Ryan's Artist Statement

Ryan,
You have great beginnings to your statement. You describe an overall emphasis (see red text) and discuss use of materials as well as your process.
Below are my suggestions to consider for a stronger statement - the yellow text means lose it!
___________________________________________________________

Art, to me, is about obsession and passion. Through my work I try to show a great amount of attention to Details, whether it be through the mark making process or within early planning stages, is _____________. Losing myself in This sense of detail is what I feel allows the art to become part of my personal being as well as an expression. Recently, the path of life has steered my works__________ in the direction of book arts as well as printmaking, two fields I find infinitely interesting. Within these two fields I hope to use my sense of detail and my interest in the wide ranges of books to create work that is both unique and powerful. Recently I'm currently have been experimenting with the technique of lithograph prints and hand-drawn layers on book forms to create a sense of story that moves away from the traditional sense. Whether This play interaction can happen in the story copy decidedly printed on the cover and not within the book or in creating a very visually interpretive storyline. The work usually displays a graphic line quality to it, enhancing the dramatic nature and ideally reinforcing the messages of personal attachment. These works usually examine the ideas connected to personal events and the personally nostalgic idea of comic book related subject matter. Through pieces that explore this terrain and the many others of book arts and print making, My work becomes is somewhat ethereal in its delicate details as well as reflective somewhat on the ideas of or related to the celestial world and personal experience.

___________________________________________________________________

Art, to me, is about obsession and passion. Through my work I try to show a great amount of attention to detail whether it be through the mark making process or within early planning stages. Losing myself in this sense of detail is what I feel allows the art to become part of my personal being as well as an expression. Recently the path of life has steered my works in the direction of book arts as well as printmaking, two fields I find infinitely interesting. Within these two fields I hope to use my sense of detail and my interest in the wide ranges of books to create work that is both unique and powerful. Recently I have been experimenting with the technique of lithograph prints and hand-drawn layers on book forms to create a sense of story that moves away from the traditional sense. Whether this play happens in the story copy decidedly printed on the cover and not within the book or in creating a very visually interpretive storyline. The work usually displays a graphic line quality to it enhancing the dramatic nature and ideally reinforcing the messages of personal attachment. These works usually examine the ideas connected to personal events and the personally nostalgic idea of comic book related subject matter. Through pieces that explore this terrain and the many others of book arts and print making, my work becomes somewhat ethereal in its delicate details as well as reflects somewhat on the ideas of or related to the celestial world and personal experience.

Kate's Artist Statement

Lately I've been fascinated with translating ordinary objects found in everyday life into unexpected materials.  (For example, I made an extensive series of contraptions entirely out of cardboard, then gave each the ability to fulfill an impossible task. Here is a cardboard typewriter that will allow you to edit your life, correcting any mistakes that torment you.) 

 I see my work as an attempt to create an alternate universe, where artifacts like this typewriter are commonplace.  It is a collision between idealism and realism.  By making these machines and assigning them an impossible function, I point out the flaws in our world and simultaneously realize that only magic can fix them.  Yet somehow, the mere act of summoning these pieces into existence gives me a simple kind of hope.  That must be why I insist so firmly that this typewriter can actually erase mistakes.  Though I'm interested in continuing this series during the coming year, I want to make sure that I'm not merely recycling ideas.  I want to take it further and be ambitious, especially where scale is concerned.

your artist statement

hey.
Really enjoying your blog entries... great intros.

Please upload your artist statement, at the latest by next Tuesday.

Also, the website for exhibiting during this semester on first floor Holman is
updated. Don't delay- and choose a date --- soon ----- really soon.

hello yall : )

Summer for me has been very chaotic and stressful being pulled in and out of servral places for freelance work including graphic design and some fine art for small buisness's and friends. Lately i've been working with my local community college MCCC, working closely with my older students and newer ones during the summer helping them with various tasks in assistance with photoshop, illustrator, maya, flash, etc.

Between working at a campground driftstone on the deleware River Road, PA and working with my uncle in Montgomery, NJ with his color correcting company; basically magazine, cover, and poster fixtures including color balance, seperaton, and other methods of polishing pictures.

I'm very excited about meeting everyone in class now that the semester has started also after hearing all the rest of your very interesting and busy summer storys everyone has posted. See you all class everyone!

James Stevens.

Ryan

I just wanted to say hello and add a little more onto what Kate said about this summer. Recently I worked with Kate in the MUSE program and it was one of the most rewarding experiences ever. I had an amazing time learning how to create a researched based piece as well as many different paper making techniques. Although most of the summer was spent brainstorming for the MUSE pieces and working hard to get everything done on time, I did have some time to work on personal pieces. This work mostly was limited to brainstorming and planning however. I was initially worried about which direction I wanted to head in, but through the MUSE program and some personal work I think I have decided a printmaking/book art direction. Because of this, I am currently working on creating my own artist book/ graphic novel as well as brainstorming and working through a couple other initial ideas. So that's all I have been up to really.
Other than all that I am so overly excited to join the thesis class and can't wait to meet everyone and get started.

Ryan & Kate

This summer, Ryan Weber and I worked with Elizabeth Mackie on an interdisciplinary project that combined scientific research and art as part of the MUSE program. We began by researching the Ortler Mountain in Italy and its neighboring village, Solda, which have been negatively affected by global warming. After finding a record of how much the Ortler ice cap melted each year over the last century, we interpreted that scientific data into plans for a large-scale sculpture and an artist book.

