Sculptris (this post was in my drafts and I DID NOT realize I hadn't posted, sorry!)

Sculptris was definitely a time to be had. It was pretty fun at first because of the immediate satisfaction you got from the software after making a mark, or creating a form. This part I actually really enjoyed because after a while it got easier and easier to translate something like drawing into a digitally 3D form, which was really crazy but also cool! What really got me was the paint interface, because of how horribly it did not mesh with my computer (I guess this was the problem). It was so, horribly laggy and making marks on this was very delayed from the actual motion of trying to create a colored part of the form. This made it a really frustrating process to color my whole character, get the details and all sides of him, simply because of laggy and not delayed the actual marks I was making were. However, I did get through it and I was not completely disappointed with the final outcome. But, I do know I would have been a lot more proud of my little sculptris character if my actions and marks were truly aligned with each other and happening in a timely matter. All in all, a cool idea but I wish I was doing it without trying to pull my hair out!

FINAL BLOG POST

1. I really enjoyed Jackie's Maps and Street Art show and tell. I felt that it had a pretty big impact on me because of how it related to the concept of the project cluster in a way that was not just the same idea in a different setting. It really made me consider the importance of locality, which I think was a concept of the cluster that people might have forgotten was one of the main points (thinking more about apps, rather than the importance of place, and how where we are impacts our learning). Jackie's show and tell also helped me develop my lesson plan for the Our Space Your Place lesson plan. This really was something that I enjoyed and made me think about how to use this main idea, along with the idea of street art in a real classroom setting. The resources she provided were also extremely helpful in conceptualizing the idea into something that could be accessible for kids, and something kids would actually want to take part in. It's a really different idea, which made me really consider how to use it in a classroom. 

2. From the Bequette & Bequette 2012 reading : "Art, like engineering, is concerned with finding answers to problems and seeking visual solutions using the design process."

This quote really helped me understand the concept of STEAM curriculum and how it is relevant to this class as well as my future as an educator. Art and engineering are two completely separate worlds, and bringing together the opposite ends of the spectrum (not just these 2 but everything in STEAM) makes us able to view the world from more than one point of view. 

From Gill 2009 : "Surveys indicated that students were initially motivated to participate in the course because of their enjoyment of popular visual culture, including video games, movies, and TV"

This quote pretty much just sums up what I was really intrigued about with this reading, which was simply just how things that pop culture, video games, movies, and TV, things we usually tell kids not to spend too much time with, was a main motivation for children to learn in their class. It really spoke to me about the way kids are learning now, and will learn in the future. Digital culture is becoming more relevant each day. This reading really emphasized that for me and made me question things like, what teachers should be showing students for motivation? How to motivate kids in general as well as different types of learning we do not think of right away (such as via video games). I really liked this reading because it reminded me that the art classroom is not just about Van Gough and classic examples of art learning, but it is existing in everything happening around us right now.

3. I personally enjoyed the first project cluster (Video) and the last (Our place your space) the most. Maybe that's because I had a good group, though. But I really liked thinking about the local area as an important space for learning and focusing learning. I think that this lesson plan was the one I really wanted to do, and I was writing it and saying wow, this would be such a great project! I think these main ideas of the cluster spoke to me the most. As for the video cluster I think I just enjoyed making the videos the most. It was a medium that I was not fully familiar with, but really made me think about the choices I was making when filming, editing, and creating sound. This was definitely the project where I thought about my artistic decisions the most, which is something I am always pretty proud of. But as for thinking of pedagogy in the 21st century, definitely the 3rd cluster. I think it just gave me the most ideas from the perspective of a teacher, even though they're pretty simple and relevant to times that don't have to be right now (compared to things like 3D printing, which is something very "happening right now"). I think that this class as a whole though definitely gave me a new perspective on teaching in the 21st century, what I want my students to have to be prepared for the ever-changing art world, and how to feel prepared (more prepared) as a future teacher in a more digital time.

Finishing the app

Finishing the app Glimpse with my group was pretty fulfilling. It was really cool to see all of our individual parts we did come together to create a final product. As the Research Director, it was definitely cool to see the information I gathered be put to use in the app and to develop the app itself. Here are some pictures of the finished product below:

Group Project

     Developing an app is something that I've never thought I would think about. For this project, my group is developing an app meant to create a community for the artists of New Paltz. Students, and people of New Paltz, to inform them of artistic events happening in the area, on campus, and to expose them to the work the people around them are producing. The app being localized to New Paltz allows for more connections and direct access to things happening close to you.

