Unexplainable Stories

Song I'm listening to by Cloud Cult. I fell in love with them after listening to "Everybody Here is a Cloud." You should look them up.

Anyway, I wanted to show my other piece from my senior project.
This one is "Balance," and it another layered piece. First layer: splattered watercolor. Second: marker "picture frame." Third: Ebony pencil (a friend modeled for me). Fourth: marker balance.

I thought of this one as how my attempts to make things perfect just make them worse. Plus, I feel that the "person" in this piece believes they are balancing the picture (in the picture...), when really they are off balance themselves. However (as I explained before), you can interpret it however you want. I'm just giving my idea of what it's about. Honestly, I don't know the true meanings of each of my pieces, which I think makes them a little more interesting. ;)

So, I'm leaving tomorrow for AGS, so I most likely won't be able to post for a month (oh noes). Hopefully I'll have plenty of artwork to show you afterwards, though. So, goodbye all you lovely people (if there is actually anyone that reads my blog, if not, ttfn all you lovely imaginary people).

No Reservations

I'm such a nerd for the Travel Channel (Anthony Bourdain in particular). I can't help it! The sarcastic, alcoholic, smoking ass is so entertaining! Plus, this episode's on Jamaica.

Anyway, I thought I'd post another piece from my concentration pieces.

This piece is "Train of Thought," and is adapted from one of my sketchbook doodles. I used one of my fellow Advertising Design classmates as my model. I sketched him in ebony pencil, used sharpie for the train tracks, watercolor, and marker (the trains). All of this is on a recycled piece of mattboard.

Here is a closeup of the piece. Once again, I tried to focus on the elements and principles of design, especially color, line, repitition, and proportion. Also, I incorporated raised areas (the trains) to create layers.


I'm counting down the days 'til AGS!

the times, they are a'changin

Just reflecting on my past few years. How much I've changed since being in high school, and how much those around me have changed as well.

Anyway, here is one of my senior project pieces (my concentration pieces). I decided to start early on my senior project so that I could focus more on getting into the college I want (that is, when I decide where I want to go...), than trying to finish up what I need to graduate.

My senior project is a little hard to explain... Basically, it's the freedom of interpretation through concepts that are present in my life (such as my own characteristics and emotions). I had tossed around a few ideas for my senior project the past few years, but they all seemed to restrain me to a certain topic. I wanted the freedom to do whatever I want (after all, it is my project, and what better way to express myself).

My inspiration was when I was with one of my good friends. He asked me to draw him, and for the life in me, I could not get his head right. So, he told me to "replace it with something." I was really confused at first, until he started spouting out random things such as "goldfish bowl," "flower pot," "octopus," etc. Eventually, I chose a goldfish bowl for his head. And that is how my idea was born. Each piece of my project will contain (for all intents and purposes, I call it a character) a "character" that has no gender, ethnicity, or name, and "its" head is always replaced with something. The purpose of that is so anyone can project themselves into the picture and interpret whatever they want out of the piece. I give my viewers a witty name, and they determine what they see. I have my own interpretation of the piece, but I don't present it to the viewer. It gives not only me freedom, but freedom to the viewer as well.

Confused yet? Maybe you should just see a piece.

This one is called "Knowledge Vacuum." I interpreted it as my love of learning (sucking everything like a vacuum), but a friend of mine presented a different idea: a vacuum can be described as an absence of matter, so it can possibly be seen as the absence of knowledge. I wanted to focus on the elements and principles of design (what I have the most trouble with when creating a piece), with a clearly defined background, middle ground, and foreground. I used cardboard to create the different layers and to mount the piece on. In the foreground, I used pen and ink, focusing on the people in the picture (I took the picture in a classroom at my school). In the middle ground, I used conte for the next closest thing: the teacher. Lastly, in the background, I used pencil and ebony and focused even less on detail to give the illusion that you're actually looking at the scene. The vacuum is in color (my vacuum at home, that I had to draw from memory because I lost the first attempt), to bring attention to that area. As you can see, one of the students has the vacuum for a head, pertaining to my theme.