The sculpture traces the diminishing ice cap through the years, while the artist book takes the shape of the mountain as it creeps into the space the glacier used to inhabit. Both pieces are composed of several sheets of handmade paper. During a trip to Women's Studio Workshop in Rosendale, New York, we learned how to make the paper for the artist book. We also experimented with various large-scale papermaking techniques and made enough paper pulp for the sculpture. Back at TCNJ, we began making 5'x8' sheets of paper, which we manipulated to take the shape of the Ortler mountain. After we screenprinted the small sheets of handmade paper white, Ryan worked extensively on the artist book, cutting intricate shapes into it.

The sculpture, entitled King Ortler and Little Siberia, will be on display from October 5-November 15 in the Icebox, Crane Arts Center in Philadelphia, as one of ten pieces chosen for the Philadelphia Sculptor's sponsored juried international exhibition on global warming. In addition, Virginia Welsh of The Ann Street Gallery in New York has selected the piece for a global warming exhibition in Fall 2009. This September, the artist book will be exhibited in the TCNJ Art Gallery as part of the Faculty Exhibition.

:-)

Hello, Hello!

For me, this summer has predominantly consisted of freelance photography after completing my photography maymester. Since finishing the course, I’ve taken a strong interest photography of all kinds. Aside from that I have been working for an independent wrestling federation called the North Eastern Wrestling Alliance (N.E.W.A.). My work generally consists of comprising flyers, DVD covers and several other forms of media to help promote upcoming shows and sales. Most of the work has been done in Photoshop.

Independently, over the last three months, I have embarked on a spiritual journey which has led me into practices of the Native American culture. I have read several books by a man named Tom Brown Jr. Tom Brown Jr. is a tracker and a wilderness awareness expert. His teachings have become an inspiration to me and I feel that much of what I have learned from him will be incorporated into my work this upcoming semester. Going along with this, I have participated in my first ceremonial sauna or “sweat lodge” which has also been a tremendous learning experience. At the very least, I believe that my experiences will contribute to the amount of focus that is exerted into all of my future projects.

Anyway, It looks as though I am among some pretty amazing classmates! I’m looking forward to meeting all of you.

-Nadia

anna's artist statement

To me, creative thinking (whether for artistic or practical purposes) when encouraged, always brings with it great possibility to inform or transform. When I paint, it's more intuitive than technical. I'll usually have an intial thought, get an idea for colors and composition, and go from there. Water-soluble oils, watercolors, and to a lesser degree acrylic and pastel are the mediums I tend to gravitate towards. The tentative title/idea 'Sensing Some Treasure in Loss', is for a group of paintings showing different stages of recognition/discovery (after the initial loss, what's the journey, what is the gift from it). The idea is from a painting 'The Cocoon' I did that I'd like to
expand on. It's one of the pieces I'll be bringing to class.

Summer Update

Hello everyone- I hope you all enjoyed your summer. It sounds like everyone has been up to some very interesting and productive things.

These past few months have been very strange (and at times difficult) for me.... when last semester ended, a friend and mentor of mine returned from Germany with terminal cancer. I spent much of my time helping her and her family as much as I could until she passed away on July 11th.
I don't have any real art projects to show for my break, but I am very proud to have known such an amazing individual. The time that I was able to spend with her will be cherished, as it was very special to have been welcomed into the life of someone so spectacular. Her name was Amy Tucci, and she was an amazing martial artist, visual artist, musician, equestrian, and friend. If you have a moment, I recommend visiting the following link to read about her, as she was (and is) a very inspirational woman. I won't forget her.

http://www.pamausa.com/Pages/amy/memorial.html

If it is possible, I would like some of my work this upcoming year to both honor and be informed by Amy's memory.

There were also some positive things that happened this past summer... I (unexpectedly) became a freelance photographer and am getting fairly steady work. In an effort to focus more on school and art, I recently quit my day job in home finance (August 15th was my last day) and will now solely be a full-time student.

Last night I just returned from a 3-4 day camping expedition in Ontario's Algonquin provincial park... we spent an average of 6 hours paddling canoes a day and were fortunate enough to see a moose. It was a nice way to end the summer, I think. :)
-Kerrin

Update

This summer I spent half of May and all of June in Paris, France with the International Studies Abroad program. I attended two classes 5 days a week with Christopher Schade, a paiting professor from Montclair, and professional photographer Claudio Cambon. The painting course was plein-air acrylic based and was held in different areas around the city. The photo class was classroom oriented, but had certain times a week to go out and shoot with my manual SLR. The experience was amazing. I got to see and know Paris while still learning and practicing my skills. I came home with 6 paintings and 18 rolls of film developed.

Since then, Iv'e been catching up on some commisioned paintings here and there in my free time. I still find that the most enjoyable and most difficult paintings are the ones I do on my own, sans assignment. I need to stop judging myself so much.

Can't wait to get back!

Artists Statement
I began painting by learning the skills and techniques associated with traditional style representation and plein air style landscape. Today I use these skills to create a more abstract representation, usually of figures and powerful objects that have an air of anthropromorphism. My pieces tend to work with saturated colours, textural application and incorporation of other two-dimensional materials. I feel that painting is not necessarily the final product, but more about the process leading up to it. Because of this, I like to leave traces of a human interaction within a work.


Intensity of Ten Thousand
Acrylic on Canvas
2007