The importance of drawing

MILTON GLASER DRAWS & LECTURES from C. Coy on Vimeo.

Amazing Grace Typography from River Valley Church on Vimeo.

RVC showed this video at church awhile back and I just found it online and thought I would post it on my blog for more to see!

Puppies Dressed As Cats

I am now the future.

We all know the saying, "the children are our future" but once you get passed the stage of being a child you tend to forget you were once a child that was told that someday you would be the future. We get caught up in raising the next generation and making sure they are succesful that we forget we ARE the present generation.

I recently taught a three day class at the Eagan Art House. The second day of class one of my student's grandmother dropped her off. I kept looking at this woman thinking she looked a lot like my preschool teacher. The last day of class my student's grandmother dropped her off again and this time I had the courage to ask if she in fact was Mrs. Beecher. And obviously it was her! (or else I wouldn't be blogging about a woman who I thought looked like my preschool teacher but turned out not to be her....) Even more amazing is that she remembered who I was. We chatted briefly about our lives and then I started class.

Its crazy to think that my preschool teacher was dropping off her granddaughter for me to teach her. The realm of education had come full circle. I realized I am now the future and while it is important for me to guide those who are coming after me, it is also important to not forget that I am now the present future. This thought process helps put life back into a bit of perspective that we ourselves can't forget to live out our own life to its fullest potential that is only accomplished through our Lord Christ Jesus.

Give Blood, Give LIFE.

Giving Blood- The Second Experience.

I had received in the mail a postcard from the Red Cross telling of dates and locations in Eagan to donate blood. My first thought was no- but I didn’t throw the card away. I even brought the postcard and announced it at small groups if anyone wanted to donate blood here is when and where they could do it- even though I still had no intention myself of giving blood.

Tuesday morning after I had gotten home from SNAP I was sitting down to do my devotions when the phone rang. It was a woman from the Red Cross asking if I would be willing to come in and donate. The woman was a little too pushy and I was quick to refute the requests. I started whipping out all the excuses just trying to get off the phone as fast as I could. Immediately after I hung up I felt disgusted with myself and how I had acted.

I have been reading this book in the morning called, “Taste and See” by John Piper and it is 140 short meditations. So basically they are about 2 pages long of thoughts, questions, ideas, or truths to chew on. That morning I had read about Christ’s sacrifice and how Christ did that for the glory of God- not for us. Saving us through His sacrifice was in a sense a mere means to glorify God. This is not to belittle His love for us, or what He did for us- but we constantly miss the point that it was first and foremost for God.

As I began to think about that reading, I realized how giving blood is a great symbolic act to remind ourselves of Christ’s sacrifice. I mean really- lets think about this here. We live in a country that has sterile needles to jab into our arms for about ten minutes, take out a pint of blood (which our body will reproduce in a few days) that could be put into three different people and ultimately save their lives. Lives that could change the world. Lives that would get a second chance to accept Christ. Lives that are a part of the body of Christ.

When I was defending my lack of action to the Red Cross lady on the phone, I was so focused on myself that I didn’t see the need.

I read 2 Chronicles 29 and it was a great application to my situation. The kings of 2 Chronicles that fall are so focused on themselves that they don’t see the needs of the people- idol worshipping hurts not helps.

The kings that restore order see the need for God to be glorified and restore the temple and its practices.

Christ sacrificed of himself to glorify the Father through saving humanity. Is not blood donation a symbolic act of that?

Is it not a blessing God has given us the ability to physically take of ourselves and give to another?

In 2 Chronicles 29, king Ahaz had destroyed the temple of the LORD with idol worshiping- when Hezekiah became king, he stepped in and changed all that. I am sure that it took a lot of Hezekiahs own money, time and energy to restore that temple, but when a child of God sees His temple being destroyed- shouldn’t we jump to fix it- no matter what the cost, knowing it will impact/revive the people for Christ?

And now that our bodies are the temple- same thing- it may take out own money, time, and effort to get that person back on track, but it will be worth it because its God’s temple being restored for His glory. THEREFORE- if we should restore the temples of God we should give to the poor, help those who fall away, give our time, money, energy, and BLOOD.

I again saw the postcard. I signed up online. I donated blood.

The cool thing about giving blood- is you have no idea who it will ever go to. Which in my opinion makes it easier to focus on doing it for the glory of Christ than a specific person because you have no idea! All we can do is give blood and pray it makes it to the person who needs it most spiritually.

As I had a short time to prepare mentally for giving blood (not a big fan of it- makes me REALLY nervous) I prayed that God would be most glorified. Through studying Paul- I have learned that that is a scary prayer to pray because God more times than not is most glorified through out discomfort than our comfort. As soon as those words left my mouth I knew this experience would not be smooth sailing.

