Back to Drawing February 5, 2010
Posted by claralieu in Drawing, Sculpture, sketches.Tags: Drawing, lighting, Sculpture
add a comment
I started some very quick, experimental sketches this week to start thinking about how to translate these sculptures into lithographic crayon drawings. Looking back on the sketches I did, I think the experience was more about getting physical and aggressive with the crayon as a reaction to not having drawn for several months. To me they do not represent where I would like these drawings to go for the final pieces, rather they served as a way for me to get myself back into a regular process of drawing.
I’ve also been spending time considering lighting and how I might change my approach this time. In my previous drawings, the majority of the figures are either lit from behind or from above, creating very dark shadowy figures. I’m thinking now that it may be useful to significantly increase the range of figures: from heavy, dark shadowy ones to extremely light, ethereal figures that nearly disintegrate into the atmosphere. To create the lighter figures, I could increase the lighting so that the figure is nearly blown out with light.
Definitions for Design February 1, 2010
Posted by claralieu in Concept, Teaching.Tags: definition, design
3 comments
This semester at Wellesley College I’m teaching the course Basic Two-Dimensional Design. At the beginning of the course, I ask students to fill out worksheets that ask them to verbally define and think about design as an idea even before we begin with studio projects. We do the same thing at the end of the course to draw comparisons about how their ideas of design have changed during the course. Below are some excerpts.
We design to make order out of chaos.
Design is something that permeates everything in our lives.
Good design should be self-explanatory; it should speak for itself and be understandable to its entire audience.
Nothing lacks Design because Design is the creation of how something looks and is put together, built, or made.
A design in some ways has to work from the foundations set up by other past designs.
Having good Design lessens the harsh realities of the world
Design is the art of solving a problem in the best way possible.
Design is used to demonstrate an idea.
The role of design is to provide aesthetically pleasing but simultaneously functional spaces and objects.
Design is not limited to any media.
If the existing way of achieving some goal contains any process that is painful, wasteful, or harmful, then there exists an opportunity for design.
Good design solves problems elegantly, which often means that good design is surprising and unexpected.
Sculpting Hands & Faces January 25, 2010
Posted by claralieu in Drawing, Sculpture.Tags: Drawing, Sculpture
add a comment
I’m nearly finished with modeling these figure sculptures. This is the third “round” of sculptures I’m made for this project over the past few years, and it’s always interesting how my approach changes with each round of sculptures. I think this is a natural progression, but I also think working on the drawings gets me to develop more specifically what I can do with the sculptures to enhance the drawings more.
These current sculptures have become noticeably more specific in details that I previously left out deliberately. I’ve been working over the past week on developing the small forms on the hands and the facial features. (feet aren’t necessary since all of the figures are immersed in water) There were definitely instances when I was working on the drawings last year where I wanted more information and detail in these areas, so this is my way of assuring that that information is available if I need it. Working on these smaller areas changes my sculpting technique: to sculpt finer details I have to become much more reliant on my tools to do the work. Generally speaking, I tend to like sculpting with my bare hands more, but on a small scale the tools become mandatory. Compared to sculpting with my hands, there’s something about sculpting with tools for me that feels indirect and removed.
I’ve been itching to get to the drawing stage, so I think this week I’ll start some gesture drawings even if some of the sculptures still need more work.
Figure Modeling & Sketches January 6, 2010
Posted by claralieu in Drawing, Sculpture, sketches.Tags: clay, Drawing, figure modeling, plastilene, Sculpture, sketches
add a comment
The next few weeks will be focused on completing a new set of sculptures to serve as references for the final drawings. I’ve always kept the modeling of the figures fairly ambiguous, but I’ve been rethinking this approach over the past few days. Lately I’ve been leaning towards becoming more specific in the forms of the sculptures, so that additional information is there in the sculpture if I feel that I need it. I’ve also been thinking more about ways to emphasize the surface and sense of tacility in the sculptures.
