Studio Journal

I have recently been spending a large amount of my free time going for walks in the woods. I often sit down and make a sketch of an interesting area of a tree. I have been talking lots of pictures. Researching different species of trees and their bark has also been giving me inspiration.

Pictures like these are very helpful when im working in doors. I do not make any exact replicas, but it helps me greatly to see how natural knots and divides happen throughout a trees life. It is interesting how the growth and bending of branches is random, but there is often a symetry to its design. I would like to be able to capture this in my layout of trees.



This is something I continue to work on a little at a time. I gathered a bunch of pinecones of varying sizes. Some where closed tightly, and others were open to release their seeds. I make a pyramid out of wood and began glueing pine cones pieces to the outside. I use plyers to remove each piece from the pine cones and arrange them on the wood surface in size order. I try to match them up as tightly as possible so there are no gaps. I plan to use this method to the create the bark on atleast one of my trees.

This is another method I have used to create plant life. I sculpt aluminum foil and then paint the surface. When I painted a layer of flat or matte black paint first, and then added matte shades of green, I fixed the problem of the natural reflectiveness of aluminum foil. This method will be utilized down the line for many smaller plants. 

This is the type of bark I have been making molds from. Its the most interesting bark I have found that is still plain enough that a mold wont cause undercuts. This is wut the surface of my larger trees will look like. After lots of walks in the woods I have also decided that I need a good tree stump. Gonna keep lookin. . . 

Studio Journal

I am a few weeks into my attempts to create realistic looking wildlife. I am now using these incredably realistic looking leaves. They come in a bushel. I took them apart and glued them in such a way that they look natural. The next step was to attach them to a branch.

So I began sculpting small branches out of metal. Here are a couple before the plaster is added. At first I tried applying plaster directly to the metal but it slid right through. I was getting impatient waiting for it to thicken. I then began filling the metal mesh with clay so i could immediately apply layers of plaster.

Here it is after several layers of plaster were almost hard. I then smooshed bark on the surface. for a realistic sort of texture.

Here is what I have so far. I've made about 20 so far. I plan to uses all the leaves I have, so I expect to make about 70 of these. I wont paint them until way later so I can easily rehydrate the plaster and work with it. The next step is to attach these small branches to larger ones. That will bring up more issues because I am having trouble making casts of trees. I have a few ideas, and I'm confident I'll work it through.

Studio Journal

So here is my tree stump with paint. Unfortunately, even though it did not say glossy on the can, it was. So this is pretty much ruined, but it is alright because it was really more of an exercise in creating the form of a tree. I feel it is half successful. The wood and metal armature is a good idea, but a smooth plaster surface is not. I am going to try making molds from live trees to create a more realistic surface. I will post pictures of my results.

The tree trunk looks significantly better with flat paint, but its still not rugged enough. I will keep trying.



Here is a full tree in one piece. I narrowed it a great deal to make it small and light enough to carry around. It is actually six feet tall, but this picture is deceiving. The surface and shape of this tree is quite improved from the first one, but still a long way off. I will most likely add my molds of bark to the surface of this one. We'll see. . .

Studio Journal

So this is one of my more current projects. We had to make something abstract out of metal. After tinkering around for several hours I began to create forms thats I found interesting. I bent roundstock to create a stand attached to an unusual spiral shape. It is a combination of round and square bends that I am beginning to like. I think sparay painted the ofjects and covered them with plattered paint in various colors.

Here you can see the steps I took leading up to the painted one. It was a progression of experimenting with the material. I enjoyed the process of creating a series until I find something of interest.

More pictures to follow.

Studio Journal

So here is the beginning of my Thesis project. I would like to make very realistic and life sized trees. The above picture is the untrimmed roots of what will be a tree about six feet high.

This is body of the tree. It fits in place on top of the knarled roots. I have chosen to make the tree in three seperate pieces so it can be more easily work with and transported the tree in a car or through doorways.

Here you can see the seam between the two pices. They fix very well, but I am going to find a way to cover it. It will also look more uniform after it is painted.

Here is another side. This tree is made out of plaster. I first take wire mesh and form it into the shapes I want. Then I take burlap soaked in plaster and wrap it around the metal. I then add layers of thick plaster to the surface, and cover that with a few layers of thin dripping plaster. This creates a nice bark texture.

All this with be painted with a few layers of paint.