  My role in the group is the research director, and so I've been collecting a lot of different things such as images of art work from people in New Paltz, artist statements and statements about work from artists in New Paltz as well as conducting interviews some contributors.
To collect these different forms of information, I approached each differently. For photos, I posted a broader post on Facebook asking for New Paltz artists to send me some images of their art work. From that, I got around 25-30 images, which was awesome! Of course since that was for general content I made it more general. For the statements, I directly asked some friends and peers that I knew and asked for a statement about a piece of art, as well as an artist statement. I asked them to describe their work based on their medium, perhaps and process, as well as what the piece or their art work means to them. I tried to prompt them to respond as personally as possible, and I think everyone gave pretty great responses. I wanted it to be what they wanted to say, because the point of the website is that artists upload their own content.

For the interviews, both myself and Jenny have reached out to artists that we know in the community to answer some questions that we constructed. As of now I've had one with my Painting TA, and plan to conduct another interview with a friend of mine who is not an art major, but would identify as an artist. I think getting input and ideas from different people in the New Paltz art community is important because it also shows how many people could be using this app. A foundation student, an art minor, a BFA student, or someone who makes art in New Paltz (or doesnt!) and wants to be connected with the art community, and happenings in the area.

3D prosthetics comparing

     After 3D printing my original design, I made another print with a larger wrist and a larger section for holding the tool. At first the pen only fit slightly and now fits to the point until it gets bigger, making it stay in place really nicely and firmly. It made really nice marks on the paper and the wrist attachment seems to be large enough for a young child's wrist. I would like to think the new design would be suitable to actually help a child in need of this specific prosthetic in the process of art making and using specific tools! 

3D printed prototype

     After test prrinting my 3D prosthetic, it's evident that I actually didn't measure as well as I originally suspected! I think my problem was that I didn't account for the difference between the internally measured space/measured space of a whole part! What I need to change, I think is that the small little loop needs to be bigger to properly fit a tool, and change the section meant to attach to the wrist as a part to use velcro with as well, making it adjustable, more dependable and secure and easy to use by more students.

     However, it was interesting to see my design in real life and made it really helpful to understand what I need to do to make progress and a successful tool for students to use.

DIY Prosthetic

   Based on the activity in class, and that I did on my own exploring limited art making, I decided to make my prosthetic hand something that would be able to hold a paint brush, and a variety of pens. Information about the activities in class/that I did on my own can be read about below on my blog! First, I measured the widest point of the brush/pen (which happened to be the same!) and then made sure the attachment on my prosthetic would be able to fit a tool that size. This was really important because it ensured you weren't just guessing!

   I also made sure to make a wrist attachment (thinking that this is for a student without a hand). Considering my own wrists are very small, I created them to be able to fit mine/someone a little smaller than myself, like a child in an art class!

  To connect these parts (the finger with the part to hold the tool, and the wrist attachment) I created little supports out of the tubing shape on TinkerCad. I copied one tube and then pasted the rest to make sure they were exactly the same and not just a little different.

Although I'm still waiting to see my design 3D printed, I am confident it will do what I intend it to!

A link to the project: https://www.tinkercad.com/things/l9XyDujNveT-super-sango

Limited Art Making

  Stemming off of an exercise we did in our Digital Visual Cultures class, to understand the perspective of making art with a physical limitation, I created water color and pen drawings with only my right hand, which I taped up to only give me access to one finger (ring).
  The art that I make, to me, relates a lot to topography and the feeling of maps. I really am in love with the idea of things and places connecting, and making those connections myself, so that is what I try to make my art about. I enjoy using micron pens because of their variety of sizes, I can get a variation of lines within each other, that also do not bleed into the water color.

  So, I tried my best to create art using these same ideas that I include in my own art. There were many aspects that made it very difficult and different in comparison to using two, fully capable hands. But before the actual art making, the setting up and preparation were also much different. Only using one hand (one limited hand), things like filling up a cup, controlling the sink, opening and closing pens were more mentally taxing. You had to be very aware of how you were going to do the action, instead of just knowing what and how you were going to do it without thinking. Using my mouth for things such as opening and closing pens was really helpful, because it was like holding one end with my hand and pulling with my other. When holding the pen, it also was helpful to also hold the cap within the bend of my finger as it filled up the space more and was more secure in my hand. 

