organization feels so wonderful

So, I have spent pretty much my entire day getting my planner organized and syncing my iPhone with my iCal with my Google Calendar. I feel very ready to start school now with this task over with. 

Now I just wish that I could somehow add my calendar in full view to this blog....

-jl

2D Design Project: Final Project: Self Portrait

As with pretty much any art or design class, there is always going to be a self portrait that you will have to do. I did these for my B & W Photography class (when Photography was my major) in the Fall of 2006:

(I apologize for the quality, it's a picture of a picture)

Well, one thing, I can definitely take pictures better than I can draw people. So, just a little disclaimer....no laughing bc it looks like a cartoon drawing that should be in a children's book.

(this is an overview of the whole painting)

(this is the top half. In her hair are the words:

 "Go on keep misusing and abusing me")

(the bottom half. Her hair reads: 

"i'll only be stronger in the end")

Explanation of Design: There is a part of my life that had a huge impact on me, in a good way and in a bad way. During my high school years and for a few after, I was in an abusive relationship. The whole situation took me to my lowest of lows. But, climbing out of that hole, made me feel stronger than ever. And I feel that instead of being ashamed of that part of my life, I'm kind of proud of it. Not of the fact that I got beaten by someone who said they loved  me, but because I was able and fortunate enough to get out. And go on with my life. Most women, when in that situation, don't ever leave. And, on the outside, it's easy to sit there and say, "Just Leave!". But, I know, that that move is one of the hardest steps for a woman to ever have to take. It got to a point where I was pushed up against a wall, nearly missing a fall down the stairs, and looking down to the bottom to realize that this man could kill me. And so, I left. And, that brings us to my painting...The girl in the upper corner signifies a girl who is being abused. She is hushed (no mouth) and has a bruise under her eye. She is blue, because she is sad and depressed, but yet she knows that one day she will get out. Hence, the words, "Go on, keep misusing and abusing me...". The girl at the bottom left, is a free woman. She is strong and has color back in her life. But, she still remembers, and often looks back on those times and is thankful she was strong enough and got out. The words: "I'll only be stronger in the end.", bc luckily, for my situation, that was the outcome.

-jl

2D Design Project: Stencil & Spraypaint

The next project that we had to do, was to make stencils and again, choose a complimentary color scheme. Which means:

Complementary 

Colors that are opposite each other on the color 

wheel are considered to be complementary colors

(example: red and green).

The high contrast of complementary colors creates

 a vibrant look especially when used at full saturation. 

 

I used Purple and Yellow. We had to look through magazines, pick out pictures we liked, put them together, and then blow them up so we could trace out our stencil using acetate. 

Explanation of Design: It's basically Good v. Evil. Bc, really, everyone has a good side and everyone has a side of them that they don't like people to see. I used purple bc it's basically the closest color to black, without actually being black. And yellow normally signifies happiness and good.

-jl

2D Design Project: Comic Strip/Series of Pictures

Our third project was to come up with a story and illustrate the progress. He originally called it a comic strip, but then decided he didn't want the typical comic strip look, and he made sure that wasn't what we were working towards. We also, could only use 5 colors plus b & w. And shades of the same color were to be included as one of your 5. So, I chose: black, white, gray, light blue, brown, green, and yellow.

Explanation of Design: At the time of this project I was training for my half marathon. So, I decided to draw a silhouette of a girl running. In the boxes, it shows what mile # she is on. And surrounding the boxes are parts of Nashville. I went online and got the course map and planned my painting based off of that. The Parthenon, bc that's where the race begins; trees, bc we go through a suburban area; Downtown, bc we run through downtown; and we end near the Pedestrian Bridge.

-jl

2D Design Project: Promotion Poster

My second 2d Design project was to make a poster promoting something. I feel as though I am somewhat of an environmentalist, since I like to recycle and eat organic and all that jazz. And, as cliche as it was, decided upon a 'Go Green' design. We did have one stipulation though, we could only use a triadic color scheme plus B & W. Meaning:

If you were to draw an equilateral triangle on the color wheel, the color at the points would be a triadic color scheme. 

So, choosing to do a 'Go Green' poster, I obviously had to have green. So, my other colors had to be purple and orange.

So, I used green, to make the letters, different shades of orange for the sun rays, and you can't really tell by the picture, but dark purple outlines the Unites States. Also, in every project we do, we have to make our colors from the basic colors: Red, Blue, Yellow, White, and Black. This can sometimes take a long time. Especially when you run out of paint and have to mix again and match the previous color exactly!

This is by far my most favorite design I have ever done! I was extremely proud of myself. I was surprised at how well I drew the US, take it that it was the first time I had really drawn anything in years.

