Tag: tutorial

Earth Glitch

an animated GIF of planet Earth as it glitches like a system error..

In class this past week we talked extensively about the power of images, both static and animated. The animated GIF, regardless of how it is pronounced (via one’s personal individual subscription with the hard G or the soft G) it is most often used as a vehicle to communicate and share humor, emotional reactions and relatedness. However, we all agree that the animated GIF can just as easily be used as a tool to bring powerful awareness and action. 

I made these examples to extend that conversation..

The earth 🌍 needs our help, and also some 🤗 hugs!

Paper, Light, Shadow & Storytelling Part 3

Welcome back! Part 3!

Lets make a “free-standing” variation of this project that works “in the round”. 

This post is part 3 of 5 parts from the Paper, Light & Storytelling Project.

*Be sure to read Part 1 first – go HERE

*and don’t miss Part 2 – go Here

*then jump to Part 5 (trust me!) – go HERE

The short video below is a series of snippets taken from various aspects of the project that will help you technically.

 

Let cut out some pieces, parts, shapes and fragments to compose with. Yes, they are “planes” again, but rather than working on the wall in a relief format, lets create a free standing composition that functions on table surface. As you can see in the video above, leave space at the base of each form so that you can bend and curl it over to create a right angle. This angle will allow for the piece(s) to free stand as you glue them down.

 

If you follow my examples above and below, notice that “spacial distance” plays a role in how the pieces create entrance ways for light and shadow to play a role. Working with forms that are cut in various heights and widths will also play a role in the overall visual aesthetic.

 

Below, you can see an example of how you can create “an environment” for your piece to exist in. Perhaps this give a bit more context to the design itself? In this case, I have simply created a gallery simulation by adhering 2 pieces of thick paper together and placing an additional piece on the table surface.

 

A thicker type of paper works best for this, Im using bristol paper above (11″ x 14″ inches) The nice part about this idea is that you can now use the viewfinder of your capturing device to “crop” the forms into the “gallery” as you take photos of the piece as a whole. See below.

 

Here is the composition of vertical forms glued down onto the surface of the table, and placed into the gallery simulation. The image directly below is a bird’s eye perspective with the natural light in the room hitting the piece. My ambition is to share the space and spaces between each free standing form.

 

In this example Im using the same light sources from the previous 3 tutorials (links above). Im a big fan of using light sources to create shadows, effects, filters and moods. These flashlight light sources can also layer over each other and create secondary colors. 

 

a series of colorful flashlights with their lights turned on

The next series of images below are a mixture of my light source set up, process and final outcomes. Please share your feedback and work via URL in the comments section below! Feel free to hack and remix this assignment and its guidelines. 

 

Paper, Light, Shadow & Storytelling Part 5

Welcome to Paper, Light, Shadow & Storytelling Part 5! Lets make a musical instrument of sorts? Above, you can see my final outcome. I temporarily adhered the artwork to the wall using duct tape. This is a quick fix to apply the art to the wall and take a series of photos. The image above is using natural light from the mid-point of the afternoon coming from the window to the left of it. The piece above places an emphasis on new variation of our last tutorial as we learn how to create variations of height between each individual plane. The individual pieces are layered and composed fro the surface of the table upwards.

Hold up! Did you miss Part 1 & 2 of this tutorial series? See below (Yes I jumped ahead to part 5 here – part 3 & 4 are on the way too!)

Part 2 – https://netart.commons.gc.cuny.edu/2020/07/23/paper-light-shadow-storytelling-part-2/

Part 1 – https://netart.commons.gc.cuny.edu/2020/07/16/paper-light-shadow-storytelling/

Artistic references? Lets do some research: What artists, historically over time have worked with similar processes by composing with planes and or flat 2D forms, and the use of light?

Anthony Caro, Faith Ringgold, Alexander Calder, Kara Walker, Isamu Noguchi, Naum Gabo, Diane Smith & James Turell to name a few. Who did you discover in your research?

Lets continue and take a look below..

 

As I mentioned, Im referencing a guitar in my minds eye. Or perhaps a mixture of various stringed instruments. I want to make it abstract but also visible enough for the viewer to know it is referenced from a musical instrument. The tools and materials needed are above, with the exception of some cardboard shown below. Im using bristol paper for this piece. It is strong and durable, you will notice how much more structural it is than regular printing paper. Using my x-acto knife I cut out a series of shapes and forms. You can see the basic shape of the guitar’s body above. I cut it in half and cut out a few more forms that had a gesture to either the form of the instrument plus some of the actions used in actually playing the instrument. I know, that part is much more subjective to interpret, plus Im Deaf so it may be different for how you make this interpretation. That is the beauty of art though!

 

Next, we will need some cardboard. You can take apart a box that you received from ordering something online, or perhaps snag it from your household. Local business usually recycle a lot of cardboard too, take a look and you will most likely find some cardboard quickly. Start cutting pieces into “strips” like the two pieces on the right side of the image above. Then, begin to cut those strips into small squares. About 1 inch per square will do! The small pieces do not need to be perfect squares but should be similar in size as we will be layering them to create “height & gauge”. (Remember, that x-acto knife blade is very sharp, please be careful while cutting).

 

Cut out a whole bunch of pieces and then get your glue stick ready as we will layer / stack them into multiples of 2, 3 & 4. This will give you some visible examples of how to build your planes (the pre-cut paper pieces above). Glue the squares by adding glue to both side of how they will stack, see below.

 

Also below is an example of the pieces glued together and stacked. The idea is to create subtle variations in the height of your pieces. This will help create shadows when you hand the piece vertically on the wall.

 

Next, as in the image below, start placing your stacked squares into strategic spots so that they will support the individual structure of the pieces / planes that you cut out. Play with the compositions, you can test place your pieces before gluing them down, I like to take photos of the arrangements before I glue them, it helps me “see” other potentials.

