time period. Overall, a collection is just more than stuff. If you look past the view as a whole and look at each individual piece, it is so much more than just a few things piled onto each other. Many famous artists use collections in their art. They use it to show a theme, or a story in a way. A major artist for collections is Portia Munson (as mentioned in the last blog post). She has many collections, with many themes, each showing different stories or giving off a different mood. Relating to our collection, she has a 'blue' collection also!

It's crazy how you can take a bunch of things that might look odd standing alone and put them together to make art! It's as simple as that! When you compare Munson's work to our own work, you can tell that she has more 'things' in her collection but it doesn't make it any more important or special. Each collection is its own and shares a different story.

Collecting vs. Hoarding

When it comes to collecting, you obtain a bunch of stuff. When it comes to hoarding, you obtain a bunch of stuff. With that said, it is easy to say that they are the same. For me personally, I think that they are two completely opposite things. 

Collecting: to gather together; assemble.

Collecting, to me, takes more time and attention compared to hoarding. It also contains more emotions. A person who collects tends to have a connection  or a reason to collect while hoarding is just... well... hoarding. As seen in the definition, collecting also means to assemble. So in a way, a collection is something with a theme. Something that can be assembled and categorized. A collection could revolve around color, toys, seashells, and many more! In a nutshell, collecting is hoarding with a meaning behind it. One of the artists we discussed in class is Portia Munson. She manages to create many collections and she makes it very obvious what the theme is even without reading the title.

Hoarding: the act of someone who hoards; a supply or accumulation that is hidden or carefully guarded for preservation.

                                               

If the pictures aren't enough to show that hoarding and collecting are different, I don't know what is. Hoarding can be classified as messy, unorganized, and for lack of better words, all over the place. The act of hoarding can actually be known as a mental disease/disorder where the person diagnosed feels connection to unimportant objects, such as a pizza box! I guess in a way, hoarding could be classified as the collection of trash. Although collecting seems to be more on purpose, hoarding tends to be more unintentional. In all honesty, hoarding gives me a head ache! Just looking at the hoarding picture makes me crazy, while looking at a collection makes me emotionally attached and makes me see art.

      

Color vs. Black and White

It all comes down to your opinion. Do you like color or black and white? To me, they were completely different experiences. Each had their own highlights and downfalls. With the black and white drawings, you really had to make the picture pop with just shades of grey. You had to make sure that you shaded in just the right spots to make the bicycle its own thing on the paper. To me, it was hard to make the bike come to life on the paper and make sure it didn't just look like it was sitting on the page. Although the bike drawing was easier than the candy jar, I personally enjoyed the colored picture more.

With the colored pencils, you didn't just have to put all your efforts into shading and value. You could play around with certain colors, mix them, match them, and make an entirely your own. Instead of blacks and greys I learned that you could use shades of blue instead.  It was fun to make things really pop off the page with colors rather than shadowing and different pressures with the pencils. Even though I liked the colored pencils more, it was really fun working on both drawings. In the end, I'm not actually sure if you can compare the two since they are two different things completely to me. One thing that was the same for both was that everyone in the class had something different on their paper for each one. It was extremely cool to see how everyone interpreted the bicycle and the candy jar in their own way. I can't wait to see what the next project is!

Candy!

It was a nice change to finally work with color. After working with the shades of grey with the bike, it was a relief to have a change of scenery. But that didn't make it any easier. While I thought the bike drawing was hard, I had no idea that this colored pencil drawing would be even harder. It's really hard knowing that once you but that pencil on your chosen paper, it's going to leave a pretty permanent mark. No more erasing! Although it was more challenging, I ended up enjoying working with it more. I'm not sure if it was the colored pencils alone or maybe just the atmosphere of having candy around you. I found it amazing to look at the glass jar, and not just see glass. I saw color, light, reflection, but at the same time you could still see through it. One of the most hardest things for me would have to be the highlighting. It was challenging trying to highlight but not have it dominate the candy inside the jar. It took a lot of back and forth coloring to make it just the way I wanted it. Another thing I liked about the colored pencils in general was the texture. It was as if you were caking the page with icing in a way, instead of just plain pencil. Overall, I was happy with my drawing and I can say that I love colored pencils!

The Motion of a Bike Drawing

Some look at a bike and they see... well... a bike! But with the process of drawing a bike, you really have to look at it in a way you have not looked at it before. It was a really cool process just to study the bike and look at it. Noticing how the light reflects and how the shadows creep along the metal. In the beginning, I can truly say that I was intimidated. How was I supposed to draw a bike and make it look real. How was I, a 10th grader, supposed to make that bicycle come to life on the paper? As the days went on I really learned how the placement of an object on the page really depicts on how the finished project looks. I realized that you really don't need to see the whole bike to know that it's a bike. With the value of a drawing, I learned that it takes patience. And by patience, I mean PATIENCE! It took a lot of redoing and going back to the same part of a page to get it right. After all the hard work, a bike drawing was made. Honestly, I was extremely surprised by the outcome. It actually looked like a bike! It made me feel good to have that feeling of accomplishment, when at the beginning, I was so nervous and not confident in myself. It's 'wow-factoring' to see the improvement from the beginning to the end.

The First

As you can tell this is my first post. This blog is apart of a creative art class that I will be taking this year and maybe in the future. On this blog I plan to post all of my artwork throughout the year. As long with the pictures I plan to post, I will also blog written posts as well explaining my art work or art in general. I hope that all my viewers enjoy looking at and reading my blog!