Origins Project Update (Woodmere Art Museum)

On Wednesday, 3.11.09, we were very fortunate to have Pam Birmingham join us as we reflected on our Origins projects. Pam is Curator of Studio Programs & Millard Gallery at the Woodmere Art Museum in Chestnut Hill. To reflect on our process I’ve provided a brief outline below.

Origins Project:

• I asked why do we paint on canvas and or smooth wood? People began to use canvas during the Renaissance. Easier to store, handle & ship than wood panels (or cave walls, for that matter).
• We collaborated by pairing with a classmate. We assigned a topic to our partner in the form of a prompt question. What is the origin of (item) and how has it impacted society and or you as an individual?
• We were instructed to construct a substrate from yarn that was approximately 3′ square.
• We were instructed to “prime” our surface.
• We then created a graphic response to our prompt question on our yarn surface.
• We were instructed to turn a one-page response paper in with our graphic response and to be prepared to explain our rationale verbally.

Although Pam enjoyed all of the pieces that were turned in on time that day she could not select all of them for display in the museum gallery due to space limitations. Below is a list of the pieces she selected.

• Eye Make-Up: Blair
• Door Mat: Amber
• Lock: Jocelyn
• Chandelier: Alex
• Recorded Music: Tess
• Jello: Thea
• Hairspray: Amelija
• Dungarees: Emma
• Rings: Sarah F.
• Hangers: Danielle M.
• Space Shuttle: Nika
• Toothbrush: Bekkah
• Eraser: Anthony
• Mirror: Sasha

These students need to email a digital version of their reflective paper to me for display purposes ASAP.

PMA Video Conference (Ben Volta) Update

Ben has provided instructions for saving your Adobe Illustrator files as .jpg files for your blogs. Keep in mind that you will need to save your images two different ways (you will have 6 different image files). You will need the intial edits saved as Illustrator (.ai) files for Ben and you’ll need three .jpgs to upload on your blogs. Here are Ben’s instructions:

Creating .JPGs in illustrator

You want to copy the background square and select “paste in front” in the EDIT MENU.

With the square still selected you want to select “bring to front” which can be found in the OBJECT MENU under ARRANGE

With the square still selected you then want to select “crop area” / “make” which can be found at the bottom of the OBJECT MENU.

Little crop marks should appear at each corner of the artwork.

You then want to go to the FILE MENU and select “export”

In the dialogue box change the file format to export the image as a .JPG

A new dialogue box will appear with the setting for the .JPG. I would save at maximum setting but keep 72dp if you are just posting to a blog.

To change the image size of the artwork you will need to open the .JPG file in Photoshop.

Then go to the IMAGE MENU and select “image size”

A good size for blog posts is 1200 dpi wide. (it is the average screen size)

You may need to crop the image a little if white appears on the edges.

I do want to ask everyone to not use blending effects for the portfolio prints. It has a tendency to scream “digital image filter!” when the image is printed on paper…. even though it does look absolutely great on a digital screen!!!

I know it can be a challenge to keep things simple sometimes… but I think the portfolio will hold together better if we all keep to flat colors and do not introduce lighting effects and filters… ect

although… outside of the one portfolio print that they send me…  I would love to see any offshoots and expansions of the project in the digital effects world or beyond….

Support Our Community: Contests

If you look at the “My Share” box in the side bar you will see two files. These are for local causes that are very valid. I ask that you consider contributing your time and talent.

Hope Gardens: this is for a facility in Ambler run by the Inter-faith Housing Alliance. They provide shelter for families in need and they are looking for up-lifting art for their facility. The due date is March 19, 2009. Download the flyer for more info.

Reusable Shopping Bags: this is sponsored by the Ambler Environmental Advisory Council. They are looking for design to be printed on re-usable canvas shopping bags. The goal is to be the first town in Pennsylvania to elimate plastic shopping bags for businesses. The due date is April 6, 2009. Download the flyer for more info.

PMA Video Conference (Ben Volta) Update

Ben has added an instruction to our collaboration project. Go to the sidebar (to the right of here). You will see a box titled MY SHARE. Download the file WHHS_BEN_VOLTA.ai to your desktop. Open Adobe Illustrator (under applications) and then open the Ben Volta file.

• Go to Window (at top) and select Swatches
• Be sure to have the Section tool on.

Selection tool

• Select any area of color and edit it by selecting a color swatch
• Select any shape, it will turn blue with anchor points at the corners of a box. Select a corner point, press the shift key and you can make the object larger or smaller. Be sure to do it this way to maintain the proportion of the object.
• You can alter the angle of a selection by dragging your cursor over the corner of a box and seeing a small curved line with arrows on each end.
• Save your work to the desktop with a title that follows Ben’s example.
• You can do as many as you want, but be sure to number them. We will select your favorite for Ben to print for the art show.
• The computers in my room have Adobe Illustrator on them. You will not be able to do this without Illustrator.
• Have fun. It’s a very cool way to learn something about Illustrator and further engage in our collaboration with Ben Volta & the Philadelphia Museum of Art.