I had the joy (yes joy, I am not being sarcastic) of almost passing out, feeling very uncomfortable and weak, but it will not stop me from going back again. I only lost a pint and they had me lie there a long time until I felt stable enough to just sit up- how did Christ walk, let alone carry his cross after losing so much more?

My hope and prayer in all of this is that when I am in heaven someone will approach me and say, “Thank you for donating blood because I received that blood and through that gained not only physical life, but as well as a life in Christ Jesus.”

realizations

First I encourage you all to read this blog post:
http://africalu.blogspot.com/2009/03/when-goin-gets-tough-tough-gets-goin.html

Wow- I don’t even know where to begin with this story. It just reminds me of my senior project and how we seem to forget we are all human. Why is that? Why do we disregard people around the world as if they for some reason do not deserve the same acknowledgement as ourselves?

I love when the Olympics are going on. I am one who will sit and watch every country walk into the stadium at the opening ceremonies. It is so beautiful to me to see all these different kinds of people with different fashion styles, different faces, hair color, eye color, mannerisms, languages, everything is different but yet everything is the same. As a WORLD we forget about all the fighting and disagreements and enter into one stadium as one world. To me the Olympics is a glimpse of heaven when we all will stand before an awesome God as one body, with one purpose.

We think being American is some sort of pass to anything unjust or unfair. That when faced with a difficult or uncomfortable situation that saying, “well I’m American” will radically change what happens. I admire Lulu’s honesty in her writing and most likely would have felt the same way. Sometimes I wish I was not born in America. Not born in a country that is viewed as being so blessed with all its accommodations, but in fact it is blinded because of them. Blinded to what it truly means to depend on a Mighty God for food, shelter, and hope that this life is worth living. But I must not question Gods placing- its like Lulu said, “I don't know why I was born somewhere with so many accommodations... but I do know that everything I have received needs to be given back two fold to others without.” I cannot let me bitterness keep me from giving from the abundance I have been placed in.


All of this has reminded me of my current investigation of bees. Bees work as a hive, as a team and share their good findings with others and communicate to one another by dancing! How romantic…bees communicate that there is food, there is hope, there is a chance to survive another day through dance. As Americans we should constantly be dancing with those that are in need because we should be sharing our good findings. We can give hope, we can show them that there is a chance to survive another day. Americans view of survival is being as comfortable and efficient as possible. The definition of survival reads:
the state or fact of continuing to live or exist, typically in spite of an accident, ordeal, or difficult circumstances.

• Psalm 150:4 (ESV) "Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!"

• Ecclesiastes 3:4 (ESV) "...a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;..."

• Jeremiah 31 (ESV) Read

Do we know what it means to survive? Do we know what it means to live simple?

Being in art school we are consistently told, “find a style, create a body of work, get your name out there…” its tiring and daunting because I have never felt like I would find a style, and I have not desire to get MY name out there. Through the process of creating my senior show I have realized what I would like to accomplish as an artist. I want my art to speak of something bigger than myself; I desire it to cause people to take action on issues that are affecting our world. I would rather people walk away from my art talking about how they can help than the aesthetics of my art.

As Josh and I begin to talk about our future- we keep going back to the book “Crazy Love” that we just recently read together. It speaks about not letting ourselves get into the typical American rut of living out our faith in a lukewarm fashion. Christ called all of us to live the radical life. It is not something Josh and I need to wait to do when we are married- we, like so many other Christians, need to reignite the fire and live by the Word.

A cute find!

I ran across this little picture when I was searching for visual inspiration online for my last drawing III project. I have kept it on my desktop and open it up to look at it every so often just to get a good smile.

The Rescue

I know this event is just days away but that does not mean you can't still join! Check this out and help RESCUE!

http://therescue.invisiblechildren.com/en/

go green

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

A Positive!

Today in the mail I received my donation card from the Red Cross! Donate Blood- save 3 lives!

ornamentation

Our next assignment for Drawing III has to do with ornamentation. One of the artists I found was Carrie Lederer.
http://www.carrielederer.com/

She deals a lot with organic subjects- hence all the green, but I am also attracted to her use of mixed media.

Though Carrie is what I would call a typical fine arts ornamentation artist- one of the first things I thought of when I heard ornamentation is jewelry, costumes, and disguises. I am currently reading throught Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events. In each book the evil Count Olaf disguises himself- with very poor disguises- in attempts to capture the Baudelaire children and essential their enormous fortune. I would like to explore the idea of disguises and the fact that no matter how much or how little you add to your apperance you are still always you and will still always having the same motives....to capture innocent children and steal all their deceased parents money.

