ARTS Drawing 1: my greatest strength is listening and following instructions, and, 2.  for greater success in this course, I need to continue to dedicate myself to practice, practice, practice.

VISU Fall 2016:  1..My greatest strength in class is my tenacity.  I am learning new things to do and new ways to think about art and its disciplines.  2.  To pass this course, I must get working on my blogs.

CULF:  1.  My strength in this class is my ability to absorb new information like a sponge.  I lap it up; my professor is amazing (Dr. Rosas).  2.  To succeed in this class, I must set aside the time for reading and researching.  I love the class, so it’s not hard to commit.

VISU 1100:  1.  Best strength is attendance and listening.  2.  Patience.

ARTS Art History 1:  Best strength is listening and reading assignments.  2.  Listen is always a good thing to do.

Computer skills:  I am proficient in using Mac and Microsoft products, I type 54 WPM, I am able to multi-task with different apps opened at the same time.  My weakness could be spreadsheets.

My greatest skills in research are hunting down useful and pertinent information using the tools the Munday Librarian taught me.  Having an interest in the topic definitely helps.

I need to work on scheduling my time to work on research, to actually do it.  It’s not that difficult if I set aside an hour and tell myself this is what I need to accomplish today.

I learn best when there is no pressure, but I also learn from my mistakes, too.

Action Plan for VISU Fall 2016

1.  Attendance (not a problem)
2. Listen
3. Participate
4. Follow directions
5. Ask questions for clarification
6. Set goals for projects
7. Get out of the comfort zone and do something different than the ‘norm’
8. Schedule time to do projects outside of class
9. Use the facilities that are available for students
10. Have fun!

1.  Main point of Article One suggests successful artists are good business people, and they are able to build upon their own ‘brand’, if you will, by believing in their ‘brand’, and selling it.  Andy Warhol was really good at networking; he believed in himself, and he was quite an unique person.  Article Two states artists are innovators and have much in common with entrepreneurs.  Basically, to sell one’s art, or ‘brand’, the entrepreneur must believe in themselves with every fiber of their being.  Giving up is not an option; to be a success, one cannot quit, their job is 24/7, making passion for their art a necessity.
2. Artists can learn from entrepreneurs the ‘gift of gab’.  The 12 characteristics of an artist indicate artists do not give up.  Maybe entrepreneurs can learn from artists, too.
3. Yes, I believe artists are true entrepreneurs because to be successful, one must be able to create a ‘desire’ for their ‘brand’ or product.  To create a demand for a ‘brand’ that is new to the market can be tough.  There are customers to convince the ‘brand’ is absolutely a must have.  Customers can include paying customers, critics, media, B2B networking, bankers for loans, and there are more.  Anyone can be a customer of almost anything if a desire or demand is created.
4. There has to be more than 12 characteristics to being an artist; I think many people share these same characteristics.  Each seems like a decent asset to have in society, anyway.  I like the Humanist characteristic; many artists lead movements by using their art or ‘brand’ to raise awareness for controversial issues.  I am surprised to read artists work well under constraints; that is probably a good thing, keeping the artist focused on the project.  I cannot think of anything to add at the moment.
5. Great inspiration on the Ted Talk about Grit.  Successful artists and entrepreneurs have grit in common; there is rejection and competition to conquer.

1.  The strongest aspect of this image are the strands of grasses cascading over the planter like a waterfall into a lake.
2. The weakest point of this image could be the crown of ‘thorns’ atop, but I like it.
3. If the ground was actually water, the image could be more metaphoric, I think.
4. Had I used some color enhancing application to make the strands of grasses a ‘blue-ish’ color, then perhaps it could look like real water flowing.

1.  The strongest part of this image is the color of the flowering bud among the contrasting greens of the leaves and the succulent strands.
2. The weakest point of the image, in my opinion, are the leaves which are not a part of the actual budding flower, but those leaves are there naturally.
3. I would have liked to see the leaves of the ivy out of there.
4. To make the the budding flower stand out more by manipulating the color would definitely enhance this image.

With this assignment, I wanted to show some of my favorite subjects, plants and flowers.  Even after using all the manipulations available on Lightroom to make colors brighter or more saturated, or the edges feathered with emphasis on the midpoint of each image, I opted out of changing my images and decided to leave them as the camera and I took them.

There are no changes to these images, not because I let myself get frustrated using the tips Joe and Alex gave in lectures, but because I did not like the feeling of changing the images.  Sure, some of the green, red, and orange color effects made parts of the images stand out more, I still felt the result was unnatural.

Here are my favorite images and what the have to do with Gestault.

Image 1.  Grouping, Repetition, Containment, Proximity

Image 2: Containment

Image 3: Containment

Image 4: Repetition, Containment, Continuity

Image 5: Grouping, Repetition, Proximity, Continuity, Proximity

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