This was the first piece of my senior project, and I'm quite happy with the results. One of the parts of our project is to talk about an artist(s) that inspired us. The first thing I thought was, "Well how the heck am I going to do that? I pulled this idea out of my butt!" Well, another friend of mine happens to have a vast collection of art magazines (I'm so jealous of her). While skimming through them, I stumbled upon a wonderful artist by the name of Tom Haubrick. He works in mainly sepia or black and white, with some splashes of color in his pieces. Also, he has a reoccuring "character" throughout his pieces whose head is often replaced with a common item. I was thrilled when I looked at his work, and I now have an artist for inspiration. Huzzah!

School's Out For Summer!

Ah, how much I missed summer. Anyway, a week until AGS, so I'm starting to pack. It's kind of sad how I'm more excited about the Spiderman trashcan and bed sheets my mom got me than I am about the minifridge I'll have in my dorm. I guess after spending all those years trying to be an adult, all I want to be is a kid again.

So, this assignment earlier this year was to make a tattoo-style piece while incorporating a hand. I swear, I think my teacher designed this assignment specifically for me. I squeeled like a moron when she announced it, while everyone else complained how this project was perfect for me (I love designing tattoos and drawing hands). I used this wonderful opportunity to create a sort of social commentary on how we are so bound to technology. I used only pen and sharpie for this piece, focusing on an industrial look. The hand in the middle is robotic and holding an organic/mechanical heart. This was when I had my mohawk (or shortly after, I can't quite remember), so I added a mohawk into the design. I like how this turned out, although I'm thinking of redoing it and entering it into my portfolio for my senior project.

Two Days Left!

Tomorrow and Friday of semester exams, and then it is OFFICIALLY summer! Speaking of which, I should probably be studying...

Anyway, here's another assignment from this year. Our goal was to create a balance of organic and geometric design into our piece. Naturally (what with me being obsessed with the human body), I used the heart and incorporated geometric shapes and patterns into the piece. I used pen, sharpie, and watercolor for this piece. Honestly, I'm not too proud of this one, but this being the fifth attempt, I was so ready to give up on the assignment. And now, I really need to study.

Out of nothing comes nothing...

One of my favorite quotes by William Graham Sumner. I've been busy doing absolutely nothing, so I thought I'd post some more of my work.

This is an observational drawing that I worked on earlier this year. The assignment was to draw the still life set up in the room, and incorporate us rambling on about how much we hate observational work. I had so much fun with this one.
My idea was to take the cow skull in the still life and turn it into a "person" getting sucked into the still life. So, basically, having conceptual work being swallowed up into observational work. I used pen and prisma color markers on toned paper.
Even though I wasn't planning on entering this one, it won 2nd place in Pen/Ink/Scratchboard Realistic at this years AYAA. I kind of threw it in last minute (literally, while I was at the competition) because I couldn't find the piece I wanted to enter. I'm glad I did, though!

Graduation

No, not mine, my little sister's. Tomorrow night is the big ceremony (oh god, I'm gonna be kidnapped and experimented on; they think I'm from another planet). So, she'll be joining me at my high school next year (nooooooooooo-). ... I honestly can't think of anything else to write (it's been a LONG day), so here's another piece.

One of my assignments earlier this year, a hallway drawing, with something unexpected thrown into it. Despite our school being built like a prison, the few rays of light that manage to get inside provide for a wonderful environment of stark contrast between light and dark. So, I drew near the cafeteria, and had a tree break through one of the columns. I used black and white conte on brown toned paper (my first time ever using conte, and thus, discovering my love for it).

Just a closeup of part of it. I'm rather proud of this piece (seeing as I hate observational drawings with a burning passion), and it actually won 4th place in its category at AYAA this year.

