Final Exam

Required Questions:
1. Tools are a major focus in this class. Though many things can be completed by hand, tools are often necessary. In creating artwork what type of tools have you used? In using these tools, how did they help your work along? Explain their function and purpose.
I have used many tools throughout this semester for creating my pieces such as the jigsaw, clay rib, sand paper, brushes, modge podge, box cutter, and many other clay tools. These tools all made my work much easier for me. They also made it so I could get my work done much quicker. Without the jigsaw I have no clue how I would have made my book box because I needed it to cut the wood. My cuts with the jigsaw weren't perfect, and if I hadn't had sandpaper my box would not have looked nearly as nice as it does. I needed the modge podge to get all my quotes and such onto the box. The clay rib and all of the other clay tools were used for almost every single clay project that I made this semester. Without them it would have taken me much longer to get my pieces to look as nice as they do. The box cutter was very helpful for creating my Captain America shield because the xacto knife was not thick enough or strong enough to cut through the cardboard. Without the box cutter tool I would have had a harder time cutting circles out of cardboard. I also used an assortment of brushes for painting glaze onto my clay pieces and applying modge podge.

2. How has your knowledge and understanding of tools changed since the beginning of the semester? Talk about your growth of understanding.
I have a much bigger appreciation for these kinds of tools now than I did at the beginning of the semester. At first I didn't think that I would need to use the clay tools very much for my clay pieces, but I was wrong. They are very helpful in getting your pieces to look smooth, and exactly how you want. At first I wasn't very good at using the tools, and I got frustrated easily because I am an impatient person. Eventually I got better, and now they make my clay pieces look so nice. Also to anyone who makes boxes look perfect, that is very hard. I learned through trying to make my book box that while you might think that cutting with the jigsaw will be easy and perfect, it probably won't be. You will need to sand it to make it fit together better. So I am impressed with anyone who can build a box on their own after using a jigsaw.

Pick 3 Questions:
1. What was your favorite material that you used this year? Why do you like working with it?
If I had to pick one material as my favorite to work with out of everything that I used this year it would probably have to be clay. I really enjoy the feeling of molding the clay. I also like that you can make clay into pretty much whatever you want.The process of sculpting something from clay is one that I like a lot, especially when you can slowly see your vision beginning to form in the clay. Or when other people are saying that they can see your vision forming in the clay. Clay is probably the material that you get the messiest with, but I love using it the most.

2. Choose a place or artwork where the subject matter reflects you as an artist. One that you have a personal connection to. Please explain.
The piece that I made this year that I probably have the biggest connection with personally is my book box. I spent a ton of time on it, and I was very careful with putting it all together because it means a lot to me. Reading is a huge part of me, and when I like a book I remember it and I think that my favorite books partially shape me into who I am. When I read I forget about reality, and only think about the words on the page. When I made my book box I wanted to see little quotes from all of the books that I loved so I could be briefly transported into all of their worlds. I think this is the project that took me the longest to do, but I am very happy that I took my time with it and I am very happy with how it turned out.

3. Regardless of whether you liked or disliked a project, which one did you learn, grow, or develop the most from? Please explain.
I think that the project I have learned the most from is the unconventional materials project. With the other projects it was easier to come up with an idea because we could use whatever material we wanted as long as the project lined up with the theme. This time there was no theme you just had to make something out of whatever material that you got. Having a theme can be kind of helpful because it gives you a place to branch your ideas out of. With this project I had a really hard time just coming up with my idea, and I noticed that other people were having the same problem that I was. Although it was hard I do think that creatively I learned the most from it, even though I have yet to finish it.

Unconventional Material Challenge

When making this project I had to find different bottles that could make the right shapes to form the dogs body. Also wrapping the trash bags with the film tape was difficult because all of the shapes were fairly curved. I was successful at getting the shape of the dog, and if I were to do this again I would try to think of a better way to cover the trash bags. I picked making a dog because I have wanted to make a sculpture of a dog for a while, but I could never see it with the other projects. I could picture making a dog out of this fairly easily, but it ended up being much harder than I expected. The dog was actually the first thing that came to mind when I thought of what I was going to make. I could see it so clearly that I couldn't think of making anything else. 

