Final Classmate Conversation

This week I had the pleasure of talking to Annie Chung, Annie is from Pasadena and has an older brother Ryan, older sister Winnie. Annie Came to school in hopes of having a fresh start. When applying to school here she knew absolutely no one and was looking for an adventure and new friends. Since then Annie has branched out and made plenty of new friends and began to focus on shaping her future. Annie is a Freshman who is majoring in Health Science here at CSULB because she didn’t want to com into the year as undeclared. Annie unfortunately  is unsure with what she wants to do with her major. However she is hoping that with time here at school  she will be able to find what she’s looking for in a future career. This is one of the reasons why she is really paying attention to her General Education classes, in hopes f it inspiring a peak of interest which could prompt a possible career choice.

Annie realized that one of the key’s to success in college that will help you later in life is to get a head start when it comes t finding an internship within her major. It is because of this that She wants to get an internship with Kaiser. Kaiser is located just about 2-3 miles off of campus which deals with Medicare and Health professions. Annie hopes that this internship will spark an interest in a specific job that could help narrow down what she wants to do in life because with the medical profession there are endless possibilities.

When Annie isn’t at school she likes to bake in her free time. When Annie was little she started baking with her aunt, and it was from the very first day that she fell in love. She has continued to bake ever since, her favorite pastry and desert to bake are both macaroons and cupcakes. She spends most of her free time baking, however she does not play any sports and is currently looking for a job t make a stable source of income.

 

Week 14 Classmate Conversation

This week I had the pleasure of meeting Amilcar Perez, Amilcar also goes by the name (AP).  Amilcar was born in Guatemala and moved to Long Beach when he was five years old, and he has lived here ever since. He has a younger sister named  Becky and a little niece named Penelope who is currently a year old.

Amilcar went to Millikan High School here in long beach where he played Varsity volleyball.  In his free time he enjoys skating, surfing and camping.  In his spare time he enjoys drawing and listening to music in all genres. He also dabbles in photography, he likes to take photos of nature, particularly landscapes.

When Amilcar has some free time and gets to relax at home he loves to watch TV.  His favorite shows that he likes to watch are Rick and Morty, as well as Game of Thrones! Besides watching television Amilcar also enjoys reading books, the majority of the books that he owns are about Space and Astrophysicists, because he has always had a love for the unknown in outer space.

Currently Amilcar is a Sophomore here at CSULB and is studying to be an International Studies major, all while minoring in Film. Amilcar is studying film in the hopes of being able to become a director.  Right now Amilcar is taking this class in hopes of fulfilling a General Education requirement. And he is focusing on his studies so instead of working part time he is a student full time.

Week 14 Drawing of the Japanese Garden

This week’s art project I spent the class period drawing in the Japanese garden.  Mark, Jeremy, and I all sat pondside on multiple small rocks rights in the planter closests to the water. As we were going through the steps of drawing the pond we decided to combine all of our steps into one big sketch. Jeromey Mark and I all sat down looking  in different directions. As we were sketching  we were laughing and looking at all of the kids who came into the garden.

The section that I happened to look at had a rather large tree branch that came halfway through my view. This was the 5 minute sketch for I spent most of my time drawing the tree in the middle of the paper. For my quick contour drawing i decided to sketch the outlining of the pond from my perspective. For the 15-30 second drawings I decided to put ripples in the water. as well as rocks around the outline of the pond. For my 2.5 minute contour drawings I decided to make the rock bed that was close to the bridge. From there I went to the representation drawing, I looked at the deck, as well as the bridge. For the abstract drawing I attempted to draw the dirt path as well as the trees in the background using straight lines only. It was from there that I finished my sketch by adding the leaves on the tree branches as well as the  posts that went all around the pond.