In thinking about Lemony Snicket- I began investing gating the illustrator of the series. Brett Helquist
http://www.bretthelquist.com/index.html



To me the layout of each Unfortunate cover has ornamentation on it because of the boarder surrounding the picture. The two small circles in each corner picturing the children and the unfortunate event of their burning house. In all honesty, I am still in the deciding factor if this would be considered ornamentation.

consistency

Every Wednesday I have an hour break between my Sculpture II class and my Evolution of Design. Seeing that they are in the same building I sit at the small table that is too short to fit under comfortably while sitting in a chair on the second floor right next to the drinking fountain and noisy screen printing lab. Like clock work, every Wednesday between 10:14-10:16 the same professor comes shooting around the corner running as fast as he can carrying his many bags and large water jug into his classroom of faithful students that arrive on time. My question- if someone is consistently about 5 minutes late to his class every Wednesday, is he really late anymore or has he just developed the new on time? or is he just in need of some last minute exercise?

Eau Claire, The Foster Gallery

Drawing Beyond the Edges
After driving around the campus, consulting a outdoor campus map, and many confused looks from Eau Claire students, we finally found The Foster Gallery. It was exciting to visit a neighboring campus and investigate their Art and Design building and gallery. I have to say, I am glad I am attending Stout.

The artist's featured in the "Drawing Beyond the Edges" show are:

• Amanda Hughen
• Edward Mater
• Cal Lane
• Fraser Taylor

I choose to do noticings of pieces done by the first three artists listed.

Amanda Hughen, "Preoccupation"
Ink, graphite, acrylic paint on drafting film









I noticed...

• layering
• honeycomb structure
• it was dense in the middle and as the form moved towards the edges became less
• there was a form the reminded me of pollen of a flower or ends of sticks
• pale pastel colors
• hexagonal forms
• acrylic painted part pops out, more three-dimensional
• some hexagons are filled, while others are just the contours
• movement of the piece is bottom left to top right, diagonal
• eye is drawn to the burnt orange color first
• pthalo blue, mint green, baby blue, olive green, orangish pink, school bus yellow
• invokes light hearted emotion
• some of the hexagonal forms are only noticed when up close
• few tiny hexagonal groupings
• fingerprints
  
• thickness/weight of lines are fairly consistent
• long rectangle forms
• long oval pill forms
• total of 3 different shapes

In her artist statement is read that she, "abstracts forms from biology, architecture, geology and astronomy...repeat forms until they reach a critical mass which becomes a release of energy, a transformative movement..."

Cal Lane "Untitled (Map 2)"
Plasma cut steel drum

I noticed...

• red
  
• jagged edges, roughness
• world map, side, top and bottom view
• figures in 3 of the corners
• Mother and Child
• sphere form in top right looks like it is emitting light
• boarder looks like dancing people or flower forms
• block/box forms above the mother and child
• top left figure has a basket of apples
• positive and negative space of the piece create shadows on the wall
  
• grid over world map
• lines coming off of sphere in the top right moves your eye down and out of the piece
• circle pieces are centered above and below of the large rectangle
• grid lines are wavy- remind me of water

Edward Mayer
Noticed the hanging black rope of his entire piece

I noticed...

• the hanging rope looks uneven from side, but when standing at the end you see they hang at an even distance from the ground
• rope has a knot about every four inches
• there are 16 hanging "u" from the ceiling
• seem to hang in pairs
• giant ball of knots at the end
• other end rope is taped to the ground
• is a part of a larger piece
  

Science and Art Discussion

During the discussion of our ideas for our science and art projects my group gave me a couple good ideas. One was doing a positive and negative effect of drawing on black paper with a white pencil, and then drawing on white paper with a black pencil. The other idea which I am quite fond of is using orange juice to draw the lines- then possibly using a blow drier on it to brown the citrus lines. I think using the orange juice would add an interesting element to my drawings because the drawings itself will not be recognizable of coming from the lines seen on a clementine. The use of orange juice might help the viewer make a subtle connection or will simply be a fun medium to use.

Science and Art

My investigation of science and art started when I was eating lunch. I bought one of those big crates of clementines from Walmart- therefore I have frequently been eating these delicious little fruits. When I was eating one the other day I was peeling a part each slice and realized how amazing it is that this fruit is sectioned off into slices. I also became fascinated by its outer shell and how it is a great convenience to the consumer because it never needs to be protected from looming bacteria. It makes a person wish all fruit was like this so we never had to slice any ever again!

