Week 1, February 3rd. Learn about the art room

1. I was sick this week and was only in class on the first day. On the first day I learned the names of everyone and where things are found in the classroom.
2. My goal for next week is to finish the research part of the artist investigation assignment.

 

Week 2, February 7th. Skill builders

1. This week I finished the research portion of the artist investigation assignment. I found some really cool artists and learned about the elements and principles of art that are portrayed in their pieces. I also did a still-life sketch of my water bottle.
2. I did not do a whole ton of art this week since it was mostly research. I feel good about the research that I completed and am pretty happy with my still-life drawing since I tend to avoid drawing as much as possible.
3. This week I was exhausted because I am still getting over being sick so I think my research took a little longer than it needed to.
4. My goal for next week is to finish the artist investigation assignment. I still need to make my wire apple inspired by Sara Cwynar’s art. (I added a photo above)

 

Week 3, February 14th. Artist Investigation assignment

1. This week I finished my artist investigation assignment. I attempted to make an apple out of wire to try something new but wasn’t happy with how it was going. With the timeline that I had, I changed ideas and made a collage instead.
2. This week wasn’t great for numerous reasons but I don’t think it really affected my work.
3. I’m happy that I decided to switch from a wire sculpture to a collage since I think wire was a little too stressful. My apple didn’t turn out exactly how I wanted but I’m happy with it.
4. My goal for next week is to finish my artist philosophy and start the next assignment.

 

Artist Philosophy assignment

 

Week 4, February 21st. Soap carving

1. This week I started and almost finished my soap carving.
2. This week we didn’t have school on Monday, I missed Wednesday and then I also missed Friday because I was sick so I didn’t have a lot of time to work on my soap carving.
3. The carving was a little difficult but I think that it is going well.
4. My goal for next week is to finish my soap carving and start the research/planning of my actual soap stone carving.

 

Soap carving assignment

 

Soap stone carving – research and ideation

 

Week 5, February 28th. Soap stone carving assignment

1. This week I finished carving my soap and I started researching and planning for my soap stone carving. I found multiple sculptures from British Columbia and made some ideas and a concept sketch of a fish.
2. I honestly think I did a fair amount of work this week and nothing really affected my work.
3. My goal for next week is to finish my soap stone sculpture.

 

Week 6, March 7th. Soapstone carving assignment

1. This week I continued working on carving my soap stone. I got to saw off all the big chunks that I didn’t need and started defining the overall shape of my fish.
2. I missed a couple days this week because I was sick but my work went well once I got back to school.
3. My goal for next week is to finish my soap stone sculpture but I think it might not end up happening until the week after.

 

Week7, March 14th. Soapstone carving assignment

1. This week I finished carving my soapstone fish and started sanding it. I will still need to sand with some finer grit sandpaper when we get back from the break and then oil it. I also found my group for the next project and decided on a theme for our coil pots together.
2. I think that I got a lot done this week and overall nothing affected my work.
3. My goal for after the break is to be properly finish my fish.

 

Soapstone artist statement

 

Week 8, April 3rd. Soapstone and coil pot planning

1. This week I sanded and oiled my soapstone and wrote the artist statement (the document above). I’m happy that the project is now done because it seemed like I had been working on it for months. I also made the concept sketch for my coil pot collaboration.
2. Nothing really affected my work this week. I feel like I got a lot done this week.
3. My goal for next week is to make decent progress on my coil pot.

 

Coil pot planning:

Theme – ocean life

Sasha – barnacles, Miranda – coral, Avery – seaweed

My coil pot is going to have a smooth bottom to resemble a rock and then barnacles will be attached to that. The barnacles will be detailed and be the positive space and the background will be more simple to be the negative space. The coil pot will start on top of the rock and it will have many spirals and curves to mimic the waves of the ocean and use line.

Inspiration:

      

 

Week 9, April 17th. Coil pot clay building

1. This week I made a lot of progress on my coil pot and finished the entire building process. I started with a pinch-pot then added a few coils on top and then some swirly bits at the very top to look like waves. On the smooth part I added barnacles on half and then randomly decided to add 2 starfishes. I’m really happy with how it came out 🙂
2. Next week I will be in France but my goal for the week after is to bisque fire, underglaze and glaze my pot.

 

Week 10, April 24th?. In France and not at school

1. This week I was in France and got to see tons of cool architecture and art. We went to the musée d’Orsay which is built in an old train station and I got to see lots of gorgeous sculptures. We also went to multiple cathedrals which have gorgeous stained glass windows and even regular buildings have extra details in the doors and windows. Here are some photos:

 

 

Week 11, May 2nd. Coil vessel and inquiry project

1. When I got back to school on Monday, my coil pot had a very large crack in the bottom of it so I spent a little bit trying to fix that. After a couple days of adding slip and letting it dry, the crack seemed to be gone so I underglazed my pot and put it on the rack to be bisque fired. I also made a few sketches of ideas for my inquiry project and started drawing and carving my first linoprint. I will be carving multiple small nature themed linocuts and then printing them on layered backgrounds.
2. I was pretty exhausted and jet lagged when I got back to school on Monday but by the end of the week I had gotten back into the swing of things.
3. My goal for next week is to finish 3 linoprints and possibly clear glaze my coil pot if the bisque fire is done.

