YAY!!!

Well so far so good. Finished my DPS for Tamara Deans work, and GUESS WHAT?? Tamara Dean liked my article and has put a link of the website up on her facebook page! If you guys would like to view it too here's the link to our page http://www.passionfruitmagazine.co.nz/
I've finished my photograph which will be featured in the magazine. It's based on where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. Now I'm onto John Reynolds article, response on a piece of his artwork and comparing his work with another famous New Zealand painter, which hopefully will all be combined into one article :)  

Galaxy

Hello there! Well Saturday I went to John Reynolds exhibition at Sue Crockfords Gallery in Auckland. It was in this two storied building that was very flash looking. I had to press the intercom to be allowed in and we went up one of those old lifts. John Reynolds work was amazing, in particular 'The Dream' which looks like a galaxy of bizarre patterns and dripping blue paint. Also on the way back to the car park I saw this towering interactive screen that when you touch it it does different things. I think it would be cool if someone did something like this in Hamilton... just an idea. At the moment I'm doing the final touches on my DPS in InDesign and if any of you guys have used InDesign you would know how different it is from Photoshop and how confusing it is, but I'm getting there :)

Addiction

Hey guys! So this weekend, Saturday I am going up to Auckland to see one of John Reynolds exhibits, which will be exciting. As part of one of the standards I have to say what I think of an art piece... this will be interesting. Also something that I've starting getting interested in is looking up animation videos, photography, typography etc... on the web and sharing it with others. I've found some really cool things and have got ideas from them. Oh and now that we have access to things like Facebook we can share videos, sites or photos with other people.

worst critic

Things are looking good! Starting my second article on John Reynolds, which I can feel is going to be a long one :) He had so much good information that he told me, have no idea how I'm going to turn it into 600 words. May the 8th is when a new exhibit of his is coming out (Sue Crockford Gallery) and he invited me to come to the opening. Unfortunately I can't go but I'll see the exhibit the following weekend. If you're ever in Auckland check it out, it will be running for four weeks after the opening. On the other hand I'm feeling confident about my own work, I've showed a lot of develop from my previous work and am getting to the point of actually liking my work. You're your own worst critic right.
 

Change of plans...

Second day of school this term and it was nice to have a break and now I am ready for what we have to do this term (It's going to be crazy!!) Yesterday most of the day we had a "family meeting" and talked about all the things we need to do. We discussed that maybe the magazine shouldn't be our main focus, because of printing being so expensive we will need advertisers. But since this is our first year it's going to be hard to find them. THAT'S WHY we have decided to focus on the website magazine to get it out there but still have our magazine just with less printed and less pages. Which I think is reasonable. 

So today I'm fixing up my article on Tamara Dean and then tonight Mr Cunnane and Mrs Srothers will add anything they think is missing, then by thursday I can start putting it up on the website!! YAY!!

Also I'm starting my second article on John Reynolds. 

Free signed book

Had a great time interviewing John Reynolds in Auckland, he was very friendly and we joked around a lot. He answered all my questions (sometimes without me even asking) and I got to see his studio which is at the back of his house. He even gave me a book of his and he signed it too, I was so shocked!

I know I was scared about the idea of interviewing an artist but now I think it's a great idea, and if anyone is doing a course like this at school, they should interview an artist that they like, it's really inspiring and well worth it. 

Magazine

Got some pictures from Tamara Dean that I can use for the magazine, YAY!! and John Reynolds and I have set a time to have the interview, I get to go to his studio and I might video or just take pictures of his artwork. My article is moving along, just have to edit it a bit more, and now I can get more in-depth with the layout of my DPS (Double Page Spread) because I have pictures.

Thumbnail

Today we are coming up with ideas for our DPS's (Double Page Spreads) and figuring out the layout by doing thumbnails. Also we have another assignment and this time we do our other chosen subject, so since I've done my photography I'm onto painting, and I have some artist that I like (Claude Monet and Leonid Afremov) These people both use unusual colours in places you don't expect them to, which is kinda like my style. SO excited!!

Here's some of the artists work (top ones Claude Monet and bottoms Leonid Afremov)

I can see clearly now the rain has gone

Yesterday I talked the Mr Cunnane about internals and things like that so now I have a clear idea of what I'm actually doing, which is good. Now while I'm waiting for a reply from John Reynolds, I'm going to write an essay about why Frankie is so popular etc... which will give me 3 credits and is also good for next year and jobs in magazines. Then when John Reynolds emails me back I need to go to a gallery of his, so in the article I can write what I like about his work etc... and I have to compare him with someone else. So a lot to do

Hate!