On a technical note, I’ve discovered that the radiator in my office at Wellesley College is great for heating up chunks of plastilene. I’ve always preferred ceramic clay for modeling because of it’s soft and malleable characteristics. However, maintaining even moisture in ceramic clay throughout the modeling process becomes cumbersome and difficult, especially over extended periods of time if I’m away from the work. The radiator in my office gets hot enough that the plastilene gets as soft as ceramic clay, which significantly speeds up the modeling process.
At the same time, I’ve also been working on some more developed compositional sketches. The specifics have yet to be worked out yet in terms of the poses of the figures, but it helps me get an understanding of what I want to achieve in each composition. Recently a primary concern has been how to sustain interest in the passages of water. In this new vertical shape, the water takes up a significantly higher portion of the image than in previous pieces.
New Facebook Page January 6, 2010
Posted by claralieu in publicity.Tags: Exhibitions, facebook, publicity
add a comment
I’ve created a new Facebook page, which I’ll use for exhibition announcements and other means of communication and dialogue. Sign up on the page to receive announcements. Hope to see you there!
2010 Wellesley College Summer School January 5, 2010
Posted by claralieu in Drawing, Teaching.Tags: art classes, college, color, Drawing, high school students, summer, wellesley college
add a comment
This upcoming summer I will be teaching two visual arts courses at the 2010 Wellesley College Summer School: “Color” and “Drawing I“. The Summer School program is open to all college students, college graduates, as well as eligible commuting high school juniors and seniors. For more information or to register, visit the Wellesley College Summer School website.
COLOR, ARTS 210
Clara Lieu
June 14-July 9
This course attempts to demystify the study of color. Working with various two-dimensional media,we explore the characteristics and potentials of color through careful observation and comparison. In a series of interrelated exercises we examine and define hue, value, and intensity and the ways in which colors interact. Emphasis will be on cumulative studies, balancing an intellectual experience with the intuitive experimentation. For more information & to register, visit the Wellesley College Summer School website.
_____________________________________________________________________
DRAWING I, ARTS 109
Clara Lieu
July 12-August 6
An introduction to the fundamentals of drawing with attention to the articulation of line, shape, form, gesture, perspective, and value. Studio work introduces a range of traditional drawing tools and observational methods while exploring a variety of approaches to image making and visual expression. In-class drawing exercises and weekly homework assignments address a range of subjects with brief attention given to the human figure. For more information & to register, visit the Wellesley College Summer School website.
Studio Visit with Tony Janello December 21, 2009
Posted by claralieu in Artists, Drawing, Exhibitions, Sculpture.Tags: crayon, Drawing, paper mache, photography, risd, Sculpture
add a comment
This past Friday afternoon I drove to Rhode Island for a studio visit with Tony Janello. He is one of the four artists exhibiting in an upcoming show that I’m curating, titled “Transformations”. This exhibition is coming up in March 2010 at the Jewett Gallery at Wellesley College where I’m the Gallery Director. We first met in 1998 when I was a student in his painting class in the Illustration Department at RISD during my senior year. I now teach Drawing at RISD in Foundation Studies and he’s continued to teach Painting and Drawing in the Illustration Department since then. We’ve kept in touch over the years since I graduated, and it was very exciting to visit his studio and get some insight on his thoughts and creative process.
Janello’s process involves many phases and transformations in a range of media. He creates essentially paper mache sculptures which are then lit and photographed, with the sculpture as a means to the photography. The role of photography as the final result allows him tremendous visual flexibility with the sculptures that he would otherwise not have. I was impressed by how much his photographs looked like paintings; they had an incredible atmosphere and depth that transcended the sculptures themselves.
What is astonishing about these sculptures is how low-tech they are in terms of construction and materials. For the interior structures of the sculptures, he uses sonotubes, which are extremely strong cardboard tubes that are used in construction for pouring concrete columns. You can see in the photo below on the sculpture on the far left an example of one of the sonotubes that he’s sawed into a ring to hold the sculpture up. On top of the sonotube structure, he uses paper towels dipped in elmer’s glue to sculpt the heads into more detail. These materials also allow the sculptures to be highly durable, yet lightweight at the same time.
