Opening Practice: 2015-2016

Look at the work or works you created last week. What is your initial response to the works? 

     When I look at the work I created last week, I first notice the variety of different textures and the dark, moody colors. The emotion that I was assigned to depict was despair, and I used clutter, passionate colors, and sharp angles to capture this emotion. When I see the piece, sadness and panic come to mind first. Although I do think that I could have made a more precise and cohesive composition had I had enough time, I believe that my emotion was expressed thoroughly through the textures, patterns, and colors used. 

What emotional, conceptual, formal elements emerge as important in the final piece(s)?

     To me, the most important elements of my final piece is the use of directional movement and varying texture. The fast brushstrokes and angular cuts I used create a feeling of movement that helps to illustrate my emotion. Also, the distinct shape and form that I used to create the face of the figure stands out to me and invokes a certain sadness or depression. Emotionally, the dark, turbulent colors in the piece emphasize the emotion of despair clearly why the harsh, jagged lines and edges make the composition more unsettling. 

How was working with limited time and materials helpful to you?

       Working with limited time and materials allowed me to express my true and immediate feelings in my work. I did not have the time to censor myself or to filter my thoughts, so any ideas that I had were quickly implemented in my work. As a result, my piece is more natural and genuine than it would have been otherwise. Though it is also slightly disorganized, I find my work to be raw and emotional rather than polished and vague. 

What in this quick introductory practice would you like to take into your regular creative practice?

     In my regular creative practice, I would like to incorporate the quick and uncensored mentality that I embraced during this project. In the future, I hope to put my first ideas and reactions into my work directly without editing myself to create more emotional and genuine photographs. I want to embrace the expressiveness of this practice and to implement the spontaneity and fearlessness in my work this year. 

Year in Reflection

      Over the course of the year, I found myself to be most engaged with projects that combined photography with other elements, including dark room developing as well as photoshop. I found that synthesizing photography with various other mediums and techniques allowed me to gain a new appreciation for the capabilities of both digital and film photography, as both are so much more than simply taking photographs. I have learned through projects such as the House of My Mind and the dark room portrait exploration that photography can in fact capture a moment rather than just an image of a moment. The freedom offered to me during these projects has allowed me to express my artistic visions in new ways, and I have learned that deliberate portrayal of a subject and thoughtful composition can entirely change the message of the photo. I felt that by the final project in which we could choose our own assignment, I truly owned my artistic process. I knew the moment that I heard that project's guidelines that I would want to combine my love of drawing and of portrait photography using photoshop, and I allowed myself to get lost in the creation of my compositions and to use colors and lines that felt appropriate to each image in order to convey the message of the photographs and of the individuals in the photographs, rather than just relying on the photo to do this on its own. I thoroughly enjoyed the freedom and large period of time allotted to the final project, and I appreciated the opportunity that I was given to find an artistic path that I am passionate about. 
      I believe that I have grown most in my willingness to explore and to experiment. At the start of this year, I tended to stay within guidelines that I was given and I found it difficult to push the envelope when it came to taking photographs. I wasn't entirely accustomed to photography as a medium, and I did not feel that it gave me as much artistic freedom as drawing and painting may have. However, as I was introduced to new methods, techniques, and mediums, I found that photography could become whatever I wished it to be. I could manipulate my photographs using techniques in the moment, such as off camera flash, or digitally after they had been taken, using photoshop and lightroom. After I became comfortable exploring new kinds of photography, I was able to experiment and think outside of the box. I saw this first in the House of My Mind Project as I incorporated photography with drawing and collaging, something that I would have never thought to do in a photography course. I now am accustomed to taking risks, as shown in my recent abstract photography project when I looked for photographic opportunities in the most unexpected of places and used lightroom as a tool to push my photos even further into the realm of abstraction. Most recently, I have shown my willingness to push the envelope in my final project through incorporating several mediums that I was equally passionate about and playing with them until I found a way for both drawing and photography to work together harmoniously with the aid of photoshop. 
      I have definitely gained a better understanding of portrait, abstract, and darkroom photography during these past 9 months. I have come to appreciate the messages that deliberately taken portraits can express and the beauty of capturing moments of human connection and human emotion. I understand now that portraits can truly tell a story, whether it be about the subject themselves or about another issue entirely. I have also come to appreciate that abstract photography is far more than just zooming in on objects or taking photos from a new angle. I appreciate the complexity of abstract photography and the freedom that it gives the photographer to explore the world in new and intriguing ways. I have also learned the key role that digital editing can play to enhance or change the message of an abstract photograph. Finally, I have also come to appreciate the process of darkroom photography. I've learned that being with your photo from the moment it is captured and processing it for days until you can finally appreciate its physical form is a very rewarding experience. Dark room photographs also have a very different feeling than digital photographs, and I think that the quirks of developing film make the final compositions more special and nuanced.  The hard work that goes into the darkroom developing process truly does become apparent in the final product, which I have come to appreciate. 
      I felt that this course was a very appropriate and informative introduction to the complex world of photography. With projects like House of my Mind, Dark room Portraits, and Off Camera Flash, we learned many new techniques and became comfortable using new mediums, an experience that I found to be very valuable. I also think that the final project was a great opportunity for us to exercise the creative thinking skills as well as technical photographic skills that we have gained throughout the course. We were forced to think outside the box, and I think the amazing and diverse projects that everyone in the class came up with were a true testament to the success of the project. After giving us the tools to express ourselves, it was very nice to get an opportunity to do so without restrictions. However, I found the project where we incorporated unusual objects into photographs (such as tinfoil and plastic forks) to be somewhat frustrating and I felt that "light as a character" could have been a shorter or more specialized project, because the theme itself was broad and overwhelming at times. However, I do think that Ms. Seal has done a good job with making us become comfortable thinking outside the box and getting us acquainted with new mediums and techniques. One important thing that I would say regarding the course is that although time for new skill development is necessary, the amount of time that we spend learning and experimenting with new techniques should not compromise the amount of time we are given to freely explore and create. 