One of the most difficult parts of the actual making was that I could not hold the pen in different ways to create smaller marks using my fingers. It was more about the movement of my hand/arm rather than smaller movements. At first this was frustrating but it was interesting to discover new ways to create the same effects. I tried to not stop moving my arm and to keep making line as this kept marks looking a lot cleaner, and made for interesting places in the drawing. The end product was definitely not as refined and clean as what I usually do, but still pretty interesting to look at actually! 

When looking up close you can see how the marks made are definitely a little "messy", but I really enjoy what I made with my limitation. This definitely made me realize how much differently I would think about my art making as an artist if I truly did have this, or another physical limitation. It was interesting and frustrating to find ways to overcome what is frustrating you- especially when you're used to working in another very specific way. 

Cleaning up these materials was not that difficult, actually. The brush, being small, with a few good spins in a water cup was clean, and the water just needed to be dumped down the drain. The watercolor container was a little tricky but the only real difficult part was making sure the cap was snapped on. And the pen caps, when simply on the pen were made securely closed by banging it a little harder on a table surface. 

All in all, this was a really interesting experience and made me consider not only how lucky I am to be an artist without physical limitations such as this, but also has me thinking about the way I go about making art. 

Finalizing Videos

  After about a month of learning about videos, I finally completed 3 videos (one restricted by theme for a Videofreex exhibition in the Dorsky Museum, one as a Demo, and one Documentary short). I have posted on the blog about the Demo and Documentary, but not much about the Videofreex. I was very proud of how all the videos came out in the end, but the Videofreex was something that was really important to me. The Demo (made for a younger audience, about texture) and the Documentary short about Social Media Culture and our consumption of it can be found below.



   It was really interesting to consider how to put together both of these videos. After working on one, it gave me a lot of ideas for the next. So being able to work on more than one project was definitely really informative when learning about video editing over all.
   Okay, so, the Videofreex. The theme I chose to create my video for was Conclusions. There a lot of ways to look at something so ambiguous, but I chose to focus on the idea of a concluding life as well as a concluding thought, both of which are concepts I wanted to feel "at peace" at the end of the short 1 minute and 22 seconds.
  I wanted the story's narrative to be dictated by the letter the character in the video is writing. As the shot goes from the letter being composed, to mundane every day activities, I wanted the voice to feel as if it could be talking to anyone- an old friend or an ex lover. It does not blatantly point towards death (at least I tried to make it not) until the character leaves and drives to a cemetery. "Whether it's far away, or soon, either way, I'll see you then", the words I chose to end the video with, to me, have the meaning that you never know how short or long an individual life will go.
   I was really proud of the shots as well as the words in this video. Although it is short, I really want people to watch it and feel something, even if it is short. Putting everything together for this video was definitely easiest as I had a more concrete idea of how I wanted things to go. In comparison to the Demo and the Documentary, it was easier to decide to make a change.
  Overall, I am really proud of what I ended up making!

Creating a Documentary

    Relating back to my post about Storyboarding, since then I've been able to get my footage together, put together certain clips, as well as inserted some audio (in terms of music, and audio that exists in the popular video about social media that I also mentioned in a previous post). A lot of the narrative that I tried to create is about how we are constantly consumed in Social Media, and that what we choose to constantly be looking at is mostly information that is irrelevant, and things that just take up space in our minds. By the end of the video I want the feeling that the viewer takes away from it to be that Social Media is not a negative, but the way we use it is. I think Social Media platforms are really great ways to connect, and put yourself out there. To share interesting information, about yourself, the world, etc. Rather, I think people use them in a way more about how they can make themselves seem cool, or pretty, instead of how an idea or image can make someone think about a topic, or a part of life in a different way. So often people post about what they are doing, what they made for dinner, or duck faced selfie. I think there is a much better way to use the platforms than how we actually go about using them.
   This video, that I couldn't figure out how to download onto my own computer(why I couldn't include it in my documentary), quickly lists many ways that we can use Social Media in a way that will give us more insight and wisdom on the world around us in an interesting way. I got very happy when I saw this existed because it's the message I want to get across. That it isn't bad, but we can use it in a more beneficial way.
  In my actual documentary, I end with the whole day of the subject going backwards, going back to where she wakes up. She then wakes up again and starts her day in a different way, showing how we do not need to be immersed in our phones and our media all the time. I then end with text slides saying "Click." "Think." "Consume." "Don't allow it to consume you.".
  I still need to put my own audio in of my voice over, and also have around 3 other people read my script that I've prepared. This is so it feels that it is a group of people talking about this to the viewer instead of just one. All in all I'm happy with how this is coming out thus far and am excited to have a finished product.