I actually took some pictures of it during the process

 

(drawn on canvas, green painted)

   

(White added)

            

              (finished-ish. Gotta make my lines stronger)          

                    

                                                                                          

(in class)

                                                                                          

          (hanging up for critiques)

                     

-jl

2D Design Project: Illustrate an Emotion (Limerence)

For my first 2d project we had a list of emotions with which we had to pick one from, and then illustrate. Of course there were the basic emotions, like happy, sad, angry, confused...and so on and so forth. I, naturally, chose the more difficult emotions (because I typically like a challenge) and therefore chose Limerence. See below for a definition and explanation of the word.

Limerence

Limerence, as posited by psychologist Dorothy Tennov, is aninvoluntary cognitive and emotional state in which a person feels an intense romantic desire for another person. The concept is an attempt at a scientific study into the nature of romantic love.

Explanation

Limerence can often be what is meant when one expresses having intense feelings of attachment, preoccupations with the love object, and (as new research on brain chemistry shows) a similar mind-state to obsessive compulsive disorder. According to Tennov, there are three types of love: limerence, what she calls "loving attachment" (the long-lasting love people are capable of having), and "loving affection," the bond that exists between an individual and his or her parents and children..

Limerence is characterized by intrusive thinking and pronounced sensitivity to external events that reflect the disposition of the limerent object towards the individual. It can be experienced as intense joy or as extreme despair, depending on whether the feelings are reciprocated. Unlike English, many other languages have traditional terms to denote limerence, like the GermanVerliebtheit, Scandinavian forelskelse or Russian влюблённость (vlyublyonnost); these expressions may roughly be translated to “fallen-in-love-ness”.

(Design on Bristol Board, using only B & W acrylic paint, mixed for shades of gray)

Explanation of my Design: In my research of this word, I found that it obviously means "the idea of being in love".  So, of course, I am going to use a heart. I used the question mark (representing one half of the heart) bc most people during a relationship, at some point, is going to question whether they love someone or not. They get an idea of what love is, and must ask themselves if what they are feeling is love, or something else. The shades of gray (representing the other half of the heart), signify the different levels of love that one can feel. Some, simply like someone a lot and take that as love (light gray), while at the other extreme, some give their whole selves to someone. Literally not being able to live without that person. Which is what I consider to be true love. I also think that everyone has their own version of what love is. The feeling is different in everyone. Which is also what I was trying to display with the shades of gray. 

This design took me a few hours to do, once I got the design figured out. It was pretty difficult to mix the white and black to get just the shades of gray that I wanted. I quickly learned that it is much easier to put a little bit of black in white rather than the other way around.

Blog Header!! Yay!

So, I finished my Blog Header finally!! I'm pretty excited! It turned out a little bigger than I imagined. I thought blogger would compress it some, but I still think it is beautiful. I'm going to make another one when I get more time and learn more in Photoshop!

Oh, and that's my name logo (in the bottom right hand corner of my header) I worked on for a while. I'm still not sure how I want my signature to be. But, I know I really want to use my middle name and not my last. That way when I get married, I won't have to worry about changing my logo again. And I think j.leigh is kinda cute. I've never really loved my name, so I thought this would put a little bit of a twist on it. And, my favorite flower is the orchid. I'm sure my logo will change several times in the next few years. But, it's fun to play around with it!

Hope you like it too!

-jl

I Just Can't Call This Home...

So, I'm back home in Cleveland, TN visiting my family.  Most people have never heard of this town, like when you say you're from Cleveland, they say Ohio. No....not Ohio, Tennessee.

It seems like every time I come home, I grow more and more detached from this place. Maybe a little bit like Sweet Home Alabama "I'm too good for this place", but mostly, I don't hang out with my friends here anymore. It's gotten to the point where I would always visit them when I came home, but none of them ever came to visit me at school. So, over time, friendships fell apart and, I feel, those strong connections finally broke. 

Being in Cleveland drives me crazy for some reason. Maybe its because I feel so much like this town held me back while I was here. After I left, I grew up and matured SO much. My brother and I have talked several times about how moving and learning how to make new friends really helps you evolve as a person. And a lot of people here, don't know about anything other than what's between the Southside Walmart and the Northside Walmart. And that's ok. For them. It doesn't make them any less of a person. But I feel for me, growing up in a big city and moving here, I was forced at a young age to adjust to new surroundings and make new friends. And I feel like that moment in my life, even though I hated it at the time, really made me a better person today.  

I love the idea of traveling and experiencing new things, meeting new people. When I graduate, I want to move to a new town, start all over, and make a life for myself. When that moment comes, yes, I'm going to be terrified, just as I was when I moved to Murfreesboro and went back to school not knowing a single soul. But, I find that it's in those moments of fear, that you really find out the person you are and the person that you are capable of being. And that's what excites me.

-jl