- Natalie Turner

Create Your Own Assignment Reflection

one. your conceptual intention. what is it for this project? how is your conceptual intention expressed in this series or project? 

Conceptually, I intended to illustrate a word or idea with my final project. The idea I used to inspire my work was self-expression. In order to make my conceptual intention apparent, I added colorful backgrounds using photoshop in four different portraits of four different individuals. I then used photoshop painting tools to draw patterns and outlines surrounding the individuals. Each set of patterns was in different colors that I chose according to the portrait and the personality of the individual. In this way, I used the backgrounds and patterns to express the personalities of the individuals and thus emphasize and encourage self expression. 

two. your formal intention. what is it for this project? how is your formal intention expressed in this series or project? 

My formal intention for this project was to incorporate pattern / rhythm. I expressed my formal intention in my final composition through my photoshop drawings that have a linear pattern and spacial rhythm. I also created backgrounds that incorporated geometric patterns and rhythm. In addition, I arranged my final four pieces into one larger composition in a rhythmic and balanced way that further illustrates my formal intention of pattern and rhythm. 

three. your technical intention. what is it for this project? how is your technical intention expressed in this series or project? 

My technical intention for the project was heavy photoshop use. I expressed my intention through taking unedited portraits and then using photoshop to crop and mask the photos of the individuals. After I had cropped and edited the portraits, I added a multi-dimensional background that I colored and shaped using color balance and posterize tools to each photograph. Finally, I used photoshop to draw lines surrounding the border of the piece as well as the individual. I repeated this line drawing process three times, lightening the color that I was using each time in order to create a gradient effect that felt almost like a shadow or halo. I used photoshop to incorporate elements of drawing and painting into my digital portrait photography. 

four. what did you take away from the critique? what comments resonated with you?

