Catching Rock Bass

Bring a Dessert to Share (2019). What do you think about the process of creating your portfolio and website?  I enjoy it very much. But. And this is a big but. Haha. But, but-  IT TAKES FOREVER.  FOR EVER. Seriously, no joke, add up the hours and I’ve spent days working on these puppies.  DAYZZZZZ. There are so many variables and options and endless possibilities. Constantly redirecting myself back to simplicity is an uphill battle and I’m never quite sure I’ve arrived at a state of finished. I like working on my portfolio and letting it evolve over time. One thing I really like to do, which helps quite a bit, is to draw layouts and build physical mockups for my portfolio ahead of time. Its good to have a tangible thing in my hand to refer to, especially when I’m wondering what-the-heck page I’m on. What is your opinion about the the tools - comparing InDesign to Wix?  Being a totally blank slate, InDesign is somewhat more in...

Student Work What challenges did you encounter while creating your portolio and how did you overcome them? There were so many challenges. ALL of the challenges.  This portfolio took a million hours to put together. There are several masters in that puppy as well as oooooodles of images and a boatload of text boxes. The spacing and layout were a bit fiddly, but overall it was a gratifying task. One challenge is transfer of muscle memory (ie shortcuts) between Adobe applications. Don’t even try to think that  ⌘D will duplicate a darn thing in InDesign! At the bitter end I made buttons for the objects in my ToC and instructed them to go to their corresponding pages. FUN! But NOT FUN THOUGH. Because whilst saving the interactive PDF I am informed that “Go To Page” isn’t supported. WHATEVER THE HECK THAT MEANS. Also I tried to go back and rewatch the tutorial videos to make sure I had all my notes in order but the video isn’t working on either of my machines. I’m g...

RHIZOMATIC!  1. What do you think about the focus of the paper? How does it relate to this course?  "the transformation of art education from an exclusive interest in fine art to embrace the much broader concept of visual culture" This paper illustrates the ever growing and developing nature of art and visual culture as well as their overlap and dichotomy. The incorporation of popular culture images into the narrative and scope of art and its history is imperative to making meaningful and lasting connections with K-12 students. The art classroom must include and understanding of and engagement with the greater universe of visual culture. 2. Do you agree with Duncum when he states:   " The structure of visual culture and a visual culture curriculum is rhizomatic." " visual culture operates as a rhizome."   Umm yes! This is a magnificent and apt metaphor. Especially within the context of a comparison with trees and tre...

Yes. For each video, what was discussed that you think will be the most helpful in creating your Digital Portfolio? http://tv.adobe.com/watch/make-it-with-creative-cloud/creating-a-portfolio-for-print-pdf-and-the-ipad/     In this video I learned some tools and tricks but the most important/helpful thing I learned is to plan ahead and do my layouts on paper in advance of my foray into In Design. (NOTES 👇🏼) ToC Brief statement  STYLE Resume Sketch layouts on paper first Drag frame; tap right arrow key to add multiple (equal sized) frames http://tv.adobe.com/watch/make-it-with-creative-cloud/adding-your-work-to-an-indesign-portfolio/       In a lovely dovetail with the first video I learned in this video that I’ll also want to have all of my digital assets set aside in a folder before beginning the structural build in In Design.  (NOTES 👇🏼) Fit frame proportionately  Text frame options for columnar text PLA...

Paranoid Android What is the topic (what artist) of your presentation and why did you select that artist? Visual Designer & Director:   Andi Watson I cannot say for certain how I stumbled onto Watson. The art and craft of lighting design has been around for absolutely ages: really ever since anybody wanted to put on a show of any kind. The evolution of this art has brought it from a place of simple, utilitarian function into a new world of experience and building of worlds. Having seen Watson’s work in person several times I’ve been moved by his ability to transform a space and create an immersive, engaging environment that exponentially increases the efficacy of the performance. When his show is presented, interwoven with the music, the performance is seen, heard, and felt simultaneously. The overall effect is captivating.  Did you encounter any challenges when creating this presentation? Please describe them and how you overcame them. The first challe...

In your own words, what does Visual Culture mean to you, how would you define it?  Visual culture is the outward expression, through images, of the beliefs, fears, hopes, and questions of the present culture. As such, it is constantly changing and ever-renewed.  June K McFee video ( from 1995, wow! ):  What are the most important things discussed that are still relevant today in regards to Art Education and Visual Culture?  In the video June McFee said "the individual is extremely important." She believes in the value and importance of the individual and the potential for each person's growth. I believe that this concept will never ever be diminished in its significance to the education of the individual as such. "Every child is a cultural mosaic." Period. In the "Zinester: Art of Individualism" video: Have you heard of "Zines" before? Yepper! I used to write them and buy them in high school. I was mostly interested in zin...

