Documenting Your Own Work :: A Short Lesson On Taking Slides

I wish someone taught me how to professionally document my work while I was in high school, as it would have saved me a lot of money. The purpose behind this blog entry is to provide each of you with a basic knowledge of how to photograph your own work. Let’s begin with the materials that will be necessary

Materials:
35mm SLR Camera
18% Grey Card
2 Photo Flood light bulbs (250 watt)
T64 slide film (Fujichrome is recommended, and is available at Richmond Camera)
2 Clamp lights or Stand lights
Backdrop (solid dark color that is free of wrinkles)
Tripod

Procedure:
Step One: Preparing the Area
Since you will be using Tungsten slide film, it is necessary to photograph the work indoors, in a location that is free of sunlight. Tungsten film will react with sunlight, resulting in slides that have a bluish tint. If you are shooting your slides during the day, it is necessary to completely cover any windows to protect your film from sunlight.

After finding your location, you will need to hang your backdrop. Remember, this backdrop can be any number of dark, solid colored materials. I often use an oversized black sheet that has been pressed, as to eliminate background detail that could compete with the artwork. After hanging the backdrop, you will need to set up your lighting. It’s best to angle your lights at 45 degree angles to the artwork, as it usually reduces glare. Try to position your lights and your camera about six feet from your subject (sometimes larger work will require you to move further from the subject).

Step Two: Getting the Correct Exposure
After you have loaded your slide film into your camera, you will need to take a light reading for your shots. This will only have to be done once, but be sure to take the time to get an accurate reading before you begin shooting. To do this you will need to use your grey card. A grey card is the exact tone that your light meter seeks for a balance of value in any given scene. Sometimes, a scene will have exceptionally high contrast, and will make the camera think that the overall value of the scene is too light or too dark.

Since you will be using a very dark backdrop for your slides, the light meter will give you an over-exposed reading, in an effort to make 18% grey out of the given scene. To trick the light meter, you will need to hold your grey card directly in front of your artwork, fill the frame with grey, and take your light reading from the card rather than from the actual scene that you will be shooting. I recommend that you use an aperture setting of f 8.

Based on past experience, I have noticed that I my light meter often gives me a shutter combination of 1/15sec when using an aperture of f 8. Even though I’ve noticed this trend, I always use my grey card to get an accurate light reading. In addition to using the grey card, you will need to “bracket” your shot in order to guarantee a successful image. This is slightly more expensive, but it will give you the highest quality slide possible. Bracketing refers to shooting three slides of your given scene; one at the exposure provided by your light meter, a shot one stop down, and a shot that is opened up one stop.

Ex) Using my grey card, with the aperture setting of f8, my light meter might indicate that the scene will need a shutter speed of 1/15 sec. I would then shoot one slide at 1/15, one at 1/10, and a third at 1/30. This will give me three slightly different slides. Ideally, the original image that was shot at 1/15 will be the most accurate, but sometimes your meter is not accurate and one of the other two slides will contain the exact exposure.

Step Three: Getting Your Slides Developed
Once you have shot all of your work, you will need to take your film to Richmond Camera to get it exposed. Realize that it will take about a week and a half to get your slides back. Once you have picked up your slides, you will need to look at them using a magnifier and light table.

Separate out all of the slides that are the proper exposure and place them into an archival slide sheet. This sheet of perfectly exposed slides will be the originals from which you will make duplicates. Duplicates can be made at Richmond Camera, and should take approximately one week to be returned. Make as many duplicates of your work as you will need for art school, and NEVER send away your originals, as you do not want to have to shoot the same images again later.

Step Four: Organizing and Labeling Your Slides
Now that you have all of your slides, you will need to organize them, being sure to put your strongest work first. Those who will be reviewing your portfolio are likely to judge your ability based on the first few images that they see. Impress them right away, and you will have their attention throughout the remainder of your portfolio review. It may also be a good idea to save one of your stronger pieces for last, as the review panel has a tendency to remember the first and last pieces that they saw.

