The Spotted Zebra

Senior Show III

2010-05-01T19:35:00.000-07:00

Here are some images of my installation that Vern took. I'll be taking the strobes to the gallery, so I can get some truer looking images, but these work for now.

Left to right: Toads, Discovery, Impressions, Adventure.

In my work, animals represent seasons of life. By pairing imagery from personal experiences with animals I have encountered, I am creating a self-portrait.
Maps aid us in moving forward, but are also a tool for re-tracing our past. I have constructed a map of the city of Ashland, continuing the idea of the self-portrait.
Using printmaking as my medium of choice, I am able to create multiple impressions and variations from one single plate. This idea is similar to that of making discoveries in life. One realization can lead to endless applications.
My images: Impressions, Discovery, Adventure, and Toads, are about basing new adventure on past discovery. I intend to engage the viewers with small details, and encourage them to draw connections to their own lives.

Show

2010-04-28T20:35:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow the the last senior show opens. I am happy that my work is finally completes, and I can focus on digital stuff for the remaining few days I have left. Hopefully I can post photos tomorrow, and will soon have new animal/texture images too!

Recent activity

2010-04-22T18:55:00.000-07:00

I showed a lot of images in crit on monday, and plan to expand on the idea of filling animals with texture to illustrate specific places or events. Some will have texture as the ground, like the cricket, and others like the cows will actually have texture in the body.

Catch up time

2010-04-14T19:06:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I'm a little behind on the blogging... I'm going to try to make up for lost time. Today the Art Theory and Crit class traveled to Cleveland to view an exhibit at the MOCA. I had never been to this space, so I was excited to see what they had to offer.
The show that is on view now is FROM THEN TO NOW:Masterworks of Contemporary African American Art. I was familiar with several of the artists on display, and enjoyed learning about some new ones too.
One of my favorite works was by Bradley McCallum and Jacqueline Tarry. I am including an excerpt from their website describing the project, there were only a select number of portraits on display at the MOCA though.

"The 104 portraits pay homage to the protesters who were arrested during the January 1956 Montgomery Bus Boycotts. Each portrait is constructed of two layers: one, an oil painting on linen painted from the original mugshot and the second a photographic image printed on sheer silk. The source image for both the painting and the photographic layer was the original mugshot of each protester. This work forms a dialogue between classical portraiture; which establishes a position of dignity and honor for its subjects, and photography as document and evidence. On the painted layer the arrest record is omitted; however, this number appears as a ghostly image on the silk layer."http://www.mccallumtarry.com/

It was refreshing to see some good contemporary art as I continue working on my show. I will provide updates as they come.

Light box progress

2010-03-29T12:17:00.000-07:00

I made a light box and showed it at critique last week. I am currently working on fixing the box so the viewer can slide different images in and out of the box. I will add images when I finish.

Lightbox

2010-03-15T12:02:00.000-07:00

I am in the process of creating a light box for my maps. I found a socket set that you can screw a light bulb into, so I'm building a box to hold that. There will be a slot on top so you can insert the different maps. Any feedback would be helpful!

Statement and new progress

2010-03-01T12:55:00.000-08:00

Maps are a way of moving forward and tracing where we have been. I am creating imaginary maps by photographing linier texture in the art studios. By taking images from a place I am familiar with and pairing them with text, I hope to bring awareness to the fact that our lives are what we make them to be. Everyone makes choices, either good or bad, that shape the way our lives play out.

Throughout the rest of the semester I plan to continue exploring the idea of imaginary mapmaking. I will alter the image both on and off screen. Adding text to the images in a poster like way will allow the viewer to relate the image more to his or her life.

I will have these maps printed on backlit film multiple times and work on layering them for a topographic effect.

More maps

2010-02-22T10:42:00.000-08:00

Image maps

2010-02-12T12:48:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking about maps lately, and carving the streets onto my wooden map of Ashland is similar to looking at the marks on the desks in the art ed room. Here are some images I've been working on. I plan to add a key an perhaps some street names to these imaginary maps. Any comments would be appreciated!

Revised Semester Plans

2010-02-05T18:18:00.000-08:00

Every time I sit in the art ed room I am fascinated my the color and texture carved into the desk tops. Since I had never had a class in there before this semester I was unaware of the textural possibilities it had.

I am interested in maps and I think I will photograph the texture and make maps.

Semester Plans

2010-01-25T13:34:00.001-08:00

Were already two weeks into the semester, and the time is flying!
I've spent most of my time working on my wooden map which will serve as the background for my show installation. Its more of a printmaking thing though.

In digital art I'm going to revisit one of my favorite artists Maggie Taylor. This time however I plan to use digital photos as the background for the piece and add in buildings and figures clipped from vintage magazines.
I'll post some images soon and it will make more scene.

Skeletal Remains

2010-01-23T12:51:00.001-08:00

Here are a few drawings I did for drawing III last semester. They are large ( 15"x22" and 22"x30") I plan to experiment with adding digital elements to them.

Some Printmaking

2010-01-13T14:02:00.000-08:00

Here are some prints from last semester.