 

Inquiry project planning:

For my inquiry project, I will be making around 5 nature themed linoprints. I made a bunch of small sketches as possibilities and I am going to start with the flower stamp in the middle. After I have all the linocuts, I plan to print them on off-white paper that I will rip the sides of and glue that onto textured canvases. The canvases will be textured to look like moss, trees or water depending on which linoprint will be on top (eg: wood texture for the snail) and then I plan to layer them like this plywood wall art in the photo below. I think that my biggest struggle will be finishing the project as it it a lot to do and I have a short timeframe before school is done.

                   

 

Week 12, May 9th. Coil vessel and inquiry project

1. This week in art I spent 2 days on the wheel to practice centering and making small bowls. I’m not a huge fan of the wheel and struggled a little bit until I used a lot less clay. I also made some clay beads to make a present for my friends birthday and will hopefully fire them soon. Lastly, I made 2 linoprints to start my inquiry project, one snail and one stamp with flowers in it. My coil pot is still on the rack to be bisque fired for a second time since I added some more underglaze.
2. Nothing really affected my work this week.
3. My goal for next week is to glaze my coil pot and make 2 more linoprints.

 

 

Week 13, May 16th. Inquiry project and stamp

1. This week in art I printed my 3D stamp and and started sketching the design for another linoprint. I also hand-built a plate for hummus and naan as a small fun project. It was based on a video I saw on Instagram of a woman who made a plate for sardines.
2. The only thing that affected my work this week is the fact that bisque-fire still hasn’t been done. I can’t finish my coil pot, plate or clay beads until a bisque-fire is done.
3. My goal for next week is to finish another linoprint and hopefully have a bisque-fire done.

    

 

 

Week 14, May 23rd. Artists Critique

1. Elements and principles that did or didn’t work and why?

This piece of art is called “Wendigo” and it is by Hannah Regio. I really like the use of line that the viewer can see in the background of the piece. The use of texture is also really nicely shown in the grass as I feel like I could touch it.

2. What meaning/statement was the artist making?

I think that the artist is making a statement about the portrayal of the Wendigo as bad. In Indigenous storytelling the Wendigo is commonly seen as an evil spirit however in this piece of art we can see that the human is holding hands with the Wendigo. The helicopter in the background could also be seen as someone looking for the Wendigo to trap it, or someone looking for a missing boy that the Wendigo is taking care of. Either way, the Wendigo is seen as a friendly creature in the piece of art.

3. How did the art impact me?

I really enjoyed looking at this art and trying to depict what it is trying to say. I have learned a lot about the Wendigo and seen lots of art pieces with it, however I have never seen it portrayed in a positive way.

 

Week 16, May 30th. Clay beads, coil vessel, textured square

1. This week in art I glazed my clay beads and made the necklace that I had planned. I put way too much glaze on the beads so lots of them stuck to the metal wire and I had to break them off with a hammer. I salvaged a few and I’m really happy with the finished product. My coil vessel came out of the kiln and I also added too much glaze to it, so it looks a little foggy. I also made a textured square for deafblind awareness month. I knew how to crochet in middle school and re-taught myself to make a flower and a small square.
2. Nothing really affected my work this week but I did have a lot to do.
3. My goal for next week is to make the canvases for my inquiry project.

            

Coil vessel artist statement

 

Wheel vessel planning

           

 

Week 17, June 6th. Coil vessels and inquiry project

1. This week I did threw some clay on the wheel for the coil vessel assignment. I made 3 small bowls however when trimming them, I made the base of one too thin and it cracked while it was drying. The other 2 turned out nice so I put them on the rack to be bisque fired. I also made a moth linoprint for my inquiry project and have 1 more linoprint left to make.
2. I struggled a little bit with motivation this week as I still have a lot left to do before the end of the year. When there is too much to do, I get overwhelmed and then get nothing done.
3. Mr. Rossington is going to cut the pieces of wood for my inquiry project over the weekend so my goal is to make one more linoprint and finish the backgrounds for them.

   

 

Week 18, June 13th. Coil vessel project, inquiry project

1. This week in art I glazed my coil vessels so that project is now done. I also made significant progress on my inquiry project. Mr. Rossington cut out all the pieces of wood so I painted them, printed all the linoprints on paper and then I actually finished 1 of 4 of them. I’m really happy with how the fake moss turned out and I think it looks pretty realistic.
2. Nothing affected my work this week, I’m happy with the amount of work I did.
3. My goal for next week is to write the artist statement and take the photos for the coil vessel project. And finish the other 3 parts of my inquiry project!!

 

 

Coil vessel documentation:

 

Core competency reflection:

Creative thinking core competency – Creating and innovating

This year, during studio art 3D I practiced a lot of different mediums and learned how to create meaningful pieces using them. I also did a lot of planning before starting each project which is not something I usually did before.