It’s important to fill the empty slots of your slide sheet with black squares of paper. This will block out unwanted light, and will allow those who are reviewing your work to see your slides more clearly. In addition to all of these things, you will need to properly label you slides. Always check to see if the art school has specific guidelines for labeling the work. If specific directions are given (VCU for example), you should be sure to adhere to them.

Given the competitive nature of the marketplace for artists and artist/educators, it helps to have professional looking labels. These can be created on labeling machines and word processors. If handwritten labels are a necessity, print clearly. The care used in labeling slides is a statement about your professionalism. If the slide is poorly labeled, cracked, scratched, etc., it may lead the viewer to believe that you do not care . . . so why should they?

Check your slides periodically to be sure the slide labels and signal dots are sticking to the slide. It is highly frustrating for the person operating the projector to have slides stick due to labels that fall off into the projector or slide tray.

Each slide should have labels that provide the following information:

1. Your name.
2. Title of your work. All titles should be italicized or underlined. If your labels are handwritten simply underline the title.
3. The medium. Be reasonable in your choice of terms. Slide label space may affect your word choice, so select your terms well.
4. Date of completion.
5. Dimensions. Whenever you provide dimensions for a work of art, you must use the following conventions:

Three-dimensional works: Height x Width x Depth (always in that order)
Two-dimensional works: Height x Width (always in that order)

Writing an Artist's Statement

I have given you all a guide to help you shape your artist's statement, and I'm currently in the process of providing feedback to each of the statements that were turned in. As I've been reading the statements, I've noticed a few things that I want to address with all of you at one time (it takes to long to write the same thing over and over again on each document).

When writing about your work, think in terms of "all of your work" not individual works of art. An artist's statement is an intellectual summary of your process and artistic aim as a whole. Try to write a statement that gives the viewer insight into why you make what you make, but don't allude to the fact that your work was a part of an assignment. The goal here is that these statements sound professional and succinct. Your statement should be grammatically exact, and you should always check with a good writer if you are unsure about the grammar of your statement. Also, try to not be excessively wordy with your writing, aim for informative brevity.

Your artist's statement is an extension of your work, and it is absolutely essential that you put as much effort into it as you do your artwork. You should seek to craft a document that speaks clearly to your artistic intentions, doing so in a way that showcases your intellect, creativity, and conceptual ability. As your statements are returned, please put proper time an energy into re-writing them with all of this in mind.

2nd Nine-Weeks :: “Identity”

Identity can mean many things, but the important question for you to ask yourself is “What does it mean to me”. The term “identity” can be used to define the content of numerous artworks throughout history. I’ve given a very open ended term for your definition in order to offer as much freedom for expression as possible. This term will need to be brainstormed, and each of you will have to conjure a minimum of four artworks that represent this artistic theme.

In order to offer even more freedom for exploration, I will not hold you to actually fabricating the work that you have conceptually developed in your sketchbook. Students who found inspiration in the original four works of art from this year are more than welcome to continue down that artistic path, but will still be required to conceptually develop the four works that embody the term “identity”. Some students have new ideas about the type of work they want to make in the second nine-week period. Those students should speak with me about refining the new exploration, and will be required to fully brainstorm the term identity as well.

Students who choose not to fabricate the concepts surrounding the theme are encouraged to think well beyond the limitations of our classroom and the supplies currently available. Be bold in your brainstorming, thinking in terms of unlimited exhibition space, unlimited resources for materials, and an audience similar to that which flocks to Venice every two years for the Biennale. How would your statement of “identity” grab the viewer in the clutches of its content? What would critics write about your work when they see it next to the work of artists such as Sigmar Polke, Emily Prince, El Anatsui, Jenny Holzer, and Yang Zhenzong?

As you begin to brainstorm, please revisit my blog entries from September that outline the artistic themes for the first nine-weeks of school. Look at the questions that I wrote, and plug the word “identity” in where it makes sense. Use those questions to kick start your brainstorming and see where it takes you. The ultimate goal in the second nine-weeks is technical and conceptual growth in each student’s work. I look forward to seeing the results of the second leg of our artistic journey this year.