Yellow

2009-10-25T17:08:00.000-07:00

Well its been a while since I posted anything. Unfortunately I don't have any profound prints to show yet, but I'm working on it. In the mean time I've been photographing some fall color. Heidi and I have a show at the hospital in December and I'm probably going to hang some landscapes. Anyway here are some recent photos.

Night

2009-05-31T14:03:00.000-07:00

Here are some new images I have been working on recently.

Post Number 36

2009-05-03T21:57:00.001-07:00

From my calculation i have the correct number of posts plus a few! It is interesting to look back on previous blogs- I believe I stuck to my final idea for a record number of weeks. Good luck to everyone wrapping up your work, I look forward to seeing how things have come together.

Mouse

2009-04-28T18:00:00.001-07:00

toad

2009-04-27T18:01:00.001-07:00

Crickets

2009-04-27T17:12:00.000-07:00

I think this may be it.
8x10 image printed on 11x14 paper.

***hmm now that I look at the white seems kinda bright***
what do you think?
heres the image w/out sloppy border

The case of the double yoke

2009-04-22T17:22:00.001-07:00

Just experimenting....

Look a Chicken!

2009-04-22T17:08:00.001-07:00

Do you like this style?
(the texture on the bottom is an EKG reading)
This image is 20x30

New toad: GIANT

2009-04-21T19:19:00.000-07:00

Here is a work in progress. I am working on aging my images, and plan to insert "storyboards" of some sort. I may just use details from the image on the side to create diptychs, not sure till I play with it!

Working on images

2009-04-15T17:39:00.000-07:00

I printed this image 20x22 on water color paper. I plan to do some sketches overtop and work back into it in order to tell the story. I don't want to to be too obvious, but I want the viewer to be able to figure out the story if the want to.

Feedback is appreciated!

Mondays

2009-04-13T17:57:00.000-07:00

The good news is that there are only 3 more Mondays in the Semester. I think I can handle that!
It was brought to my attention during my review that my current work is too clean and commerical looking. Since that was my intention when I started the project I am happy with this analysis. Unfortunately the clean, commerical doesn't tie into my other work.
I like my work to look aged, have a lot of texture, and tell a story. That being said I have a lot of work to do. I think I am going to add narrative in the form of sketches or Linolium prints. I have ideas but I'm not sure they will be complete by the end of the semester. I would rather take my time and continue into the summer. We'll see what I can accomplish in the next few weeks

JR Review tomorrow

2009-04-06T15:57:00.000-07:00

I've got some new images I'd like some feedback on before I decide if there ready to show at the review tomorrow. Let me know If you are getting a story out of the mouse images and which one has a greater impact. The chicken is a work in progress I think... and Oliver and the mouse is just for fun!

New and updated images

2009-03-30T17:37:00.001-07:00

here are some new images. I changed the aspect ratio on the guinea pig to be square, which I think helps. These are the latest toad images. Not a whole lot of editing yet, I'm planning to lighten up the toad and do some sharpening. Comments are appreciated!

Image explanations

2009-03-23T18:58:00.000-07:00

Since there seems to be some different interpretations on my imagery than I intended I will take a minute to explain the idea behind them.

The guinea pig image is about my food allergies, and memories of not being able to eat wheat for years after having a pet guinea pig at age five.
I was always sensitive to wheat, but at that time I was able to tolerate wheat in small amounts. My mom is allergic to all things with hair, so we could never have cats or dogs. Like any little kid I wanted a pet and I finally convinced her to buy me a guinea pig.
It wasn't more than a matter of months before I began getting terrible hives and skin irritation. It was determined that I could no longer eat wheat, and popcorn, my guinea pig must go.

I have always been allergic to dairy products, but when you add wheat to that list you're not left with many kid friendly foods. I remember being teased about what I brought in my lunch- strange looking bread, or weird yogurt. Soy products have come a long way since then. Although the imagery portrayed in "Crickets for Lunch" depicts a true incident it also represents how I felt about what I brought in my lunch. Sometimes it felt like there were literally crickets pouring out from the reactions I got from some of my "friends."

2. Since I could not have animals with hair, and I probably was not going to find a hairless cat roaming the streets I turned to less cuddly creatures like fish and toads. The image of the toad in the glass jar comes from a story of a giant toad.
I was about 11 and found a huge toad out in the county at a friends house. I ask if I could take it home and she found a canning jar for me to put it in. We literally had to jam this toad in the jar to get him to fit. It was dark by the time I got home and so I put the toad in our old fisher price turtle sandbox, so he would be safe for the night. Unfortunately he escaped and I never got to have him as a pet.

I will work on revising my images and post them ASAP

New Images

2009-03-23T14:07:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Sally I got a toad to photograph!
Here are some new images, I'll show them at critique.

Shape In A Misshapen World show

2009-03-16T20:26:00.000-07:00

Here are the images I got into the upcoming art show on campus. Hope everyone else got in too!

