DESIGN YOUR OWN ART PROJECT
My intention for this project was to create an art piece that demonstrated the cycle of life. My original plan was to have the art piece show a never-end cycle, like re-birth or however you want to interpret it.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: (3-5 sentences)
Steps I Took:
First, I did brainstormed. I knew I wanted to do something with photography, but I was not sure what. I also didn’t know how I was going to make it meaningful art. Once I knew what I was doing, I made a schedule for myself in an attempt to prevent procrastination. Then I bought my materials: a hard surface (matte-board), blue paint, white paint, a pink rose, and a white babies breath flower. By mixing the blue and white paints, I made a very light blue color which I painted onto the hard surface to use as a background. Once it dried, I took pictures of the rose and the babies breath flower in front of the background. I used a flashlight to make interesting shadows cast by the flowers. Then I discarded the babies breath flower and kept the rose out of water so that it would wilt a little bit. I then painted over the background with a slightly darker blue color. I waited for a day, then took pictures of the slightly wilted rose on the slightly darker blue background. I then repeated the painting, wilting, and waiting a day steps for two more days. Each day I let the rose wilt a little bit more and painted the background a darker color of blue. Each day in class I edited the photos by turning down the saturation in the photos to make it look more faded as time went on. Each day I turned it down more. I also tried to take the glare out of the photos that was created by the flashlight on the glossy paint background. Then I put four of the photos I had taken together into a sequence. I discarded the picture of the babies breath flower.
These are the original pictures that I took:
Steps I Took:
First, I did brainstormed. I knew I wanted to do something with photography, but I was not sure what. I also didn’t know how I was going to make it meaningful art. Once I knew what I was doing, I made a schedule for myself in an attempt to prevent procrastination. Then I bought my materials: a hard surface (matte-board), blue paint, white paint, a pink rose, and a white babies breath flower. By mixing the blue and white paints, I made a very light blue color which I painted onto the hard surface to use as a background. Once it dried, I took pictures of the rose and the babies breath flower in front of the background. I used a flashlight to make interesting shadows cast by the flowers. Then I discarded the babies breath flower and kept the rose out of water so that it would wilt a little bit. I then painted over the background with a slightly darker blue color. I waited for a day, then took pictures of the slightly wilted rose on the slightly darker blue background. I then repeated the painting, wilting, and waiting a day steps for two more days. Each day I let the rose wilt a little bit more and painted the background a darker color of blue. Each day in class I edited the photos by turning down the saturation in the photos to make it look more faded as time went on. Each day I turned it down more. I also tried to take the glare out of the photos that was created by the flashlight on the glossy paint background. Then I put four of the photos I had taken together into a sequence. I discarded the picture of the babies breath flower.
These are the original pictures that I took:
Programs That I Used:
I used PhotoShop for editing my photos. I also used Weebly to display my product and reflect on them.
The Critique Process:
During the critique process, I asked my peers for advice on how to take the glare out of the photos. One of them said they liked the effect that it gave the art piece, so I decided to leave them in. For me, this was very helpful advice. The purpose of the critique was to view others work and get advice from them about how to improve your art. I feel that I definitely got the things that I needed from that.
I used PhotoShop for editing my photos. I also used Weebly to display my product and reflect on them.
The Critique Process:
During the critique process, I asked my peers for advice on how to take the glare out of the photos. One of them said they liked the effect that it gave the art piece, so I decided to leave them in. For me, this was very helpful advice. The purpose of the critique was to view others work and get advice from them about how to improve your art. I feel that I definitely got the things that I needed from that.
PROJECT REFLECTION: (5-7 sentences)
Why I Chose This Project:
I chose to do this particular project because I wanted to make something meaningful that everyone could interpret in their own way. I also wanted to do something that could increase my experience and knowledge in both photography and editing things in Photoshop.
What this Experience was like:
This experience was very beneficial to me because it taught me that I am a procrastinator and I need to go to drastic measures to get things done. It did this because since there was no structure and not a lot of deadlines, it allowed room and time for procrastination. I fixed this problem a little way into the project by making a strict schedule for myself so that I would get things done in time. The freedom of the project also allowed for more personal flare and creativity from everyone. Having it be a “low risk” project, meaning that there was not an exhibition or anything to prepare for at the end, was interesting because it made it hard to motivate. Since I was not really going to be showing it to anyone, it made it more difficult to find the motivation to make something beautiful. However, it was also very nice because it reduced stress levels.
Skills Improved in the Project:
The skills that I improved during this project are time management, creativity, brainstorming, taking feedback, and working with photography and editing. I feel that I will most if not all of these skills in the future. Time management, creativity, brainstorming, and taking feedback are all essential to success in the rest of my high school career, college and beyond. Also, as a freshman I am still exploring my options and passions for my future profession, and if photography is one of them it will be helpful to have this experience to draw from.
Why I Chose This Project:
I chose to do this particular project because I wanted to make something meaningful that everyone could interpret in their own way. I also wanted to do something that could increase my experience and knowledge in both photography and editing things in Photoshop.
What this Experience was like:
This experience was very beneficial to me because it taught me that I am a procrastinator and I need to go to drastic measures to get things done. It did this because since there was no structure and not a lot of deadlines, it allowed room and time for procrastination. I fixed this problem a little way into the project by making a strict schedule for myself so that I would get things done in time. The freedom of the project also allowed for more personal flare and creativity from everyone. Having it be a “low risk” project, meaning that there was not an exhibition or anything to prepare for at the end, was interesting because it made it hard to motivate. Since I was not really going to be showing it to anyone, it made it more difficult to find the motivation to make something beautiful. However, it was also very nice because it reduced stress levels.
Skills Improved in the Project:
The skills that I improved during this project are time management, creativity, brainstorming, taking feedback, and working with photography and editing. I feel that I will most if not all of these skills in the future. Time management, creativity, brainstorming, and taking feedback are all essential to success in the rest of my high school career, college and beyond. Also, as a freshman I am still exploring my options and passions for my future profession, and if photography is one of them it will be helpful to have this experience to draw from.