First Fridays :: November

I went out around town on Friday night, checking out the latest works of both local and international artists. I started my night at a new gallery on Main Street (the name escapes me), where I saw a lot of paintings in a great space. The majority of the paintings were interesting, but there was one painting in particular by and artist named Chris Metze. His work had a very well painted surface, and his marks reminded me a little bit of Cy Twombly and Cindy Neuschwander. The color was very quiet with a calming essence about it. What I liked most about the work was the subtle drawing that seemed to occur both under and on top of the painted color fields. Take a look at his website to get an idea of his work, but do so realizing that the digital image only tells a portion of the story.

Next, I went to the Page Bond Gallery, where I was able to see Stephen Clark's newest paintings. I've been following Clark's work for close to ten years, having been originally inspired by his mark making and his use of space that resembled those noticed in Chris Metze's work this weekend. I was also drawn to the exceptionally reduced palette used in his work. It was nice to see the new images that he is creating, but I still have a stronger connection to the simplicity of his work from around '00 - '03. Having looked through his resume, I've noticed that the work on display right now at Page Bond will travel to the OKHarris Gallery in the SoHo district of New York City. I highly recommend taking a look at some NYC quality art in Richmond VA.

While at the Page Bond Gallery, I also noticed some work by another well known painter named Peri Scwartz. Her work was simply painted well. I stood in front of her painting with a couple of other gallery goers and talked about why it was such a good painting. We discussed the derivation of Richard Diebenkorn's geometry, and the elongated, linear structure of Alberto Giacometti's work. I checked the price list, because I was curious what it would take to own a painting of hers, and I was disappointed to see a price tag of $18,000! I love art, but I just can't afford artwork with that heavy price tag. I'll have to just look at her work online for now. After looking at her body of work online, I found myself wishing that her subject matter varied a bit more. Each of her paintings is well constructed, with interesting surfaces, but seeing the same subject in each of her paintings was not as exciting as seeing one of her pieces on its own in a gallery.



After Page Bond, I darted across the street to the Reynolds Gallery, where my current VCU Graduate School painting professor, Sally Bowring, had her work on display among some of the most celebrated local and national artists. Her work was impressive in its scale, and intensely complicated in its surface. I spoke inquisitively with her about her work, asking questions that she often answered with questions of her own. When I asked her why she paints what she paints, her response was simply "Why do you breathe". Her answer was honest, quick witted, and exceptionally descriptive for its brevity; a concise answer from an artist whose life has been defined by creation. It was so typically "Sally", and made me realize why I enjoy learning from her.


After the entertainment at the Reynolds gallery, I moved downtown to Broad St. to view the work at the 1708 Gallery, where we viewed, in my opinion, the most interesting work of the night. Young Kim's show titled "Salt and Earth" was incredibly conceptual, and made from surprising media. The work was more of an installation than it was anything, as the show's focal point was a narrow grid of photo-emulsion screen printed portraits of people whose expressions projected the essence of meditation. The images were screen printed with red clay dust, and were created on meticulously formed, raised rectangular stacks of salt with beveled edges and rounded corners. Each of these meticulous screen printed salt stacks was accompanied by a small bowl of liquid placed just in front of the image. The entire collection of stacks were individually lit by the track lights, and the overall ambient light in the gallery dimmed exactly 365 times each day. Each of the elements within the exhibit was biblically relative.

I spoke with the artist for a long time, trying to get to the root of these interesting images. They seemed very process oriented, and I was curious if he felt that the process was more important than the permanent image. He didn't really seem to find any one aspect of his work more important than any other, claiming that each was an essential element to the work, therefore lacking any hierarchy of importance to him. The work's impermanence was no less a part of the work than the imagery that he has chosen to depict. I found him to be incredibly conceptual, and very concerned with the crafting of his images.

After an viewing the art at 1708, we crossed Broad Street and entered Lift Coffee Shop, where Alex Bailey's work was on display. His new work is very different than the work that he was creating in his senior year at DRHS. The new images still retain the influence of Arshile Gorky, but the use of typography and handwriting give his images a new context. I'm very excited about where his work will go next, as I'm sure it will change a great deal over the next few years in the painting and printmaking department at VCU.


