More Progress

I've been playing with coloring ideas and pattern overlays in Photoshop. I used my photos of graffiti for the patterns in these but I'm hoping to make my own graffiti pattern over this next week.

More monotypes and drawings!

I monotyped over the drawing of my friend which I posted last week.

I got a few place mats from Ann Arbor PTO and have used them to produce textiles in my monotypes. I even used the place mat as a relief plate. I was just experimenting my results were exciting! Wooo! That's a first in the print studio...

This is the placemat - the color dried out to a more marigold color. It was originally an "Easy Mac" orange.

A traced over a tracing to get simplified line work. This is an additive rainbow rolled monotype over the placemat printed as a relief. I want to produce works like this because they seem more of my "personality".

This is another additive monotype. This the background is the monotyping from the placemat that blocked out the rest of the ink. The registration is off... woops.

This is a subtratice monotype. Basically, I just took the ink remaining on the mylar plate from the additive monotype and rolled it through the press.
Ciaoo

Studio Progress

Cutting and piecing have been my main tasks for IP lately, since I'm working on constructing the squares for the quilt. I made separate patterns for each color in order to make the squares as precise as possible. Here's what each color piece looks like after I cut it out.

Here's what they look like sewn together to make the square. Now I just have to make a million more! Well, not a million. But a lot.

Progress

Here's some progress I made before break. I will post pictures of the progress I've made since later. Currently I have 3 blocks done. Here's 2 key blocks finished. The larger one with the lamp I'm not completely sure if I'm keeping. I also have decided to do less woodblocks.

changes for the good

Over the break, I made a slight change to the direction of the zine I'm currently working on. I wanted to make it a little more desirable to read/look at, because sometimes reality is about as crazy as you can get. So, inspired by the last page I planned on using (the one about all those bengal tigers getting shot by the police in Ohio- boo), I have changed the focus to images of real animal attacks. This first one is of Charla Nash, and will be getting a type treatment soon. Its a pretty easy transition as I can use and repurpose most of what I've been doing. I'm using some 'historic' attacks as well as some new ones, like Humphrey the hippo killing his 'owner' Marius Els in South Africa earlier this month.

New Progress

Since I figured out that my first inflatable shape will be a pyramid, I needed to figure out how many yards of fabric I will need to purchase. Below is the number of yards I will need along with the cubic square feet inside the pyramid that will need to filled with are in order for the shape to properly inflate.


I have also recieved samples from various online fabric stores. I wanted to look at samples before I purchased a large quanity. I have also spoken with several fabric companies and fabric printing/dying material companies and asked for donations. The most helpful places have been the Online Fabric Store and Fabric Mart Fabrics. Both companies have offered to help finance my project and donate fabric. I have sent them my project proposals and they informed me that they will get back to me within the next week about what fabric they can offer me. Since this opportunity would greatly help finance my project, I am waiting at least another week before I purchase fabric myself and start printing. Sketchbook:
These are a few sketches of the shapes I will be making. I plan to make a model of my entire installation for my IP review.

Front of pyramid:

2 sides of pyramid:
Other side of pyramid that relates to the psychology of dreams. I will use a photo screen for the text. This particular quote is from psychologist C.G. Jung who studied dreams for several years. The quote reads: "In sleep, fantasy takes the form of dreams. But in waking life, too, we continue to dream beneath the threshold of consciousness, especially when under the influence of repressed or other unconscious complexes."


This is the helicopter propeller shape that I had previously been working on.

For the pyramid shape I have also decided to purchase a fan that will point up so that it will properly inflate into the correct shape. I was concerned that if I created an external air vent for the fan, that the air would blow direction to one particular side of the shape. This way, I know that the point at the top of the pyramid will hold shape. This will also aesthetically look better because the inflation mechanism will be internal.

Video Editing Update

Editing is going well, here are a few stills from the video as of now:

Nov 27th

Making Animating Handles...

Nov 20 & 27th Update

Sorry in advance for blogging about 2 wks at once but I was in India last sunday and didn't have a chance to blog post last week.

The past two weeks have been very eventful. I re-made a new mold and did the second pour. It was much more of a success. I pulled apart my mold. Grinded down the concrete. Re-polyurethaned my wood. Filled in the patches in my concrete. Epoxied two concrete pieces together which broke during the process of opening up my mold. Ideally my table should be done early this week.

I also sanded down my side table. Oiled that and poured in epoxy where the plant resevoir should be.

preparation for epoxy pour

concrete pour success (pre grinding the edges)

new mold image

Studio Update

This is the new sketch I have done to demonstrate how the two layers of the lighting fixtures will come together. As you can see, the inner layer has the vinyl printed imagery on the plexiglass surface. The structure is being held together by metal poling and bolts. The light blue layer represents the textured, printed outer layer.The outer layer will be printed and take the form of the model beneath this. By applying heat in the molds, the synthetic materials will remain in the same shape after release from the mold. Because they create a rounded surface, it will be easy to sew the pieces together and apply them onto the metal using carpet glue. This is the pattern I have created for the outer layer of the first piece. It will be printed in a light color on white polyester lining and then morphed into the shape above. After being attached it will look as if it is just a magic fabric sphere until the light within is turned on.

