Robert and Shana Parke Harrison - Photography

I am posting these because they look cool, but also because they were not photo-shopped . . . seriously! It is pretty amazing what you can do without a computer!!

Keith Carter - Photographer

We watched a video interview of Keith in my photography class the other day and it got me really excited about black and white film photography and using medium format cameras. This guy is so genuine and inspires me to photograph because I love it.

He has uses a very shallow depth of field which I love. The photos have this great dream-like quality to them. great stuff!!

Buying your fist DSLR...huh!?!

Okay, so I have officially decided to buy my very own dslr camera. I have gone back and forth between yes and no for a while now and I ,even though it means spending a lot of mula, have decided to go for it. Since making that decision I have learned that the battle isn't over. I started researching and found that I didn't really have any idea what any of the reviews were talking about. I went to my professor and we ended up talking about camera stuff for and hour one day and an hour and a half the next. Needless to say I learned a lot and feel pretty informed. I have got my choices down to 3. The Nikon D3000 or D5000, or the Canon EOS Rebel T1i. All three of these are pretty similar and are very nice cameras. Those of you who know me are probably thinking "How hard can it be to decide, plus it is Kiery, the cheapest duh!!" Actually for once this isn't the case. The D3000 is the cheapest, but it doesn't have some options that the D5000 does. Video being one of the big ones. Normally I wouldn't have considered video something that I would want, but as a wedding photographer having the ability to do video opens up you up to a broader market. The Canon Rebel a bit more money than the D5000, the only reason I am keeping it in mind is because I might like the way it feels in my hand more than I like the other two. This is a big deal by the way. Anyways...I am going feeler shopping this weekend and who knows I might have a brand new awesome camera by the end of the week. (I am taking my husband with me to ensure that there is a great chance of this happening. He makes me buy things when I would usually flake out. :) I will keep ya'll updated!

End of school...

So, the end has come. I have my last critique on my finished locket and then school is officially out for the summer. I haven't really decided what to do with this blog. It started out as an assignment, but I think I want to keep it up. I probably won't post that often, but when I have completed a new project I will try to post pictures so you all can admire my work. *wink wink* Enjoy the summer!!

locket update

So...my work on the hinge has been backtracked. I was working on it yesterday and I soldered the locket shut again, but I finally got it soldered on. The problem came when I tried to solder the middle piece on...I kinda soldered everything and then fried the hinge. :( So now I have to start all over with the hinge. I am not looking forward to this at all!!! I really hope that I can get this done soon. I am going in Friday afternoon to work on it so wish me luck!

Locket update and other things...

So I tried soldering my hinge onto my locket yesterday...it was not quite a success. I soldered the hinge on, but I also soldered the locket completely shut...not exactly what I was going for. So I had to heat it back up and pull everything apart, sand all of the solder off and today I am going to try again. Alicia told me she would help so hopefully it will go better this time. I am hoping to get the hinge, clasp and loop soldered all soldered on today. Then all I would have left is to clean it up.

My "other things" from the title has to do with the ring that I made last night in like an hour. All I did was roll out my half round wire and then put texture on it so it wasn't super involved, but I love it. I am thinking of making some similar rings for my family reunion auction this summer. But it will just depend on how much time I have. I think I'll be able to do it next week. I will post some pictures of them later. I am really loving metal smiting. I hope that I will be able to take at least one more metals class before I graduate.

Final Collections Assignment

For the collections assignment my idea didn't get picked so I joined another group. I joined Toby's group. His idea was to get a video collection of sneezes. It was an interesting idea. I honestly was surprised at how hard it was to get people to sneeze on video. I never did get myself even though I tried a whole lot. I didn't end up getting any one to sneeze while I was videoing. We ended up with only 14 sneezes which was fine, but we were wanting to get at least 30. I think it turned out pretty good though. Our presentation was awesome. It looked really clean and crisp. When Toby gets the video posted on facebook I will add a link so you all can watch it. It is really quite entertaining. The more you watch it the funnier it gets.

Series Assigment: Photography

These are the photos for my final assignment in photography. We were assigned to do a series, meaning that the images are co-dependant, but can also stand on their own. I was having a hard time with this idea and tyring to think of something profound to photograph. I was talking to my teacher and he said that I was thinking too hard about it. He told me to pick my favorite of the two last assignments and do it. So I did. I picked the object assignment and did it over again with a different object. I used my husbands old dress shoes. My idea was that I wanted to photograph his shoes in places that they might have walked. I also like the worn quality that they have and the way that textured made the shoes look in black and white.

Update on Metals Final Project

So I have started on my project and have changed it up a bit since my last post. Instead of doing a round or oval shape I decided to do a square shape. Part of this decision change was spurred by our hinge demo in class. Soldering a hinge to a circular plane would have been much more time consuming and difficult so I changed the design to something with flat sides to make less work for myslef. I actully like the square better anyways. It works better with the design I wanted on the top of the locket. I was going to have to cut out my own dye in acrylic and use the hydrolic press, but while I was talking with my teacher and she was showing me one of her dyes as an example and it was the exact size and shape of what I wanted so she let me use it. It was an antique jewlers dye. She was very adamant about me using it carefully. It was amazing how fast and perfect they turned out. I decided to use sterling silver for the backing and brass for the front. That way when you look through the brass the silver is shinning through. Here are some pictures of how is is going so far.

Metals final project

The title to my final project in metals is "Contained Sound". I have been having a really hard time with this one and trying to generate any ideas at all. I finally came up with the idea of making a locket. I am really excited about this, but my next dilemma is what shape to make it. I have debated back and forth between round and oval...maybe even a slight egg shape. I think I am leaning towards Oval...