The final stop of the night was the ADA GALLERY, where my friend Langdon Graves had her work featured. I hadn't seen any of her work since she finished her Master's Degree from the Parson's School of Design in NYC. The new work was incredibly meticulous, combining an odd array of drawing and sculptural forms. The overall color of her work resembled cotton candy, and the images left me scratching my head wondering...... "how did she create this, and why did she create this". I didn't have time to read her artist's statement, so I think I might have to email her to ask her about her work.

Overall, the First Fridays of November was one of the best ones that I've experienced. Hopefully, many of you will do your gallery critiques a little early for the second nine weeks, and will get a chance to critique some of the work that I saw this weekend. I think there are plenty of interesting images out there to view and critique.

Collaboration of Hard Work and Inquisition

This entry is written in direct response to the work ethic of this class as a whole. As a level 4 | 5 student, you are responsible for representing the highest level of art-making that this program offers, and it is your duty to represent it with respect to both yourselves and to the work and energy put into this program’s making. As an instructional leader of this department, I take great pride in what we do here. I work as hard as I can to stay informed about art in its current state, and constantly seek creative and innovative ways to relay that information to my students. My goal is that the upper level students of this department accept the responsibility of being artistic leaders, and work equally hard to promote a learning environment that can take pride in its students' conceptual thought and creative art-making.

I’m writing this in reaction to the results of our Critique Week with the expectation that the work ethic and invested thinking will improve in the next nine-week period. Be reminded that you are all the role models to the students who are in levels 1,2 and 3. Those students in the lower levels will look to your example as they work through the ranks of our program. It is essential, for the future growth of our program, that your artwork is representative of a program interested in conceptual, forward-thinking artwork that is both personal and truthful.

There were many students in my classes whose work was incredibly personal and thoughtful in solving the artistic problem for the nine-week period. Though there are many successes to celebrate from our first quarter together, there were also a number of students who did not demonstrate the work ethic that this department expects of its students. I want each of you to feel like a part of this department and I want there to be a collective work ethic that is unrivaled by any other art department in the State. The only way to ensure this is to have each of you working and thinking as hard as possible while in my classes. Achieving this level of excellence reaches well beyond my classroom, and requires you all to be more aware of your self, your environment, and the art community of which we are all a part. I realize that I expect a great deal of my students, but please understand that it will never be my aim to discourage your efforts, but rather it is my goal to help you attain your own artistic and conceptual potential through a collaboration of hard work, and inquisition. We have all of the tools to become exemplary, we just have to learn to use them with efficiency, creativity, and exactitude.

Explore To Inform Your Work

There is a limit to how much I will be able to teach each of you in this class, so it is imperative that you also seek information on your own. I think it can be honestly written that each of you has the goal of becoming a successful artist and conceptual thinker during your time in the DRHS Art program. Knowing that truth, it is essential that you seek to inform your own artwork by knowing what is being produced at the highest levels in both the academic and professional art arenas.

My last Blog entry introduced the artists of this the Venice Biennale, one of the most innovative and celebrated art exhibitions in the world. Hopefully, you took the time to explore the work and investigated the meaning behind the making of the imagery that was on display. Now, I would like to challenge each of you to explore some of the work that is being produced at the university level. One of the best resources for your work is the internet, as it can immediately connect you to the images and concepts that are being produced in America's most prestigious art schools.

Take the time to explore some of the online galleries of the schools that I have listed below. Look with an open mind, and do not be quick to judge what you see. Remember, the artwork in the 21st century is more often about ideas than it is about technique. As you look through these galleries ask yourself questions, and take notes on what you find interesting. It's not wrong to borrow parts of ideas for your work as long as it truly becomes "your idea" by the time you have finished with it. Here are some schools to explore:

School of Visual Arts
Rhode Island School of Design
Carnegie Mellon
Corcoran Museum School
Virginia Commonwealth University
Parsons School of Design
Savannah College of Art and Design

In addition to viewing all of these online galleries, please make a conscious effort to explore the local galleries around Richmond. Below is a list of some of the most forward-thinking galleries that Richmond has to offer:

1708 Gallery
Page Bond Gallery
Red Door Gallery
Art Space
Reynolds Gallery
ADA Gallery
Plant Zero
Gallery 5

The Venice Biennale

I went to a symposium last night at VCU and listened to a panel of artists, critics, and educators discuss their recent trip to Europe to view the international displays of artistic concepts at the Venice Biennale, Documenta, and the Munster Sculpture exhibits. These were the distinguished presenters at the symposium:

Amy Hauft, Chair, Department of Sculpture + Extended Media
Richard Roth, Chair, Department of Painting and Printmaking
Gregory Volk, Critic and Joint Professor of Painting and Printmaking & Sculpture + Extended Media

The discussion and presentation left me with an undefined understanding of art in our current time. One certain is that the curators of these major exhibitions were concerned with the social condition of our world, and used the participating artists as a voice for their concern. Many of the works were politically charged, and full of commentary about global conflict, oppression, and devastation.

When I look at the work of these exhibitions from the an art historical perspective, I see the high art of our time as reactionary, and in some cases, "regressive", as voiced by Gregory Volk in his presentation. To me, many of the works in the Biennale seemed rooted in things that truly matter to the people of today, but at times, the art seemed aimed at confusion, disconnection, and random association. The range of art seen in these exhibits was so broad, that it makes me wonder how the art of today will be categorized and defined in fifty years. Most likely, there will be no simple way to categorize the current direction of art.

There were many artists discussed at the symposium who inspired me and made me think in a way that I had not before. It's always refreshing to be met with an image or concept that shakes me up, making me use a new perspective, and there were certainly a number of artworks discussed that did just that. Below, I have provided a list of some of the artists whose work I found to be very interesting.

Interesting Information About the Exhibition
Italian Pavillion (video)
New York Times :: The Venice Biennale
New York Times :: "Serious Art" video report
Interactive Map of the Venice Biennale

Some Artists from the Exhibition

El Anatsui

Born in Anyako, Ghana, 1944

Lives and works in Nsukka, Nigeria

Felix Gonzalez-Torres

Guaimaro, Cuba, 1957 - Miami, FL, 1996 (see video)

Sol LeWitt

Hartford, CT, USA,1928 – New York, NY, USA, 2007

Morrinho group

Live and work in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Joshua Mosley

Born in Dallas, TX, USA,1974

Lives and works in Philadelphia, PA, USA

Iran Do Espirito Santo

Born in Macoca, Sao Paulo, Brasil, 1963

Lives and works in Sao Paolo, Brasil

Izumi Kato

Born in Shimane, Tokyo, Japan, 1969

Lives and works in Shizuoka, Japan (see video)

Sigmar Polke

Born in Oels Schlesien, Germany, 1941

Lives and works in Köln, Germany (see video)

Emily Prince

Born in Gold Run, CA, USA, 1981

Lives and works in San Francisco, CA, USA

Gerhard Richter

Born in Dresden, Germany, 1932

Lives and works in, Köln, Germany

Susan Rothenberg

Born in Buffalo, NY, USA, 1945

Lives and works in Galisteo, NM, USA

Cheri Samba

Born in Kinto-Mvuila, Congo, 1956

Lives and works in Kinshasa, Congo

Lawrence Weiner

Born in New York, NY, USA, 1940

Lives and works in New York, NY, USA and Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Franz West

Born in Vienna, Austria, 1947

Lives and works Vienna, Austria

Jenny Holzer

Born in Gallipolis, OH, USA, 1950

Lives and works in Hoosick, NY, USA

Yang Zhenzhong

Born in Hangzhou, China, 1968

Lives and works Shanghai, China

Sam Taylor Wood

Born in London, England, 1967

Lives and works London, England (video and interview)


This list is just a few of the artists whose work was entertaining to me.

More Than One Right Way

I've decided to take a minute to discuss two recent figure drawings from my Art III course. I've chosen these drawings not because they are "the best in the class", but rather because they are so different from one another, yet both adequately meet the requirements of the assignment.


