Digital Commons Network^™

Supernumerary, Ethan Best

B.F.A. Practicum Exhibition (ART 498)

For me, art is centered on shifting perspectives, the analysis of communication and the impact of art on our society. It is a reflection of a cultural collective consciousness; manifestations of a collection of beliefs and worldviews that function both as a time capsule and as a direct line into the world of ideas. I create work that is fundamentally founded in personal exploration and interpretation of the artwork at hand. Each piece is, in essence, a catalyst for discovery. For this reason I use a largely minimalist approach in creating objects that have a strong phenomenological presence and have …

Supernumerary, Ethan Best

Professional Practices (ART 399)

For me, art is centered on shifting perspectives, the analysis of communication and the impact of art on our society. It is a reflection of a cultural collective consciousness; manifestations of a collection of beliefs and worldviews that function both as a time capsule and as a direct line into the world of ideas. I create work that is fundamentally founded in personal exploration and interpretation of the artwork at hand. Each piece is, in essence, a catalyst for discovery. For this reason I use a largely minimalist approach in creating objects that have a strong phenomenological presence and have …

Walton Kromer: Narratives, Walton Kromer

Professional Practices (ART 399)

11/1/17

Walton Kromer

Mid Degree Review

. I’ve always been driven by good stories with the hope to create my own someday. Whether it be from a movie, book, or video game, if it has the ability to captivate me, and my creativity, I’ll try to incorporate it in my work. My main focus is Illustration, mostly in either an ink or graphite medium, with the aim to create a narrative image with some semblance of storytelling. I have more than a soft spot for the realm of science fiction. Practically everything from the entire genre has inspired me one …

Shinhye Kwon: Proprac Portfolio Fall 2017, Shinhye Kwon

Professional Practices (ART 399)

Artist Statement Fall 2017

Shinhye Kwon

I want to make mundane, inconsequential things special through painting. Often, trivial things do not inspire people. However, I think this can change. The trivial parts of our daily experiences affect us unknowingly. If everything in the world were perfectly orderly and nonspecific, we would have had a boring and monotonous life. The specificity of the trivial parts provides us with fun, surprise, wonder, and curiosity. For example, tooth marks on top of a pencil, the top corner of the book is folded, or nails with a manicure peeled off can cause minor empathy …

Professional Practices (Art 399), Shateanna Stewart

Professional Practices (ART 399)

I create clay forms that are distressed, altered, textured and colored. Most take a utilitarian form, but not exclusively. I am interested in connecting to the medium and getting lost in the creation of the piece. I am not interested in perfection, but rather find the most amazement in what it is we are capable of; changing a chunk of clay into something wonderful and surprising. My main focus is on the creation of something beautiful that hopefully enriches my audience in the same way it does me. With the goal of creating organic beauty in mind, I found clay …

Professional Practices (Art 399), Madison Henderson

Professional Practices (ART 399)

I’ve always had a passion for art and design as well as assisting those with mental and physical disabilities. When I was searching for a career in the arts and I discovered Art Therapy I knew I had found my calling. Art has always assisted me through my life experiences. I want to be able to help those with mental and physical disabilities do the same.

The major inspiration for my work is being able to assist individuals with mental and physical disabilities and seeing their everyday struggles and how they overcome them, that your typical individual would take for …

The Graphic Design Of Jason Moore, Jason Moore

Professional Practices (ART 399)

Artist Statement

As a Graphic Designer the goal of most of my work is to relay information to the viewer. I try to insert as much of myself into each work that I design and draw influence from Designers such as Michael Schwab, Massimo Vignelli and David Carson. Using typography and illustration to convey emotion and personality.

