sculpture & 3d design.

sculpture: 

bronze casting: Imaginary (Un)it

bronze, liver of sulfur patina.

stone carving: [dis]Appear

alabaster. 

steel fabrication: The Roots of the Mountain (Reflection)

steel, white rustoleum spray paint. 

3d design:

formalism: Wanderlust

steel, black rustoleum spray paint. 

environmental space: Imagined Landscape

google sketch-up. 

{the "box" would be filled with chalk allowing the audience to participate and draw/describe their own imagined landscape on the black pyramids which would be covered in chalkboard paint}

ephemera: Gather

objects collected from utah lake.

there is a lot i could say about each of these, but i will spare you from going into too much detail. just know that these classes were a pain for me. especially that large steel piece (Wanderlust). that one took me so much time i don't even want to think about it. but i never have to weld again. thank goodness. {there is also another wood piece that i forgot to take a picture of before i left utah. whoops}.

ps-

{i slept in until 2:30pm one day this week. see if you can top that! doubt it}.

enjoy your summer! i know i am. 

come, thou fount of every blessing by mumford & sons

well this is interesting:

gather: a stop-motion video & how-to

A short stop-motion video about ephemeral art. I went to Utah Lake, walked around the shore for 45 minutes listening to an Iron and Wine playlist. Every time the word "the" was sung I would pick something up. This composition documents what I gathered during the process of performance that day.
[Song: Generator (Second Floor) by Freelance Whales].

and now for the how-to, if you ever want to make a stop-motion video yourself:

{for mac users only}

1. decide upon a simple idea first

2. take stills of an object that you slowly move/add unto/take away from. {best if the camera is in the same position, so use a tripod!} take a picture for each frame, start to finish. for example, if you wanted to capture a toy moving from one place to another, take a picture of it, move it a small amount, take another picture, move it, take a picture, and so on until you are done.

3. upload photos to iphoto {edit accordingly}.

4. quit iphoto and open imovie. create a new project. 

5. on the right hand side of the timeline there will be an icon of a camera, click on it. select the pictures you want to use, they should already be in the order you uploaded them in. drag and drop them into the box of your new project. {on my screen it is the upper half section of imovie, above the timeline}. 

6. now that all your stills are there you can adjust the speed you want the photos to appear. hover your mouse over the first still and you will be able to change the settings of the clip. change the number of seconds. you also have the option to apply that time frame to all slides. 

7. to add music, select the music icon on the right side of the timeline and you can pick a song from your itunes. drag and drop that into the space as well. 

and voilá! if you want to edit it more complexly just look up tutorials online, there are lots of them! 

if you have any questions, you can ask me but i won't guarantee i know the answer. 

enjoy! 

DIY: homemade scented paper

homemade paper is easy to make, beautiful, and you can customize any color or scent you want! once you have made the paper they make great cards, announcements, or you can even use them to make crafts or collages. i made lavender, cinnamon, and grass paper. here are the instructions so you can do it yourself too:

supplies you'll need: 

a blender or food processor

window screening

a frame

white felt

a sponge

scrap paper or newspaper

lavender, cinnamon, grass, etc. (optional)

starch (optional)

dye or water-soluble paint (optional)

step 1:

tear up the paper to be recycled into small pieces. i used cardstock, construction paper, and newspaper.

step 2:

fill up the blender about halfway with the desired paper. 

step 3:

fill up the blender with warm water, also adding lavender/cinnamon/grass if so desired. 

step 4:

blend the mixture. slowly at first, and then speeding it up until the pulp is smooth. 

{if you want to use the paper to write on add 2 teaspoons of liquid starch to the pulp to prevent the ink from soaking into the fibers. if you also want a certain color added you can mix in water-soluble paint or dye}.

step 5:

prepare the screen and frame mold. before you pour in the pulp mixture place your screen over the sink {i got mine at lowes for a few dollars, but an old window or door screen would work- if it is too big just wrap it around a frame that is the right size and staple or tack it}. get an old frame {i bought mine from a local thrift store for a dollar} that is the size you want the paper to be. it works best if the frame can lay flat so that the mixture can be spread all the way to the corners. {optional: have something to spread the mixture handy if it doesn't cover the entire surface. i used i sponge roller. the spatula can work, but i found that the pulp stuck to it too much}. 

when you are ready, pour the pulp mixture into the mold, making sure that you evenly pour the pulp across the screen so that it also reaches the sides and corners of the frame. {after this smoothing it down is optional, but it does help get rid of extra water. just be careful not to disturb the pulp surface too much. if you do mess up the surface just place the pulp back where it goes and push it in}.

step 6:

after the pulp mixture is flat and in position, take the frame away and place the felt on top. once you have done this, you need to squeeze out the excess water, or soak it up. i used the roller sponge first to go over the felt to push out excess water and flatten it, but a regular sponge or even your hands will work just as well. once most of the water has been squeezed out, use a regular sponge and dab over the felt to soak up the water still in the pulp, wringing out the sponge when needed. keep doing this, you will notice that the felt becomes a lighter color from being drier. if you have done this right the felt will be able to peel from the paper cleanly. if it does not, keep dabbing it with a sponge until it is dry enough for them to pull away from each other. {be careful when helping it to come off, because it is easily tearable at this point}. 