This figure drawing by Cody is exceptionally expressive and was made with vigor. I really enjoy the variety of line weight that he has created through the pressure of his marks. Also interesting is the way he has chosen to arrange the figure in the space. The composition of this piece really reminds me of the figurative work that Alberto Giacometti did in the 1950's (very centralized and surrounded by an atmosphere of gestural marks). Overall, I found this drawing to be much more expressive than the usual "long-pose" figure drawings that are created by my Art III students.


This drawing by Jeb is equally impressive, but has been made in a much more meticulous and calculated manner. Compositionally, there are several similarities between these two drawings, but the making of the marks couldn't be more different (yet neither is a more correct than the other). It is clear when viewing this drawing that Jeb has control of his space, his pencil, and his vision.

The part of the drawing that get my attention the most is the arm of the figure that has been carefully rendered in a manner that alludes to the marks made by the old masters. Jeb has followed directions carefully, not letting the rendered areas become "shaded", and has carefully hatched his values with exactitude. The manner in which he has hatched is very academic and of exceptional quality. Also interesting is the way that he has purposely chosen to leave areas of the drawing un-rendered, in much the same fashion that Jim Dine had done with his early drawings of tools. If you haven't seen those drawings by Jim Dine, look them up! You'll be impressed, I promise.

Get Started, The Journey is the Destination

I think many of the students in my Art IV and Art V classes are feeling the pressure of creating art that is of deep personal meaning. Not everyone can easily think introspectively, and I want each of you to realize that I don't expect that every single work of art created by you will have a deep personal meaning to you. Sometimes, it's just nice to get started and see where the work takes you. Having written that, I still want to mention a couple of things about how to make your work meaningful.

Creating art that makes sense to the artist takes careful consideration of the experiences that have shaped that artist. Art of the 21st century is very much about an expression of the artist's circumstances, and is most often celebrated when the artist is truthful in making his or her work. Not all art fits this description, as the range of art has too wide a definition to fit under such an umbrella. My goal for each of you in this course is that you at least attempt to tap into a realm of art that is made from your own experience, and that you try to make art that is a true reflection of your life. If you fill your work with life, it will strike a chord with its audience that will be understood, even if the imagery and subject is foreign to the viewer.

I realize that I am asking much from you this year. This type of thinking and creating is not often required of high schoolers, yet I do not think it is out of reach for the students this program. I have read the ideas that you all have in your essays, I have seen the creativity at work in my classroom, and I have complete confidence that each of you is capable to be successful in making meaningful art.

Idea Spotting :: A Summary

Idea Spotting by Sam Harrison

Having trouble coming up with your next great idea? In his new book, “IdeaSpotting,” creativity guru Sam Harrison encourages designers to quit looking inward and to explore the world around them for creative inspiration.

Here, he offers some exercises to help you get started.How many times have you heard someone say that there are no new ideas? While that may not be exactly true, you can learn a lot by “borrowing” ideas from the world around you. Are we condoning plagiarism? No way. Serendipitous inspiration? Absolutely.

Though his stories often pertain to businesses, art directors, inventors, and designers, the manner in which the ideas were attained is directly relative to an artist's work. It takes the ability to spot ideas in order to make artwork that speaks clearly to a 21st century audience. The ideas in this book will help you attain your best ideas for the art that makes the most sense for you to be making.

Explore the Masters for Material

When artist Willem de Kooning came to America in the 1920s, he met a young painter named Arshile Gorky. Lacking formal training, Gorky learned classical techniques by trying to re-create masterpieces. De Kooning was impressed and borrowed the process. Years later, de Kooning talked of using Rubens in his own work, fusing classical and modern into a new form. What masters of innovation do you admire? Edison or Einstein? Curie or Carver? Picasso or Pavlov? Dalí or Disney?List idea masters you admire. Explore their lives, methods and ideas. See what can you can borrow.

