The Leonardo

A couple of months ago, I went to visit the Leonardo Museam in Salt Lake City.  Instead of just buying a one day ticket, my mom and I decided to get a membership, meaning that we can go whenever we want to!  One of my favorite exhibits I have seen is called Nature's Toolbox.  I really like this exhibit, because it combines a bunch of artists with different style from different places into one coherent exhibit.  Here are a few pictures that I took of the exhibit.

A video sculpture done by Katja Loher

I've heard of Katja Loher in the past, but never got to see any of her sculptures in person until this exhibit.  I was not disappointed.  The way her sculptures incorporate the video is really cool.  This particular video sculpture was made to look like a beehive.  I don't like bees, but I loved this sculpture!

Picture by  Nathan Cumming

This picture is really incredible.  The photo that I took of it does not give it justice!   It is a zoomed in picture of a purple flower, and the detail and quality is incredible!  The print is HUGE, and probably my favorite thing in the whole exhibit!

 As well as Nature's Toolbox, the Leonardo also has the biggest mummy exhibit in the world, and a ton of fun interactive activities!  I highly recommend that you go visit this museum next time you have a chance.  You won't be disappointed!

"The World is Our Canvas"

We've all seen graffiti.  I've never thought much of it, and you probably haven't either.  However, as well as the crappy word graffiti, there is also some pretty cool street art out there!  Here are some of my favorites...  (All images courtesy of streetartutopia.com)

By Antoine Stevens and Steve Locatelli, Antwerpen, Belgium
All Image Courtesy of streetartutopia.com

I love this piece, located in Belgium.  The faces are created using an almost cubist style, which makes the piece look very graphic.  I also really like how the streaks of color add visual interest.  The use of colors such as pink and blue, mix from farther away, making it look natural.  

By David Walker, London, England

What I really love about this piece is that the artist did it without stencils, without brushes.  Only spray paint.  I doubt that many artists could do something like that and have it turn out so successful.  I also LOVE the way he incorporated the bright colors into the figure.  It gives it a fun creative twist!

By STMTS in Athens, Greece

This piece really feels like it is popping out of the wall!  This is the first street art piece I've seen that uses cross-hatching to show form.  The crosshatching makes it look like a pencil drawing!  The emotion captured in the little boy is so adorable, it looks real!

It can be hard to find good street art in the real world, but the Internet makes it much easier!!  Though many people look down on street art, I think it is really cool!  As Henry Thoreau said, "The world is our canvas."

This is Sand

Messy, boring and useless is probably what you think when you hear about sand art.  To tell you the truth, I thought it was too.  Sure it looked cool, but I never really thought about it until my friend, Annalise, showed me thisissand.com.  Here, you can make your own sand art for free, without the mess, and online.  When you get to the website, it is just a blank page, but if you click and hold your mouse, it drops sand.  To change your color, press "c" and select the color you want.  You can also drag it to get a gradual effect.  Here is an example of something that I did on this website.

My Sand Art

Now may I say that this is not one of my best...  I made it while I was supposed to be writing this post.  One of the things that I love about this website is that it is so simple, but every time you end up with a piece that looks completely different.   A lot of people will probably get really bored doing this, but I can do it for hours at a time.  Here is an example of what other people have done on this website.

Image Courtesy of thisissand.com
Created by Olivia

This makes my sand art look horrible.  Literally.  The way the colors sort of blend together and flow throughout the piece is AMAZING.  The way the colors overlap give the piece texture and gives it its natural but vibrant feel.  There are tons of other pieces on this website, and it can be fun to look around at them.  

So next time you find yourself bored, try out this website.  You won't regret it :)!

Recreating Color

Repainting someone else's artwork isn't very creative.  Or artistic.  However, it does really help you get used to the tricks and techniques that you need to get a certain look.  So for this week, I decided to repaint a picture that I found on Pinterest.  The color and looseness of this piece really caught my eye.  Here is what the original looks like.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find the artist who created it, and I looked all over.  Just remember that mine is not an original!