Thinking about Demos

    Demos are one of the essential parts to successful learning. Exemplifying a skill, how to do something, creating understanding and inspiration. Especially with young learners, a good demo really goes a long way when asking them to create a work of art.
    When thinking about creating a video demonstration, I can't help but think about how to create something that young learners (Who I'm learning about/observing now in my Art Education Curriculum and Instruction class). Those small people who think in a really different way than us. I decided to make my demonstration focused on the concept of texture. How different objects, that we might not always relate to art making (sponges, sandpaper, bubble wrap, mesh) can help us think about using materials in a new, different way. How different textures made by these objects reflect on things we notice in every day life (examples: soft grass, tough tree bark, etc.). However, preparing for a demonstration such as this definitely takes more planning than one would think. Although it's a simple idea, there are a lot of things you need to think about being in the position of the teacher, giving your students the necessary resources to understand and be successful. So far, I've made samples of the different textures to be introduced in the video demonstration. I also plan on taking detailed shots of them to be seen and understood from a closer point of view. In terms of making a video, these areas of the demonstration will be explained with voiceovers of what I want to be learned and understood.
   We discussed the importance of different points of view in a video demonstration to make it a concept that is much easier understood compared to a video of a person preforming a task. There is more to learning than watching someone create, do, or say something, and doing that same thing back. I think that this is also an aspect of teaching that not many people fully understand. For example, this video doesn't really have any real parts of it that make it easy to understand. There are no explanations, or different perspectives. The whole thing is just hands sculpting clay into a face- and although it is something very wonderful to watch, it is not really a good learning resource. When watching something with the intent of learning about something else, there should be many aspects of it that reach through to the viewer/learner and make this apparent and easy.
    

Storyboarding

  Creating a storyboard... something that seems and sounds pretty easy. However, it was something that caused me something a lot of trouble. Although, like expressed in my last post, I had a pretty good idea of what I want my Documentary short to be about, I didn't really know where to go from there. Looking at websites and tips for creating a story arc, how to make things captivating, etc, etc.
   However, it became easier when I wrote out the words that I want to be the audio over my video. Collecting facts and looking at different videos, and articles about Media Culture, I complied the ones I found the most interesting and the ones that took me aback the most. The facts that show us how much we are separating ourselves because of all of this information we create for our own distractions and satisfaction.
  The thing is- I think there are so many amazing parts of media- ESPECIALLY social media. How easy it is to connect to others everywhere, how quickly we are linked to news happening around the world, how easy it is to share something you found captivating, an educated opinion, etc. However, these reasons are not the main reasons why people use or care about social media. Truly, people like it because of the power it gives them to represent themselves. This makes a lot of the posts about what someone had for lunch, the outfit they wore or how tired they are at the end of the day. Information that we take the time to look at, but at the end of the day, it is irrelevant and empty to our own individual lives. Even if in the moment we enjoyed it, at the end of the day, do we remember it? Will we remember it tomorrow? Next week? 5 years? The answer: probably not. However, how much time a day do we spend scrolling through and absorbing this information? And the answer to that: too much time.
  SO, anyway, back to the storyboard. I took this information and wrote about it in a factual but reflective way. Relaying the information while giving it some personal opinions. This helped me compile the images and scenes I want to create individually as well as get from already existing sources. In the end, creating this:
 

   A very rough draft, but it really helped me understand how I want my video to feel and look. Creating it also helped me better understand the overall process. It made me feel a lot less anxious about the whole process, since I've never really made my own video before (in a creative sense). So after much research, planning and thinking, I feel pretty ready to get started.

Problems in Media Culture

   When thinking about the term "Media Culture", what do we think of? If we break up the term into the two words, it becomes a big blobby mass of information.
   Media can be social media, television, pop culture, cell phones, news, newspapers, etc. There are so many types of media that it is undoubtedly apart of our every day lives. Facebook, Twitter, your daily Newspaper, your favorite TV show. All forms of media. 
  Culture, according to a quick google search, is "the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively." The particular way that a group of people live life. This is Culture. 
   So, Media Culture. How Media creates a way of life we are all familiar with. The way we interact with Media, and how it all plays into each other. How after your TV show airs you check twitter to see who said what about it. Or every thursday someone posts a picture of themselves as a little kid for a #TBT. These are things that are not only apart of our society, but what it is made up of. How we get and receive information. How we document our every move, and use Media as a diary for things we're doing, thinking, saying. Or seeing other people doing the same thing. Although this is something that connects us- is it a healthy way to think? Interact? How much is too much? 
   This is the idea that I want my Documentary short to be focused on. There are videos that exist already focusing on that same idea, why social media and media is separating us rather than bringing us together. Being called an "anti-social network". 