Updated statement

2009-03-16T07:47:00.001-07:00

For the past several years animals have been the main subject matter of my work. I have explored dead animal, live animals, cartoon animal people, and farm animals. By exploring different ways of photographing animals I came to the realization that in order to make my photography work I needed to take it to a personal level. My current work illustrates my experiences with animals. This includes pets as well as animals I have encountered in the wild.
In elementary school some kids put a bunch of grasshoppers in my lunchbox while we were out on the playground and told me to go open it. This incident inspired the image "Crickets for Lunch." Color is important in my work as a tool to convey emotion. In Crickets for Lunch I chose primary colors and kept them bright so an element of childhood would remain in the piece.

Just as color is important, a lack of color can be just as effective. My first experience in photography was in a traditional darkroom developing and printing black and white images. Although I have made the transition to the digital darkroom there are many times that a black and white image delivers a stronger message to the viewer than color.

Printmaking shares the tradition of black and white prints as well. I have carried the animal theme into my printmaking work and am currently experimenting depicting the same images as I photograph. The difference will be in the way image is constructed. When I draw an image as an initial idea it is highly unlikely that I will be able to find props that match. It will be a good exercise to explore the differences that photography and printmaking bring to the image making process.

My work is intended to remind viewers of their own experiences with animals, and present myself with challenges of getting the most out of a specific working process.

Crickets for Lunch!

2009-03-15T11:46:00.000-07:00

Finished!
comments are appreciated.

more portraits

2009-03-15T11:22:00.000-07:00

Spring break flew by, and as usual I did not get nearly enough stuff finished. Jen came on Friday for a photo session and I've been working on the images a few days. I'm still not sure how this is going to come together, but for now I'm just shooting.

Lucy, my guinea pig is still skittish, but I'm going to attempt to photograph her tomorrow so I can add to that series. I need a toad too, so if anyone sees one you can get it for me :)

I have also updated my business site www.bolophotoinc.com, and I would appreciate any feedback.

New photos

2009-03-10T18:33:00.000-07:00

here are some images from today. This is the beginning of a new series that has yet to be fully developed. I'm still looking for model's though, if anyone is interested.

Let me know what you think!

Updates

2009-03-04T19:52:00.000-08:00

Apparently everyone likes the bright crickets better, so that is what I'm going with. I like that one too, but I need to fix some things.

I got a guinea pig so I can do my next shoot. Let me know if you want her, I can't really keep her very long.

I talked to Dull and Jessi and suggested I work on the same subject matter in both mediums. I think this is what I wanted to do all along, I'm not sure why it took so long to figure out... I'll be working hard over break to catch up so I have stuff for jr review.

Dilema

2009-03-02T16:11:00.000-08:00

Lately I have become very frustrated with printmaking and the lack of work I accomplish. I think that my photographs are stronger and I enjoy working behind the camera better than trying to get all my ideas correctly into a drawing. I'm in printmaking 4 as well as computer art 4, so it's equal as far as credits go.

My problem is this: I was going to use the ideas I came up with about pets for printmaking. Now I am going to photograph them instead, so I don't know what to do for printmaking.

I was looking at the book Posters for the People, which is a collection of the posters that the WPA created in the 1930 and 40s. The are all screen prints and range from announcements for art shows and theater events to health awareness and conservation of parks.

Anyway so I was thinking that I could make posters that went along with my photographs so I could still have my printmaking tie into the big picture.

Midterm statement

2009-03-02T16:09:00.000-08:00

For the past several years animals have been the main subject matter of my work. I have explored dead animal, live animals, cartoon animal people, farm animals. By exploring different ways of photographing animals I came to the realization that in order to make my photography work I needed to take it to a personal level. My current work illustrates my experiences with animals. This includes pets as well as animals I have encountered in the wild.
In elementary school some kinds put a bunch of grasshoppers in my lunchbox while we were out on the playground and told me to go open it. This incident inspired the image "Crickets for Lunch." Another image shows a guinea pig and a stack of bread on a scales. The animals in my photos will be familiar to the general public, which is important so everyone can relate to the work. My intention is to illustrate my own experiences as well create images that a diverse audience can relate to.

New Cricket image

2009-03-02T11:59:00.000-08:00

Here is the latest version of the crickets. Let me know what you think!

Photography show

2009-03-01T20:49:00.000-08:00

This year the FAVA notices where sent via e-mail and did not specify which pieces were accepted. I entered 3 photos and was hoping that a series from the fair (which I'll post tomorrow) got in. The other 2 photos were ones from my elderly people series.

So, I entered the gallery excited to see which work had been selected. I was a little let down when I saw the piece with my grandmothers hands hanging with a cluster of other photos.
It's not that I dislike this image, but it is traditional and has been done before.
I appreciated the juror, Christopher Yates, taking the time to address the crowd and talk about why he chose certain pieces to receive awards.
The majority of photographs on display were traditional black and white photos, some silver gelatin, others digital and ink jet prints.

Among the photos that caught my attention was a collodium print, 2 prints implementing encaustic, and a very nice black and white portrait of a chicken.