Honestly this was by far my favorite project, it was relaxing, and fun all at the same time. I was with my friends drawing something that was beautiful and quiet. We were laughing at our lack of artistic ability but all the same we had fun working together. It brought me back to a time when I was little. In my home town we have a local pond called Alice Cac Park which honestly looked identical to the japanese garden here at CSULB. But I remember a time when I was little my sister and i used to go there and watercolor what we saw and I remember painting all of the Coy fish as well as the turtles that called the pond home.

This project was stress free and although at times it was frustrating not being able to use an eraser I had fun all the same. It was unique however needing to use different forms of drawing with time restrictions. I found myself at times racing the clock trying to finish the specific portion before the timer went off. I thoroughly enjoyed this project and I cant wait to see what we do for our last week. 

Week 13: Artist Conversation

Artist: Laura Lopez

Exhibition: Salvatica

Gallery: Werby Gallery

Media: Acrylic, Oil, Canvas

This week I had the pleasure of meeting Laura Lopez. Laura is currently pursuing Masters Degree here at CSULB.  When talking to Laura about her inspiration, she said that she was influenced by nature, but more specifically it was her love for the Jungle itself that brought her paintings to life.  She believes that the Jungle is a living creature with a heart beat. But it wasn’t just that she said that it was the jungle and nature itself which was a metaphor that everyone should live by. Adopt its principle and watch one’s life flourish the more connected one was to their roots.

When looking at Laura’s Paintings I was instantly attracted to her use of bright and vibrant colours. All of the colours melted together effortlessly into a smooth stroke of a brush. These paintings normally attract one to the background of the jungle itself but what popped out most were the animals which were hidden in her pieces.

When talking to Laura about her pieces she said that she loved to create big pieces, because it made and told a story. She loved to use bright colours as if to attract people to her art and  make the pieces more welcoming.  Her paintings consisted of the jungles but within them were flowing rivers, massive shrubbery and trees, as well as some animals in the mix. Her use of vibrant colours brought her paintings to life intriguing the students to come closer to the paintings.

When first coming into the gallery I assumed it was like any other I was on my phone talking with friends but it was as soon as I looked up that I was instantly entranced with the pieces beauty. These paintings stood massively comparatively to those in past weeks, hanging on the wall. Their bright colours warmed the room drawing me closer to them. Laura has mixed the vibrant colours of the rainbow together to create a masterpieces. When first looking at the paintings I couldn’t get past her use of colour, and it wasn’t until I stepped closer and began to look deeper into the work that I found the more and more I began to like her work.I wasn’t just looking at trees, I was looking at nature that had come to life. The animal of one of the paintings looked to be that of a cat and it stood out in her first painting. As I began to look at the patterns I became confused because within each tree was a different pattern of different shapes.  When looking at her art it was very easy to see the amount of effort and time that went into making these pieces because they were simply beautiful.

Unfortunately I forgot to ask if she had a website or instagram.

 

Week 13: Classmate Conversation

This week I had the pleasure of meeting Jared Malabed. Jared is a junior who is studying Mechanical Engineering here at CSULB and is taking this class in order to fulfil his General Education Requirement for art. Jared is originally frum up north in San Jose. Jared is a fan of Ice Hockey and he routs for the San Jose Sharks.

Jared is trying to find his passion in the engineering field looking for that special job that last puzzle piece to put his life together. Finding the track to to lay his course that will set up the rest of his life. Over the summer Jared worked for Syska Hennessy Group for an Air Conditioning company. Driving over 2 hours a day to get to work, learning the work required for his field of expertise.  Now Jared works for Long beach Tutor center where he tutors student athletes. He works to tutor athletes in mostly math however he occasionally works with engineering and Chemistry. Aside from that Jared is working on a research project at the HPRL lab on Campus, where he is working to design the perfect chair for posture. This project honestly looked very intriguing and difficult to do. Jared had spoken of the project how you have to attach electrodes all over your body to see which muscles are activated when sitting down and which are tensed and relaxed with perfect posture. And it was from that data that they are able to find the perfect positioning of a chair seat to obtain their desired outcome.

