Lanie Vevasis Portfolio 2017
Art Blog
"Dealings with artists requires great prudence; they are acquainted with all classes of society, and for that very reason, dangerous..." ~ Leopold I
In my independent study, I was given three topics and left to decide two more for myself. For my first two topics, I went with two given themes: perspective and identity. #1: Perspective!My first project represents the theme of perspective. It is a three-dimensional piece with two-dimensional images. It is an object that resembles a set of stairs laid on its side; from the left, you will be able to see one image, and from the right, another image. The images will be of chess pieces: a black king and a white queen. Along with the theme of perspective comes the theme of opposites due to the juxtaposition between both the colors (black and white) and the objects themselves (king and queen). So far, I have created the base out of cardboard, with four panels for each image. I then decoupaged some brown paper bags with a glue and water mixture. Next, I will paint the base black, then add a chessboard pattern. I will create the images of the chess pieces using cut gray scale paper and an X-acto. I will then cut the images into four strips each using an X-acto, and adhere them to the base. When finished, this piece should be interesting to look at from all angles, even the sides with no chess pieces. Update: As of the week before Thanksgiving break, I have most of this first project finished. I have painted the checkers, using painter's tape for precision lines. I painted the checkers on all faces of the base besides the front where the images will go. I also cut out the shapes of the king and queen chess pieces. I will eventually use cut pieces of gray scale paper to add accents on the chess pieces. On the plain black and white backgrounds, I hope to draw a pattern of smaller chess pieces (knight, bishop, rook, pawn, etc.) to alleviate some of the negative space. Once I finish that, I will only need to cut the images of the chess pieces into four panels, and then glue them to the 'stair' base. Update #2: I am finished with the project, and I am satisfied with the result. The view of the pieces is a bit wonky from the front, but overall, it portrays the correct image on both fronts. Pictured below is the finished king and queen images, as well as the final result of the double-sided piece. The title is officially 'Checkmate', a blatantly obvious reference to chess that can even be respected by those bored of board games. If I were to change anything, I would try to make my cardboard measurements even more precise, because the paper goes slightly over the edges on some of the panels. #2: Identity!My next project represents the theme of identity, or more specifically, cultural identity. I wanted to have an East meets West vibe, and combine the beauty of Eastern pottery with representations of both the East and West. I planned to make a small serving bowl, and decorate it with a blue Eastern Dragon (these are wingless; it will be either Chinese or Japanese-influenced for the design) and a red Western dragon (these have wings, and often breath fire. They will be portrayed in turmoil, to represent the vast differences between the identities and cultures of both sides of the world. So far, I have wedged my clay and molded it to a base ceramic bowl. It is ergonomic due to its size - it fits in your hand at about the size of the average palm. I need to smooth the edges and make sure it is symmetrical, as well as thick/thin enough to survive the kiln in all areas. Once I have done this, I will leave it to become leather-hard, and then paint the background white, and the dragons with blue and red colored slip. I will cover it all with transparent glaze. Then, It will be ready to be fired, and hopefully all goes well from there! Update: For this project, my serving bowl is ready to be fired. Once it is fired I will apply a double coat of white glaze and fire again. Once it is finished in the kiln, I will paint the dragons onto it with acrylics. It was suggested to me that I do more than one bowl, so I was given a brief demo on the wheel. The bowl from the demo may be my second bowl, as I have not had an opportune moment/enough time to try the wheel for a second time. When I return from holiday break, I may attempt to use the wheel again to create my own, bigger bowl. I do not have any updated pictures of my current bone-dry bowl, or the larger bowl that was made by Mrs. Maclay. This project will likely take the longest to complete, with the process of firing involved. Update #2: I have the small bowl glazed and I have painted the first dragon on it. For the bowl, I only need to paint the second dragon and then varnish it to keep the paint from scratching off. The paint job so far still needs a few touch-ups, but for now, it gives the general idea of the style I was going for with this topic. I never made a second bowl, so to compensate, I was considering to make a tapestry with a similar image of the two dragons. That idea, however, is still brewing and it may never come into fruition. For now, here are two images of my glazed bowl with the first dragon. The project title is 'East meets West'. Update: I added the red western dragon, and I created a warm-cool contrast with the red and blue colors. Unfortunately, a lot of the acrylic paint tends to scrape off. The main concept of the piece is still there, with the fusion of two cultures. On the inside of the bowl, I made a yin-yang of fire and wind, the two elements that the western and eastern (respectively) possess.
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Lanie Trudiana VevasisI am a current Junior at Shippensburg High School that loves all aspects of art. I am in no way an expert; however, I am constantly looking to expand my knowledge and experience. Archives
January 2018
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