During the critique, it was suggested to me that I work with incorporating more items from the background of the original photographs as I did in the green piece in the lower left hand corner. This comment resonated with me because I believe that the portraits could be more diverse and dynamic with more of their original elements incorporated, and I will take this into consideration when using photoshop and portrait photography. I was also told that my use of color worked well and that combining photoshop, photography, and drawing to create electronic portraits was an interesting idea and that I should explore projects along these lines in future artistic ventures, which I plan to do.

five. were you able to use the freedom this assignment afforded you to your advantage? if the structure was helpful, how so? if it wasn't helpful, what would have made it more so?

I appreciated the freedom of this assignment because it allowed me to combine my passion for photography with my passion for drawing and painting into one single digital composition. Although the mediums that I utilized were all digital, I was able to successfully replicate the actual process of physical drawing using Photoshop. I believe that incorporating the process of capturing a moment and the process of creating a moment into my piece made for a multi-dimensional and intriguing final composition that successfully expressed my voice as an artist. Although I believe that I would have created a similar piece with or without the given guidelines, I do think that the structure of the assignment helped me to narrow my ideas into one cohesive concept. 

Final Project In Process Reflection

For my final project, I am planning to use portraits and photoshop editing to create digital drawings that complement the photos. I am planning to choose one word or idea that I feel each photo best exemplifies, though I have not yet chosen these words because these are still works in progress. My technical intention will be heavy photoshop use while my formal intention will be pattern/rhythm, and I plan to use photoshop drawings to achieve this pattern and rhythm. My classmate mentioned that incorporating more of the original background into the photo makes for a more natural and interesting composition, and I plan to take this advice into consideration when creating my final pieces. I was also told that using light more deliberately could make my photos more complex and dimensional, and I will consider this while taking my future portraits. 

Strongest Abstract Photos

These were my six strongest photos. My classmates told me that the images utilizing light would work well together in a series. This would include the two curtain images, the chair shadow image, and the fabric image. They liked the ways in which the blue hues of the photos played with one another and they thought that the red in the window photo was very interesting. They also thought that the focus of the book photograph was dynamic and that leaving it black and white allowed the viewer to focus on texture and contrast rather than color. 

Abstract Project Reflection

How did you find opportunities to explore abstraction through your work in this project? Which image is your strongest? How does that image exemplify abstraction?

During this project, I was able to explore abstraction through using deliberate photographic techniques and enhancing my photos using photoshop and lightroom. I used geometric shapes found in everyday objects to create abstract compositions. I also found light to be a valuable tool in creating abstract images, as the shadows and lines created by direct light sources made my photos more complex and dynamic. Cropping was also a valuable tool in my quest for abstraction, as I could focus on particular textures and colors to make the objects in my image stand out. The image that I have posted above was my strongest, and it exemplifies abstraction because I used cropping and light to create a composition that is unique and interesting. It is difficult to identify what the subject truly is and what is going on, leaving room for interpretation. 

How did you push yourself to gain a better understanding of the digital camera and photoshop? What are your favorite photoshop tools? In what ways did you come to better control the various tools you employed? 

I used the zoom feature in particular on my camera to find textures and lines that made interesting abstract compositions. The zoom lenses were very useful and helped me to find and create images that I otherwise may not have seen without such a close view. I really enjoyed playing with cropping and color / hue during the course of the project. Many of my photos had a warm, yellowish tone, and with photoshop, I made the images more interesting   when I switched the tint from a yellow to a blue. I used the editing tools to find hues of blue and green that enhanced the detail of my photos without being distracting. I learned through experimentation to use color in subtle ways that do not detract from the overall image quality and instead enhance my composition. 

FAB Work Reflection

What intrigues you about the artwork? What do you think the intentions of the artist were with the piece? what formal, technical elements of the work might you want to use in your own creative practice? 

I found this artwork to be very intriguing because although it seems one-dimensional at first glance, there are layers and layers of texture and color that make the piece more intriguing as you continue to look at it. I think that the artist was trying to demonstrate complex textures and use strategic colors and directional movement to make an emotional piece that may tell a story personal to the artist. To me, the painting is reminiscent to the heart monitors used in hospitals or to sound waves. Either way, I find the piece to be exciting and complex. I might use this method of layering color and texture in my creative practice to make layered and complex compositions.