Free Standing

Exploration of Space

For the freestanding sculpture we were required to make it at least four feet in one direction. After doing lots of research I decided to build something out of four-feet pieces of wood. I screwed them together one by one in order to create many shapes with lots of negative space. Then I struggled to decide what to do next until I was inspired by the negative space in the piece and used fabric to emphasize that negative space. However it was not giving the contrast I wanted, so I painted the wood black in order to show the shape of the wood. Painting the wood black worked in my favor and made the piece into something completely different.

Container

Survival of the Fittest

We had to design something that contained something you can see through either a door or a peephole. I have been inspired by the stage and theater because of my dance background. I decided to build a stage out of wood and different types of fabric. This piece allowed me to be creative and experiment with the fabric and wood. I decided to make the curtains moveable to make the piece more interactive. I wanted the inside to be something unexpected and surprising to the viewer. The inside had to be something different from the theatre on the outside. Then I had the most trouble with deciding what to put inside the box I had made. After going through many ideas I was inspired by a movie I had watched. The movie was Jurassic World, so I decided to make something inspired by dinosaurs. I wanted to create an environment for the dinosaurs I spray-painted gold. I wanted to create something where one dinosaur conquers over the rest, so I decided to spray flower pedals black to create a feeling of death and loss. This piece let me create a completely new environment out of things that I find interesting.

Collection

Paper Ornaments

 This collection contains twenty separate pieces that work together and relate to each other. I was inspired by origami and how a piece of paper can be transformed into something completely different. I tried many different origami-folding techniques, and then I found the braided wreath and five pointed star folds. Both of them let me experiment with different size papers. After I had folded twenty separate origami pieces I decided to utilize color in order to make the paper not look like paper. On a couple of the pieces I used motif and lines to add a different dimension to the paper. This collection let me experiment with different types of origami and color choices.

Presentations

Container

#1 Barbie

Elements and Principles: Repetition, Balance, Color

Emotions/Thoughts/Ideas: Happiness, I like the use of repetition

#2 Francis Bacon's Studio by Charles Matton

Elements and Principles of Design: Emphasis, Asymmetry

Emotions/Thoughts/Ideas: I like how the light source emphasizes the objects, feels like grandmas house, easy to see

#3 Time Box

Elements and Principles of Design: Asymmetry, Balance

Emotions/Thoughts/ Ideas: feels like an artifact, I like how you can see inside the box

Collection

#1 Daily Dose Pick by Annette Messager

Elements and Principles of Design: line, shape, repetition

Emotions/Thoughts/Ideas: I love the shape, I like how she made a new shape out of smaller found objects

Artist Statement: Suspended photos from threads of string

#2 Reflection by Katsumi Hayakawa

Elements and Principles of Design: Repetition, line, shape

Emotions/Thoughts/Ideas: looks like a birds eye view of a city, I like how he used different size objects to create a city landscape

Words from artist statement: made to resemble an overbuilt city out of paper, kept color to a minimum

#3 Andes by Alejandro Chavez

Elements and Principles of Design: Repetition, color, pattern

Emotions/Thoughts/Ideas: I like the handmade masks and all the colors

Free Standing

#1 Father Sighed, Mother Cried, into this Terrible World I Flied by Lara Schnilger

Elements and Principles of Design: line, negative space

Emotions/Thoughts/Ideas: a fort you made as a child, I like how the fabric is stretched over the wood

Words from artist statement: Likes to work in knitted and sewn textile sculptures

#2 Gunter Haese

Elements and Principles of Design: pattern, repetition, shape

Emotions/Thoughts/Ideas: Looks like a galaxy/meteor shower, I like how all the objects are not the same

Words from artist statement: He was self taught in drawing and painting, studied sculpture under matare

#3 Qube by Bruce Gray

Elements and Principles of Design: asymmetry, shape, texture, balance

Emotions/Thoughts/Ideas: abstract version of legos or building blocks, I like how the shapes are connected

Words from artist statement: He creates found object sculptures, and his sculptures were featured on television and movies

Content Research

Geometric Patterns in Islamic Art

Geometric patterns make up one of the three nonfigural types of decoration in Islamic art, which also include calligraphy and vegetal patterns. Whether isolated or used in combination with nonfigural ornamentation or figural representation, geometric patterns are popularly associated with Islamic art, largely due to their aniconic quality. These abstract designs not only adorn the surfaces of monumental Islamic architecture but also function as the major decorative element on a vast array of objects of all types. While geometric ornamentation may have reached a pinnacle in the Islamic world, the sources for both the shapes and the intricate patterns already existed in late antiquity among the Greeks, Romans, and Sasanians in Iran. Islamic artists appropriated key elements from the classical tradition, then complicated and elaborated upon them in order to invent a new form of decoration that stressed the importance of unity and order. The significant intellectual contributions of Islamic mathematicians, astronomers, and scientists were essential to the creation of this unique new style.