Well, I am keeping my fingers crossed for some potentially amazing opportunities to happen (I'll explain later if it actually happens), so I've been trying to keep myself occupied (mostly working on jewelry) rather then having a panic attack from the excitement. I'm trying to find the motivation to start studying for my semester exams (gee, I wonder how that'll work out), fretting over every time my dad makes me test out my new driving permit (no crashes yet!), and dealing with everday life one step at a time. Geez, I sound like some sappy motivational speaker... oh well.

Old Stuff...

Okay, so I'm gathering up my pieces from school so I may hoard them in my room over the summer (unfortunately, the art department is known for eating works). Therefore, I will post them up here so you lovelies can see them. :)

Here is an architectural rendering I made last year in Advertising Design 1. I somehow lost the file, so I only have the printed version that was entered into AYAA that year. It was my middle school here in Arkansas (yes, I've been to several, as most of you know); it was a small Catholic school with a pretty little church. My mom drove me out there so I could take of picture of the courtyard, where our proud statue of St. Patrick still stands. This was made in Adobe Illustrator, and was one of my favorite assignments.

Here is a closeup of the statue. I really simplified the picture (you don't expect me to draw every detail, do you!?), but I like how it turned out (especially the crazy lines I used for the stained glass windows).

I'll post one picture each time I update, so you guys can see some of my works from this year (apparently I am an art ninja, since you guys never get to see my pieces).

Eggsactly!

For those of you who did not get to see my egg for Eggsibition this year, here are a few pictures. My idea was "Word Vomit," using a play on the word "egg."
Here is the base for the egg. I mixed brown, orange, and green paint and splattered it on the base to give a vomit effect. ...I had way too much fun with that part...

Here is another angle of the base. As you can see, I painted the words over the vomit. And yes, I thoroughly enjoyed the egg puns.


Here is the actual egg. Every member of the auction is given a plaster egg for a base. I carved into the plaster to create the mouth (including the teeth, which took forever), and used air dry clay for the lips and nose. I then painted the egg, and brushed red chalk onto the cheeks to give it a blush effect. As you can see, the egg is "drooling" the egg puns from the side of it's mouth. I had so much fun making this, and I thank my art teachers for giving me the opportunity and helping me every step of the way.

Just another angle of my baby. I'm so sorry that the pictures are blurry, I was in a huge rush that morning. I was not able to attend the actual event, as I was checking out a college in another state, so I do not have a professional picture of my egg. However, I heard the auction was a success, and that my egg supposedly sold for one hundred dollars. All of the benefits went to a charity for a youth home, so it was for a good cause.

Facelift!

Yeah... my website... it was looking a little saggy, so it had a minor operation. Think of it as a nosejob.

Check out the "after" -----> http://acaciatreedesigns.webs.com

YAA

Well, the gallery showing was lovely, and I was quite proud to be one of the only two from my school to have been chosen for this honor. If you're interested, here are pictures of my piece:

Here is me next to my piece.



And here is a closeup of my work. It is called "Runaways," and it is a social commentary on runaway adolescents. I used wall compound on canvas, then sprayed it with a textured spray paint to make it look like stone, and watercolored the shadows and an alleyway scene. I was really going for a grunge look, and I spent a few hours looking up scenes of alleyways and focusing on textures, such as the exposed brick in this piece. I must say, it was a blast making, and it really allowed me to try new techniques. I think this is one of my favorite pieces I've made.

Etsy Account

http://www.etsy.com/shop/AcaciaTreeDesigns

So yeah, it'll be much easier to buy from me now.

I've been really busy with school lately. AP Exams and Semester Exams are coming up, but I'm trying to not freak out too much about them. I'm attempting to catch up in my art classes; I got a little behind. Other than that, everything's going great.

Lots of stuff

So, AYAA was a success! Three of my pieces won: 2nd place for a pen and ink realistic, 3rd place for my sketchbook, and 4th place for a conte realistic piece. I'll post the pieces eventually. Also, my YAA piece will be showing at a gallery later this month. And, I was accepted into AGS this summer, so I'm excited about that. Things are looking up for me, and I hope that continues.