More pictures to come

Planet of Slums

This is the first work the viewer sees when entering this exhibition. It made me think of building forts in my living room as a kid. I wanted to crawl in there so badly. Then after viewing it for a few minutes I thought more about the homless forts built out of garbage in New York city.  Interesting how these feelings are on opposite ends.

 These works, by Rob Swainston, are mixed media collages. Both Proposition 40 and Proposition 41 appear to be made of mostly paper in dark and gloomy colors that are folded and crumbled in various ways. They are then put in a deep white frames with glass covering the images. The various marks and patterns are very interesting. they cause the viewer to look very closely. There are deep foldes and marks that create more depth than the objects actually have.

This collage is very impressive as soon as the viewer enters the room. It is 12 ft x 15 ft, and looms over its audience. It is layered and saturated with various figures and images. Black & Whitish, 2007, by Abigail DeVille, is a work that could be observed for quite some time without the viewer seeing every element. It is a mixed media that appears to include pencil, crayon, charcoal, paint, and conte. The images are dark and threatening, and yet there is still a lighthearted playfulness present.

Studio Journal

This is my project for the Water show. It is a working fountain.

It is completely over saturated with rocks, flowers, and plants. There is a mirror at the bottom of the pond so it's very reflective. Theres also a small light in the tree that shows nice moving shadows from the water surface. The leaves are real leaves that have been covered in resin.



Here you can see the rocky pedestal I made to hold the fountain. There is also a hidden speaker playing "water" music. There have been more leaves added since this picture was taken.

Studio Journal

This is something I've been working on for a little bit. I wanted to experiment with paint applied to wet plaster. The results are really fun.

The paint actually eats through the plaster, so there are varying thicknesses. The crevasses add depth to the flat surfaces.

After I made several tiles, I decided to assemble them in a cube formation. It's still in process.

Here is a joint that has not been filled yet. I'm still trying to smooth out the other joints without ruining the tiles edges.

Studio Journal

Here is one of my current projects

This structure in about 10 x 12 x 12in. More will be added. I was inspired by cubist sculptures I have recently seen at the MET and the MoMa in New York. My new found interest was combined with my long term interest in my favorite artist, Brian Froud. Working with such tiny pieces made of bass wood, and using multiple colors is very time consuming.

When cutting the pieces that create the stairs the thin wood often cracks and breaks, so I had to start bracing the edges with other straight surfaces when I make cuts.

This "Labyrinth" is something that i've tried before. I have now sharpened my technique. Every piece is lightly sanded, and all excess glue in imediately removed. The spiral staircase is a create way to incorporate circles into the object by continueing to use only straight lines.

Studio Journal

The first one is finally done!

This one is almost there too!

There will be two more pairs like these in varying sizes. They are about half done right now. Should be finished by Monday. Then I can compare them all.

Visiting Artist: Beth Campbell

Hearing Beth Campbell's  story of how she came to be an artist was really great. She explored many mediums throughout her career. Being able to hear a successful artist's perspective of the creative process was enlightening. She has explored such interesting concepts, such as mirroring.  Her work has been on such a grand scale. I found it interesting that she was a painting major, and it wasn't until very late in her schooling that she began to explore other options. At this point, she is an installation artist. It was great to hear the stories behind the work. There were parts of her installations that were planned, and other parts just sort of happened in the process. I think its very important to accept these happy accidents, and then chose to use or ignore them.

Welcome Back show

When I first entered the gallery my attention was immediately grabbed by Syn 2010 by Patrick Strzelec. I was blown away by this piece. It was so intense and exciting both in the coloration and form. The placement of this object on its pedestal was also really wonderfully minimized. There was no room for distraction. The piece spoke for itself, and nothing, not even the surface it was on, distracted me from it. This piece was done in cast aluminum, limestone, and stainless steel. Its dimensions were about 4 x 3 x 3, but its presence felt much larger. I am currently in Patrick Strzelec's class and I cannot wait to talk to him about the piece next week.

I found myself very interested in two of Lyda Craig's works. The first was Tales from the Holoscene 1997. This piece grabbed my attention as soon as I entered the room. This dark and mysterious image made me want answers. Who are these shadowy figures? Where are they? Why? The work is incredibly well done. I couldn't help but admire the details of the objects within. There is an imense depth to this work that could cause the viewer to lose themselves in it. These pastels on paper were used to their potential.

The second Lyda Craig work that caught my attention as I moved around the room was Untitled 2000. These relatively small images are mixed media on panel. The combination of various materials, such as string, are beautifully combined to create densly interesting objects. The color combinations are dark and warm. The two objects are paired well together and create a uniform work. It is clear that this was a many stepped process of materials that created the end result.