My original thought was to explore the sectioning of clementines, but was drawn more to the incredible line work found on each slice. All this to say I don't per say have a question, but more a great appreciation of the line work found in nature- a clementine.

This would relate to science in the area of pomology- which is the science of growing fruit. Pomology is a branch off of botany- which is the scientific study of plants, including their physiology, structure, genetics, ecology, distribution, classification, and economic importance.

At the moment how I am going to translate this into art is by focusing solely on line work. I think it would be interesting to copy the line work found on the rounded surface of a clementine and transfer it onto the flat surface of a piece of paper.

Drawings Discussion

What are drawings used for in the past:

• Education
• Medical purposes
• Diagrams
• Story telling
• Representational
• Instructions
• Blue prints
• Memorialize
• Communication
• personal enjoyment
• maps

What are drawings used for in the present:

• All listed above
• Decoration
• Protest
• Territory
• Recording

In our group we discussed how the use of drawing hasn't changed much, but it is the subject matter and the medium that has expanded greatly. Today we are able to use non-traditional mediums, such as computers, to create drawings that are used for a variety of reasons.

How do we encounter drawing as a viewer?

• intimidating
• inspiring
• challenging
• to exapnd our style
• we bring our own personal baggage into any art we view

we also discussed how it is hard for us to separate between being a mere viewer and an artist who is viewing.

How does encountering drawings relate to us as an artist?

• same as above
• technique
• reference point
• connecting to another artist

When has drawing been most interesting to you?
Drawing became most interesting to me when I entered college. In college we talk more about what drawing is, the characteristics and quality of line, materials etc. It is a higher level of approach and thinking that creates more appeal than in high school art classes.

What should drawing be for/ what is its function?
Practical Purposes- medical, instructions, maps etc.
Personal Purposes- thought provoking, trying to communicate some thought, idea or belief

What is a drawing?

Our group decided on a simple definition for drawing, but at the same time it is very extensive. We concluded that a drawing is a moving point. Once a point moves it creates line, shape, form, value etc. Some of the characteristics that fit into our definition of drawing included:

• Mark making
• Line
• Texture
• Volume
• Structure
• Form
• Shape
• Value
• Repeated form/pattern

For our group it came down to the elements and principles of art and design- a drawing does not have to include all of these elements, but more so a combination of a few.

The two images from my found drawings selected as the best was the foam in the water that looks like it forms a figure, and the chipped planks of wood.

Found Drawings

Here are what I think to be the best of my found drawings.

my new temporary "studio"

Seeing that school has started I am now mixing submarine in a new place- a little corner of my room. I have been struggling the past few days with mixing because the lighting is drastically different. Now I am not so much looking at the color but mixing more from memory because I am at the point that I know what colors I need to use to get the best outcome. I am at the point that I am ready for it to be done- mixing the same color for 30 days straight can be slightly redundant, but at the same time I am still glad I am doing this!

Found Drawings

"...images arising by accident rather than from any conscious process."
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shelleyclark/sets/72157612912561776/

i stand corrected.

today was an awesome color mixing day- I keep seeing submarine better and better!

we all live in a submarine submarine...?

This past summer I had an idea for an art project. I wanted to see how trying to mix the same color would change from day to day. I bought 30 4x4 canvases from Blick's and decided January would be the month to start. I browsed the paint chips at Menards and picked a color called "Submarine"- though I have never seen a submarine this color- I think I am stuck in the stereo typical yellow submarine, anyways...
Starting January 1st I sat down in my little make shift studio in the spare bedroom in our basement with my paint chip and small canvas. I limit myself to 20 minutes to mix because really if I didn't, I could be down there all day trying to get the color just right. I mixed until I felt I had the closest possible match I could mix and painted the entire canvas. I write down in my notebook the date, time I start and location (seeing that eventually I will be back at school) and I also write down all the colors of paint I use. Then the next day I do the same thing- only looking at the paint chip and not the previous painted canvas- so in the end I will see how my viewing the same color everyday changed.
I have been experimenting a lot with my color choice. I am able to remember from the day before the majority of paint colors I used so I try to use something different. Today, Jan 7th, day 7 of painting was by far the BEST! It was so exciting because when I lifted my palette knife to the paint chip I was so excited because I knew...this was the best day yet! I had taken a totally different approach by first mixing an orange then adding aqua to make it green- I think by doing this it is going to expand my knowledge of color and mixing paints. I have to remind myself to really look at the paint chip each day and not just go off of memory and from that I am starting to see this little submarine better than the day before. It kind of reminds me of drawing- we need to really LOOK at our subject to see what is ACTUALLY there and not what we THINK is there. Huh- this is most likely a good thing to apply to life-