My art evokes a light and airy mood through the use of minimal color, negative space and geometric shapes. The mood of my work is reflected by my personality, easy going and kind, the work is reacted to visually by the viewer in …

Remembering, Taylor Mccord

B.F.A. Practicum Exhibition (ART 498)

Time doesn’t wait for anyone. It always changes the way you look at something, or the way it looks. This is something I learned from a young age, and have tried to battle against it in order to preserve memories I’ve made. I started out collecting family photos, then I moved on to taking my own, but as I got older I realized there is no real way to preserve a memory, it’s always changing. As years pass little moments are forgotten even physical relics from the past deteriorate and age with you. Because of this, I soon realized there’s …

Rock, Paper, Scissors, Sara A. Hutson

B.F.A. Practicum Exhibition (ART 498)

Rock, Paper, Scissors is a set of graphic novels that I created while investigating and commenting on the abolishment of social boundaries for the sake of contributing to a greater cause. The viewer can witness three di erent triads as they explore the work. First is the trio of characters that the reader will follow through the novels. Each character is derived from each of the social classes. The next triad is the set of primary colors that the books are illustrated in. The colors are also tied to social class, and, while the characters are separate, will make up …

Dawson, Murray State University

B.F.A. Practicum Exhibition (ART 498)

Tianna Nawrocki

Artist Statement

My work emphasizes a lack of presence through empty spaces and discarded objects. This emptiness combined with the use of domestic imagery implies a lost or forgotten narrative. The content of my work deals with thoughts on mortality, the passage of time, and the strength to overcome obstacles. In addition, my work focuses on nostalgia and sentiment, remembered by ordinary objects and structures. I am inspired by Albrecht Dürer and Beatrix Potter for their use of line, attention to detail, and their realistic art style.

Etching and ink on paper are my chosen mediums because they …

Pop-Up Aesop, Lacey Ellis

B.F.A. Practicum Exhibition (ART 498)

In Pop-up Aesop, I connect traditional Aesop Fables to their moral lessons uniquely through sequential illustration, typographical technique, muted colors, textured material and handcraft. Aesop Fables are usually represented by a singular illustration, if any, but the application of multiple illustrations and pop-up techniques give the morals of the stories a new opportunity to connect with the material of the books and have a more lasting and meaningful effect for the viewer.

By reading to my daughter I have been re-exposed to children’s literature. Experiencing the enjoyment a book can bring a child has inspired me to create children’s books …

Yours,, Elaina Barnett

B.F.A. Practicum Exhibition (ART 498)

As I walk through my every day, for as far back as I can recall, little phrases would repeat inside my head.

THE LEAVES ARE TURNED, IT’S GOING TO RAIN

A SMILE COULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE

DON’T INVITE YOURSELF

Little lessons and facts passed on to me, most often words of my mother.

HOW WOULD THAT MAKE YOU FEEL

YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY COULD BE GOING THROUGH

BAD PEOPLE CAN WEAR BRIGHT COLORS

FORGIVE AND ASK FOR FORGIVENESS

TURN THE LIGHTS OFF WHEN YOU LEAVE A ROOM

Repeating softly,

SHARE

LOVE YOUR ENEMIES

YOU’RE THE OLDER SISTER, HE LOOKS …

Ty Elrod: "Fixed" Eagle Upper Gallery 2017, Ty Elrod

B.A./B.S. Practicum Group Exhibit (ART 499)

Ty Elrod

Artist Statement for "Fixed" Eagle Upper Gallery, 2017

When I was a child Band-Aids could fix anything. From cuts and scrapes to broken toys, they were a cure all to my childhood. But as I grew older I realized they really couldn’t fix anything at all, if anything they could be a bit of a hindrance.

"Fixed" is a satirical commentary about that childlike naivety that I once, and I’m sure many others, felt once upon a time. In this exhibition, I use striking photographs to emphasize the fragility of life while equating each of them to a …

The Things I Tell Myself, Troian Cummings

B.F.A. Practicum Exhibition (ART 498)

Internal struggles and emotions govern my work; concepts of comfort, discomfort, and shared human perception are explored. My work is a physical metaphor of the struggles, self-protection, and vulnerabilities that we, as humans, collectively experience.

