Printmaker, I Am.

Remember last post when I said that I was going to upload prints from the various stages? Well, I'm finished, and here they are! (I forgot to take pictures of the in between plate stages, just of the proofs. The final one is the one that is all cut to straight edges and the like.

All of this edition! 5 in progress proofs and the final print.

The second proof(set), a subtractive and additive approach on top of the first plate. Printed this stage twice for some reason.

Third Proof, used some sandpaper. It rocked.

Fourth proof,added text, and central thingy. Still not sure what it is.

Final Print. Cleaned up most of the previous things. Still have no idea what the thing in the center is.

Took an entire day in the print studio to do all of it, and to top it off, I missed a call which apparantly was my roommate telling me that our apartment had flooded. (Luckily nothing of mine was damaged) I have a small ritual where after every long print studio session (at least 8 hours) I go to Chipotle which opened near me. It's a bad ritual considering how much time I spend down there...

  Anyways, peace-out!

Till next time folks~

-Ben

Printer. Printmaker. Take Two.

So I just had my first day working in MICA's printing studio, and I must say, that I had a ton of fun. However, I can already tell that I'm going to be spending a ton of money for this class. @__@ WHY MUST PLATES COST SO MUCH?????

In case yo don't know, I'm taking an Intaglio Printmaking class this semester, and I'm really looking forward to it! (Now at least, I had mad butterflies last class because I am the youngest kid in the course)

MY VERY FIRST PRINT!!!! Well, proof, but STILL!!!!

Some kids in my class working up a storm. These are the other first time Intaglio kids.

These were some of the veterans who took the course for more experience and such. They are pretty rad people.

First print with its cooper plate. I have to do at least four more proofs with various stages before finalization of the finished print/plate. I'll load up the entire print/plate combo when I'm done (if I can remember)

Well, that is all for now!

Ta ta~!

-Ben

The Common Object (EMAC)

A shout out to people who aren't from MICA, I have a class called "Electronic Media and Culture" that requires me to blog certain things, which is what this post will be. I'll let you know in the title if the post if for class or not with "(EMAC)". Posts for class will tend to be more educational and critical based as opposed to artistically based. Well, allons-y~!

The Common Object.

 

And what is more mundane than a dish cloth? Not much really.

The exhibit is one of the most boring thing to see. Yes there are nice pieces, which will be elaborated on later, but given the over all nature of the show, there is little to no room for excitement. The gallery collection is based on the singular shared object, placed in the very center of the first show space, and you the viewer cannot interact with it in any way. Sure, the paintings are all done (for the most part) very nicely, but that's all they are, nice paintings. They are a dime a dozen and none of them offer a fresh perspective of the time honored still life. I concede that they are, for the most part, bright and airy paintings; a deviation from the standard dark gloomy still-lives of traditional museum pieces which places it a hair's breadth above the former. Regardless, still-lives are only still lives, and can only capture attention for so long; in my case, a few nanoseconds. Anther parallel/analogy I can draw from this exhibit is that these paintings are like cats. I like cats, therefore I like this show. However, once I leave the immediate presence of the show, I completely forget everything I saw because it is so ubiquitous and non-unique. Same goes for cats. I will find one on the streets, I might pet it, or I might walk right by it, and only take away that I passed a cat on the way to class.

There were two redeeming works that save this show from total boredom, which are shown below:

So this wins the title of most interesting piece in the show because there is a figure (fine, a portrait) interacting with the  common object. Also two different planes within the painting create a sense of unease or confusion because the viewer wants to imagine that the person is wearing the still life as a hat of sorts, while the perspective on the fruits shouts that it is lying on the floor at a different angle. This contrast creates the most interesting internal dialogue in the entire gallery. Sadly.

This painting earned its place as one of the most interesting pieces in the show because it refuses to show the towel unfurled and in a familiar setting. Instead the audience is given a rolled towel and seven mysterious boxes. Since the somewhat hard to recognize wash cloth is juxtaposed next to those boxes, the viewer initially doesn't realize why this piece belongs in the show. Only once you take the time to think about what the painting entails do you understand why it belongs in the gallery. Also, I like the random mystery boxes, they are nicely designed o give you no hints as to their function, and one just looks plain rad.

Well that is all for now!

Ta ta, see you next time!

-Ben

Pasel Adventure

NEW SEMESTER = NEW MATERIALS! 

At least for drawing. We are using pastels for the opening project, and what most important is that this means colour! No more simple graphite and charcoal studies, no more still lives, it's concept and illustration time!

The first project is three part assignment. Well, actually two, but I'm pulling a third one out because I got super motivated for it.

This is going to be a self portrait, lets hope I can finish it in time!

RED: the color of aggression and violence, being confronted by purple, the colour representing protection

On a side note, I finally got around to making breakfast for my roommates, a wonderful plate of BACON!!!!!! We ate it along side our cereal. (It also made our room smell fantastic)

Such sizzling goodness. MMMMMMMMMMM!

That's it for now!
Ta~

Small Time

So I've started a small piece right before I go back to MICA, hoping that I will finish it before I get back and am able to print it off and be done with it :D Here is the base of it.

I've always wanted to something with cowboys, I just never got around to it @__@ So here's to me starting one! Now let's see if I finish >.<

 Ta~

-Ben

::AN EDIT FOR SOME GOOD MEASURE::

so I've not slept; instead, I've been working on colors, some more lines, and browsing the internet. Here is another point on the path to completeness for this endeavor.

First of the New Year.

I resolve to update this more often with more art, that way when people want to see what I am doing, they can actually see recent work. I also resolve to try and remember to eat at least once a day, as well as bathe. I also resolve to move on from the things that saddened me in this past yer, and make room for new people in my life.

And to exemplify my first resolution, HERE WE GO!!!! With things from the end of my semester from drawing~!

Lady in Charcoal

Lady in Charcoal and Ink

Still Life in Charcoal, Ink, and Graphite

Old Man and a Skeleton in Charcoal, Ink, and Graphite

I really wish that I had taken more photos of my work while it was in progress, but that is a lesson learned for next semester! and hopefully I will have more work to show from it.

so long folks~!

-Ben