Final Projects

It sure has been a while since my last post. But now that I have finally finished my Sophomore year at Insertnamehere University I will have more time to blog. I can't make any promises, though. I have a hard enough time keeping up with Facebook and my e-mail.
Well, now that school is out for the Summer let me tell you a little bit about my final projects for this past Spring semester (they are not too boring, I promise!).
The final project for my art design class was to make a self portrait box. In other words, decorate the inside and/or outside of the box with things that you like and things that represent who you are. I had so much fun with this! I felt like I was back in kindergarten again, complete with the purple glue stick that doesn't really work.
My professor had us work on them during class for the last few classes. This proved to be a little troublesome for me. First, I'm a commuter student. So I had to bring all of my supplies with me. But, some of my art supplies can't be left in the car because of the heat and humidity. And there are no little "cubbie holes" or lockers for me to put my stuff. So I had to be really conservative with the materials I chose to use. And those materials that I did decide to bring with me I had to keep with me in my bag ALL DAY LONG! Seriously, I felt like a bag lady walking around campus with an overstuffed (not to mention ridiculously heavy) book bag.
Second, my professor would walk around the room observing our progress. I don't do so well with people looking over my shoulder. It makes my nervous. So, I didn't get too much done in class.
For our final we had to present our boxes and explain the meanings of what was inside. I don't like presentations so much either. Anybody who knows me knows that my answers are short and terse. By the grace of God I was able to stretch my presentation out to the allotted seven minutes. I must have been nervous, though, because I can't remember what I said.
Here is my box:

It didn't really help that I dropped the box on my way to class on the day of the final. I still haven't been able to put everything back the way it was (I should have used a better glue stick!). Basically, it is just some sketches I did in class to help pass the time. I strung some little trinkets that my grandma and my Dad gave me on a string. And I put a poem by Jose Marti ("Cultivo Una Rosa Blanca") in there along with three white roses to go with it. The dove was the symbol of the Holy Spirit in the Bible. So the little dove above the pink ribbon represents my faith in Christ.

I had just newly rediscovered the oil pastels that the art teacher I used to assist had given me. Of course I have a lot of refining to do with my technique, but I really like the way that the colors blend so well together. I could go on a little further about this box, but I'd really like to tell you about my Digital Art project.

For my Digital Arts class I had to find a client and design a website around their description. At first I thought this would be fun. But then, in my infinite sagacity, I had to go and pick a client with an ambiguous request. "It will give me more lee-way for creativity," I thought. But it was too ambiguous. I hard time coming up with ideas. So I asked Mom if she could think of any. That was mistake number two. She suggested that I do a site advertising a new brand of toilet paper.
I was tired of thinking. So I went with it and started gathering resources and info right away. That was mistake number three.
So I put together a rough layout of the home page for the preliminary review that we had to turn in. It so happened that mine was used as an example of how not to do your webpage. So the whole class got a grand preview of my pathetic little, "Suavemente Toilet Paper! America's favorite since 2008! Nothing Gets Left behind!" website. That made a little piece of my heart die. By this time I was no longer "thrilled" with working on this project. The process itself was fine. I had no problem with that. I had just picked a not so fun (and actually rather embarrassing) subject. Nevertheless, I did my best to make it look good and authentic. I decided to make it a satire of conservation, environmental safety, and trustworthy, longstanding businesses. So I made everything ridiculously exaggerated or completely nonsensical. This way it wouldn't seem so pathetic. At least thats what I think.
On our last work day before the final my professor went around to help with last minute problems and stuff. And he gave me a priceless compliment: "Oh, that looks good. I'd wipe my butt with that." There you have it. My digital arts final project is bathroom worthy. And that little piece of my heart is beginning to recover.