Improviz Gif by Antonio Roberts (Brought to you by Sharing is Caring .) 1. Of Robert's work, which makes an impact on you and why?  So far this Improviz Gif is making the most/direct impact on me. It is making me a little bit bonkers as it undulates and blasts color across this page and, consequently, my eyeballs. (It seems as though someone has turned off the sound for it.) I’d like to hear more explanation of the purpose and meaning behind the work. At face value I don’t derive much more than an “eye candy” experience from it. The whole concept of an Algorave is spectacular. I wonder about how much participants are really having to trust the coders. Because the sounds and visuals are not prescribed there is infinite variants. Exciting! You’ll never ever ever attend the same one twice! 2. How does Robert's work relate to the themes/topics that we have been learning about in this course? Technology is being utilised in a pure way- sometimes, apparently, the e...

In the bin. Have you heard of Banksy before reading these materials for class ? YES! Our family has been raised on Banksy. Little Sam was only 7 years old when we first saw Exit Through the Gift Shop. It was his first time encountering the “F” word. Because the swearing guy was speaking French we didn’t think Sam would have any exposure but he READ it in the subtitles. Nice one, mother and father. If so, what do you think of his work.  I like it. Ok, fine. Its pretty scathing. It sort of comes across as mean; I guess that’s the point. I choose to be delighted by the cleverness rather than bitten by the critique. Not knowing his identity is surely tantalizing! We do know that he is a sort of youngish white fella BUT because he isn’t a certain, specific person its possible that someone else could take over as a new Banksy any time and there can be a Banksy for every generation! What a wonderful idea! What do you think of the "Balloon Girl / Love is in the Bin" ...

“I didn’t like coming here when I was 3 or 4 years old because kids don’t really like art” In regards to the Anthony McCall Exhibit : 1.  Questions From the Family Activity Sheet for the Exhibit-  Which installation did you like best? Why? My favorite installation was Split Second (Mirror) (2018). Honestly, It was just my preferred piece of the bunch because I liked the mirror and I thought it was novel. That one would have been pretty neat if it were paired with a screen rather than the big old wall behind the projector (or that the projector was embedded in) but that would have required a more clever application for projecting the light. If you were asked to choose one of the shapes you saw today to represent you, which one would it be? Why?   The piece Between You and I  (2006) is projected from the ceiling down onto the floor. It is made up of two shapes At one point in the projection’s timeline one shape is a sine wave crossing a straight...

1. Do you think creating a classroom newsletter is an effective way to communicate with your audience? Why or Why Not? Creating a newsletter is a totally awesome, cool idea. Here’s why: it shows the students (or whomever may see it!) that some thought, effort and energy has gone into putting something together. That concept of planful output is novel and beneficial. My particular newsletter is something I’d like to do an iteration of, but I’d also like to have something that reflects upon past work as well as looks ahead to what projects and activities are coming up. Additionally I’d prefer to use actual student work in the newsletter rather than my own. 2. What did you think about the process of creating a newsletter using Adobe Creative Suite Tools?  At first the process was QUITE CUMBERSOME, but AS USUALLY [sic] it got smoother, easier and downright lovely as I put in the hours of practice. Woo. Now I love InDesign and look greatly forward to using it more in the future a...

Theoretically, one ought to have something to SAY. I am going to make a newsletter. Here is a basic outline to get me started. 1. Who is my audience? Students. My audience will be primarily students and geared toward them. I will, however, be keeping in mind that other faculty members as well as administration will likely see/review/read the newsletter. Parents too, maybe. So I'll be keeping it trés profesh. 2. What is my message? There will be some review of what we've done so far this year in school and things to look forward to. Also some artist features (student and contemporary working artists) and perhaps a little bit about the teacher. Perhaps. I watched/read the following tutorials on Adobe Help Center to gather some seeds of information: Creating a newsletter-  ⌘D = "drop in".   V useful. Also some bits and bobs about auto flow and semi-auto flow when dropping in large quantities of text. Furthermore, by way of observation, it seems like a pretty...

Why does art matter?  A broad overview of color and form in the paintings of Matisse. I chose Easel.ly for my Infographic. I looked at each site and contacted a few to ask whether they were compatible with iPad. They all said not. (Except one who didn’t answer me.) There were several places online I found people who had worked in Easelly on their iPad so I gave that one a go. I sort of figured that if I liked it the cost is only $2 for a student subscription. I did not like it; the free version, at least. Also at that point I was too annoyed to want to give them my $2 and then remember later to cancel. Blargh. I got through the layout and lines drawn and became fed up and bailed. I took a screen shot of it and finished it using the markup type tool in the iPad’s Photo app. No joke. Easelly was pretty finicky and every little tiny movement of my pencil made the objects object. (Haha.) If I was going to be making Infographics on a regular basis I’d really have to be able ...