I felt like this was a pretty good semester in terms of work created. I really enjoyed getting into a new direction of art work and can see myself continuing down the path I've chosen for future pieces and sets. I think I have finally fount something that really interests me in terms of producing work, and I want to explore what I've started delving into further. The feedback from my professors, peers, and interviewees has showed me what others enjoy, as well as what I've come to like about my own work. While I have a lot of things to do this summer in terms of finding a starting point in my career, learning programming languages, and adjusting to the real world, I'm glad to say that a consistent production of art work is also on my big list of things to do. I'm starting to find a niche in what I want to create, as well as what others would like to see, and I think at this point I should start elaborating on those ideas. I was very happy with the turnout and reception of the senior show, and I can't wait to try and submit more artwork to other locales to try and do it again.

Last Friday I was privileged enough to go to 78th St. Studios for the afternoon and get to see all the wonderful studios and artists inside. At first glance I was taken aback at how crude the building looked from the outside, even the halls to the gallery were giving me second thoughts about how excited I was, but everything proved just fine once we got into the wings and all the studios inside them. Seth, Sarah and I examined countless works of art throughout the floors of the building and enjoyed quite a few conversations with the artists and gallery managers. Of course some studios were more interesting than others; I wasn't too concerned with the artists producing jewelry or cheeses, but some of the traditional artists were fantastic. One man was dedicated to the craft of designing scenes with charcoal to give the impression that they were actually created with oil paints. I particularly liked how he left the pieces floating between two sheets of glass because he created his own natural borders in the piece for the scene to rest in. Some of the artists were quite talkative and enjoyed our company, though others seemed to shun us for how young we were. The group quickly learned not to take any pictures of any present artist's work or they generally got upset, but it was pretty funny the first few times. I was really astonished to see a whole set of work from a student who went to my high school with mine the halls of the second floor. I noticed the name, recognized the work, and then confirmed it through his facebook and personal page, it was pretty neat to see. I'd like to go to this event again sometime in the future, and even have stuff displayed here at some point if possible, but it was well worth the time to go!


As far as getting feedback from people this semester, I think my classmates as well as my professors do a pretty good job of reminding me what I should be trying to display in my own works. They help me to understand what ideas and motives I want to push throughout my work and are quick to point out flaws and errors when they can. I think it is best to have people critique your art when they know nothing of the subject at hand, that way it forces you to pick apart your objectives and themes throughout a body and break them down in simplest terms. In contrast, I think having to spar your words with something who is a bit more versed in the subject can really strengthen your arguments as well.

Hello world!

I was very happy with the turn out at the show last weekend, I was even so fortunate enough to sell a piece to one of my friends! Everybody worked hard to put on a great night and I think that it showed by how well everything was displayed and how well received it was.

Last week I also got a chance to interview my friend Mayim's mother, Civia Weisner, who is an independent and commission based artist who specializes fountain pen ink art and calligraphy! Talk about cool, she always sends me a birthday card with a small drawing and a personal message written in her perfect handwriting. While the greater portion of work she does nowadays is for her calligraphy, she used to do some great drawings and graphic designs back in the 80's and 90's. So we got to talk about her past work and where my own work was headed and how we each do our processes. It was a good time and a good opportunity to go home and see my family as well since she lives just down the road.

This Friday I'm also going on my second artistic adventure to the 78th St. Studios gallery showing with the AU art club. I can't wait because I had never even heard about it until last week, and now I'm really intrigued to see how large and crazy this place is.

Now this was the second time I'd gotten to go to the Cleveland State University Student Show, and it was even better than when I went on a whim with my friends three years ago. I went during the second week since opening so there weren't too many people hanging out in the gallery with me, but I was also there in the middle of the day on a beautiful Sunday in April so maybe most people just had better things to do. Anyways.... it was still pretty awesome. It was actually far smaller than our own student show in terms of quantity, but I think that the average quality and professionalism of work in the pieces presented was a bit higher than what the Ashland student show permits. And even though they only had around 50 or 60 pieces, some of them were just simply masterful and innovative.  Judging by the pieces presented, they seem to focus on drawing and 2D design more so than our own college, especially because there were a quite a few impressive inked drawings, in color as well as b&w. I think there's just something in an urban environment that kind of peaks people's artistic interests and gets them to try crazy or newer things compared to the more classic approach thats seems to be presented at Ashland. When I took my drawing I course at CSU a few years back, I had a lot of fun just learning from the two professors that taught the class. They would share stories of their commissions and gallery showings that just seemed so extravagant compared to anything I've ever had the chance to experience so far, and I think that if I do manage to become a successful commercial artist, or some type of artist at least, that an urban environment with my more clientele and more artistic influences would be the type of place to settle down in.

Pieces for final approval