The next work I noticed was Crystal 2010, by Eric Schoonebeek. He created this image with acrylic, oil, and fabric paint on paper. it was then mounted on a board. These materials were used to create an interesting pattern of black on black. There is a feel of depth between the two different shades of black, and yet there is still a two dimentionality to it. It seems flat, and yet shows space. I found this combination and use of mediums Very interesting.

Overall, I was impressed with the Welcome Back show and look forward to seeing more of these artists' work in the future. The installations were well done and appropriate for each individual piece. It was also a nicely diverse group of work.

Interview: part 2

Me: I myself have actually struggled with getting others approval. I keep getting that my work is too literal. That I’m just remaking something that already exists. But to me it’s always been about the skill level of my craftsmanship than creating an abstract object. You know, there’s no right or wrong with an abstract object. If I try to recreate something that already exists I feel that that shows skill. I think at this point I want to develop my actual skills with materials. So, that’s my big problem now. Like this one here, there quite obviously leaves. The only reason why these were alright with my teachers was because they’re abstracted slightly. There’s no plant that actually looks like this. It’s not from an exact plant.

Catherine Trestini: Oh, ok because you, this is your studio, and I have to admit this is the first studio I’ve been in. And like the atmosphere in here, and I came in and I didn’t even think that you made that. I like that a lot, I mean I was looking at that when you went outside. It looks fairly representational to me. But there is something different about it, you can tell its hand crafted and such. By you know that’s really interesting because you know I looked at that for awhile. I like the detail. So, it’s interesting to see what your teachers are going to say about it, and what I’m going to say about it. Because we have all these classes where we are hearing what other people are thinking about our work. I feel like one person with say I like it, and another person’s going to say I don’t like it, and it could be for the exact opposite reason. Like you said, it’s less about pleasing others right, that’s not what art is about.

Me: Well I do struggle with that idea because we are in school and we do need approval to finish. So I’ve actually gotten to the point now where my art is actually about that struggle. My more recent pieces are a combination of what I want to do, and what I think others with like. So it’s actually become an expression of an inner conflict I have. Do I do what they want me to do, or do I do what I want to do? And it’s actually led me to a really interesting idea. So that’s what I’ve been trying to express recently.  

Catherine Trestini: Well what have you been trying to do?  Do you have a project right now where you’re trying to express that? It’s really interesting.

Me: I have some drawings for things I want to do. I have some ideas and concepts. The objects that I’ve been working on right now are basically the beginning stages of that. They’re pieces on their own, and I am actually really happy with the way they’re looking right now, but they’re basically early stages of what I want to create later on. I was kind of excited when I realized oh, this is what I’ve been thinking about the most. This is what I should be trying to convey.

Catherine Trestini; I think it’s really important for an artist to have that idea, to work on something tangible. You know it’s going to take you to where you know you want to be.

My interview with Catherine Trestini

Me: So, tell me a little about yourself.

Catherine Trestini: Well, I’m a senior. I’m in Thesis. And, I study Comparative Literature and I really like photography, so that’s my concentration. 

Me: I am a B.F.A., a senior here, and Sculpture is my major. I tend to do mostly welding, wood working, and plaster, because that’s what I enjoy most.

Catherine Trestini: For photography I started out when I was about fifteen just taking snapshots with a little point and shoot camera. Then when I came to Mason Gross I didn’t even know, because I was so young, that photography was actually an Art, that people took it seriously and studied it. So when I came to college I learned photography as an art, I learned the dark room and film, so I started getting interested in that. I’ve taken a lot of film in black and white and color. I can show you some here. But primarily right now I’m just using digital because it saves you so much money. Ok, so let me show you some of my film stuff, and some of my digital. That’s actually digital that you‘re looking at.  So these were two different theories, so these were together in one. This is called October in New Brunswick. I really like to take pictures of things that are sentimental to me. I think a lot of people would look at these kind of as candids, I mean tell me if you have any opinion. To me they’re memories. Fall’s my favorite season.

Me: You can definitely tell by the color choices.

Catherine Trestini: Yeah, right? I actually got a lot of criticism from my class. Which is great, you know, I like constructive criticism. About how they didn’t really speak to them and they didn’t seem very concise, but I think what was so important about this series is that I was happy with it.

Me: I think that’s what it all ends up coming down to, is if you’re happy with it.

