Stella's Art Blog

In 3D art, I have continued to work with materials like fabric that I am used to as well as trying out new mediums like creating 3D figures with paper. I have almost finished with working on my puppet head, a feat that I am very proud of. I built this puppet head with a different base shape than the forms I'm used to, which provided me with a challenge. A project I am very proud of was the paper machine I built. It never registered to me that paper could be used to create mechanical moving art pieces, and the concept intrigued me. I'd love to create more moving paper figures in the future.

In Art Portfolio this trimester, I tried to expand my artistic boundaries by working in both 2D and 3D. I resumed the giant painting I was working on and finished it, as well as creating a sculpture series of "flesh monsters", work-like creatures wrapped with yarn to look like muscle. I even ordered some resin human teeth online to give them the desired creepy effect. I'm very proud of the effort I put into my works this trimester and how I wasn't afraid to get out of my comfort zone. Another project of mine that I was proud of was a paper collage I did. It's a picture split into two canvases featuring angels of heaven and demons of hell. I enjoyed working with paper cutting very much and plan to work more with it in the future and maybe even combining it with 3D to create a diorama-like piece.

Right now in 3D art, I am working on a muppet recreation of myself. Because most muppets take on monstery or nonhuman appearances, I created a creature that shares some of my notable features. I sculpted the head shape, which was different then head bases I have created before. I wanted it to be shaped more egg-like with a prominent snout. I then created the hair using yarn and the eyes and features with felt. I plan to style the hair today, and get started on the arms and legs whenever I am done.

Milton Ernest "Robert" Rauschenberg was an American graphic artist, painter, and sculptor who was well known for his pieces combining collage and paint. In a number of his paintings, he combines images depicting major political an social events of a certain time period or event (i.e. the JFK presidency) and edits them together and paints over them. I also researched his sculptures, which I found very interesting. In his sculpture work, known as his "combines" of the 1950s, he combines a variety of organic and manmade materials to create assemblages of items. This creates a unique new item, arranged in a compelling composition. They look like strange inventions to me, and inspire me to work with more natural materials.

Claes Oldenburg is a sculptor best known for his sculptures of giant-sized versions of everyday objects. Immediately I recognized his work (particularly the big spoon with the cherry)- I feel like I've done a blog on him before, perhaps? However, the last time I researched him, I was more focused on his giant sculptures instead of his work with fabric. I had no idea he even worked with fabric until the blog assignment mentioned it. Obviously, Claes plays a lot with shape and scale in his sculptures, but I was drawn to his use of texture and movement in his fabric works. He manipulates the fabric to lay a certain way, giving the sculpted object a prominent texture. This works especially well in his food sculptures, where he lays soft fabric to look like various breads/vegetables/etc. He is very loose with these fabric sculptures, and they almost look like they can be moved and manipulated like puppets.

Currently in Independent Studio, I am working on a piece titled "The Whole World and You". It features a nude woman riding a shooting star through the galaxy, attempting to shake a sentient planet off her back but is unable to. I created this piece to represent the way women are treated in a male-dominated society. We are catcalled, abused, raped, and stalked. Women fear for their lives just walking home after dark. And in some cases, there's no way to escape it- sometimes, resisting against a predatory man could be a death sentence. The empty galaxy represents the isolation and hopelessness a woman feels while being preyed on, helpless to escape the planet's clutches.

Right now in portfolio studio, I've started working on a sculpture of a small worm-like creature. I created him using yarn, wire, tin foil. mod podge, paint, and the real kicker- resin human teeth. My plans are to create a whole series of these little creatures, ranging in different sizes and shapes. Putting together a series of them would be very fun to display at the art show. My first creature, Clump, is very small, so I plan to create some on a larger scale. The largest would probably be reaching up to my ankles, while Clump fits in my hands. I've been using the internet to my advantage to look for inspiration. My creatures obviously won't be as grotesque as some of these, but they serve as great inspiration.

Finding information for Nick Cave the visual artist was a little difficult because there just so happens to be a far more popular musician by the name of Nick Cave as well. But with a bit of searching, I was able to find the works of Nick Cave the performance artist/sculptor. Instantly, I was drawn to his work- this is exactly the kind of work I'm interested in. Cave is a sculptor as well as a performance artist. He combines these two subjects in his work, creating sculptural suits that can be worn and performed with. His "Soundsuit" series uses bright fabric and fur as well as lots of found objects. Texture and color are some of the prominent elements of art in his work.  Cave's suits transform the human body into a trippy and whimsical creation. Cave isn't a puppeteer, but his work reminds me of puppetry that I would like to experiment with. So far, I have been creating cute plush Muppet-esque puppets, but I'd love to try and create more detailed and wei...

In Independent Studio, I have been taking a step back now that the stress of college applications and portfolios is over, and allowing myself to experiment with new concepts and playing around with my art style. I am trying to allow myself to get looser when it comes to figure drawing and painting and pushing my ideas and concepts further to create new pieces that are unlike anything I've done before. Working 3D is a relatively new thing to me, and I have been enjoying it greatly. I'm currently working on a little cool-down painting for the art show, but after that I want to start something more ambitious, like mixing video editing and 3D art together to make an installation piece. I'm also waiting to see what the plans are for Art Portfolio so I can manage my time and ideas when it comes to the installation concept. I'd want to do something focusing on the human consciousness and our inner psyche and morals. I love creating abstract and experimental pieces about human ...

