Reference for Ceramics

Wheel Experience

This is what I made on the wheel. My experience on the wheel was pretty fun, I didn't want to do it at first but I decided it was worth it. I got pretty messy trying to make something presentable, so I ended up with this. It's a mushroom. I sanded it best I could and I'm pretty satisfied with it.

References

These are the references I used for my background, middleground, and foreground piece. I didn't try to make background the exact same but I think I got relatively close. After I saw the first image it just inspired me and I got ideas for what I should do for the rest of my piece. I used the angel's pose to help me when i was drawing my person sitting atop the  clouds.

Artist Critique

This piece of artwork was done by Kehinde Wiley in 2014.  It is titled "The Sisters Zenaide and Charlotte Bonaparte". For this painting he used oil on linen and it is 83 1/2 inches high, and 63 inches wide. This paintings main focus are the two sisters in the foreground. His style is to put people of color as his main focus of his paintings and then make beautifully intricate backgrounds.

Kehinde started with a simple peach background and painted beautiful flowers on top. The way he brings some of the flowers to the forefront of the painting is very visually pleasing. The flowers he used, I cannot identify, but they are more than likely native to Haiti, the place he went to do this painting . The design of the flowers as well as the little flecks of dust (perhaps pollen) around the painting makes one want to keep looking at it.. The bright background brings out the flowers and the two ladies nicely, their blue dress contrasts with the background in a great way . Overall this painting is very appealing because of the colors, repition, and style.

Through this piece the artist is trying to spread a sense of change. The original painting has the same title and is a portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte's two nieces. Kehinde regularly places people of color in his paintings, in the place of whoever was there before. He traveled to Haiti and induulged in their culture in the making of this painting. He plucked these two ladies from a beauty pageant, and didn't pick them of whether they won or not but he picked them because he saw a beauty in them.

Kehinde  Wiley's  "The Sisters Zenaide Charlotte Bonaparte" piece is my favorite piece by him. I don't usually look at paintings but this piece is really inspiring to me. I like that he includes people of color in his art and showcases it to the world, he's trying to change the narrative of what is considered beautiful in art. I also love the fact that he visits different countries and immerses himself in the people in culture before picking his subjects to draw.  It shows that he cares about the societies that he visits.Overall, I'd say this piece has inspired me to look more at his art and his message.

Hand Built Ceramic Lantern

For this lantern project at first I did this circular shaped lantern. I made the base using the coil method and then used slabs to make the curved walls.  I drew stars and poked holes into it to make it look like a galaxy, but it started falling apart and I decided I didn't really like it so I decided to do another lantern instead. My final piece is this lotus lantern and I'm actually quite happy with it. I took my time and made sure I carefully constructed the walls and smoothed them out so they properly connected to one another. I wanted to add some more leaves around the base, but I probably won't get the chance to. Overall I;m satisfied with this piece.

My art/ Style.

 This is a painting of  someone facing two conflicting emotions. I plan to re-upload this picture to a better quality later but I believe this is my "style." I like working with colors that convey emotions whether it be red, purple, turquoise, or pink. I rarely ever use regular skin tones when painting. When I paint I like to look up beautiful backgrounds and scenery to give me ideas for either backgrounds or what the person on my foreground is going to look like. People are also part of my style, I believe i have a certain way of drawing them that is hopefully recognizable and I just enjoy drawing people in general. For this piece i looked up spewing lava as an idea for the background and I feel as though I succeeded, as I used a palette knife to do this. I somewhat based the person's face after my mother. Also, this piece is imperfect as one half is lower than the other, but I feel as though the imperfectness adds a uniqueness to it because with the lower sad half, it kind of shows that people tend to look different when they are sad. I hope to continue making pieces like this that cause the viewer to feel the emotion in the painting.

Vision Board

This is my vision board for the year 2017. It's a silhouette of myself with some chosen words placed inside. I'll explain the meanings of some of the words. Flourish: I want to grow as a person and to develop a more focused and determined mindset.  I got my own back: Though friends are nice to have, at the end of the day the only person who can do anything for myself is me. Blue Heart & Lightbulb: I want to exercise regularly, and be more energetic because of it. I'm tired of being tired. College Just Ahead:  I need myself to come to terms with the fact that college is quickly approaching, so I need to take the appropriate steps in 2017 to ensure when college opens its doors, I will welcomed in.  UNemployed: I need to get a job in 2017. Though my parents don't want me too, I want to because I need to learn how to balance school and work, because I will eventually have to do so later in life. And I want my own money.