Below is an example of how Janello uses backgrounds and creates sets for his sculptures. The backgrounds are created from thin sheets of plywood which are then painted to reflect surface, texture, and writing. Several of his backgrounds feature the visual look of a chalkboard which has writing layered over itself continuously.
Below are some experiments for adding yet another phase in his process: after he photographed the sculptures, he drew on the digital prints using crayons. In this series below, there is a progression in the images where he is “healing” the “injury” in the sculpture’s head by drawing with cross-hatched marks on the images with crayon. Janello was a portrait painter for many years , and it seems like this is a perfect way to work in his experience in drawing into his current work. These pieces above are still very early in their development, but we discussed the possibility of creating works with this process for the “Transformations” show.
The back of this sculpture seen in the photo below reveals the interior structure of the sculptures, created from sawed up strips of sonotubes.
Below is a close up view of one of his sculpture heads, where the painting process and surface texture of the sculptures is apparent. For more information about Janello’s work, you can visit this previous blog post from the Jewett Gallery’s blog which features his artist statement. To see more images from Janello’s studio, visit the Jewett Gallery’s Flickr page.
Thoughts on Drawing December 12, 2009
Posted by claralieu in Drawing, Teaching.Tags: Critique, Drawing, freshman, risd, students, wellesley college
1 comment so far
The semester is drawing to an end at both RISD and Wellesley College. At the end of the semester, I ask students from both schools to fill out a “Final Self-Critique” form that allows them to take the time to think about and reflect upon their experience in class this semester. The process is an important from both ends: students are able to articulate what their accomplishments, realizations, and areas to improve, while I’m able to get further insight on their thoughts.
After reading through the self-critique forms, I compile anonymous excerpts from the forms and send them to the class. Below I’ve listed some excerpts from my Freshman Drawing course at RISD, and my Drawing I course at Wellesley College. The excerpts have an amazing range of thoughts and opinions: they’re insightful, intelligent, funny, revealing, engaging, serious, and much more.
If I don’t put it down on paper, I’ll never know what might have happened
with it.
I think this class was about learning how to learn.
I realized that it was impossible to get people understand my drawing when I
myself couldn’t really understand what I was doing.
What may seem like a good idea to me may seem like a bad one to everyone
else.
I’ve learned that there are so many other ways to go. It’s like I was living
in the first dimension unaware of all other possibilities, but now, I know
that there are infinities of infinities that I can explore.
I learned that I still don’t know much about myself.
I’ve learned that I must think about everything I do and the effect it will
have because when I don’t, someone will most definitely notice and comment
on it.
For the first time, I am excited to do work that has a purpose.
I guess I have to lose myself to be able to find myself again.
I find that I am most interested in an assignment if I have an innovative concept.
I think the most valuable habit I gained from this course is almost a new way of viewing the world. Now, nearly everywhere I look I think about how I would approach what I see in a drawing.
I feel that I learned most from the assignments where I made the most mistakes.
I learned how to look at the things around me not as single objects but as a compositional unity.
With each drawing I went through so many emotions, frustration, fear, anger excitement.
I also learned that it will get worse before it gets better.
I feel less of a need to have my drawings look a specific way and instead let them morph into what they can be.
Ideas for Compositions December 11, 2009
Posted by claralieu in Drawing, sketches.Tags: compositions, Drawing, sketches
add a comment
Before I get into the specifics of these three compositions, I thought it would be important to set general, overall aspects of each composition first. This will allow me to keep a grander picture in mind as I move into working out the details. I found it’s easier to think more clearly about your ideas before you’ve gotten into the trenches with specifics. Below are descriptions of each composition; these verbal descriptions help me visualize what kind of mood and sensibility I want to establish.
1) Composition #1: Figures are almost entirely immersed in very deep water, showing nothing below the shoulders. The water is very still and quiet.
2) Composition #2: An extremely crowded composition; so crowded, that there’s a sensibility that many figures are completely lost and hidden from view. Additional emphasis on layering of the figures. The water is active, and in some areas splashing everywhere.
3) Composition #3: A crowded composition, which takes huge leaps in terms of scale: 2 very large figures in the foreground quickly jump to tiny heads in the far distance. The water is fairly still, but active.