This pattern is intended to mock and relate to the inner layer's gravel/ cement texture. This layer will end up being less dominant when the lighting fixture is ignited. By keeping the lines thin and light, it will allow the light from within the first layer show through without a problem.

Studio Update

Over the past few weeks, I have struggled to find the best materials to make my vision come to fruition. The first goal in the completion of my first piece is to situate the materials on the inner level of the lamp.

The inner layer will now be plexiglass held together by metal poling with my imagery printed on. I have decided to have my stencil cutting re-cut onto vinyl and then applied to the plexiglass. The image I have finished cutting is the following:

I have spent a great deal of time in finding the best way to utilize the metal in my piece. I have purchased metal poling that will be used as follows:

One of the biggest issues I am facing is how best to bend the metal pole I have purchased. Due to the accident in the past week in the metals studio, the machine I am interested in using is out of commission. I am currently looking for other ways to alter this into a circle so it can be welded together.

studio progress

drawings for six paintings

Video Editing Update

Here are some stills from my current editing:

A short video sample can be found here

Sunday progress

I finalized the story now I just have to finish up 3 more pages and lay down the color

Walruses don’t normally drink alcohol see,           

Someone forgot to tell Julius Lamahmpee.

He developed this habit at a very young age,

For Walruses everywhere he set a new gage.

When he drinks to much he makes an ass of himself

Bourbon makes him angrier than a drunk little elf

The more rum he drinks the creeper he becomes

He has two restraining orders with miss Williams.

Get some vodka in him, he’ll cry like a baby.

Most people think he is a bit more than crazy.

No one likes Julius when he begins to drink,

No one likes him at all, he has no one to clink.

Nov 20th Update- Teresa Dennis

Reaper pretty much finished, next step to flesh other characters and then rig

ip visioning

Alrighty, so posting has been slowed due to my laptop being on the fritz and the past week flying by too quickly. This week I decided to take a step back and take on my publication as a 'larger picture', which means instead of developing each spread individually, I draw ridiculous amounts and keep the drawings in the size and format in which they will be printed (folded like it will be in zine form and able to be handled/viewed properly together). Does that make any sense? Anyways, I will post photos/scans from one I did this past week tomorrow on an update (its currently too dark in my room for an acceptable photograph). I've been playing the inclusion of some symbolism and repetition that ties the images together, making things a bit more ridiculous. AJ Fosik's animal sculptures are giving me some great inspiration for taking things to the next level (in terms of illustrating animals) and possibilities for shop display (the same guy behind the Mastadon album cover). Also, Steve Powers
This week: before and during Thanksgiving break, I swear if I don't get this publication fully done in terms of illustration, I'm really going to be mad at myself. I know I can, I'm just being a little too picky lately. I want to start printing when I get back afterwards. Also, screen problem is probably most likely solved. And I'm going to be ordering paper this week after a satisfying sample was sent to me by French's Paper (MI made)! Progress, my friends.

In-progress meow

Below is a multi-colored monotype I did of a previous drawing. Its about 11x17. I want to continue to make monotypes from drawings because they are pretty quick to make (but you only produce one print).

Below is a 12 by 12 inch model of an installation proportional to the IP studios (approximately 1/8 the size of the studios). This is an in-progress model that I want to show at the IP Presentations. I plan to hang more rectangles up and draw on them with the image of the girl displayed on the back wall.

The trick is to draw images at different sizes for each segment as the installation goes from foreground to background.

Yesterday and today I worked on this drawing of my friend. I plan to monotype over it. But more importantly, I've been trying to observe friends and their facial expressions. My friend makes this face when he listens to people explaining things.

Goodnight, IP.

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place

This week I had to focus on getting the interface setup so that I can just input different videos and have all the technical issues down pat.  I completed the functionality part (partly) and now I can:

• Flash player plays certain video if database has less then X amount of text messages.
• I send a text message to my dedicated phone number, putting the text message count just over X amount.
• Flash plays a different ending video because the database has more than X amount of text messages.

The next step is retrieving what the user sends in their text and using that.  But, it was pretty exciting being able to change a Flash video by sending a text message.

Then I started to work on the interface holder that the storybook will sit in:

The interface that will sit on the website.  (Early design, more to do)

And, last but not least, I settled on a title, which will be "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place".  This is the same name as the short story by Ernest Hemingway that (possibly) inspired Edward Hopper's painting Nighthawks.

Maria Arambula

this is the 3 ft model- working with support systems and supporting the weight of the bulbs with fluid- test was succesful

Studio Progress

I'm currently working on the site, which we now have a domain for (www.reelhaus.tv) still working on improving the layout and adding the other pages for clients and work. In the meantime I have also been working on a business card and letterhead format. I wanted to keep it simple and clean and modern like the logo and layout itself, nothing too frivolous and to the point. the jpeg cuts off the first part of the business card but the logo is centered on the front and on the back centered is the rest of the information