Jared also has a love for sports, Jared has played soccer since he was little, he even continued to play in high school until he tore his quad ending his season and career in soccer. Besides soccer, Jared also found a passion for Lacrosse in high school until he tore his hamstring, ending that career as well. and although he wasn’t able to compete he still had a love for the sports.

Jared also talked a little bit about his girlfriend who attends cerritos college, they had been together for a little over 2 years. Jared had then asked about myself where I had told him of my major being that of Kinesiology, and Exercise Science. I told him that I had been with my boyfriend for almost a year. I told him that I was from Santa Barbara and loved all sports, which is why I work at the Student Wellness and Recreation Center here at CSULB also known as the rec center.

for more information about jared you can follow him at: jaredmalabed@wordpress.com

 

Week 12: Artist Conversation

 

This week I had the pleasure of meeting Alice Andreini, Alice is a Junior here at CSULB  who has been living in Long beach for quite awhile. She has a passion for poetry, philosophy, and good literature. Alice has been painting at an elevated level for the past six years. She hopes one day to become an art teacher to be able to teach painting classes and continue painting once she graduates.

Alice like most artists has hidden words behind her piece. Alice wants us to hear her message from looking at her pieces. She hopes that overall her art is thinking about how we are unaware of these constructs in life. The example that she used is how we are always on our phones, which at times makes us unaware of time and affects our reality of it. Her art is focusing on landscape.

To Alice Nature and landscape is used symbolically and metaphorically for different ideological systems some topics of which she spoke of were romanticism and that of religion. She talks about how if you look at a golf course you have romantic, pure, static, contrived, and stays the same from day to day. But the true artwork is when you uncover the machine underneath, and the structures imposed on top.

Alice has inspiration which comes from her desire to paint, as well as her interest in special construct. That when she is creating her work she is thinking about how we will visualize/ imagine and create spatial illusions based on her piece.

The two pieces below are honestly breath takingly beautiful. The mash up of colors and the shapes really bring the piece together. The first one might be able to see what looks like a mountain ridge with a sun floating to the earth, in the background you can see what looks like mountain ridges, and along the base of the painting you can see what looks like shrubbery and or trees. when listening to Alice speak about the gold course I began to imagine the golf course in this painting, it looks as though there are two different bodies of water in the piece which might be water holes as hazards on the golf course, and then in the middle of the painting there is what appears to be a smooth compilation of different colours which could symbol the green. And then when the sun drops down onto the course the sun changes from that of an orange/yellow/white colour to that of a dark blue, which could also be the golf ball itself. This painting had a lot of blues, greens, yellows, oranges, black and white colours which were very prominent.

The second painting again after listening to Alice’s Story of the golf course is more so easier to see than the first. It is here using a variety of different colours, the most prominent being purple, blue, black, and white, that you can see the scenery unfold. In the background again you can see what appears to be a mountain ridge, and along the base there appears to be something of plant origin. But along the midline of the painting you can see the fairway, as well as what now looks like sand traps instead of water hazards, the sun looks as though it is covered by a cloud embankment.

These paintings were very mesmerizing and they created a seen using colors that blended beautifully on the canvas. The artist had great vision, and made the piece difficult to grasp first but upon deeper look you can see the true meaning. Like Alice had said before. You can’t simply look at a piece and know what its meaning and story is, you have to take the time and peal back the different layers before you can uncover its true meaning.  I love that this piece makes you think outside of the box when trying to recognize what the piece is about. you have to find the true artwork which is when you uncover the machine underneath, and the structures imposed on top. In these paintings the machine underneath is that of a golf course. It is hidden in the interesting and abstract shapes that makes up the painting.

 

Week 12: Ethnography Experience

This week we had the project of spending the night in the dark, without electricity. This week I spent a night this week without electricity, meaning no; computers, TV’s, Mobile Devices, Light Bulbs, Dance Clubs, Movie Theatres etc. Originally I was planning on camping over the weekend with my friends however the plans had been canceled. So while thinking of what to do for the weekend  my friends and I decided to go home. Upon arriving at my house we learned that the power had gone out in my whole neighborhood, because of a metal balloon flying through one of the electrical lines. The power had been out since noon, and wasn’t going to be coming back until the next morning. My friends and I had gone to the store to pick up candles, some ice and some snacks for the night to come.