Observe and Take Note

Ideas have short shelf lives. We find them one second, forget them the next. That’s why it’s smart to capture ideas and insights at the scene of the crime. Book them before they flee. Take notes.Leonardo da Vinci is arguably history’s most famous note-taker. His notebooks overflowed with sketches and notes on nature, art, architecture. Thomas Edison loaded thousands of notebooks with insights and diagrams. And today’s creative people are equally diligent about recording thoughts and ideas.Canadian designer Bruce Mau says, “The single most necessary device for me is a notebook. I just plow through notebooks.” Gail Anderson, Rolling Stone alumna and current SpotCo art director, calls herself a note-taker and language observer. “I love making notes about type I’ve seen on store signs or on sides of buildings,” she says. Note-taking gives the creative process time to breathe, says Erin Whelan, Real Simple art director. “I love recording really out-there ideas,” she says. “It’s so great to start at crazy places and then reach middle-ground, smart solutions.” Eva Maddox, principal of Perkins + Will, has a journal in hand when she travels, but not for writing. “I draw,” she says. “I draw at least one picture in my journal each day.”Capture ideas while they last. Ideas often show up as snippets of conversation, views through windows, books on tables. They linger for a moment, then they’re gone. Take verbal and visual notes

Open Your Mind

Hallmark Cards, for example, finds inspiration by opening its doors to outside influences. “We value getting our people out of cubes and into cities,” says Scott Orazem, director of design studios. Hallmark designers, writers and photographers regularly tour metro areas for creative exploration. “These trips are purely for renewal and inspiration,” says Mark Spencer, program director.On a Chicago tour, participants explored museums and architecture, art fairs and shops. They dined at new restaurants and hit shows at Steppenwolf Theater. In Washington, a Hallmark group studied history and politics, theater and art. And the Santa Fe tour covered art colonies and Native American culture. “People return with broad knowledge and strong inspiration,” Spencer says. “For example, one designer created beautiful gift wrap inspired by theater costumes she admired in Chicago.”In addition to going out into the world, Hallmark brings the world in. A gallery in its Kansas City, MO, headquarters hosts 10 shows a year. Recent shows focused on watercolors, embroidered fabric, antique furniture and a 19th-century photographic process. “Each show runs four weeks,” Spencer says. “People from throughout the company visit for inspiration.”Hallmark also conducts an in-house lecture series, pulling in creative experts to share their work and experiences. Recent guests include poets, book designers and poster printers. “We seek ways to open our minds,” Orazem says. “We engage with people outside our world to exchange ideas.”What are you doing to open doors and minds?

Pick up the Trash

More and more people find ideas in found objects. “Right now I have little bars of soap piled all around my workspace,” says Kristy Moore, art director at Martha Stewart Living. “I get inspired by the packaging, the soft colors, the way words are stamped and etched in the surfaces.” San Francisco-based designer Bill Cahan gathers sidewalk stuff while walking to work: an apple core, a cabinet lock, a wood scrap. He piles these found objects in his studio and sifts through them for inspiration. And SpotCo’s Gail Anderson finds ideas in salt-and-pepper shakers and bottle caps gathered through the years. “I’ve also swiped typography from old matchbooks, tobacco tins and crate labels,” she says.Designers often use found objects as creative materials. A lamp shade made from Styrofoam cups. Another made from plastic stir sticks. A dividing curtain made from discarded tea bags. Joe Duffy, founder of Duffy & Partners, embeds found objects into portraits—oak leaves found on a tree-lined street in Paris, a tribal headdress found in Thailand. Any random object can be inspiring.See what you can find—and use—today.

Stay Where You Are

Sometimes you need to move. And sometimes you just need to stay still.Charles Pajeau sat in his living room and, for the first time, really watched his children build small bridges with their collection of pencils and thread spools. Soon afterwards, Pajeau invented Tinkertoys.Italian designer Antonio Citterio was enjoying movie night at home with his wife and two children. He suddenly noticed they were seated in a straight line, like passengers on a crowded plane. This gave Citterio the idea for a new family-seating concept for B&B Italia, a semi-circular sofa shaped somewhat like a banana.Because she was pregnant, Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola was paying extra attention to baby dresses. Inspired by the smocking on one little girl’s frock, she used the stitching to design her Smock chair for Moroso furniture.Dan Groggin, an unknown New York City actor, received a nun’s habit from a friend as a joke. Groggin put the habit on an old mannequin and posed it around his apartment—washing dishes, vacuuming and performing other household chores. One day, while watching guests laugh at the mannequin, Groggin spotted an idea. Grabbing a pad, he began creating the play “Nunsense,” filled with silly songs and skits. “Nunsense” and its sequels have grossed more than $300 million in ticket sales and earned Groggin more than $7 million.Sit and explore where you are. What’s happening right in front of your eyes?