Consisting of, or generated from, such simple forms as the circle and the square, geometric patterns were combined, duplicated, interlaced, and arranged in intricate combinations, thus becoming one of the most distinguishing features of Islamic art. However, these complex patterns seem to embody a refusal to adhere strictly to the rules of geometry. As a matter of fact, geometric ornamentation in Islamic art suggests a remarkable amount of freedom; in its repetition and complexity, it offers the possibility of infinite growth and can accommodate the incorporation of other types of ornamentation as well. In terms of their abstractness, repetitive motifs, and symmetry, geometric patterns have much in common with the so-called arabesque style seen in many vegetal designs. Calligraphic ornamentation also appears in conjunction with geometric patterns.

The four basic shapes, or "repeat units," from which the more complicated patterns are constructed are: circles and interlaced circles; squares or four-sided polygons; the ubiquitous star pattern, ultimately derived from squares and triangles inscribed in a circle; and multisided polygons. It is clear, however, that the complex patterns found on many objects include a number of different shapes and arrangements, allowing them to fit into more than one category.

Content Research

The History of Origami in Japan

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The technique of paper making, which was introduced into Japan from China during the early seventh century, underwent considerable changes in its manufacturing process in Japan giving rise to a type of paper possessing dual qualities of resilient sturdiness and softness which prevents tearing when it is handled, Washi, a unique and distinct type of Japanese paper kindled many forms of cultural creativity, among them origami.
Unfortunately, it is not clear when origami in Japan first originated, However, what is known is that from old, letters and paper to wrap items in were folded. A well-regulated lifestyle came with the advent of samurai society which gave rise to the art of paper folding for practical and formal purposes. Recently, however, particularly from the onset of the Showa period (1926-1989), the art has rapidly passed into oblivion, but a vestige of its former use can still be seen in the noshi, a decoration of folded red and white paper attached to a gift.
Origami made to assume concrete shapes of, for example, a crane or boat is regarded as origami for pure enjoyment. However, I feel that these were probably once made for the purpose of bearing the illnesses and misfortunes that befell a person. They began to be made sometime around the beginning of the Edo period (1600-1868) which coincided with an age in which mass-produced, low-priced paper came to be widely used among the people.
During the Genroku era (1688-1704), origami of the crane and several varieties of boats used as designs on clothing became fashionable, and they were also reproduced with great frequency in Ukiyoe prints. Origami rapidly came to have a wide following during this period.
About a hundred years later, books and printed matter devoted exclusively to origami were published, creating a diverse and advanced form of origami. They were not only a form of children's amusement, but because they were also intended for adults, many of these origami were difficult to make and incorporated many complicated steps.
The technique of paper making was introduced into Europe in the twelfth century producing a distinct form of origami. However, origami was not taken up by a large number of people as it was in Japan.
During the Meiji period (1868-1912), origami was used as a teaching tool in the kindergarten and elementary school levels. Japan's origami was greatly influenced by Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel (1782-1852), a mid-nineteenth century German educator's method of teaching derived from European traditional origami, which further developed into folding to make various geometrical shapes, and was widely adopted particularly in the Japanese kindergartens.
During the Meiji period alone, there were many new origami creations conceived by numerous unknown inventors. However because origami required following precise directions, origami was not well received during the Taishou period (1912-1926), a time when educators favored placing importance on originality and creativity. Origami was deemed as lacking in these qualities. However, braced by a long history, origami once again regained its popularity.
Not only are there now many imaginative and novel origami creations, but its educational worth and immense potential have been also reconsidered and recognized. Origami has gained a widespread following as a hobby among adults. There are now many origami associations that have been formed overseas by origami enthusiasts.

Motif (visual arts)

In art, a motif  is an element of a pattern, image or part of one. A motif may be repeated in a design or composition, often many times, or may just occur once in a work.^[1] A motif may be an element in the iconographyof a particular subject or type of subject that is seen in other works.

Ornamental or decorative art can usually be analysed into a number of different elements, which can be called motifs. These may often, as in textile art, be repeated many times in a pattern. Important examples in Western art include acanthus, egg and dart, and various types of scrollwork.

Many designs in mosques in Islamic culture are motifs, including those of the sun, moon, animals such as horses and lions, flowers, and landscapes. Motifs can have emotional effects and be used for propaganda.

The term has become used more broadly in discussing literature and other narrative arts for a particular element or section in the story that represents a theme.