Well I'm still in contact with John Reynolds, just finding out when to meet him and where. I've also done my article on Tamara Dean. But at the moment we are just talking about layouts in the magazine and what it looks like etc...

I did my speech, I found out that I need a little more practice in speaking in front of people, and I'll have plenty of time for that. Also the class has been getting angry with each other lately, so I've been totally avoiding the class and I've been going into the other room, the computer room and doing my work. I hate confrontation so I'm avoiding it until this hating-ness is over.

I have also done my brief for what I want the article to look like.

Forgive me

Sorry I didn't do a post yesterday, forgive me. At the moment we have to do lots of writing! We have to write an article on one of our artists and without actually copying out the questions and answers, we have to make it interesting so the reader doesn't get bored, also it has to be 500 words at least.

Also I haven't done my speech yet because yesterday only two people did... so maybe today

My writing is good I've listened to the recording several times and have turned it into an article, but I don't think it's interesting enough. I'm going to keep trying to fix the start of my article to make it more interesting.

A lot on my plate

Yesterday I wasn't at school because I was at my granddad's funeral, and I was planning it with the family the whole week, so I wouldn't have had enough time to write my speech on my artwork, so I got an extenuation. It's not like I just missed out on it because I still had to do a speech at the funeral, and I can tell you it's harder than any school speech, I had to stop myself from crying, which I knew I could do. I also still have to do the speech, I just have more time.

Anyway I interviewed Tamara Dean by phone on Sunday, I was really really nervous but she was very friendly and answered my questions very openly. I think she was also very surprised that a high school student was asking her in depth questions rather than just stupid ones. She was also interested in the art project itself, and would like to see the finish product of the website and magazine.
Surprise, surprise, John Reynolds contacted me back and would love to have an interview with me, he was very helpful in also naming sites that I could find information about him. YES!!! Both artists have contacted me back...

Now just have to write some questions for John Reynolds, copy out Tamara Deans interview from the recorder, write my speech, and do a couple of touch ups on my artwork.
A lot on my plate...  

Doing Well

Today I got an email back from the gallery that features John Reynolds work, and they are in contact with him, so they sent my information off to him, so I'm just waiting for a reply back from him. So fingers crossed I have my second artist. Mr Cunnane is checking over my questions for Tamara Dean now. And I did my photo shoot yesterday and I think they turned out well, just have to photoshop them now.

I know this isn't very relevant to the art project but we're supposed to write on our blog how things effect us. Yesterday after school I found out that my Granddad died and that was when I was just about to do my photo shoot, I'm happy Ezra was there because it helped me focus on the project I was supposed to be doing.

Pressure on

Another day and I feel so busy, I'm doing my photo shoot today and Ezra Shield is my model. Not sure exactly how it will go, but isn't that how photo shoots work, there's always a bit that you have to leave alone and let it be filled on it's own. I'm really excited about it though and I'll up load some pictures when I'm done, for you guys to see.

Pressure on....

P.s You know your in art project too much when you feel an emotion and the first thing you think is "I'll blog about it!!" -Quote by Sharnae Amber Hope.
Mr Cunnane liked it so much that he wants to use it :)

Dedication

Today I got an email back from Tamara Dean and I'm going to call her on either Sunday or Monday, 8.30pm Sydney time...so New Zealand is 2 hours ahead, which means I'll have to call her at 10.30pm, but still I'm willing to do it, Dedication! Also I've got another artist that I'm interested in because the other one, Peter Robinson hasn't contacted me back, John Reynolds is the new artist I have chosen.

Heres some of his work.

I've also decided to go with photography for my project for the series and later on I might add a bit of painting to it. I've decided to go with the idea of my photographer Tamara Dean, where she bases her artwork on the events that happen in her life, so I'm going to show different styles that are based on when I had my appendicitis, also I might play around with the colours she uses, and the mysterious feel you get from her work, one of them might have John Reynolds style where he uses words in his paintings to express what he's trying to show. also during this time we are told we have to make a speech (4 minutes for the year 12's) about our artwork and how it relates to the artist or artists that we chose. Finally very very busy, which I love.   