Overall I think this years FAVA photography show was well juried and displayed a diverse collection of work from artists in and around Ohio.

Next great idea

2009-02-27T21:35:00.000-08:00

I can think of hundreds of things I want to do, but it seems like there always to large to accomplish during one semester. I'm currently working on my autobiography in pictures, but I recently came up with another project I'm going to start soon.

Its not entirely worked out yet, but it is going to be like a spread in a high fashion magazine. The clothing is going to be vintage/recycled, and I'm going to keep with my theme of animals. I have a few volunteers lined up, but will consider anyone else who would like to participate. My friend Jen is going to be photographed with chickens! Another shot will feature a ball python ( don't worry its a small one :)

Anyway I wanted to share my current ideas with you, and would be happy to hear any suggestions/reactions.

Printmaking

2009-02-26T20:30:00.000-08:00

Here are some recent prints. I entered these as well as my toad print into an undergrad show at a Chicago gallery. We'll see if they get in.

FAVA show

2009-02-24T16:32:00.000-08:00

Sunday march 1st from 2-4 is the opening of the 6 State photography show in Oberlin. Everyone should go and see some good photos!

Photographer Amy Stein

2009-02-23T18:47:00.000-08:00

"My photographs serve as modern dioramas of our new natural history. Within these scenes I explore our paradoxical relationship with the "wild" and how our conflicting impulses continue to evolve and alter the behavior of both humans and animals. We at once seek connection with the mystery and freedom of the natural world, yet we continually strive to tame the wild around us and compulsively control the wild within our own nature. Within my work I examine the primal issues of comfort and fear, dependence and determination, submission and dominance that play out in the physical and psychological encounters between man and the natural world. Increasingly, these encounters take place within the artificial ecotones we have constructed that act as both passage and barrier between domestic space and the wild.

The photographs in this series are constructed based on real stories from local newspapers and oral histories of intentional and random interactions between humans and animals. The narratives are set in and around Matamoras, a small town in Northeast Pennsylvania that borders a state forest."

Check out the rest of Amy's Work at http://www.amysteinphoto.com

Finally some photos!

2009-02-23T18:12:00.000-08:00

I can't believe its almost midterms! I'm going to continue working on my idea, and hopefully won't get too far behind. For now here is my cricket image. After hearing your feedback I think I need to see if I can shoot everything together. I have more crickets coming, and I'm going to work on some different lighting. Additional feedback is always welcome!

February 19

2009-02-19T19:41:00.000-08:00

I'm still working on getting my cricket image finished. The first time I went to buy crickets I ended up with microscopic insects which were hard to photograph. Then Heidi bought me some much larger ones in Columbus. I have photographed the various parts of my composition, now I just need to put them all together. I hope to have lots of photos soon!

Soon I will post photos

2009-02-11T17:48:00.000-08:00

My blog is becoming quite boring without any imagery. I plan to fix that this weekend after a few photo shoots.
Today I experimented with scanning photos of myself when I was younger into photoshop, but concluded that the quality isn't going to match the clean crispness I am going for. I am going to look for a model to use, but I need to figure out exactly what I want to do before I bring the people in.

For now I'll photograph some still life and make some plans.

Crickets for lunch

2009-02-09T18:17:00.000-08:00

This week I will shoot the first of the series. There are a few things I don't have, but perhaps I can improvise for the time being.
This particular image illustrates an incident from elementary school. Some kids(I guess they were my friends...) decided it would be funny to put grasshoppers in my lunchbox. We had a big playground and the grasshoppers were easily accessible in the tall grass. I left my lunchbox in a pile with everyone elses, and later in the day I was startled to discover the angry critters trapped in my box. Unfortunately crickets will have to do since I can't buy grasshoppers. I will pair this image with a photo of me and a landscape, probably an image of the playground.

Ramblings

2009-02-04T14:29:00.000-08:00

If the blog post "The impression of craft in new media" had not been assigned I certainly would not have stuck around long enough to read the entire post.

In my opinion an artist should make work that they connect with. I certainly agree that strong compositional and aesthetic elements should be present, but if other people don't understand the work that does not make the artist unsuccessful.

triptych

2009-02-03T18:55:00.000-08:00

I was brainstorming today, and came up with a few ideas.

I have always been fascinated by pairs of images. I explored that last semester, and think that I can make stronger narratives if I pair photos together. My most recent idea is to make triptychs. One frame would be an object or simple still life, the next frame would be an image of me at the time of the event, probably heavily manipulated or abstracted, and the third frame would be a landscape or urban image that represented the location or feeling of the time. I'll try to make a visual in the next few days so you can get better idea of what I'm going for.

Still life

2009-02-01T13:52:00.000-08:00

Here is the image I worked on today. I'm working on still lifes that represent times in my life. We spent a summer in Arizona when I was 10 and this was my favorite toy. I'll explain more on the concept of my series in tomorrows crit.

Proposal

2009-01-22T20:23:00.000-08:00

It's about time that I figure out what I'm going to do and stick to it. I've spent the last few semesters circling various topics and ideas, as well as ways of working. I think I finally decided on something I am interested in, and could possibly make a thesis about.

