Midterm Marks are in… Mom would have been proud.

I am really enjoying my art courses at college and am doing really well! Midterm marks were released this past week and I have five A+ and one A-. My overall average is 94%. My sister wants to know what happened to the other 6%. Um, well…

There are only six more weeks to go in the semester and there are a lot of projects required for final marks. In one class the current project is worth 50% of the entire grade and takes up the rest of the course. My Sociology class final research paper is worth 25% of the final grade. And the four other courses have major projects that are a bit less of the overall marks, but still need to be done well.

I completed one final project today – a presentation for my Figure Drawing course, so I don’t get jammed at the end. They are all due in April, so getting a head start is important.

Time management is a big deal and luckily I am pretty good at it.

Here are some gesture drawings from my Figure Drawing class with live models.

I find I can do these very quickly, and the 10 minute drawings are about as long as it takes. When we have 20 minutes or longer I get fussy and overwork things. All a learning process. Last week we worked on foreshortening. That is challenging.

In my 3D Studio class I am working on a small sculpture – an “exquisite corpse” which is something designed by three people – I drew the head, then it got passed around the class with two other people drawing the middle, and the legs. No one saw what the others drew. We had to build the armature for it, and then fill in with wire mesh and aluminium foil, so that the clay is a very thin covering. I actually got lucky with my end design, some of the others have real challenges to make their sculptures stand in a stable manner, which is one of the main goals of this project.

We have two more big projects after this in 3D Studio.  I really enjoy this class and will miss it. Once I start taking the Fabrication classes in semesters three through six, I can get back into building!

In our Presentation & Portfolio class our final project is to produce a portfolio – I’ve got to PROPERLY photograph the work I want to include. I probably have more to chose from than a lot of the students, but… some of the work I no longer actually have and the photos aren’t suitable. So… will have to pick things that are able to be done properly, and that were created within the last year. The fact that I have to do the photography is challenging. The instructor said something about “booking the studio”… I’m going to try to rig up something at home and see how it works.

For my Digital Drawing class we are supposed to have an online “sketchbook” of all the work done from rough ideas to finished piece – it isn’t necessary to post until the end of the semester for the instructor to review. I am really not a digital person and the work I have so far produced is basic. I did get a good grade but it was very stressful for me.

This was the Landscape I created for one assignment in Digital Drawing. I did it in Paint 3D. I was mid-pack as far as finished printed copy for class critique. I am hampered in that I started this program on the second semester, so don’t have the courses in digital programs that were taught in the first semester – I’ll be taking those in September.

But, I got through it so far. Next project I should not have an issue with as it is not necessary to be digitized!

 

 

 

Taking a walk along Lake Ontario’s shore

I finally remembered to take my camera when Brian and I went for a walk down to the lake. It is Lake Ontario and we live a couple blocks from the shore.

It is really beautiful here; neighbourhood is lovely with brick homes and lots of mature trees, and wildlife – like squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, opossums, deer, etc. We have to keep the garbage locked in big bins to stop the raccoons from making messes.

It was an overcast day but very nice for March. We went right onto the beach.

To the left (which is west) is the Pickering Nuclear Plant… I posted about that HERE. What I find interesting is that right beside a nuclear power plant there is a giant wind turbine.

It is usually pretty breezy so the wind turbines would be a nice replacement for the nuclear but it is probably a real estate issue.

Brian wasn’t terribly impressed with the water part.

I was trying to get a nice shot of him looking out over the lake.  So up on the ridge I hooked his leash on a tree… this was the best I could get. But it does show how fluffy he is!

Lake Ontario is the 13th largest lake in the world by area. The state of New York is across it – I haven’t been able to see it though, opposite shore is too far away.

The park along the lake shore is fantastic, paved trails, woods, grassed areas with parking and pavilions, picnic areas, play areas.  It is well-used and well maintained.

As you can see there is no snow as we’ve had an unseasonably warm spell. Overnight we got a small amount but that has pretty much disappeared and the temperatures are staying above zero for the daytime highs for the next while. Plants are starting to show!

I missed posting in February! Oops.

I try to post a minimum of once a month, or more, but it looks like I missed February 2018 entirely!  Sorry!

In my defense I’ve been pretty busy with school and other appointments. But I usually do find the time. So March 1st will have to suffice.

I am enjoying college a lot! So far my marks are pretty damn good. Nothing lower than an A at this point. One instructor hasn’t posted any grades yet, and that is the class I have the least confidence in, so hopefully it doesn’t come in too low.

I got 100% on my Sociology mid-term paper which was great – it was titled “A Sociological Analysis of an Advertisement Demonstrating Cultural Imperialism.” I like a buffer for when I miss something on the weekly quizzes. This is a general education course I had to choose, the one I actually wanted to take wasn’t available when I chose my timetable. But it is interesting so I’m good with it. But for the rest of the program I am going to go for easier general courses – maybe online options that I can rip through and be done with.

We are going on a field trip to the Art Gallery of Ontario next week which I am looking forward to as I haven’t been there yet.

3D Art is a great course – planning, designing and building things with different media. The first project was constructing a 3D Map of an imaginary province. I got 100% on mine. It was 20 cm x 22 cm and all of them fit together to make a “country”.

“Crateria – a seismically active, uninhabited region with craters and lava lakes.”

Mine arranged with others from our class – there are many more now added from other classes.

The other projects so far have been building a 3D cube out of foam core and a 12″ rolling “ball” using cardboard and negative space without any glue or adhesives – had to fit together dry. Next project we start sculpting with clay.

In the Presentations & Portfolio course we’ve had to tattoo a banana and do an illustration using a hyperbole.

I was wondering why this was required… still not sure.

And… The dog ate my homework.  No, REALLY!

The hyperbole illustration was fun, I really like how my drawing turned out. The first is my final submission. The second was one I was playing around with. I prefer realistic work so went with the more natural look to my vulture. Designing a gas mask for a vulture was an interesting exercise. Our finished work was photographed in the studio so we should be getting a portfolio quality image eventually. I just took these on my desk so they aren’t completely flat.

Figure drawing is really enjoyable! We’ve now had both female and male models, and also worked on hands and feet. Hands are hard!

Fundamentals of Audio/Video Production is a challenge for me but so far I am getting excellent marks. I am working hard to get through the assignments and learn the software we have to use. It is getting easier, but more features are being presented at each stage so I have to keep figuring out the next level. I can see where my weaknesses are so that is a good thing – so I know where to concentrate on the next project. I posted my first project on my Facebook page if you want to check it out at Shannon Fennell Art.  It was a short video/slide show of my work with music and sound effects added.

I’m just about at the halfway point for this semester. Last day of classes is April 27th. Then have the summer off and back in September. I’m looking for part-time work that could be full-time for the summer months, then back to part-time in the fall. I’ve also reached out and put my name in to volunteer at two places which both responded positively, which is great.