Best Day So Far

Well Today has only just started...and good news, TAMARA DEAN HAS CONTACTED ME BACK!!!!!!! Super Duper excited!! :D It's amazing how much these projects in art project take over your life...I was jumping around hugging people, and I'm pretty sure I'll have a smile on my face the entire day, now I can really start moving. I'm going to contact her over the phone...can't wait!!

Also this week we are doing a piece of artwork in a series of one aspect that one of our artist uses and I've got so many ideas popping into my head. Finally looking forward to this :)

Determined!!

Well a new week and no unexpected surprises yet, I thought that maybe Tamara Dean at least would email me back over the weekend, but no... I'm getting kind of annoyed, I mean even if she didn't want to be a part of it, she could have just emailed back and told me, but I'm not giving up, I'm very determined!

Finished my actual reading response and I think it went pretty well.

Getting there

Well one thing I've learnt is check every single website for a contact, because I was on one of the main pages for Tamara Dean and I found her email address, I feel like such an idiot.

1) Do some more research on the three photos of Tamara Deans
2) Sort out my questions
3) Keep trying to find a contact for Peter Robinson (At least I only have one to worry about now)

2.50pm- At the moment I've found out more about Tamara Dean's three pieces of artwork. I got an excellence on my practice Reading Response, which is good because then I know what I need to do to get an excellence for the proper one.
Still waiting for a reply back from Tamara Dean and the other people I contacted for Peter Robinson......

Pickle

So far none of the people I have contacted have replied back...so I've got a plan, I'm going to try look up other artists just in case my artists don't contact me, which is a bummer because I really liked my artists and I found out a lot of information about them. If anyone is reading this post and if you have a way of helping out, please help :) my two artists are Tamara Dean and Peter Robinson.
I've done my Reading Response
Besides that I can't move much forward until I have at least one of my artists reply.

In a bit of a pickle...

First day of goals

Today we've been told that we have to write a 'to do list' and comment every period what we have done. This I think is kinda of annoying because we are wasting our time commenting rather than doing the work, but I will still try this out. Well my goals...
1) Try to get contacts for my artists
I got an email from a magazine on Peter Robinson, he said he didn't have a contact but he linked me to someone else. At home I'm also going to try and contact them on Facebook, so far that's all I've got back, I haven't found out anything about Tamara Dean.
2) Finish my Reading Responses
Almost finished...
3) Research on artwork
I'm trying to find out as much as I can about three pieces of artwork on each of my artists.
-What was happening in the artist life at the time? did this influence the artwork?
- How was the artwork made? How do these things influence the viewer?
-Did any other artist's or art styles/genres influence this specific artwork?
If I can't find all of this information it will be included in my questions to them

Hopefully I won't have to change my artists, still fingers crossed!
also turns I can't come on the road trip to Wellington, I'm so busy on the 16th of March :/

2.39- Well so far I've almost almost finished my reading response, I'll finish the rest tonight.
and found out more information about my artists.

Lagging

Well I think I'm a bit behind now, I'm having trouble finding contacts for my two artists (Tamara Dean and Peter Robinson) so I have decided to contact magazines/books that they have featured in and see if they can give me their email or tell the artists that I'm interested in interviewing them, also I have a practice Reading Responses for English, but everything at the moment isn't working out. Yesterday (Monday 27th) I wasn't at school because I was on a Biology trip to Maungatautari island, that was AMAZING but that means I missed out on somethings, and I'm lagging behind. Something that is even worse is the road trip to Wellington I may not be able to go to due to another Biology trip, both of these things are important and I'm just seeing if maybe I can do the assessment for Biology without going on the trip, fingers crossed I'll work this all out somehow

Artists

Well I haven't done a post in a couple of days, so far we're just starting up our magazines, we've agreed to a name, passionfruit. Which seems to catch other peoples attention. At the moment we are finding at least two artists that we are interested in, mine are Tamara Dean (photographer) and Peter Robinson (sculptor) Their works amazing! I'm coming up with twenty questions for each of my artist so that I can either Skype them or meet them in person for an interview, which makes me kinda nervous, because I'm not so used to asking strangers questions without giggling away, it's defiantly a challenge. These interviews will be put in the magazine or website that we're creating. So during term two we are off on a family road trip to Wellington and later on up to Auckland, exciting, can't wait!