Two project ideas I have been interested in are paper cutouts and installation art. Obviously, one is much easier than the other, but both are equally interesting to me. I would like to do a character in a scene for the paper cutouts idea by using both magazine papers and regular colored paper cut out carefully with an x-acto knife. I have experimented with stuff like this before and had a great time with it. My other idea is more ambitious, and that is to create an installation art piece. I would want to include elements of both 3D art and video, combining them to create an atmospheric piece. I am particularly inspired by Tony Oursler and his work, and would like to try something similar to his. He uses projections of faces onto 3D statues and shapes which is something I would like to experiment with.

There are many different styles of puppets and many different ways to make them. A style of puppet that has been most interesting to me over the years is the Muppet style. I have made a muppet-style puppet before and had a great time with it. The head base is made out of foam and covered with a layer of soft fabric to give it a plush feel. The body can be made with foam as well or other materials such as wood. The arms of a Muppet are usually connected to wooden sticks so they can be moved around by the puppeteer while the puppeteer's other hand goes inside the puppet to control its head and mouth. A muppet can be simple by having it just be a head and body, or it can be as advanced as adding eyes that can blink and other details to make it more realistic. Most muppets are covered in fabric to give them a soft and fuzzy appearance with hair made from yarn and string. Here are some of my favorite Muppet designs that I want to use as inspiration for my own muppet puppet. ...

Angela Haseltine Pozzi is an artist and teacher who creates her work from plastic found on beaches. Using litter, she builds life sized replicas of animals to illustrate how pollution affects them. Her pieces are vibrant, colorful, and creative, but have a serious point behind them. She founded the non-profit organization "Washed Ashore" to help bring the sculptures to classrooms and zoos across the country.  As an aspiring art teacher/someone who deeply cares for the environment, I fell in love with these pieces and Pozzi herself. I love how she is both saving the earth and educating people through her artwork. I aspire to achieve the same thing some day. 

This week and the week before, I put most of my focus into my college portfolio. I carefully selected works I felt best represented my skills and what I would want an admissions committee to see. I selected a balance of both personal work and technical assignments. I submitted these portfolios to both MassArt and Lesley University and was careful to include a variety of medias ranging from digital work, 3D work, and traditional 2D work. I am proud of my portfolio and excited to see the results I get from colleges. 

Hayv Kahraman is an Iraqi artist whose work explores topics such as gender and femininity in relation to her homeland and experiences as a refugee. Her mediums span from drawing, painting, and sculpture. Her style is composed of muted tones contrasting with either shocking and unsettling scenes or bright colors and patterns. She does stray from this style in some more simple pieces, composed of black line and color on a small canvas or a block of wood. While her styles remain for the most part constant, she explores a variety of different subjects in her pieces, most relating to the treatment of women in Iraq and in the culture. She doesn't hesitate to exhibit the horrors of a patriarchal society- her pieces show the suffering of women and the insecurities cast onto them, painting women as mere dolls to be toyed with.

In my previous blog post, I wrote about the process of making the head for my Muppet-style "Audrey II" puppet. My plans included making a stem, a pot in which he would be attached to, and various leaves for decoration. For the stem, I snagged a green shirt from a thrift shop and cut off a sleeve, creating a leaf like pattern around the edges which I added to the sides of the head. I then began working on the pot, using a plastic container as a base. Before embellishing, I modified the container to have a hole in the back/bottom so it could sit comfortably on my arm, giving the illusion to onlookers that I was carrying a flower pot rather than using a puppet. I added soft fleece to the outside of the container to match the rest of the puppet's plush aesthetic. I embellished the pot by adding a base and rim (also with leaves, using leftover foam as a base.) Once that was complete, I made a cardboard platform covered with felt to serve as the "dirt", with a hole ...

Tove Jansson was a Finnish illustrator who was best known for her comics/children's book series The Moomins . She created the world of Moomintrolls, hippopotamus-like creatures living in the mystical world of Moominvalley. The lovable characters spread and gained a worldwide audience and are now recognizable figures in children's media. The Moomins gained multiple TV series, a movie, and an excess of merchandise. I grew up loving The Moomins and Tove Jansson's art. She still remains a huge inspiration to me today. I love the simplicity of her style and her mark-making abilities, adding a sense of simplicity to her illustrations.

Jim Henson is one of my greatest inspirations in terms of 3D art. While he is best known for his work with The Muppets/Sesame Street, my favorite example of his work is The Dark Crystal. The Dark Crystal is a dark fantasy film set in a world of puppets. Henson spent over five years on the project, collaborating with other creators such as Frank Oz, Gary Kurtz, and Brian Froud to build an epic fantasy world inhabited by creatures of all shapes and sizes. Recently, the Henson company produced a prequel series, combining both the traditional use of puppetry with more modern elements to create a new and exciting story. The puppets are the life of the story, ranging from the cruel, vulture-like Skeksis to the wise and mysterious Mystics and everything else in between. It was very interesting to see the changes in quality from the puppets in the original movie to the prequel series. The range of mystical creates inspires me to want to pursue puppetry on my own.