The Conceptual Project portrays creative risk-taking through the work that us students have been challenged to create. Our developing skills of using professional equipment including: DSLR Cameras, Tascam Audio Recorders, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere Pro, Avid Pro Tools, WordPress, and Google Apps have aided us in producing our individual artwork.
For me, the Conceptual Project was a start of a very long journey of creating art I am proud of. I learned so much from my three classes- Design, Digital Media, and English. They equipped me with the skills I used to produce the artwork in a very short amount of time, and I am very grateful for it.
Poems
In our English class, we were challenged to create poetry in many different forms- Haiku, Free Verse, and Ekphrastic. This is my free verse poem based on a concept statement I came up with- I am exploring the feeling of anxiety through the experience of having OCD as a child. I was able to bring my poem to life using Adobe Photoshop and Avid Protools.
The large blue audio clip is the introduction, poem itself, and intention statement. The smaller audio clips were sound effects added to give the poem a more dramatic and real effect. We learned to use the trimming, hand-grabbing, fading, and magnifying tools. As well as rendering our clips, adjusting the volume throughout, and panning the audio which were done in the gray boxes on the left of the clips.
In order to create this photo I used many layers and an artboard to add the text and edit the photo itself. I used the pen tool, hue, saturation, and brightness/contrast to change the color of the flower petals from pink to purple, while still keeping the rest of the colors in the photo the same.
Photo Haiku
Our English poetry unit began with the Photo Haiku. We were challenged to create an enticing poem incorporating the use of metaphors, kigo (seasonal reference), kireji (cutting word), and relevant punctuation. This haiku was based on a concept statement we picked out randomly in class. After, we attached a photo that was metaphorically related to the poem or concept statement itself without using any cliches. My concept statement was- I am exploring the feeling of uncertainty through the experience of meditation.
This Project combined the use of our DSLR Cameras, Tascam Audio Recorders, Adobe Premiere Pro, and newly obtained poetry skills. I learned some Premiere Pro basics including keyframing, ins and outs, and attaching audio and photo together to create a video. This project made me realize that I had almost full creative control since I was equipped with the skills and tools to create an original piece of art. This made me think deeper about my work and what I could create.
Elements & Principles of Art
In our Digital Media class, we were asked to find 3 pictures of each modern art, traditional art, and photography for all 13 elements and principles of design.
Conceptual Photo
The Conceptual Photo was a project we worked on in our Design Class. We were challenged to capture a meaningful photo and create an artist statement based on the concept statement we used for our free verse poem in English that may have been refined in Design. My concept statement was: I am exploring the feeling of forgetfulness through the experience of having OCD.
Artist Statement
The two objects I used were keys and a shoe. I attached the keyring to the shoelace because it shows that forgetfulness and having OCD are tied together, but it doesn’t belong together since keys are not typically kept with shoes. To demonstrate tapping of the shoe, I conveyed motion. I did this by adjusting the shutter speed to be very low and I moved the camera slightly as I was taking the photo. The shoe is on a wooden floor because when a shoe is tapping on wood, you get a louder sound. I kept the shoe closer to the camera and angled it sideways because it’s easiest to see the motion while still being able to distinguish the objects being presented. I took the photo during daylight so I could still have nice lighting indoors. However, the lighting still came out looking artificial, so I adjusted it in Photoshop to fit the theme more. I wanted it to look slightly darker and more eerie to give a sense of struggle to the photo. The keys represent the feeling of forgetfulness, and the shoe represents having OCD. Keys are something we often misplace or forget to get before leaving. The shoe represents having OCD because, in my own experience of having it as a child, tapping my foot would help me cope with my compulsions. It gave me something to do to distract me from my thoughts when I was overwhelmed. I started my Photoshop process with adjusting the image size and resolution to fit the standards given. I then added a curves layer to make the shadows and highlights more distinct. I did not like the color of the photo, so I adjusted the saturation and hue to be darker and more red. After, I merged my layers and added a vignette (something new I learned in Photoshop).
Alphabet Name Photo
In this project, we were asked to find the letters of our names outside- hidden in plants, the ground, the sky, wherever we could find it. We learned to see instead of look which guided us to change our perspective in order to take better photos.
This was one of our first projects using Adobe Photoshop, so I learned many new skills. I started off by editing each individual photo to my liking and then I put them all together on a separate artboard so it would spell out my name in order.
Elements of Art Photo Collage
For this project, we were challenged to take photos that represent the 7 different elements of art and then edit them. I then put all of them on an artboard, put strokes around the photos and artboard, added captions using fonts and the type tool, and arranged them in a clean order. I learned to implement the four basic principles of graphic design: Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity in order to give me a more clean look.
I have really enjoyed Design so far and have learned so much. I feel like I really understand the work it takes to create a well-designed piece of work and can appreciate things more. It has only been a few months and I have already learned the ins and outs of Adobe Photoshop and feel very comfortable using it. The work we produced took a lot of effort and thinking creatively and I feel very proud of what I have created. I am extremely excited to see what is to come and the work I can create in this class!