  These videos urge people to stop living life through a screen, which is something that I want to do. Although I don't think Media is all bad, and can see a positive, I want to focus on how so many people use it past the amount they should. Basing their self worth off of how many likes a post has, or spending every moment scrolling through information their brain doesn't even process. Using these things as ways of life instead of small ways to connect us. They are the main points, the most important aspects of life, which is what I feel is the real problem. We get stuck on them. They consume us, instead of us consuming them for small moments of time.

Thinking about the Art of Film

    Creating a Documentary is something that sometimes seems purely focused on the information being conveyed to an audience. When thinking about Documentaries, however, the most important point that Michael Moore makes in his 13 rules for creating documentary films, was that when creating a documentary it is important to remember why you're making a film in the first place. It's important to remember how you're presenting information, and not only on the information being presented. 

  Getting someone interested is just as important as having something interesting to say. When thinking about making my own film, it's a good reminder of what the real goal of a film should be. What will be interesting, what will be the things that draw people in? And how can I do that thinking as an artist who wants to teach people about a specific thing? When approaching issues in a more cinematic way it makes it more beautiful and interesting to learn about. 

   When looking at short films and documentaries, I was able to watch a short film that caught my attention because of the story, but also the way the artist presented it. "Twisted" a short film on http://www.shortoftheweek.com/ was a film that only needed one character to say everything it needed to. The viewer, put in the position of the main characters friends, says no words but listens and is spoken at by the main character telling a story about walking into his home to find his mother and dog, dead. In the end, we find out this story captivated a girl, and although fake, motivated the character to want to kill his mother. 

  A successful element in this film was surprise, as well as the position you're in as the viewer. When making a documentary, I'm definitely going to try to include some of these same captivating elements that made this film entertaining to watch. Although a film and not a Documentary, watching it really gave me a lot of ideas about the art and medium of film itself. 

iMovie

       Video editing, a type of technology I am only slightly familiar with, is something I'm currently tackling. However, the first time I edited a video performance on Final Cut Pro, and this time I am getting the chance to use iMovie. Two different applications, but serving the same purpose at the end of the day. iMovie was pretty easy to get adjusted to, as the layout and display were easy to navigate.  
   As shown in the image above, you can easily view multiple frames of your video, and choose a specific section to edit in the top left corner, while watching in the main screen located in the top right corner.
   Watching a demo on how to use iMovie was also helpful, as it introduced me to the app as well as refreshed my mind on editing videos.
  Overall, iMovie is (so far) pretty simple to navigate and use. It makes creating videos, movies, and any type of film project easy and accessible for anyone.

Technology I know and technology that scares me

   Technology is something constantly changing and expanding around us. While some forms of technology are used on a daily basis, other forms of technology can seem foreign and strange to many people. We may not be able to understand how to use a lot of technology, but it all influences and builds on the world around us.
 
     Personally, I use simple forms of technology every day. Things such as iphones, tablets, internet browsers such as chrome or firefox, are forms of technology that I and many people have access to at almost all points of the day. Things such as social media which is accessible on different forms of technology (iphones, laptops, etc.) are forms of technology that people are connected with and exposed to daily. However, other forms of technology such as Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, Excel, and Adobe Photoshop are programs I am familiar and comfortable with and use often. These help a lot with schoolwork, and pretty simple to get the hang of.
     However, other forms of technology seem really confusing to me. 3D printing, and electrical circuits, are just two examples of forms of technology that seem amazing to me, but are things that I don't fully understand how to handle or create with myself. 3D printing is an amazing form of technology that is not only cool, but can help millions of people and animals with its abilities. Making something amazing with a 3D printer that can help something is a process that I may not fully understand, but really has an impact on our world.
     Technology has the ability to connect us, help us learn, build our world, and so many more things. As the technology in our world expands, so do the possibilities that it holds within it. When thinking about where people were with technology even just 20 years ago (ex. newness of the internet), it's incredible to think how we will advance with coming years in the future.