My friends and I came back to my apartment where we put the ice in a bucket and moved all of our food from the fridge into the bucket to keep it cold. We lit the candles and scattered them throughout the living room and began our board game night. We were havin so much fun throughout the night and found that a night without technology was actually quite simple.

When looking at the assignment originally I thought that it was going to be a pain to do especially because I had a major test coming up, and a birthday party/game night to host  over the weekend leaving no time to have a night without electricity. I never really thought about what goes into it because everything revolves around electricity. So when picturing what to do I found it very hard to completely. However, because of the power outage the experience was quite simple, the only technology that we had to keep out of mind was that of our cell phones. So because we honestly had no choice in the matter in made the process easier. At times it was frustrating, wanting to use the stove to cook, or turn on the lights to better see, but it was a nice change to not be surrounded by technology or the night.

I would say that my quality of sleep didn’t change, because in my room there is no technology with the exception of my cell phone and the light in the room. However, my quantity of sleep was more than expected. I had expected to get around 8 hours of sleep, however, that I night I had gotten over 10 hours of sleep. I would say that living without electricity makes one’s life more organic and harmonious in nature because you aren’t dependent upon man made items.  Living without electricity at times is more limiting and at times depending on how you live your life may be perceived as boring, however, I had a more positive outlook on the experience.If your life revolves around technology than one would be very limited when it came to having a life without electricity, but if you are like myself and enjoy the outdoors then you will find a life without electricity is hardly limited or boring.

I think that people survived without constant stimulation very easily. When people grow up without something their whole life they never know whats missing. So to them the life without electricity isn’t a big deal because they have lived their entire life without it.  An ideal level of life activity and connectivity would be that of moderation. A day where you can enjoy your daily life without an excessive amount of  technology. Just enough to get by, and at night maybe relax without a movie, and cuddle up with a good book. 

 

 

 

Week 11: Classmate Conversation

This week I had the pleasure of getting to meet three people in Art class during our classmate conversation. This week Glenn had decided to make our artist conversation into a group of three however we had made our group one of four because one of our group mates was alone. Our group consisted of Trevor Young, Maria Romo, Adrian Martinez and myself.

The first person that I had gotten to know was Adrian Martinez,  Adrian is a fifth year here at CSULB and is graduating this semester with a degree  in Construction Engineering and Management.  Adrian came here right after graduating from Warren High School in Downey. Adrian is taking this class to fulfill his Art Generalization class. Adrian has a love for all kinds of food, and in his free time he enjoys going out to the bar with his friends on the weekend.  When he is not at school studying Adrian works for PCI which stands from Performance Construction Incorporated where he is an assistant to a Project Engineer.

The second person I was introduced to was Maria Romo. Maria is a first year here at CSULB in her second semester. Maria is a Communication major who is also minoring in History. Maria is Planning on getting her Masters in political Science. Maria came to CSULB right after graduating from Warren High School in Downey as well.  When Maria isn’t at school she is working for an assemblymember Cristina Garcia as a program coordinator.  In her free time Maria  loves to go to concerts, and when she can plays softball and soccer. Both of which she used to play in her childhood while growing up.  When Maria has down time she enjoys  watching Game of Thrones and Sherlock, and when she can she always enjoys watching movies.

The third person I got to hang out with was Trevor Young. Trevor and I both work at the Student Wellness and Recreation Center (SRWC) except Trevor works at the Fitness Desk and I work at the Intramural Desk.  Trevor grew up in torrance and is a junior here at CSULB and has recently just changed his major from fitness to Health Science. With his new change in major Trevor hopes to be able to go to Nursing School after college. In Trevor’s free time he likes to go to Concerts and trying new food. On the weekend Trevor likes to go to the Bars with his friends, as well as getting in some GYM time to stay fit which he does through lifting weights, swimming and hiking.