Figurative Work

I did the origami installation instead of the figurative work.

Origami Installation

We made these cranes the same way you would make a normal origami crane, just on a much bigger scale. Then we took a needle and some string and poked holes in the head, back, and tail of the crane. Using these holes we made loops with the string. These string loops served to keep the cranes on the invisible string we would use later to hang them. We set the cranes up in the V formation, and then wove the clear string through the loops we created with the colored string earlier. Lastly we lifted the cranes with the clear string and hung them up from poles on the ceiling. From this lesson we learned how hard it is to use clear string and how tangled it gets. We also learned teamwork skills for organizing the cranes and weaving the clear string through the cranes. My group especially had to work on problem solving to untangle our mess of cranes. Even though they didn't end up getting untangled we still worked for a long time on untangling them. The process included making the cranes, coming up with an idea for what to do with them, adding the string loops, organizing them into V formations, weaving the clear string through the loops, and hanging up the cranes from the ceiling. The product is 2 flocks of origami cranes hanging in the front lobby of Apex High School.

Tray and Cup

I liked the process of making my tray and cup. The tray was really fun to make because it made me think of Christmas with the snowflakes (but that also makes me sad that we still have more school before Christmas). The ribbon cup was really cool to make too, and I really like how they look. I used red underglaze on my tray to make it look kind of like a candy cane to stick with the Christmas theme. I didn't use any for the cup because it cracked, and I didn't know how I would use underglaze on it. So far my tray has turned out successful, and hopefully it will look good after the glaze is fired. The cup has some cracks in it, but other than that it turned out pretty good. For the future I would make sure that I stamp in all of the snowflakes plenty because some of the indents weren't deep enough for the underglaze to stay in. Also I would use more water to smooth out my ribbon cup to make sure it doesn't crack when it gets fired.

Figurative Work

The two main challenges of this project were making a box with sides that fit together nicely, and finding quotes that would fit into all of the tight spaces towards the end. After sanding and filling in any holes between the pieces of wood I managed to make the box look fairly put together, and the quotes covered up anything that didn't look totally perfect. For the quotes I ended up using more titles and small quotes on the back, and trimming off as much extra paper as I could to try to make everything fit. It took a very long time, but I finished eventually. I think that the different colors and fonts of the paper made the box look very neat, and that was definitely a success. The lid of the box was also a huge success. The gold pages on the book look very nice, and I like that the lid is a book. I think that the lid adds a very cool finishing touch to my box.

"Between the Folds" Documetary

I thought that this video showed a very unique perspective on origami, certainly one I've never thought of before. It made me realize that origami is so much more than just the little things that you learn how to make as a little kid. Here are some of the things that I learned:

     Origami is a metamorphic art form. I didn't know exactly what it meant for something to be a metamorphic art form, so I tried to relate it to something metamorphic that I do know about: rocks (because I decided to take APES and Nagel has a lot of rocks). A metamorphic rock is a rock that has undergone transformation by heat, pressure, or other natural agencies. I can see how this relates to origami because the paper undergoes a transformation through applying pressure to the paper to make it fold in certain ways. That is how I interpreted metamorphic art, and I think that metamorphic art sounds really unique.

     Le Crimp is a style of origami that was mentioned in this documentary that I found to be very interesting and unique. From what I saw in the documentary, and in looking up pictures online, Le Crimp appears to involve the paper having a lot more crumples, or crimps, in it that give the piece a more realistic look. Also sometimes the artist can blow into their Le Crimp piece to make it expand or suck air out to make it shrink, and I thought it was really cool how the artists could interact with their pieces even after they were done. Le Crimp is something I think looks really awesome, but I doubt I would ever have the time or patience to do it.

     Origami math is a real life application of origami that I never thought of before. Origami can be used to help explain math both on a basic and complex level. I thought this could be really helpful for some people who are better at learning visually. Math is a subject that visual learners could struggle in because it is hard to make math visual. So much of it is writing equations, and it is hard to make it stick for the visual learners. Using origami, students have a way to make math visual. This will hopefully help more people begin to understand math.