Lips Lips Lips!

I have found an inspiration for an art project!

When I had displayed my dandelion piece I made at our school gallery many people came up to me asking how I came up with the idea or why I decided to make it. I couldn't really explain because the idea just came to me as I lay in bed thinking of how I could stretch my creativity. It came from inside me simply because I like dandelions and I like the lightness and versatility of paper (which is what it's made from)...and I always liked seeing items thrown out of scale. When I used to play Super Mario Brothers on the old school Nintendo, my favorite world was the world where things got really big. I thought it was cute, although it was really frustrating playing it because the bad guys were so big too!

Remember this? :) Anyway, maybe that's why I made a huge paper dandelion?

That aside, I learned  that people want to know the story behind the artwork and want to know what inspired a piece. So let me first give you an idea of what I'm going to do and then I'll explain my thoughts behind it.

I am going to need 20 participants who are willing to take a picture of their lips :) and also put in some effort by measuring the width and height of their lips. The end product will look something like this:

I haven't quite decided yet I think it's going to be a two part project. One set of lips will be not be smiling and the second set will be whatever you want to do with your lips without any props. It will be monochromatic meaning only black and white. I will be using either pencil or charcoal. This was the best sample I could make out of a self-portrait I've done in the past.

These pieces are going to be about uniqueness and individuality, but it's also going to be about a couple other things. It is going to be a way to remind us of the many details in our lives that we filter out. It's a survival skill that humans have to simplify and filter the massive amount of information we encounter, but sometimes we filter out too much. There is a time for everything. A time to filter out and a time to pay attention to detail. I want this piece to be about recognizing the overlooked.

 In combining a collection of different lips I want to also capture a sense of unity among the variety. I recently watched a video on Youtube called Where the Hell is Matt?. As I watched my heart was warmed and excited as I watched this guy and his crew get people from all over the world to dance together.  He brought together all these people with this one video. I can imagine people who participated watching this video for the first time waiting to see when they will show up and then experiencing the sense of connectedness they would feel to all the other people around the world who were in it. There is beauty in seeing unique individuals come together to accomplish and be a part of something bigger than themselves. And so the idea of this project was born.

I think one of the hardest things for me to reconcile about art with my life is that sometimes I find it is a bit lonely. I don't have much of an art community and so doing art can feel isolating. By having 20 of you participate, it is my way of combining my love of connection and my love of art. I'm hoping that I won't have to go hunting for pictures of people's lips, but I might have to ask family or close friends if I can't get enough people :P So don't be shy. You get to be a part of something that brings people together!

So, if you're interested, please comment on the facebook post or this blog and I will send you my e-mail address and we'll go from there. I will be asking you to send me two pictures of your lips (serious and one that expresses you), dimensions of your lips because I want to capture size relative to each other, and send me one word that describes you or something that you value (I am thinking of inscribing the word with it's paired lip in one of the sets I'm going to do).

Yay! I hope that some of you will be as excited as I am! Looking forward to some responses :)

-M

Fashion is Art

As I've incorporate more art in my life, I've picked up an increased interest in fashion. Being someone who used to always go with the neutral colors such as black, gray, cream, and pastel colors I always have to challenge myself to add color to my wardrobe. I always think "oh, I don't look good in this color" but some friends of my who are supporter of me venturing out of my neutrals, assure me it doesn't look as horrific as I think. Their assurance and encouragement has gotten me to browse stores for brighter colors and my closet has started to bloom. Looking at fashion blogs has inspired me as well. I'll see outfits that just *pop* and *dazzle*, not necessarily with shiny diamonds but rather the combination of contrast, emphasis, and uniformity.

I'm going to get a little more artsy technical here. While there is variety in personal taste, there are some basic concepts that generally apply as far as what our eyes are drawn to. Our eyes are drawn to areas of interest such as bright colors (which is why safety signs are red and yellow. Black and gray probably wouldn't work as well :P ).

We are also drawn to contrasts- contrast in color,  contrast in pattern, contrast in texture. With clothing I like to have something bright but also a neutral color that balances it out. I personally don't want to be a walking wild explosion of colors. I like balance. Our eyes also notice contrast in pattern. If everything I wore was all polka dot- shirt, pants, jacket- my eyes would be overwhelmed to say the least. Balance is key. Something patterned, something plain. Sometimes two patterns can look good together when they contrast each other, but it can be a bit tricky. I have yet to challenge myself with that. Contrast in texture is another thing I'm learning from the fashion blogs. One of the reasons why I enjoy the look of a tweed jacket is the contrast of the coarse bumpy interesting texture against a simple smooth shirt.

Emphasis is something that is more eye catching than the rest. Usually using bright colors creates an emphasis. Our eyes like to see at least a part of a picture or part of an outfit to pop out. For those musicians, I think music is a great example. A great piece of music flows- it takes you on this musical adventure where part of it is more quiet and slow and then BAM you get to the chorus and volume gets loud and upbeat. Same thing with our eyes. We like it when something goes BAM. Contrast also creates emphasis. If I had a red necklace against a red shirt, yes, I'd be a whole lot of emphasis but if I wore a white necklace against a red shirt, the contrast in colors would be an emphasis that makes the look more interesting. Sounds a bit confusing huh?

Uniformity is also important. We need to find a way to tie together the many different things we've put together. A well chosen outfit it one that looks complete because it has been unified with something, often times the use of color. In general I'd say I like to have 3 colors in an outfit. All of them don't need to stand out but they just need to be noticeable. For instance, maybe I will complete a look with by wearing orange earrings that match with an orange bag. Maybe I'll wear a necklace with a cobalt blue color to it to match the blue stripes on some shorts.

Well, I hope this was interesting and gave you a little insight into art- everyday art :) Here are some outfits I wore recently. Maybe you can identify some of the concepts I talked about :D

Happy Sunday!
-M

Passion

It's been a long time since I've posted. At least a year and a half! A lot has happened since then. I've finished 6 more art classes and made more artwork. During the year and half that I took classes, I was encouraged by my teachers and classmates and gained technical skills and confidence. Learning about art has allowed me to grow in my understanding of art- the heart of art. The visual arts has such an expansive variety because it is an expression of the soul, each unique. While many of you have seen the photos of my artwork on facebook, I've decided to post some pictures here of my favorite ones. I guess it's kind of like a tribute to the time I spent in school, living my dream of actually learning formally about art. It's also kind of a welcome back to this blog.

Now that I'm no longer taking classes, my next step has been to find the artist within me. A true artist finds art as an expression of their soul. For me, I find that I am not quite there. For me, I find expression through writing, mostly because it is easier for me to do than to actually make some art. I struggle because I like to get things right the first time around and make things look presentable. With art you have to throw away the obsession with perfection and presentation and start first with raw soul. Art is not art without it coming from the heart. I may have technical skills but without heart it doesn't mean much. It won't mean much to me at least. So I hope that you'll join me on this adventure of growth. I hope that it might bring some enjoyment and even more importantly, inspiration.

All my entries might not have to do with the fine arts, like drawing, painting, sculpture, etc. This will be a place where I can express my soul, but hopefully with an emphasis on visual mediums. I am searching for inspiration-both from the world around me and from within myself. Thanks for reading!

-M