 

The image below is to display how the pieces visually create their variations in height. If you make the pieces too high they may become too heavy to support their weight adhered to the piece as a whole. Keep things subtle and close to the surface, it helps and a little bit of gauge goes a long way.

 

The final outcome is below! I have an old painted fireplace made of bricks in my apartment. It is a great background for this piece as the mix of texture and clean smooth paper seem to compliment each other. Play around with the environments to adhere your work. I plan to add some colorful lights to the art work when it gets darker tonight. I like this piece so much, it has inspired me to push the series forward. Perhaps I will add a figure playing the instrument? Im excited to see your outcomes!

 

 

Paper, Light, Shadow & Storytelling – Lets make a Paper Sculpture.

an ephemeral paper sculpture photographed in black and white

How-to make an Ephemeral Paper Sculpture.. from Home!

Here is a fun tutorial that you can follow along with (from home) through this post. This blog post is both the assignment and the example for how you may choose to create and publish your own work. This is part 1 of the process for the creation aspect of things, I will publish a “Part 2” with another tutorial for creatively pushing the documenting of the art work in a few ways. Feel free of course to improvise with any additional materials or hack the whole project to expand your own examples and storytelling. The goal is to publish your process and narrative into a compelling sequence of events!

*Please e-mail a selection of your best final images to rseslow@york.cuny.edu – a collaborative image gallery will reside on this website.

Paper, Light, Shadow & Storytelling – Lets make a Paper Sculpture.

First, the essence of the project is to create and investigate 3D form through storytelling. The form(s) that we make will serve as the content for your blog post. Lets put an emphasis on making a “subjective form”. We can get great practice in by narrating and detailing our steps. We can do this with some pretty common household materials too. Lets jump in! Grab some standard typing/printing paper, tape, a glue stick, a pair of scissors, a wall or table top surface and an external light source (flashlight). Let’s ask ourselves: “self, what are the potentials of form using paper, shadow and light by generating “a new forms” into existence through our creative immediacy? In my example below Im using a relief application by adhering my pieces to the wall, but you can also work on another flat plane if you wish. Keep the word “perspective” in mind as the documentation process plays a big role later on. 

As we scroll below the images will begin to “paint a picture” of the process but we can help it along and make it more compelling by the “way” that we assert the process. Adding your personality and sense of humor is certainly one option. We can also apply accessibility and inclusion by adding text to support the images. We can do this both below the image and placed into the “alt-text” area when we “edit” the image itself. 

Notice, Im using a simple shape, a circle, and Im altering its height by applying scale variations to my individual pieces. Subtle variations go a long way. So do multiple units of one single shape. Oh, and photography plays a big role in capturing your work in progress and the final outcomes as the sculpture itself is ephemeral… or is it?

Artist references – What artists work with or have worked with paper? 

Li Hongbo, Felix Semper, Elsa Mora, Kara Walker (and many more, what did you discover?)

Jump in! (Im going to project some fun colorful light sources on this same piece once it gets dark tonight).

Have fun and be sure to publish your post here on the Commons – add your URL here in the comments section below!

*PS –*Please e-mail a selection of your best final images to rseslow@york.cuny.edu – a collaborative image gallery will reside on this website.

*Part 2 will also publish on this blog soon!

Gather your materials - image of a cutting mat (cardboard also works) transparent tape, a glue stick(bond version), a pair of scissors, an X-Acto knife and some regular printing paper.

  1. Gather your materials – a cutting mat (cardboard also works) transparent tape, a glue stick(bond version), a pair of scissors, an X-Acto knife and some regular printing paper.

Image sharing how to cut your paper into strips (as many as you would like, but think of at least 10 or more) using the X-Acto knife or the scissors, apply the glue stick to the edge of one side of the strip that you have cut

2. Cut your paper into strips (as many as you would like, but think of at least 10 or more) using the X-Acto knife or the scissors, apply the glue stick to the edge of one side of the strip that you have cut.

Image showing how to carefully fold over the paper and apply pressure to the edge as it meets the glue. Hold in place for a few seconds.

3. Carefully fold over the paper and apply pressure to the edge as it meets the glue. Hold in place for a few seconds.

Image shows the Cut strip of transparent tape and from it into a loop. (you will be repeating this process)

4. Cut a strip of your transparent tape and from it into a loop. (you will be repeating this process)

image of one of the circular forms cut from paper

5. Once the circular form is ready, place the loop of transparent tape to the same side where you joined the two ends of your paper.

an image of the tape applied to the form - and repeat the process as needed to start composing your fragments.

6. Apply the tape and repeat the process as needed to start composing your fragments.

This is an image example of the various individual pieces that I cut out and glued together - they consist of various heights and diameters, this is called Scale and it created variation

7. This is an example of the various pieces that I cut out and glued together. Notice, they consist of various heights and diameters, this is called Scale and it creates variation.

Image shares the composing process by organizing and adhering your pieces. (Your first idea is NOT your only idea so play around with this a bit).

8. Begin the composing process by organizing and adhering your pieces. (Your first idea is NOT your only idea so play around with this a bit).

image shows the additive process - keep adding more pieces.

9. Add more pieces.

image shows the additive process - keep adding more pieces.

10. Keep Going!

image shows the additive process - keep adding more pieces.

11. Looking good, add more!

the final outcome image!

12. Finished! I used all of my pieces and took this image with the natural light that was present at the time.

the final outcome image with a dark lighting effect

13. You can certainly see that LIGHT plays a role in the enhancement of the mood and overall aesthetic… what will you do?

 

*OK if you made it this far, here is a teaser from the light projection captures! Coming soon!

an image of the paper sculpture with a purple light source projected onto the piece