The making practice is a natural growth process; spontaneous and almost meditative in nature. The pieces start as fairly loose plans and evolve and mature as each project proceeds. Media is selected based on initial understanding of what the piece will be and adjustments are made if the idea naturally changes. In the jewelry, organic elements (like living/dead plants) and their natural defenses (like spikes/thorns) …

Thoughts And Rambles, Leslie Buhrmester

Professional Practices (ART 399)

My work is rooted in the here and now of my mind. The emotions I am feeling, the shows I am watching and music I am listening to all play a large role in informing my artwork. In my “From Birth to Death” photographs, I thought about how quick a sun sets and in relation how quick our time on earth is. I wanted to put the two together to represent that idea. I enjoy playing out these ideas and whimsies.

Professional Blend Ii, Dakota Vincent

Professional Practices (ART 399)

My work references physical relation to interpreted spaces, I want people to experience the visual plane as if they were traveling through it. Inside the picture plane I mix organic and inorganic shape to visit the ideas of humanity, evolution, and the divisions between what we see and what we decide to be natural or unnatural.

My interest in symbolist art brought me to poetry. I find poets have this delicacy of description wherein a poet like Joseph Fasano could describe his journey away from civilization in Hermitage with such painterly expressions that reading his poem feels like viewing a …

Shelby Horton, Shelby Horton

Professional Practices (ART 399)

My work is inspired by global warming, while focusing on the relationship between humans, nature, and honey bees. The relationship between humans and bees is complex and has been cultivated for centuries. Depending on the nature of the interaction, this can illustrate the potential destruction of the environment when the complexity of a relationship is taken for granted, or it can illustrate the potential for a symbiotic interaction between humans and bees that not only helps improve and maintain the health of the earth, but that also benefits humans in ways that transcend the collection of honey. By depicting the …

Professional Practices, Xek K.D. Rychtevorik

Professional Practices (ART 399)

I have always been interested in storytelling and books of a wide variety of genres. More specifically, I am attracted to well-developed narrative illustrations that enhance and expand the intent of a story. Therefore, much of my artmaking is influenced by western and eastern animation, sci-fi/horror literature, and comics/mangas from companies like Shonen Jump, Marvel, Dark Horse, Funimation, and DC. I’m strongly influenced by the artists known as Simon Bisley and Josan Gonzales for similar and different reasons. They both have a vivid and graphic way of drawing that has a lot of movement and intensity to it. Bisley’s vibrant …

Freedom, Ruochen Zhou

B.F.A. Practicum Exhibition (ART 498)

Artist Statement

I am trying to show the freedom in my works that an artistic life provides to me and also find the process of making artwork is a way to release inner stress. I am focusing on the sculpture because making sculpture is perfect for creative expression and release of tension. I like to use the technique some like twisting, combination of the line and shape, hanging and mix material on my project, I think that is more suitable to show the meaning of freedom. And, sometimes my artwork takes a critical view of social, political and cultural issues, …

Final Portfolio/ Digital Commons Assignment Art 399-01 Sp17, Troian Cummings

Professional Practices (ART 399)

My body of work is based in nature; it deals with concepts of comfort, discomfort, and in shared human perception and emotion. The malleability and durability of metal reflects my desire for control while its unpredictability aids in my desire to emulate nature. I am drawn toward natural elements because of my upbringing in Yosemite National Park, where nature is life. It is inevitable, when you live in such a natural place, that you see nature as art. Also, I have always been very aware of my thoughts and feelings in comparison to others. I have a tendency to tell …

Alterity, Brandy Baker

B.A./B.S. Practicum Group Exhibit (ART 499)

I connected to Aesop’s Fables through the stories they tell and how they communicate the morals they represent; in my own life, and the lives of every reader. They are a reflection of morals that we collectively believe in, so the lessons learned can be applied universally. I want the reader to take something with them as they finish these stories, whether that be questioning their surroundings or themselves. Thinking of the readers, my choice of style, color, layout, text, and presentation were all designed to help keep them engaged and easily relatable.

In order to make these age-old stories …

Alterity, Asa Jessup

B.A./B.S. Practicum Group Exhibit (ART 499)

Having a Self is like having an intimate relationship with someone you’ve known since you were young and yet feeling like you know nothing about them. I’m catching glimpses of who I am and who I might become but it’s capturing what my identity is now, in the present moment, that is the most difficult. Studying the Self isn’t an easy thing because it’s constantly changing, but to me that keeps it more interesting.