We all go through different stages in life. Sometimes were happy, other times were miserable. The same goes for growing up. Sooner or later we all grow up to some extent. I am going to explore these changes through still life photography.

For a while now my work has had animals in it- dead ones, live ones, animal people, and more. It was not until recently though that these animals took one a more personal meaning. When I started making images about animals I owned or had encountered it made more sense.

My printmaking this semester is focused on my childhood pets, and the effects they had on my life. My still life's are going to draw on the idea of growing up, and moving through life, which I think I can tie into the pet images. I don't have any completed ideas for the still lives yet, but I don know I will be working with studio lighting and complex still life arrangements.

I'll post more when I figure it out. Your feedback is welcome!

Semester 2 Post 1

2009-01-18T19:57:00.000-08:00

Despite the fact that I swore I would never take another night class, here I am. (That is if I'm aloud in...) I was originally taking Lit and film but apparently that class only counts for an aesthetic credit, and I needed a humanities.

I'd like to continue with photography, and perhaps tie it in with my printmaking series about pets.

Time Flys

2008-12-22T22:58:00.000-08:00

I was looking forward to a relaxing break, although it hasn't been too bad, relaxing doesn't quite describe it. We're still photographing seniors and family, and after 8 hours at a wedding and a family shot of 29 people I'm exhausted. I still have to go Christmas shopping tomorrow! Hopefully everyone is having a great break!

2008-12-04T21:34:00.000-08:00

I would like to get my prints scanned and posted before the end of the semester. That way all my completed work this semester will forever be recorded on my blog. For now though I'm just focusing on actually getting stuff finished up!

Another week would be great!

2008-11-30T19:09:00.000-08:00

Then I could get everything done... Guess thats not going to happen. I decided I'm going to make a new box. I have to order new supplies though, so it probably won't be till the weekend.

practice makes perfect

2008-11-29T18:15:00.000-08:00

I need a lot more practice. I made my box today, and it was not very fun. I have gotten a lot of books from ohiolink about book making, and I found a university website that had detailed instructions. They directed what to measure and included a work sheet to figure everything out. Despite following the directions my box still turned out too small for my book. This issue can be resolved by printing another book, but I am not entirely happy with the covering on the box. It was going ok until I laid in the bottom papers... they are a bit wrinkled.

I would try again, but I depleted my supply of matterials. What I have should work for now, and I'll keep practicing.

Its almost done!

2008-11-28T23:06:00.000-08:00

I got some positive feedback on my book today, and decided I will make a large print containing 4 of the images. This however will be a surprise at our final crit, so I'm not going to show you :). The book is printed and I'll be working in building the box tomorrow. Hope everyone's projects are coming along smoothly.

Cover and title

2008-11-25T16:42:00.001-08:00

Ok, so i have a feeling you guys are going to tell me this is corny...

I wanted a word that described the idea of my images and the Cerebellum ("little brain" in Latin)
is where sensory perception takes place.

I'm working on fine tuning the rest of the images so I can get them sent to the printer tomorrow.

Please Comment!

2008-11-20T23:33:00.000-08:00

Here are all of my dyptics for my book. My goal was to have 15. There are 19 and I am interested to hear if there are any that you really don't like, or that just should be paired with something else. You may use the poll at the right if you don't want to write.Thank You!
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2008-11-20T21:31:00.000-08:00

Sometimes computers frustrate me. Today mine decided that it has too many files and is going to be slow. Granted, I do give it a few hundred RAW files a day, but still. This is causing photoshop to run slowly and preventing me from editing clouds. Perhaps I should call it a night...

Book presentation

2008-11-18T23:22:00.000-08:00

I have decided that my book will be soft cover with a sheet of velum printed as the cover. This will go into a clam shell box that I am going to make. My idea was that this will represent the brain and the memories will be taken from it and viewed. Thanks for the honest feed back about the actual "brain box" I guess that would have been a bit tacky considering the depth of my images.

I ordered some gray and black book cloth as well as some special cardboard to construct my box. Hopefully all goes well...

(Terrible) Images

2008-11-15T00:42:00.000-08:00

Since it was a beautiful day I decided to venture out for some new landscapes. I took the my old digital camera that takes terrible pictures ( figured it didn't really matter if they were grainly since they would be turned b&w and have grain added later anyhow). I'm used to shooting the good camera which is set to raw already and I forgot to double check mine. I didn't start shooting till about 4:15 so it was already on the dark side. So the whole time I was driving around I was so excited about my photos because the sky was amazing. When I got home however I discovered that I had been shooting jpeg, and my images were too dark when converted to litho. Oh well, I guess there will be more days with nice coulds... Here are some of the images. Perhaps I can work with them in color.

New Artist Statement

2008-11-14T10:26:00.000-08:00

Here is a current version of my artist statement. If you happen to actually read it I would appreciate any comments, but I realize it will be easier to comment after you have seen the final product.

