Sculpture

Artist Collaborate:

Did you ask another student for feedback during your work process?

Towards the end of my piece i wasn't sure if i wanted to leave the book uncolored or if i should add illustrations that also revolve around Alice in Wonderland. I was indecisive because i liked the look of the text, but i wanted to add color to make it more clear of what the carving was actually of. My friend later suggested that i use color, but color lightly. This way the text would still be visible. I also asked my friends their opinions on simple things such as, what color to make a certain part.

Did someone help you understand important information or inspire you?

A friend of mine loves making book carvings. It's one of her main mediums. If i had a question on what to do i would always turn to her since she was an expert of sorts. She suggested i use a cutting board under each section to make sure i don't cut too far. This helped me out A LOT considering before i would always cut too far and instead of being able to stop i would have to continue cutting deeper. She also suggested i cut less sheets at once to avoid getting fuzzy pieces, but no matter how hard i try the pages still got fuzzy -___- . Regardless, her assistance was much appreciated.

Artists Develop Art Making Skills:

Did you learn new techniques or processes as part of the work for this project?

Book carving was something i had always wanted to try. Every piece looked really interesting and cool, so when the chance to try it myself came along, i took the opportunity. I learned book carving isn't too horribly difficult, but it is EXTREMELY time consuming, and lets face it, I can be extremely lazy sometimes. This project not only taught me the basic techniques needed for book carving, it also taught me to be a little bit more patient.

Did you gain skill with familiar materials?

There aren't many materials needed for book carving besides an exato-knife, a cutting board, and, obviously, a book. I had already used an exato-knife numerous times, so there wasn't really an opportunity to learn new skills with familiar materials. 

Perspective

Artist creates original art:
How did you use your own unique ideas in your work?

I decided to make a my whole drawing out of the same lyric written over and over again. Making a piece out of only words isn't my own completely original idea, but the concept of taking a lyric and making a concert scene is  something i have never seen done before.

Did you use a source for inspiration, then combine it with your own ideas to make it original?

I got the inspiration for this piece from a tumblr post i saw a few weeks ago and had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to try this technique and was really excited when we started this project. The original post was a drawing of Noah and Allie from the movie "The Notebook", and was completely made from the repeated phrase "If you're a bird, I'm a bird." I took this concept and made a concert scene made out of the lyric "Sleep is for the weak and we will never rest." (a lyric from the band that i based the concert around).

Artist take risk:
Did you try something that you weren’t sure about as part of this project?

I had never made a drawing completely out of words and i had no clue what i was doing at first. I didn't know how i would make variations in darkness versus lightness, so i was basically concerned and unsure about everything. 

Did you pick a material or technique that was new or different over something that was familiar?

Once again, using text as my material was a new concept for me to try. I was worried at first and still am considering the piece still isn't done, but i can tell already that it's going to look pretty awesome.

In Progress

Shibori

Michael Smith is a non traditional shibori artist. He is based in North Carolina and has been creating wearable shibori art for 25 years. Most of his pieces are oriented towards retail and  are available for purchasing on his etsy shop.

He uses a technique he calls "random suprise". Smith uses a variety of different materials, including silk, cotton, chiffon, and even velvet. The fabric starts by being  soaked and folded two or three times. He then uses his hands to fold the fabric more into small patterns. Once the pattern is made he sets the crinkles using a machine he calls a "Crinkleator". Then the dye is added and once it is set Smith washes it out.

I was initially drawn towards Smith's work because of the bright colors and intricate designs on his pieces. His use of other fabrics beside cotton made him stand out to me, as well as his non traditional method of dyeing.

Michael Smith's Website