I have been working on my portfolio during the summer and fall, and here are my final products for the Common Application (If you want to view the pictures in a bigger size, click on the picture and you will have a closer version.) the next 17 pieces are my portfolio pieces:
Painting:
Art is important to me. I want be an artist, along with having a liberal arts education.
Last summer, I traveled to France. The trip was educational because I learned to paint landscapes. Before France, I was stiff and exacting while painting and I was afraid to let myself go and just paint. However the wind, the grass, the clouds, the trees in southern France are not like the familiar urban scene.
Everything is moving, and looseness in art defines that movement. I had to take risks in order to capture the landscape.
1. En Plein Air 1, 2008: acrylic paint on canvas board, 16 ¼” X 12 ½”
This painting was done by observation in Southern France.
This is a landscape from a lesson on vanishing points, painted in the Ardeche in France. I painted this at an art program, Les Tapies Art and Architecture. The road leads to of the place where I was staying.
2. En Plein Air II, 2008: acrylic paint on canvas board, 15 ¾” X 11 ¾” This painting was done by observation in Southern France
Another landscape from my trip to France. This was of the surrounding mountains that we a part of the valley.
The picture immediately below is a photo of me that was taken at an art gallery in the town near by our program. Every student was allowed to submit one piece of their work from the program, so i chose my second landscape painting.
(up-close version below)
3. Tangling Yarn, 2008: oil paint on paper 15” X 19” “white objects” assignment, with neutral colored objects to strengthen mixing skills. This is a still life, that I worked on in an oil painting class at school. the point of this assignment was to not use the color black or white, but instead to work on cream and yellowed objects. The idea was that I would get better at mixing light colors without the help of white and use colors like cadmium yellow, raw umber and raw sienna to make the objects. for shadows, instead of black I would mix violet, ( ultramarine or dark blue and a red).
Photography:
These are the first photos that I have ever developed in a dark room. I was very pleased with the outcome. They were both taken in France, at the same program where I painted the landscapes.
4. Ironwork, 2008: black and white photograph of a fence gate, 8” X 10” photographed and developed in France during my art program at Les Tapies Arts and Architecture. The original picture was not as bright with the light, so while developing it, I would "burn" (over-expose a certain spot by covering the rest of the photo in my hands) in the white highlights as specific points to make it a more realistic light.
5. Hidden Steps, 2008: black and white photograph of a set of steps being overtaken by wild plants, 8” X 10” photographed and developed in France during my art program at Les Tapies Arts and Architecture. (if you look closely, you can see the gate I photographed above at the top middle) The interesting part about this piece is that if you turn it to the side, it looks like a row of trees. The photography teacher really like that aspect of the photograph, because it really makes the viewer look, and consider the meaning of the photograph. Another interesting fact about this photo, is that it looks like it was taken during the night. However, it was taken during the day but had a very unique exposure to the light.
Sculpture:
I love crafting from Clay; working with my hands is delightful. it is very different from paining because you are directly touching the meduim, which is why I love working with clay as well as painting. I made these sculptures from live models, at a class at Massachusetts College of Art and Design.
6. Bald Man, 2007: fired clay, 3” X 3” X 5 ½” This is a clay figure sculpture from a 3D figure class taken at Massachusetts College of Art and Design summer classes.
7. Stretching Woman, 2007: fired clay 2 ½” X 3” X 6 ¼.” This is a clay figure sculpture from a 3D figure class taken at Massachusetts College of Art and Design summer classes.
8. Draping Relief (Upper-Body Form/Dress), Fall 2006: This was made during a sculpture class. I was the only student brave enough cast my upper body. My concept around this sculpture was to represent the media, and their expectations of a woman's appearance. Here, I am stating that I am proud of my body, and do not pay attention to the demanding expectations for the body of a woman in modern culture. There is a dress designed over it; light blue cotton fabric for the skirt with cream Tulle (with gold dots) draping over the bust to decorate the sculpture. This is to show my interest in making clothes, and wanting to be my own stylist by following my own interests. The purpose is that I do not follow the ' human barbie doll' that media has created and modified so many times.
Fashion and Costuming:
The construction of a garment is very interesting to me. For the past few years, I have become involved with as much costuming and designing as possible. Fashion is a growing passion for me, that started out as a love for dressing elegantly.
9. Cranberry by Zeal Designs, 2008, silk, pleat, and lace, size 8
Here I am wearing my prom dress, right before Prom in 2008. I made this dress and if you look closely, you will see that the bust line is trimmed in black pleated ribbon and peaking out from the hem is black lace. I write about the process to making this dress, and the significance behind it in my Common App Essay.
This photo was taken right after I finished my prom dress. I had just taken it off the dress form, to try it on for the first time. My mother took a picture of the back. It is an open back, with a diamond shaped cut-out. A bow is placed over the clasp, to give the back some decoration
The next four dresses are from the production Dreamgirls (spring of 2008). I work on the costumes crew for Beaver Country Day School's productions, and I sewed these. There were actually three versions of each of these dresses for each of the Dreams (the three main characters). These were a challenge to construct, however the challenge made the process more inspiring and fun. Keep in mind that the dresses were designed for the actresses in the play, so the proportions are a little off while on the dress form. (Sorry for the glare on some of the photographs, some of the fabrics were really shiny!)
10. shiny-red show dress, red tassels layer the hems of the dress
11. bubble-gum pink mid-Calf length dress with an empire waist (day, travel dress)
12. orange sequin show dress with a pink lining on the inside. Orange tassels trim the bottom of the pink lining.
13. Canary-yellow double-skirted V-neck dress with a waist band.
Mass Art Summer Course (2007)
14. Blue evening dress (2007) with a black mid-waist belt. This was actually the first piece of evening wear that I ever made. I enjoyed creating it, and it was a challenge because I was entirely on my own with the design and process. This class really helped prepare me for college because I am better at being independent with my work and because I experienced the intensity to fashion programs and the fashion industry.
Accessory Pieces (Headbands and Clips):
These pieces were the latest addition to my portfolio. I made them for an artists' store this December. These are the first headbands and clips that I have made. It was a challenge, however I loved making them because I was able to learn good techniques for making accessories, as well as learn from my mistakes. I used feathers, hot glue, and headbands or clips to come to the final product. This was a very good learning experience and the next time I make these accessories, I will be able to have a better idea on what materials to use for the final product. However, I did find that these were very successful for my first time:
15. Colorful Clip, 2008:
This is a hair clip. For this one I used died feathers with bright and brilliant colors.
16. Aviator, 2008:
Here is another clip,using black, red, and blue feathers for its design.
17. Peacock Plenty, 2008: This headband has a real peacock feather, along with a few green feathers to embellish the headband. For this headband, I tried to make a more natural looking piece by using feathers that were not bright pink, yellow, and orange. I used a peacock feather to bring in some color, however I tused olive green and brown toans to make this piece less bright than the others.