step 7:

i placed the felt back over paper, carefully flipped it over, and took it off the screen. {if it is having trouble coming off, lightly tap it}. if you are not planning on making more paper you can always just let the paper dry directly onto the screen {this method is probably faster}. next i placed the paper & felt onto newspaper to dry. now just let it sit! if you want to speed up the drying process you might be able to blow-dry them or something similar, but i have not tried this so i don't know how well it works.

enjoy your scented, homemade paper! 

land art.

remember this post about the land artist richard long, and all those previous posts with pictures from deer creek reservoir? well i did an artist presentation on him in my contemporary art class and also had to do some work in response as a part of it. so that's why i drove all the way over there after general conference on saturday, and i am so glad i did. it was a beautiful day and there was no one in sight. 

so these are my quick little attempts i have to share. resulting in at least three splinters from the grass, and a car full of bugs from the bark i brought home. worth it.

check out richard long's work here. 

 tried to make a line with grass where the water meets the shore. unsuccessful. still have the marks to prove it.

happy end of classes! 

now go listen to some dirty projectors, arcade fire, beirut, and local natives. 

far from home, all alone, but so happy.

lately i can only describe my motives in one word: wanderlust. kind of perfectly cheesy right? i don't know why but i continually have this overwhelming yearning to be on top of something- a hill, a mountain, a tree. this usually results in at least two impulse drives a day. {i think the greatest blessing in my life is a car, without it i would surely go insane}. i have been discovering the most interesting of places too. full of magic. i like these solitary little adventures, it gives me time to be alone with my music and my thoughts. but company would be lovely too sometimes, so if you ever want to join me, let me know. really do, because then i can go certain places i won't by myself. i guess i draw the line at darkening mountain filled with strange creatures and possibly strange humans}. 

and there i was driving one sunday, trying to get to the top of something, anything, so i stepped out of my car, looked up at a hill, looked at my shoes, then at the setting sun, sighed, got back in the car and drove home. i am going to miss these majestic canyons when i go home to florida in ten days. i wish i could stay a little longer and go camping. oh how i just long to go camping {and get lost in the woods}. {guess it will just have to wait for our family reunion in oregon this summer. goonies never say die}.

Herman Melville said it best: "I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote."

{locations: deer creek reservoir & provo canyon}

{cameras used: nikon d50, iphone}

while others are thinking about finals and focusing on studying, i am just sitting here looking at the remains of my orange wishing it would've lasted longer. {i don't have to study for ANY finals}. and as justin bieber plays in my apartment, i am sure glad that it is almost over, because i am not certain how much longer i can last without cracking. 

{title: an allusion to "from finner" by of monsters and men. they are trying to make it into my top 5, and they are doing a really good job of it}.

the blue sky series. {love note to spring ii}

i find myself gazing up a lot these days. after all, up is the best place to look. 

thank you spring for coming earlier than expected. and thank you for being beautiful.

{all photos taken at deer creek reservoir}

and while you're at it, please go listen to the beatles. 

they can brighten any day. 

sane people don't share the inner-workings of their mind.

poetry failure:

for my issues in contemporary art and art criticism class we have a project where we have to pick something we will surely fail at. i love the assignment, but it is probably one of the hardest, most thought-provoking things i have had to do all year. just coming up with what i wanted to fail at was hard enough, but thanks to preston i eventually decided upon poetry. 

somehow my previous education skipped over poetry and i have always wanted to study/write it, so i thought this would be the perfect opportunity. i gathered dozens of books and sat myself in the empty corner the children's section of barnes and noble. i was surrounded by all of these famous and brilliant poets, but didn't know where i should start, so i asked recommendations of all the english-minded people i am close to and started there. i even persevered after three failed attempts to get a library card and read the books i checked out in the park for hours today. and while i was reading and putting off the actual writing part i realized how inadequate i am and that i have no idea what the heck i am doing and there is no way i want anyone to ever to see what i am going to write. and i was going through carolyn's blog thinking all these really great writers are going to read my poems and see how awful they really are and i felt so incredibly self-conscious. {and it doesn't help that all these beautifully written song lyrics kept popping into my head mocking me}.

but i guess it's like this: it is the same thing with art, you don't start out being good, you fail and practice at it until you reach a form of greatness. but the problem is this: i would never show anyone my first failed attempts at art, but i am showing everyone my failed attempts at poetry. such is life. no pressure right? {actually i was having a mini stress fest earlier today. and i don't stress easily. it's just that i don't want to be vulnerable or have others to think poorly of me, you see}.

but after talking with my sister audrey, i figured i would just break the ice a little bit:

i don't know what i'm doing:

 writing poetry is hard,

excuse me while i pick up my confidence's broken shards.

who knew i would have to count and number, 

so in the park i took a slumber. 

haiku?

bless you.

now i have begun thinking about cats

and how they look so cute when they wear hats.

and as i try to rhyme, 

i apologize, for my writing is a real crime. 

i am starting to feel like this is a trap, 

because after all, shakespeare never had to put up with all this crap.

now back to composing real poetry i go, 

in hopes that this poem will help my courage grow. 

{oh my goodness, what did i just do?? it is so silly and such awful attempt at a sonnet, and not like me at all!} oh well. and guess what? i actually really do love poetry and want continue on with this little project, and who knows if i am feeling especially brave i will share with you all. but only if you promise you won't laugh at me...i have a tender little heart after all, and it is easily wounded. 

oh hey, i guess i failed, A+ for me...

{i also have just been informed that if you take the "s" off of my blog address it takes you to another blog full of poetry. funny little world innit?}