This week we had to make a a group note card which was inspired by one of the artist works. So we were inspired by one of the exhibits which housed the vertebra of a whale, so we had made our note cards into a beach scene with a whale tale coming out of the ocean.

 

Week 10 Artist Conversation: Brittany Waters

Artist: Brittany Waters

Exhibition: More Than A Sandbox

Media: Sculptural Ceramic

Gallery: Dennis W. Dutzi Gallery

Website: NA

Instagram: Artbywaters

This week I had the pleasure of meeting Brittany Waters. Brittany is a Senior here at CSULB studying Sculptural Ceramics. Brittany is originally from Northern California but more specifically Sacramento. It was here where Brittany was inspired as a child and had created her work based off of the wildlife and Nature of her surroundings. Brittany’s inspiration was one that stays true with my heart and her inspiration lies with Nature.

Brittany states that she was always inspired by the nature in which she lived at the time she was always surrounded by a constant cover of trees and clouds, but it wasn’t until she moved to a small beach town that her inspiration changed to that of marine life. Brittany spoke of how her artwork was not only a sculpture but it was also a statement.  It was based off of an actual location the San Gabriel river where 40-50 adolescent sea turtles live under the constant cover from predatory animals.  This statement showed that if someone were to take care of the beach they walked, there is a possibility of being able to see the turtles in an everyday life.

This week I was simply amazed as I walked into the Dennis W. Dutzi Gallery, I was expecting to walk into the room like any other and see paintings on the walls and or sculptures around the walls of the rooms. Instead I was awestruck to walk into a beach, with piles of sand on the floor as well as a projection of the ocean waves crashing against the shore, as well as the sound system of the ocean waves. But it wasn’t just that, there were lounge chairs which were laid back in the sand with a beach umbrella creating shade on the sand. Not only was this exhibit aesthetically pleasing that wasn’t even the beginning of the depth of the beauty.  Brittany had gone above and beyond by not only hand carving the sea turtles which were embedded in the sand but she had hand sculpted over 100 ceramic sea turtles. It was one thing to end the exhibit there but it was another to go above and beyond by doing a photoshoot with the hand crafted sea turtles showing a day in the life of the turtle, It had shown the turtle busting out of his egg, as well as climbing through the sand to the ocean, and Finally the last of the photos showed the turtles finding their way into the water.

This exhibit had taken more time than the artist probably cared to admit, seeing as though each ceramic turtle had taken the better part of 40 minutes to create, the amount of detail in each individual turtle simple amazes me, and they are all almost identical. The sea turtles were a significant part of the life sized sculpture of the beach because they held a significance in Brittany’s heart. Brittany had said that she had personal ties to the childhood memories of the Sea Turtles.  During her childhood memories the Sea Turtles reminded her of her first trip to Hawaii, where the sea turtle was the first animal she had seen.

What I had found most amazing about the piece was the amount of thought that went into the piece itself. The amount of photos that were lining the walls was simply beautiful. Multiple photos were showing the depth of the photos showing the day in the life of the sea turtles as well as making the turtles themselves. but the artist had gone above and beyond what was expected of them when creating a beach scene. This sculpture had transported me to the beach, it was here where you could see the hundred sea turtles running into the ocean for protection of the seagulls. This exhibit has by far been my favorite to visit and the message of the piece really hits home.

When I was in high school I volunteered at a beach clean up program as well as a wildlife protection program which helped house hundreds of baby sea turtles. Brittany’s message was that to teach the people that everything matters. something as simple as throwing away a plastic bag or a bottle can be the difference for the public getting to be able to see the amazing event of the turtles rushing to the water after birth.   I honestly can’t wait to see more work from this artist.

Brittany stated that she had no website however she did have an instagram: Artbywaters where she posts photos of her work throughout her experiences here at CSULB.