In my current body of work I am exploring the aging of the human mind through portraiture. I was drawn to the idea of capturing the personality of elderly people after visiting my grandma in the nursing home and seeing the different levels of age the residents embodied.

The human mind is always at work, but with age it often slows down. By comparing the mind to weather patterns I am encouraging the viewer to make connections between the two. Some minds are filled with density that makes it hard to function properly. The person is aware of their surroundings, and can function, but they are easily confused. Other minds are completely empty. The individuals sit all day staring into space. Even when the sky is clear it is still moving. I believe that no matter how cloudy or empty the mind things are still moving.

Memories are also an important element in the pairing of two images. I have found by visiting with elderly people that it is much easier for them to recall the past then current events in their life. Although still pertaining to weather patterns I have included some images with buildings in them. By using older buildings or the suggestion of structures that once thrived I hope to connect to memories of places that the people used earlier in their life.

The portraits were all captured at the Good Shepherd nursing home, with the permission of the residents. I experimented with the best location to photograph and found that the light in the dining room and the hall worked better than the resident’s rooms. Most of the landscapes were captured throughout Ashland with the exception of a few from my travels.

I have chosen to present this project in book format to preserve the memory aspect of the work. By keeping the images together both a portrait paired with a landscape as well as all the pairs together my goal is that the viewer relates to the ethereal dream-like quality of the elderly people’s thoughts.

Papers

2008-11-12T18:23:00.000-08:00

This semester has been FULL of papers. I guess that's the life of a college student.

I did get my awesome metallic paper ordered last night to get my images printed on! I'm so excited to see how they look. Hopefully I'll have some prints to show on Monday, but If not I'll show you guys the rest of my images.

Random thoughts about my work

2008-11-10T21:40:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I know i'm supposed to have an artist statement completed soon, but for now the only place it exists is in my head.

I'm happy with the direction my work is going this semester, but I have yet to see were this photography project fits into things.

My idea coming into Printmaking was to make images that related to war. The concept has evolved into something slightly different. The work that I am doing now relates closely to my life currently (every artists probably does...) The war prints and the animal incident series are a reaction to events in my life. The photographs of elderly people paired with weather directly relates to my experience with my granda in the nursing home. I never would have thought of taking pictures of elderly people if I hadn't watched and gotten to know the residents of Good Shepard over the last few years.

I chose to pair the portraits with weather and cloud patterns because thats what life is like. You can read the nursing home residents much like you can read the weather.

That was nothing like an artist statement, so I guess I'll still have to work on that . I hope my work is not too cliche, and that I can actually finish something in printmaking.

painting

2008-11-09T18:28:00.000-08:00

I finished my painting. I decided to paint Milo, but its kinda hard to tell he's missing a leg... I like it though, and am happy I finally accomplished something. This week I hope to get the paper I chose OK'd by my printer and get that ordered.

November 6, 2008

2008-11-06T20:50:00.000-08:00

I had a wonderful day. Printmaking was fun and I didn't leave frustrated for once. I had an awesome shoot with a girl who looked just like Lindsay Lohan, ( she was much nicer though) and I stretched a 2 x 4" canvas for my next painting which will be in the style of Nathan Oliveira's red dog. I am going to paint my cat Oliver in stead of a dog though.

still working

2008-11-05T16:13:00.000-08:00

I went out for a few shots today, but there were no clouds and it seems clouds make the picture. I enjoyed the weather though, so all was not lost.

I'm trying to figure out a way to get my images printed. A good friend of mine has a printing business, but she is really busy and i kinda wanted to do some tests and stuff. I wanted to print the pages on metalic paper, but that only goes up to 8.5x11 and I would like at least a 10x20 image. Some sort of delicate paper would be nice as well. I'll have to keep looking.

Trying to catch up

2008-11-04T16:35:00.000-08:00

The semester is quickly drawing to a close, and I am frantically trying to finish everything. This also happens to be the busiest time for senior and family pictures, so between editing photos, carving linoleum, and writing papers I am extremely stressed. I'm looking forward to a break!
I am hoping there will be some nice clouds tomorrow, so I can take some photos for my project.

Thanks for the feedback

2008-11-03T18:07:00.000-08:00

Today's critique was very helpful in steering me in the right direction for my project. I plan to get out this week and enjoy the nice weather by taking some more photographs for the landscape part of my images. I am currently trying to think of a format for my book. I know I want something panoramic and pretty good sized. I have been looking at a few books of handmade artist books. I think it would be interesting to do something or make a shape that relates to the dreams/ memory quality I'm working with. I'll keep you posted!

no line

2008-10-25T22:59:00.000-07:00

Is this more effective?

Sky

2008-10-25T12:49:00.000-07:00

The sky was calling to be photographed, so I went out for a long drive in the country and got some shots that I think will work. I'm re-thinking the book idea. I still want to do a book, but I'm leaning towards making it myself. The biggest book I can get printed on line is 13x11 and I really want more of a panoramic format. I'm going to ohio link some bookmaking books and see where that takes me. Anyway, here is a preview, I'm happy with were this is going, but I'd really like to hear your comments too. Thanks!