So the photos above are some ideas of designs for the top that I really like. Since the idea is contained sound my thought was that I wanted a design that had movement to it. Music/sound is always changing and moving so I wanted my design to reflect that. I also think that I want to pierce the design out so that you can kind of see the inside of the locket without opening it even though you will be able to open it. I haven't really decided if I want to put anything inside of it or not. I will keep you all updated as my ideas get solidified.

Van Gogh

We briefly talked about Van Gogh in my art history class and there were some interesting things that I learned. He was not crazy, which is a common misconcption. They think that he mostly likely had epilepsy, which would have been very frustrating to try to deal with without any medical support. The style that he used was all very purposful. I am a big fan of Van Gogh. I love the flowing feel of the brushstrokes that creates such interesting movement.

Portrait: Metalsmithing

So I have finally gotten my portrait back and have finally taken a picture of it. If you can't remember what I am talking about go back to the post titled "Art Metals Self Portrait" from February. If you compare these two posts you can see how much this really looks like me and the whole process of taking a photo and transferring it to metal. Enjoy...

Finished Portraits assingmnet

Here are my portriats for my photography class. The pictures of these aren't the greatest, but you get the idea. The people that are pictured are my two sisters Danielle (the one in the car) and Jenna (the one sitting down), me (in the bath robe), and Felecia Bowen just after she got married. I think that they turned out really well. This assignment was a harder one for me though...

Amber Conger

Amber Conger is an artist that I found on another persons blog. She is a local artist from Nampa. I really like her work. Ever since I have been in this metalsmithing class I have had more of an interest in metal work and sculpture. I really like her work. I actually found her blog and so if you want to see more of her stuff click her name Amber Conger . I don't even know where to start with her work. I'm not sure exactly why I liker her work so much. It is really fun to look at I guess.

book assignment

For 108 we were given the assignment to make an accordion style book. So I found some pictures of my family to put on one side and then on the other side I wrote words that describe my family or make me think of my family. I think it turned out okay. I wish that I had used heavier paper so that It would have stood better, but all in all I was fine with the results. It was fun to go through my photos and find some really silly pictures of my family...which really isn't that hard. :)

Museum Display Assignmnet #2

Title: "Earnist Hemmingway"

I found this display in the Hemmingway building on campus. It is meant to be an educational display about Ernest Hemmingway and why this building was named after him. The display is set up in a tall standing glass case. The case is divided into three vertically. The left and right sides are divided into three horizontally and are full of books by Hemmingway and picture of him. The middle is divided into two. The top part has a bust that was donated to Boise State by Hemmingway and has most of the information in it. The bottom part has more books and information. This has a very museum-like feel. It is very upfront about what it is about and what you are supposed to get from it.

muesum display assignmnet #1

#1



Title: "Designated Play Area" -Anonymous



This display was located just outisde of the Liberal Arts Building underneath a tree. It consisted of three crate like wooden squares, each filled with different things. The first box was full of rusty metal parts, the second empty pill bottles and the third broken glass bottles. The only information given wa the title and it was on a plaque on a wodden stake, very much like a roadside historical site display. I think that this was meant for everyone and is meant to be a comentary on our culture and socoiety and what kind of world our children are growing up in.

anne frank memorial assignment

1. describe: There are lots of rocks with words and pictures engraved on them. The pictures are of people. It is outside near the Boise Public Library and two major roads. There is a pond. There are hand cranked generators that talk about wars and teach you. There are benches with names engraved on them. There are trees and plants everywhere. Plaques with Universal Declaration of Human Rights engraved on them. There is a bronze statue of Anne Frank in the center of a stage surrounded by stone seats. She is life size. There are also plaques with the names of donors and amount given.

2. Is it representational: The statue of Anne is very representational, but everything else doesn't seem to be meant as representational. There are just names and quotes that have been pulled out of there original place and placed here with no background.

3. The outdoors is emphasized by the use of rock. There is learning through text and audio.

4. Is this site specific: No, I think that it could have been placed anywhere and still be as effective.

5. Who funded and sponsored it: The Human Rights Education Center sponsored it and was funded by many citizens and businesses around Boise.

6. What is it made of: They used primarily rock, cement and brick.

7. Where does the information come from: There are a lot of quotes and poems about human rights that are supposed to get the viewer to think about human rights and its role in history and life today. There is a lo of information about war also. The audio is where you get more of the historical facts.

8. What is it trying to say: It is trying to communicate equality and freedom to all no matter what their skin color of life situation. Wars are fought over freedom and equality so why don't' we just celebrate our differences instead of looking down on them.

9. It is successful: I think that it is pretty successful. The point is made very readable, but the location could have been better suited to meditative thought if it was enclosed or placed somewhere quieter instead of by busy roads.

tord boontje

Tord's philosophy is that he wants to "create a marriage of design with emotion that is as broadly accessable as it is enticing." His "work draws from a beleif that Modernismn does not mean minamilism, that contemporary does not forsake tradition, and that technology does not abandon people and senses." I really liked these couple of quotes from Tord's website. I think it is interesting to keep his philosophy in mind when looking at and thinking about his work. His work is very enticing and wonderful to look at. Here is a link to his website:

Tord Boontje

anna skibska

Anna Skibska is a glass artist. All of the above pieces are in fact made of glass. That is so amazing to me!! You would have to be so very careful to make these intricate pieces. I think it is interesting the way that she displays they very fragile pieces. She almost always has them hanging. That fact gives you as the view a feeling of unease. Her work kind of reminds me of spider webs...

Anna Skibska