Catherine Trestini: yeah, like being confident in your own work.

Me: these are great actually. It’s about that capturing that moment, just your everyday life.  You know, these are things you see, and do, everyday. I like that.

Catherine Trestini: Thanks. It’s been something that it’s hard for me to do in my work. What’s the difference between candids and fine art photography? In my mind I’m trying to make a series or any type of body of work I want to take it seriously, I want to be taken seriously, you know. But I feel like some people are like “Oh, that’s your friend” or “Oh, that’s a pumpkin”. The biggest criticism that I got about this is that it’s so cliché. “These are cliché pictures of Fall”. But, I don’t know. There’s just something about the way I approach photography is that I see something that I find beautiful and then I photograph it.

Me: I think there’s more coming out of these, that have meaning to you, than to wonder off to some place you have never been before and try to capture an amazing picture that has really no meaning to you. These are way more meaningful, and you can see that there.

Catherine Trestini: You’re right, actually I tried doing some street photography and I find myself just not really connecting with that. Taking pictures of strangers and stuff like this, I mean it’s really great for technique and such, putting yourself out there and challenging yourself. But what really matters to me I guess, I don’t know, I’m a little nostalgic. These are all from digital, and you can tell that this series I made them warm as well. People were saying that it gives them like a dreamlike feeling.

Me: yeah, it’s like when you’re driving down the road for a long time, and everything’s just kind of so blurry, and calm, and pleasant.

Catherine Trestini: That is exactly how I felt. It’s interesting because I was going through a hard time and my friend Matt took us for a ride in his pick up truck, and we drove out to this country land and we just drove, and drove in farmland. It was so peaceful because you know you can get wrapped up in that Rutgers bubble kind of, and he just took us away and we took pictures and we laughed. I was just so glad, because these pictures, that’s what it represents to me and you can see that.

Me: Yeah, It’s just one of those things. I mean you can almost see the morning dew. It’s that general malaise you get when you’re just so content and at peace.

Catherine Trestini: So yeah, this was like my other series. This represented a good time for me, a good memory. I just wanted to represent that in my own way

Studio Journal

It's two seperate pieces

Studio Journal

This is the new project! Almost done sanding

Having a hard time with my blog

My apologies for having so many different posts. I had uploaded these five images along with my initial "Water" review, but for some reason it did not post. I didn't notice until today.

Pictures of my current project will be up soon!

Here is an example of how close these works are sometimes installed. It is hard to focus on one image when another is only inches away.

These are the first six framed works the viewer sees when entering the exhibition. Ando Hiroshige's Mannen Bridge, Fukagawa is farthest to the right.

Maya Lin Dew Point 18, 2007

Exhibition entrance Ross Cisneros Ice and Ark, 2009 plastic bottles, water and fishing nets

Maya Lin Pin River-Hudson 2009 steel pins

Water

     On Friday September 10th I visited The Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum in New Brunswick, NJ. From September 1st through January 2nd this museum will be hosting “Water”. Upon entering the gallery the first thing the viewer sees is a piece titled Ice and Ark, 2009. This work, by Ross Cisneros, is a wonderful contrast to the neighboring works. This large readymade is made up of water bottles in a net hanging from the ceiling. On the other side of the first area are five framed works by various artists such as Ando Hiroshige. These works are from various times and locations, and yet, they all have similar imagery related to water. This first area lets the viewer know that there are no limitations to the work chosen for this gallery, as long as they are related to the theme of water. The theme of water is such a simple concept, that what could be included is quite a broad range. This exhibit has taken advantage of this idea. There are works from all over the world done in many different mediums. From film, to sculpture, to actual water, this gallery certainly encompasses many variations on the theme of water. Some, such as Lynn Davis‘s Iceberg II, are quite literally about the stages of water. Others, like Bather by Hans Christiansen, are about human interactions with water and their shore lifestyles.
     At times the installations seem cluttered. Many works demand more space than they were given. Both of Maya Lin’s pieces should have had more space for observation. Dew Point 18 should have been in an area where the viewer could move all the way around it.
     Water is essential to all life. Water becomes a uniting idea between people, places, mediums, and time. This exhibit does a wonderful job of capturing this concept.

Getting started

I am all moved into my studio and have been working every night. So far I am happy with the piece I have been working on. Pictures will be taken soon!

My Blog is up and running

I am looking forward to my last year at Rutgers. It will be challenging, but I expect to grow as an artist. Good luck to all of us!