Man-Made Patterns: Inspiration for Cuff Bracelet

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damask

moorish

houndstooth

geometric

Jewelry 1: Project 1: Pendant

My first Jewelry 1 Project was to create a talisman or amulet. My professor suggested choosing something that was meaningful as inspiration for our design. My grandmother passed away a couple weeks ago, and when I was younger she always used to tell me "Babushka" stories before I went to bed. These are my some of my favorite memories of her. Russian nesting dolls are sometimes referred to as babushka dolls, which is where the original concept came from. 

                                 

My original sketches.

I prefer the repetition of shapes in the design on the left, but the design on the right is more meaningful. With the heart placed on the left side of the chest, symbolizing her always being present with me, even though she has passed and the ribs representing her death.

My design adhered to 20 gauge nickel silver, and then pierced.

Beginning to saw.

My at home work station.

Continuing to saw and file as I go.

Finishing sawing out the shapes.

Finished the outline.

Beginning to sand.

Final piece.

Overall, I am pleased with how my piece turned out. There are a few areas that I wish could be smoother or sharper, (like around the ribs) but I found it hard to fit even the smallest files in my kit into those areas. I also wish I would have made the width of all the positive space equal (like the hair and the face vs. the body.)  The most difficult part for me was the filing. I try and make my art as perfect as possible, but with the tools I had I found that very difficult. I think this is a very successful first piece.

Website

As one of my final projects in my ART 101 course, I had to create a website in Adobe Illustrator. I had only learned a few weeks prior how to use the program while creating a water color portrait of myself. We first had to create the layout, and at least three pages containing our artwork. After this was complete, we had to create slices and then import the slices into Dreamweaver to create rollover buttons. This whole process was very difficult for me, but once I got the hang of it it went very smoothly. I am happy with the way it turned out.. what do you think?

click the link below.

Simply Sacha

Illustrator

I recently had the opportunity to try Adobe Illustrator for my ART 101 class. Our assignment was to create a watercolor portrait from a photograph that showed depth and detail. 

We used this online tutorial as our guide: Illustrator Watercolor Tutorial. 

At first I had a very difficult time learning all the tools Illustrator had to offer, but once I got the hang of it I really enjoyed creating this piece. I am very please with the way my final piece turned out, what do you think? 

Photoshop

I recently had my first encounter with Photoshop and a lot of its features. I had never used it before besides the simple editing options such as to boost the contrast of a photo or apply a filter. I had never played around with the layers in conjunction with these options, so I was intrigued to try. My assignment was to create a self portrait which contained: 

-one scanned part of physical self

-one hand drawn element

-three objects

This is my final piece, can you tell which objects I used, which part of my physical self is present, and which element I drew?

Just Keep Swimming

Over the weekend, I visited the National Aquarium of Baltimore downtown. It is one of my all-time favorite places to go! This time I was lucky enough to take some high-quality images of the fish and other creatures. Needless to say, the brightly colored fish are the most appealing to me. I know I want to do something with these photos, but I'm not sure what yet! Even using them as inspiration for an art project of some sort. Which ones are you favorites?  

Cardboard and Craft Paper Relief

In my 3D Processes class, our first major project was to create a relief sculpture out of cardboard and craft paper. The requirements of this project were the following:

- a combination of high, middle, and low relief

- 8 1/2 x 11 base

- 4in. at its highest point

- cardboard and glue only

- covered in craft paper

I wanted to create something that reflected my personality! (very feminine and girly :)) I put a great deal of time and energy into this project, what do you think?!