Use What Works

Many of you created some very successful work over the summer. Ideally, you can take the ideas from your summer projects that made sense, and apply what you learned in making those successful projects while you are creating the work for the first nine week period.

Our critique session went pretty well, but there was still a number of students who seemed to lack the focus necessary for a successful critique. I also noticed some timid comments and some unsure explanations for why the work was made. One of my goals for each of you, beyond your creating high quality art, is that you are able to confidently discuss art. Take the critiques seriously, and don't be afraid to give your classmates the feedback they deserve. We will all learn much faster if we are honest with one another about what we create.

Take the time to brainstorm the ways in which you can take ideas from your most successful projects from the summer, and combine those ideas with the given theme for the nine week period. It makes great sense to start with something that has already been seen as "successful" by your peers.

Place :: Art V Theme

Just as I have done for the Art IV students, I'd like to ask a couple of questions about the theme for the Art V students. Your theme is "Place", but what the heck does that actually mean? Begin with your own definition. Start with associations.... what are the first things that you can conjure in reference to this word? Here is a list of questions that might get you started......

1. How can you make your art, using this theme, that has a deeply personal connection to your own experience? I ask this question, because art created from one's own experience is often very honest. Honesty is what you should seek in your work.

2. Can you create a work of art that isn't a literal translation of the word "Place"? Write down all of the literal translations that you can think of, and discard those ideas.

3. Do you have to make a painting, print, or drawing to make something that can be considered "Art"?

4. Name 15 places that you have visited and to which you would like to return. Maybe you will find something in that list that makes sense to your own art making.

5. What places bring you peace, anxiety, anger, joy, fear, and sadness? Emotions can be great fuel for honest art.

6. How can you make a political statement in terms of the word "Place". Make a list of ideas, and brainstorm the true possibilities of those ideas. Really develop the ideas in your visual journal until it makes perfect sense to you. Once it makes perfect sense, ask yourself ten more questions about it.

7. Can you think of a place that has iconic associations? What are those icons, and how can you utilize those in your work that makes a statement about the place from which you derived those icons.

This type of questioning will produce sophisticated ideas about your own work. Get in the habit of approaching your work in this manner and your work will improve at a rapid pace. I also suggest brainstorming beyond your own ability to fabricate the work. Though you will have to actually make four works of art by the given critique date, it's always a good idea to think even bigger than just this class. Imagine your work in the Museum of Modern Art... how would you display the work? How could you take over a large gallery space using the ideas that you conjure for the work that you are actually producing for me.

You have been assigned to study the work of Richard Serra, and Christo | Jeanne-Claude. I highly doubt that Jean-Claude and Christo think in small terms when they are conjuring their artistic projects. Try to imagine the brainstorming process by which Richard Serra achieves his final ideas about his work. These are artists who depend on "Place" for their work, but they certainly weren't limiting their ideas to the traditional idea of "art in a gallery".

Surface :: Art IV Theme

How does one define the word "Surface" in relation to art making? That question is the most essential question to answer in terms of your own work for this nine-week period. In addition to answering that question, you should also contemplate the following list of questions:

1. What are the first things you think of when you hear or read the word "surface"? Make a list of those things, and then make associations to the things listed. See where those associations take you, and try to spot an idea in that list that might become a series of artworks.

2. How can you make art that both emphasizes surface, and makes a statement about your own life experience?

3. Does artwork that emphasizes surface have to be a painting? Does it have to have a thick rough texture?

4. How can you make a work of art, or a series of artworks that deny surface?

As you think of other questions that might be useful in this Socratic blog entry, send them my way and I'll post them. Remember, always question your own work in an effort to bring sense to it. The more questions you ask yourself, the more answers your work will produce.