He had no sharp angles. Every part of him offered curved lines. Every muscle had definition and volume. The model was perfect for drawing cross-contour lines… the lines which we practiced in the exercise for today, my first class in figure drawing. First, the “swoop” – the gesture line that describes the basic posture, following … read more Day 67: Contours
Tag: art
Day 57: Spirits of light
I love photography because I love the light. When all else fails me, I can remain faithful to the light. These photos were taken in winter, when we cling to the scant light and try to amplify it, warm our hands by it. I was studying video tutorials today, and the endless details of formats, scanning and … read more Day 57: Spirits of light
Day 47: The elephant in the room
I have talked around it, walked around it, ignored it, and pasted pennies on top of it. All day today I found ways to do anything but that: I would rather cook, clean the kitchen, shop, go to Costco, and test couches at the furniture store. Anything but Art. There. I said it. I’m not … read more Day 47: The elephant in the room
Day 40: Wandering in the desert
Forty days. This will be my 40th blog post. Forty days: It evokes the image of wandering in the desert. My friend Sara, who is a photographer and artist, does wonderful montages with photos and figures. In one of them (partial version above), there is a man in a worker’s uniform with a push broom over his shoulder. He … read more Day 40: Wandering in the desert
Day 21: The Materials
This sculpture isn’t very tall yet, but I’m planning for the day that it is. I can’t just place and stack the pennies. I had to do some research and experimentation to figure out how to make them stick together permanently. After scouring through many websites of hobbyists, jewelers, and others who work with metal, I came … read more Day 21: The Materials
Day 20: Is it art?
How will I make this pile of pennies a work of art, rather than just … a pile of pennies? This is a question that bothers me. Most days, I’m pretty liberal in my definition of art, but other times I roll my eyes at some of the puffy, BS artist statements that elevate unskilled … read more Day 20: Is it art?
Day 19: The word of the law
In a previous post, I speculated that I might possibly be an outlaw for using $162 in pennies to create a sculpture. Today I decided to get to the bottom of this, and I did what few people bother to do on such questions: I dug up the actual law and read it. Although there … read more Day 19: The word of the law
Day 13: Getting the name right
I’ve been doing ancestry research for a few years. It can be very addictive, like playing mahjong or Sudoku, putting all those pieces into place and making everything add up. One thing I really love is to correct mistakes made in the index to the U.S. Census. These records were hand-written, and transcribed to searchable … read more Day 13: Getting the name right
Day 10: I think I might be an outlaw
While I was researching this project, I ran across some references to illegal uses of U.S. tender. But, as so often on the Internet, there were emphatic voices on both sides of this question, each insisted their understanding of the law was the correct one. Defense 1: It’s art, therefore it’s protected free speech. Defense … read more Day 10: I think I might be an outlaw
Day 6: Foundations
Tom is getting ready to start a new job tomorrow. He’s determined to take full advantage of all that this opportunity has to offer. In the past few weeks, he has gone to great lengths to prepare himself mentally, physically, logistically, to succeed at this job. I offered a list of ways that I thought … read more Day 6: Foundations