Houston, we have a problem...

So, I royally screwed my computer... I managed to get a Trojan virus (viruses?) on my laptop and it won't even let me log in. My dad tried to fix it and he said it's fried... lurvely...

... So, I'll try to post pictures... eventually, once I get a chance to on one of our other computers. My Adobe pack was on that laptop...

On a lighter note... one of my pieces was chosen for the YAA competition, so it will be featured at a gallery with all the other pieces that were chosen in the district, and if I place, it will tour the state! A marker piece was an honorable mention my freshman year, so it did tour the state, but I hope to actually place this year.

Ugh, stress... I don't even have all my pieces chosen for the AYAA competition, which is in two weeks.

Tuesday

I wanted to post something profound... but I forgot what I was going to say...

...So, I'll just post more of my old artwork.

These pieces are from 2008-2009(?) during my sophomore year. These are all pen and sharpie (I still hadn't drifted too far out of my comfort zone yet), and when I realized my love of bold lines and tattoo-inspired art.

I've tossed around the idea of becoming a tattoo artist when I'm older, possibly as a part time job. Now, if only my parents would let me get one...

I have always loved Eastern cultures, and their aspects have always influenced my work. This was a simplified version of a lucky cat I got from the state fair several years ago.

Oh, and if you're wondering why I'm not posting anything from my freshman year, it's because I am so ashamed of those works that I refuse to allow any of you to see them. So, ha. :)

President's Day

So, even though we had school, I had a pretty good day. I got checked out early to go to the dentist (woopdeedoo). Turns out, my jaw muscles are pretty bad because I grind my teeth at night... and I'm addicted to gum. If it doesn't get better soon, I'm going to be prescribed muscle relaxants so I can get some decent sleep. Honestly, I'm amazed my body hasn't fallen apart by now.

In other news, I'm scrambling around, trying to get a bunch of artwork done for upcoming competitions. I have one this weekend, another sometime this month, and an AYAA competition eventually... I don't think the teachers even know when it is. UGH, PRESSURE. Oh well, at least I'm not sitting on my ass as much. For now...

And now, for your entertainment/shits and giggles, more of my art from 2007. Around the same time as the other Chiodos picture, and yes, the same mediums. I hadn't dove into the world of mediums until my freshman year. Ugh, once I'm done posting my old crap, I'll post some of my recent work from my new sketchbook... which I am still ecstatic over receiving...

So, yeah... time to spend the rest of my evening on the interwebs.

New Jewelry Website!

Well, I've finally finished my jewelry website where you can buy hand-made necklaces from me. I'm quite excited, and for now, I'll keep my business within my school. Once I save up enough money to actually buy a domain, then I'll take commissions outside of my school.

You can view my website here: http://acaciatreedesigns.webs.com/

Since my website is free for now, they only gave me a limited number of pages, so I had to delete the small gallery I had... so I'll post them here! And to maximize my post amount, I'll enter one each time I post.

So, some traditional work from 2007, in the summer before my freshman year. Sheesh... I'm glad I've improved. And yes... I was obsessed with Chiodos and sharpies... Anyway, this picture was inspired by their album All's Well That Ends Well. This took approximately six hours... since I was too anti-social to go down and hang out with my family while my sister and I were vacationing in California. I can't help it, I love them, but the size of my dad's side of the family can be pretty intimidating.

In other news, I'm still trying to get used to Arkansas's screwy weather. It's snowing one day and sunny the next. I'm just glad we got three snow days last week, and you know what I did? Absolutely nothing. It was friggin' fantastic. The bad news is, we have to go to school on President's Day, but there's supposed to be another storm coming, so maybe we'll get the day off anyway. It's snowing/raining right now, so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

P.S. Happy Valentine's Day!