Eureka, duh!

          Recently, I was reading an interview with a musician I admire, and I thought to myself about how interviewers (I feel) in general don’t ask any of the questions I want to hear. I don’t want to hear any namedropping, I don’t want to hear about where they got their band name from, the movement they used to spearhead (other than it’s comparative nature and context), or who they are dating, or about how they’re feeling about the big music fest coming up, etc.

          In this moment of deep thought, I realized that popular music is also an art by it’s base definition, it occurred to me (duh) that musicians, whether you are talking about Fred Durst, 2 Live Crew, Haydn, Madlib, Ani Difranco, or The Flaming Lips, Django or a John Doe studio Ghost Writer, they are ALL capital 'A'rtists just like me. Yet another arm of creative production. There are some similarities between these different categories to a visual artist in many ways. Not in the work they produce, or in the specific creative process that creating work requires in order to produce an actual product, whether thats a painting or a song. For a musician to get to the point of recording in a studio, or for an artist to put a painting up on a wall, or for a comic strip to be published in the Saturday paper there is a whole behind the scene process that must take place. Under this umbrella of creativity, we are all part of the same Creative family.

           I am admittedly guilty of not giving many musicians due credit because of the way media and the music industry handles, treats, and presents their musicians to the public. Because of the way we look at musicians and fame in general. I think the music industry is a bogus extension of the capitalist machine. Is the Art World any better? Asking these question made me realized the inherent contradiction at hand that I was perpetuating. For whatever reason, I realized that the path of Artists, whether you are a Musician, Writer, Singer, or a dancer, etc. it ALL falls under the same category. We are all related, part of one machine that marches to the same beat that effects the senses and the brain, as well as the heart. And behind all of that, finally is PROCESS PROCESS PROCESS.

'The Only Food Group That Counts', Gouache on paper, 2013

            In minding my newly discover epiphany, I realized I have been cheating you readers, by presenting a one dimensional version of what I do in my process, I was showing you all an elitist vision of the creative process by only showing you the product. And so I promised myself I would write at the very least, ONE post that really got the due attention that all posts deserve. In general, my time has always been pretty stretched thin, especially when I was in Grad School, and writing a thorough post has never been at the top of my list of priorities due to circumstances beyond my control.

            But, generally, this blog has been comprised of mostly visual elements with occasional statements made here and there regarding my art-making or the work I do as an Art Educator. I now am, when able, going to make a concerted effort to communicate better with you dear readers, about the things I truly care about and am interested in as artist whenever priorities shift and time is allowed. The details between the lines if you will. Let’s make a pinky swear on it.

With that said, here are my main topics of interest (as an artist) to consider when interviewing ALL types of Artists:

• ·               Process (every aspect!!)
• ·               Technique
• ·               Interpretation
• ·               Context
• ·               Theoretical & Critical Analysis
• ·               Innovation
• ·               Distribution

I know it's been a minute. It's been awhile in fact. I'd say, a good five minutes, at the least. But, never fear, dear Bloggers, new work is coming soon! A new site also! In the meantime, here are some studio shots. Theses are all works in progress y"all. Enjoy!

 

sketchbook shot

Final set of 'Best Of 's', for now...

So, it's becoming clear to me now that the consistency of posts is just not, well, consistent. Will I keep on? What kind of a question is that?!! Of course!! One must keep doing their work! If anything, it represents just how truly hectic the lifestyle of a true player, such of myself, is! Straight mackin', teaching that art and producing that art, yo.

In other news, here are some final works by students I thought were just BOSS!. Sharing them here with you now.

Advice from cartoonist Bill Watterson

 I can't help but not post a link to a poetic, and visually stunning piece of advice from Calvin & Hobbes Creator; Cartoonist Bill Watterson.

                                               link:       Advice from Bill Watterson

This weeks BEST OFS

Educating the Kids on Australia

So this week's theme is AUSTRALIA. Our first project is exploring the ancient aborigine cave art that is found throughout Australia. 

I always, if I have the time, try to make a few examples of the activity to One: make sure the project works, and Two: Give students a springboard to generate ideas. 