P.S What do you think about the white line?

ideas

2008-10-24T23:08:00.000-07:00

As soon as its not so cold, or at least not raining, I'm going to go out and take some more pictures for my book. I like the idea of pairing landscapes, and old buildings with the photos I already have to make a narrative about memory and growing older. We'll see how it goes.

progress

2008-10-19T17:29:00.000-07:00

I've been working on the nursing home project. I decided portraits might be more affective then the previous idea of photographing the person with a picture. Here's what I have for tomorrow, I'll explain my idea more during the critique.

Printmaking

2008-10-13T11:19:00.000-07:00

here is my reduction linocut of Milo. I'm working on a series of war related prints. I'd love to hear any feedback you may have. I'm stuck between continuing color reductions or just doing plain black and white prints.

Midterm artist statment

2008-10-13T10:35:00.000-07:00

This semester I’m working on a project about time and the effects of age. I am interested in making a connection between young and old. I am working with the residence at Good Shepherd nursing home and villa, to find individuals that have photographs of themselves when they were younger. It is interesting to hear their stories and reactions to how they view themselves now as opposed to then. I spend a while talking to the person, and then ask them if I can photograph them with their younger picture. I am trying to drawing a connection between the people now, their stories, and the photo of them closer to the time the stories took place. I think it is important to have a strong connection between the individuals I choose for the final compilation, including only people that grew up in the Ashland area, and even Ohio, because I can relate to this. By placing an elderly person next to a younger image of them, I hope that the viewer will stop and look for connections. Sometimes age is kind, other times not so much. I hope a story will make the connection stronger for the viewer.
After I photograph a dozen or so people, and collect their stories I plan to present the project in a coffee table style book.

Some work

2008-10-11T21:40:00.000-07:00

Here is some work I did while on a walk in the country Friday. I love how it appears that the animal bones are stuck in the tar. I think it would be neat to to an abstract series of flatted animal bones. The cows are in progress.

done with another day

2008-10-07T19:46:00.000-07:00

Everyday brings us closer to midterms, and I feel like I have nothing finished. My print isn't going so well, and although I learned a lot of interesting things from a few elderly women today the photos were terrible. I was much happier making landscapes. First is a lady who was the oldest of 9 children. Her mother died giving birth to the youngest. This was the only photo of herself she had. The next is bunny, who I spent over an hour talking with. She's 89, but you would never know it. She is one of 7 children, and the only one still living.

No Progress in digital

2008-10-05T21:13:00.000-07:00

I've been putting a lot of time into printmaking lately. I haven't really been in the mood for pictures for some reason. I was excited about the elderly people shoot, but the excitement has kind of worn off since I have found how hard it is to work with these people. I think I just need to take a fresh look at it, and maybe not photograph people in the nursing home. We'll see, I still have hope for this project its just going a lot slower than I would like.

I need more posts

2008-10-01T18:31:00.000-07:00

The week has passed so quickly, and I barely have thought about blogging. I have been in the printmaking studio every day since Saturday, which is a good start to my goal of printing everyday. It looks like I won't have time to find people to photograph before Sunday, but if we have a crit next week I had better find some people.

I would like to have a minimum of 50 people in my book. I know I'm certainly not the first person to compare and contrast age with the person and a photograph, so I'm adding a twist. I'm going to talk to the person about what they were doing at the time in their life when the photo was taken, or any favorite memories from that time period. Hopefully I can compile the images and stories into a nice coffee table style book.

Gerry at 28 and 81

2008-09-28T14:34:00.000-07:00

Geraldine or Gerry as she is called, has only been a resident of the good shepherd for about 3 months. She is originally from Toledo, but has a daughter in the area. I walked around with my mom and grandma today, looking for people who might have photos of themselves when they were younger. I found a lot of people who are originally from the area don't have photos. My mom introduced me to Gerry, and I explained my project to her. She smiled and pointed to a box full of pictures. I asked if I could look for one of her and she agreed. Soon I found the perfect picture for my project. The date on the back indicated that it was taken in 1954 or 55. Today, Gerry said, she was 81. I continued talking to her and captured exactly what I am looking for with this project.
I was tempted to give up and find something easier since no one seemed to have any photos, but after meeting Gerry, I see how much I could learn from doing this project. This week I plan to look for more people to photograph at the Good Shepherd as well as the Villa apartments and perhaps the martin house.

2008-09-26T15:38:00.000-07:00

I'm also exploring image pairing. I have seen this done frequently in magazines and catalogs. The pairing of a portrait plus a detail shot may be more interesting to the viewer.

2008-09-26T15:23:00.000-07:00

I went to visit my grandma at the Good Sheppard today. She is 88 years old, and has dementia, but is still fairly active. Its difficult for me to photograph people in their environment. I like the controlled setting of a studio.
I like the idea of photographing elderly people with an image of them when they were younger. I want to explore this idea more, and focus on details of them now with their younger photo.
This is just a start. Feel free to give me some feedback.

its finally friday

2008-09-25T21:03:00.000-07:00

I, probably like everyone else, have had a busy and stressful week. I spent the majority of my week writing a paper. Unfortunately I haven't made it to the nursing home yet, but I plan to start tomorrow. The process of talking to people and getting permission has deterred my start. I need to work on being more confident, and I think this project may help.