It’s challenging to get to know oneself through an introspective discussion, alone. Having that experience can be a very staggering reality, as questioning the Self and …

Spider's Lace, Rachel Schmidt

B.F.A. Practicum Exhibition (ART 498)

My current work is about identical lessons learned by separate people from different personal experiences. Interviews with friends and family are conducted to identify a lesson both me and the subject of the interview have learned and combine the separate experiences into one story. Because the story exists in a place beyond any one human character, they are transformed into animal fables, which are then illustrated with print based installations.

The stories are built around what the interviewee would most like to teach to someone younger. The fables exist in a world where these lessons become established as rules in …

Beloved Microcosm, Logan Weihe

B.F.A. Practicum Exhibition (ART 498)

Beloved Microcosm- Logan Weihe 2017

My work is non-objective and abstracted, as it references the human form and also invents new forms, combining the matured physicality of the human body and our beginnings (smaller pieces i.e. cells, atoms). I am interested in the seemingly endless problems that the human body can solve, as well as working towards understanding its limitations both physically and mentally. The intersection of contrary ideas and the forcing of harmony between them fuels my creative process. The idea of opposites becoming one entity both formally and conceptually is rich for me, as I want to explore …

Casey Hill: Altered Perceptions, Casey Hill

B.F.A. Practicum Exhibition (ART 498)

Casey Hill | Altered Perceptions | Spring 2017

I look at seemingly normal or unattractive things which have colors or textures that intrigue me. In my work I focus on objects that are commonplace. My paintings then emphasize these points of interest and my own personal correlations to change the viewer’s experience of the object itself.

I find Rachel Whiteread’s work motivational due to her subject matter, commonplace items. Her representation of these items creates a sense of preciousness and a need for preservation. She allows the objects to stand as their own unique thing by creating plaster forms as …

Out Of The Ash, Amanda Kaler Combs

B.F.A. Practicum Exhibition (ART 498)

Artist books and boxes are intrinsically dualistic. They compel the viewer to interact in an intimate and revealing way; but at the same time the outer surface forms a protective barrier between the viewer and its contents. Through my work I attempt to reconcile two opposing aspects of my personality; the need to control my environment and my appreciation for unexpected outcomes. Artist books and boxes, via assemblages, become, in my work, a metaphor for cognitive dichotomy.

Drawing inspiration from assemblage artists like Paula MacGregor and Joseph Cornell, I explore the relationship between objects and their contents. I use cast-off …

Heartfelt Notions, Savannah Young

B.A./B.S. Practicum Group Exhibit (ART 499)

I'm interested in bringing the narrative of life into my work as well as paying tribute to the complex beauty of the world around us. I often focus on one subject in depth to give emphasis to their story in particular, whether it be a place or a living thing. I want my audience to read into the details of my drawings as they would a novel; finding the bits of information that I include to inform the viewer of both creature and environment. I think of it as instigating a dialogue between people and the things that live alongside …

Final Portfolio/Digital Commons Assignment Art 399-01 Sp17, Shelby Horton

Professional Practices (ART 399)

My work is inspired by global warming, while focusing on the relationship between humans, nature, and honey bees. The relationship between humans and bees is complex and has been cultivated for centuries. Depending on the nature of the interaction, this can illustrate the potential destruction of the environment when the complexity of a relationship is taken for granted, or it can illustrate the potential for a symbiotic interaction between humans and bees that not only helps improve and maintain the health of the earth, but that also benefits humans in ways that transcend the collection of honey. By depicting the …

Alterity, Rebecca Goldman

B.A./B.S. Practicum Group Exhibit (ART 499)

Aristotle once said that “the aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance”. To me this means that we do not create art in order to show the objects or subject matter as is, but instead to show what the subject matter means to us or how we interpret it. The work that I create isn’t necessarily representational. Instead it takes a more abstract form of the object that I’m trying to interpret.

When it comes to making my work, I enjoy exploring the use of line and value so the image …