There are almost every time, at least two students who just copy your work. This is, of course, not ideal...but nevertheless the Copying process can be beneficial also, so I usually just let it go. Not to mention, that that's how humans learn cognitively. I also, initially taught myself how to draw by copying comics. It isn't easy to generate original ideas when you are young, not enough life experiences yet. Once a person knows who they are, once some personal stories have been accumulated, original content comes a lot easier. 

I also almost always try to include an example that references current kid pop culture. Here is a drawing from the 'Aboriginal Dot Painting' activity we will be doing this week, featuring Perry the Platypus from 'Phineas and Ferb'.

Post Lesson Assessment: The kids freaked out when they saw Perry.

The very first 'BEST OFS' entry!

If you've been following along you probably know by now that part of reason the posts slowed down in posts the last two years or so have been mostly due to my pursuit of a career in A being not only an artist, but also a certified K-8 Art Teacher, gotta pay the bills (and now student loans) don't you know? With this in mind, I'll be transitioning the blog to cover not only my own art work, but also some of my experiences in the classroom and some student work.

With that said, I'm starting a new category of posts titled 'Best Of's' and it will feature strictly the work of students. Here is the very first batch!

 

Art projects for kids!

Working with kids is a really great and rewarding, but funny thing. When ever I am designing a project for kids, I try to make a prototype. There are visual thinkers, auditory thinkers, and spacial thinkers. With that being said, I try to make a model of the project, show how it was made, and talk about it as I demonstrate the methods I employed to make the piece.  

This summer, I'll be working as an Art Instructor as I previously mentioned, at Smith College up in Amherst, Massachusetts. This is one of the projects we will be working on. As always, this project was a joy to create, but for kids whose motor skills are not quite developed, there can be a lot of frustration involved. 

There are many steps involved in the process, but nothing too complicated. The most difficulty should arise out of kids hands just not quite doing what they want them to, and generating ideas. Kids often have trouble grasping that their frustrations are a matter of their motor skills being underdeveloped, and take their difficulties as a failure on their part, and tears can sometimes be a issue. But, worry not kids, these sort of things will be a breeze as you mature into your grown up hands, hearts, and minds. Engage and persist.

I'm apologizing again...

So the website is under construction hence the long delay. Expect new updates soon! I can't wait, I'm like a kid on Christmas Eve!

In other news: As I prepare for my summer job as the Art Instructor at Oasis Camp located in Northampton, MA, I am busy making signs and trying out projects for my curriculum. Here is my go at the Antarctica Collage assignment.

Life Drawing @ The Book Club in London.

Pretty rad.

VINTAGE documentary shorts about ANIMATION!

This is a must watch for any Fleischer Animation Studio fans, animation geeks, or Popeye fans!

I've always loved old documentaries from the 1930s and 1940s. Wether you are talking about war effort propaganda or news reels, there is an aesthetic quality to the films from those eras that I find very appealing. For example, the stoic narration is just consistently awesome in most documentaries coming from those eras. The cameras shots are wide and epic, and the edits are not too overwhelming, nor do they happen too quickly, even the credits of film are shown much respect and care. The result is often more times than not, quite beautiful, and this one is no exception. So coupled with the fact that its about the process of animation and stars Fleischer studios and also has this awesome 1930/1940's aesthetic quality going, I was in geek out heaven upon discovering this gem.

In my childhood I loved watching cartoons and I was pretty lucky to grow up in the 1970s and 1980s when cartoons  just were at their height both in popularity and awesomeness! Other than the amazing Saturday morning fare of Thundercats, He-Man, Dungeons & Dragons, Gummi Bears, Looney Tunes, Voltron, Tom & Jerry, Topcat (the list just goes on and on), these Tex Avery satirical documentaries totally made an indelible impression on me. They're just so funny, creative, and awesome. I just loved the humor that they found in future totalitarian designs. Here's a fine sample of what I'm talking about...

Here is another...

New Work!

Hello dear readers. I have some new work for y"all to take a gander at. I am posting the process of creating this one Rosannadanna piece (alias Gilda Radner) in steps here now for your viewing pleasure. The other good news is that I have been on a total comic making high as of late, so you should definitely be on the lookout for new postings.