The more I paint the more I love printmaking. Both are almost as equally frustrating, but I feel like there is a bigger reward with finishing an edition of of prints.

I'm planning to work on my photography, painting and printmaking this weekend, and I'll post as I go along. I think I'm a little behind.

a few more animals

2008-09-20T22:05:00.000-07:00

Tonight I photographed another elephant show, and some food. Nothing that great I guess. I think the rides from yesterday are my favorite.
This week I am going to start photographing my grandma and her surroundings at the Good Shepherd nursing home. I plan to make a documentary book of some sorts. That should keep me busy for a few weeks at least.

More from the fair

2008-09-19T22:52:00.001-07:00

Tonight the fair was much more crowded than the rest of the week. I was happy with what I shot tonight, but wanted to process them a little differently. The images of the rides have a SX-70 poleroid action applied to them to give a subtle creamy look as well as a vignette. I was going for a semi holga look.
The holga intent is more evident in the elephant images. I felt that these did better in a square format, and although I processed them in color, I like the earthy feel of the sepia.

Thanks for looking! I'll post more tomorrow.

a better day

2008-09-16T19:47:00.000-07:00

I accomplished 2 things today.
I finally succeeded in finding a suitable combination of paper ink and pressure for my block print. I also managed to work on a painting without getting frustrated. Both of which are important steps in creating better artwork.
I also attended scientist/comic book artist jay hosler's http://www.jayhosler.com/cartoonist.html
lecture. He did not talk about his art, it was more an explanation as to why graphic textbooks are a benefit to elementary and middle school teaching. He emphasized that the number of kids who are interested in science is dropping, and that picture style learning is helping to bring back interest.

population 0

2008-09-15T20:28:00.000-07:00

Photographing at the fair didn't go as planned, there was a huge lack of people, and I just wasn't that inspired. I did shoot some night stuff, but nothing worthy of building a series around. I was leaving the fair this afternoon and happened to drive though the old wal-mart parking lot. My camera was with me, so I snapped a panoramic of the desolate plaza. I got to thinking that I could photograph all the empty buildings in Ashland and I'd have quite a large folder of images. Perhaps I could contrast the old and new... I'm sure all this has been done before and the issue I'm constantly crashing into is how can I make it my own?
I like the landscapes I was doing, but I get bored fast- I need to find a strong subject matter that I can expand on.
I recently came across some work I like by Dan Brouillette.

http://www.danbrouillette.com/DBPT/mainpeople.html

*CLICK ON ENVIRONMENTAL AT THE TOP*

I hope to find a subject matter that evokes some sort of emotion.

Coming right up.....a week at the fair

2008-09-14T17:00:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of the Ashland Co Fair. BoLo has a booth in the merchants building, so I will be at the fair everyday this year. I plan to do a lot of photography, and hopefully can create a story of some sort. Today didn't go as planned however, because of the strong wind. It was too windy to shoot and officials evacuated at 4:30. I will try to go early tomorrow morning to catch up on the wind damage. Until then here are some images from last Wednesdays shoot in amish country.

Recent Images

2008-09-09T18:53:00.001-07:00

Maybe I should have saved these for the critique, but I thought maybe I'd get some honest feedback via comments :) Let me know what you guys think!

When things don't go as planned

2008-09-08T10:07:00.000-07:00

When I signed up for painting 1 this semester I was excited to start. I was working an developing a series of paintings dealing with antique family photographs and animals. I have been collecting vintage family photographs and comparing the family dynamics, and imagining the personality of the people I never met. I have also been exploring characteristics of animals and planned to transplant an animal into the person's body.
I understand this sounds strange, but it may be interesting if I developed it correctly.
At any rate I have to paint boring old still life instead of something I am interested in. I know that I should happily except the challenge of painting still life, but that doesn't seem to be working. So far I have learned that I will make numerous mistakes, but if I note them and make sure to not make it in the next painting I will get something out of this in the end.

Macro!

2008-09-03T18:35:00.000-07:00

I was out experimenting with my new macro lens the other day. Here are some images. I've got some practicing to do- its hard to hold the camera still!

Summer Vacation

2008-08-27T19:32:00.000-07:00

Honey bees are becoming scarce these days, so I noticed them with greater attention on a recent shoot. I had a busy summer, but managed to work on a new series of color reduction prints. Hopefully I can start printing in the next week or so and I'll post the progress. Business has been picking up speed and we have senior shoots nearly every day at BoLo Photography. You can see that work at bolophotoinc.com

We'll see how long this lasts.

2008-08-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

I am horrible at blogging. I've tried it before, and I envy those who post daily. My bookmark tab is full of my favorite blogs, so I have plenty of inspiration. I suppose a class assignment is just the thing I need to get into the habit of this 21st century fad.