Image Courtesy of Pinterest.com
Author Unknown

The color of this piece is almost overwhelming.  The way the artist used such loose strokes and still managed to get such  realistic look is unbelievable.  By mixing the hard of the bridge and the hill with the soft of the leafs and the water gives the painting a flowing contrast.  Finally, the short strokes of the brush gives the painting a texture that brings it all together. Here is a picture of what mine looks like.  Remember that I am not completely finished with mine, so don't judge it too harshly! 

Image Courtesy of Maddy Lee

Obviously, my version of this painting needs a lot more work before I can officially call it done!  I still need to add the branches in the trees,  make the bridge a bit less vivid, and do a bit more work in the reflections in the water.  I usually like to paint small little paintings, but for some reason I decided to use a four foot canvas for this project!  I actually ended up liking the size, but going bigger means that you will need to spend a lot more time on making it look how you want it to.

For most of this painting, I used a palette knife, which gives a thicker textured look.  However, I also used brushes for little tid-bits of it.  The hardest part of recreating this painting was probably letting myself be loose.  I am so used to trying to get every detail perfect, and if you did that in a painting like this, the effects of the painting would not be nearly as dramatic.  Overall, I had a lot of fun with this project, and hopefully I can finish it up soon!  

P.S.  Check out one of my older posts, Exploring Solar Printmaking to see how my prints turned out this summer!

Project Runway: The Ultimate Hard and Soft

Last week had my favorite episode on Project Runway teams.  "The Ultimate Hard and Soft Challenge" was a challenge in which the designers had to design using only materials from both a flower shop and a hardware store.  Of course, the teams each had to create a coherent collection, which caused a bit of trouble.  Some of the looks I was in love with, and others I wasn't so impressed. 

Dream Team:

Design by Tu Nakchat
Image Courtesy of Sewing in Style

Design by Stanley Hudson
Image Courtesy of Sewing in Style

Design by Samantha Black
Image Courtesy of Sewing in Style

Design by Matthew Arthur
Image Courtesy of Sewing in Style

Design by Layana Aguilar
Image Courtesy of Sewing in Style

Design by Benjamin Mach
Image Courtesy of Sewing in Style

Ultimately, I loved almost every design done by this team.  The dress done by Benjamin was probably my favorite, considering his colorful yet sophisticated pallet, and the hand woven material used asymmetrically in the shoulder.  My other favorite was done by Layana.  Her fun and whimsical design was made using only flowers, wire and string.  My favorite thing about her design was how well the hard and soft went together.  The only design this week that I wasn't in love with was probably done by Stanley.  In my opinion, the length looks uncomfortable, and the leaves used makes his model look like a bush.  This team was the winning team this week, and Samantha Black was nominated to be the winner.  Her silhouette was interesting and her use of leaves under the wire mesh was creative and interesting.

Team Keeping it Real:

Design by Patricia Micheals
Image Courtesy of Sewing in Style

Design by Michelle Franklin and Richard Hallmarq
Image Courtesy of Sewing in Style

Design by Kate Pankoke
Image Courtesy of Sewing in Style

Design by Joseph Segal
Image Courtesy of Sewing in Style

Design by Daniel Esquivel
Image Courtesy of Sewing in Style

Design by Amanda Valentine
Image Courtesy of Sewing in Style

Unfortunately, Team Keeping it Real was the losing team this week.  The thing that brought them down the most was lack of cohesion.  Every design looks like it was from a different planet than the others. However there were still a few that were pretty great designs.  Daniels design, as usual, was unbelievable.  Using white lambs ear to give texture to the dress gave the design something interesting without looking like a craft project.  His silhouette was incredible, however because of the materials used, they sort of look like moldy coconuts.  The other design that I really loved was made by Joseph.  His silhouette was very different, and the way he placed the flowers gave his funky silhouette a sophisticated twist.  His designs always give people a new perspective without looking distasteful.  Unfortunately, the judges did not like his design this week, and he was sent home.  My least favorite design of this team was definitely Patricia's.  Her idea of draping flowers was interesting, but the way she incorporate it into her design looked like a little kids homemade halloween costume.  However, the judges didn't think too badly about it, so she is still in the game.

This weeks episode was probably the most interesting of them yet.  The unconventionality of the whole thing was what made most of the designs.  So next Thursday, be sure to tune into Project Runway at eight o'clock on Lifetime!  You won't regret it.