Here is some of their work (Tamara Dean and Peter Robinson)

Time Capsule

Time Capsule


This is part of an English assignment that I had to do... so this is just about me and my opinion on things, enjoy :)



What is important to me:

My education is one of the most important things to me, I want to succeed in the jobs I choose for the future, and I enjoy learning and experiencing new things. Even things that are irrelevant to school I like to know about, like ‘Why does the sky turn orange at sunset’ Which is one of the things I actually don’t know yet, but don’t worry I’ll find out...
I’ve been told I ask too many questions.

Relationships are another important thing because these people support me through the ups and downs, and watch me grow into a better person. I know I would be lost without them.

Health, I know health is very important because I couldn’t achieve anything without being healthy first, I learnt this two years ago when I got taken into hospital with an appendectomy because my appendix ruptured, and even though that wasn’t my fault I think I’ve looked after myself a lot better since.
My views on:

Pollution: I don’t agree with people littering or trashing the environment, we should look after it as in the future no one wants to live in a dump. We take so many things from the earth and in return we should look after it. It’s all like a cycle, well that’s the way I look at it.

Judgements: Judging is something that we all do at some point, but I think people should keep an open mind on others they don’t know especially if its a bad opinion, and I don’t think you can say you hate being judged because everyone does it at some point.

Abortion: I don’t believe in abortion, it’s wrong to me, even if a young girl falls pregnant and she does not want to keep the baby, there are lots of women who can’t have children, that would love a child, it’s like saying murder is okay. That poor little child loses it’s life because of one mistake.

Memories:
My best memory, I don’t know I have many. One that I’m thinking of now is when I was little I would be tucked in for the night with my pillows and all 30 soft toys, each one named and in a certain place, to scare off the monsters (I had a HUGE imagination, still do) and my dad used to sit on the bed beside me and read me a bed time story, I can’t remember if he was good at reading but I know I used to enjoy it.

What makes me:

Laugh: Almost everything makes me laugh, life would be miserable without it :) My closest friends make me laugh the most, my laugh changes into a siren and i start crying when I find something very very funny.

Cry: Sad movies make me cry, I just always feel what they are going through like I’m going through it too. Movies like Marley and me (I cry every time the dog dies) I’ve never watched the notebook so that would be interesting.

Worry: I worry about peoples feelings, friends/family and my pets and if somethings not working out the way that I want it to, but most of the time my worry goes away very quickly because I’m determined to fix it.

Definitions:
What is beautiful? something that is flawed and imperfect. Mother nature is the most beautifulest thing and it’s not beautiful if you try to change it, it just becomes fake and unnatural.
What makes a kiwi? well everyone would say stuff like BBQ’s, jandals and socks, rugby, but I consider that stereotyping,they just represent us. Friendliness, and support are the things that separate us from other countries.

My friends and parents would say I was:
Caring, trustworthy, loyal, good with advice, determined, strong, patient, happy, sometimes lazy….a bookworm, hilarious, weird, sometimes sassy, stubborn, an animal lover

How have I changed in the last five years? I would like to say I’ve matured but I don’t think I have, one of the biggest things I think has changed is my confidence levels, 5 years ago I was the kid that was very shy,didn’t like speaking my opinion and had very few friends, now I voice my opinion too much probably, and have plenty of friends.

What do I want from life? Wow... that’s a big question, I guess I want to live life to the fullest, learn as much as I can; experience as much as I can and leave a mark on this world, to show that I was here at one point. I can’t ask for anymore than that.

What do I think of myself? do I understand myself?
Well I’m comfortable with being myself now and I’ve come to not care what others think of me, their opinions don’t matter because they’re not important to me. I wouldn’t say I understand myself, I think my friends know me more because to me an outsiders perspective is clearer, like a camera when you zoom in too far to take a picture, you can’t see anything ,but when you zoom out you see the whole picture, crystal clear. I don’t love myself but I don’t hate myself either.

Have I viewed anything that is memorable or has made an impact on me?
Sure, many things inspire me. To think of just one tthough is tough, I guess the most impacting thing is when I read books, I feel like it’s my world, a place that I can hide away in. Every story has a plot that without you realising teaches you something or has something that you can relate to in your own life, or life as a whole. Books like Last Song, The hunger games, Tomorrow when the war began series, Graceling, Narnia Series etc...

How am I different from other people?
Well there is the obvious reason, D.N.A, but I think the two things that set me out from others is I don’t try to fit in at all, I don’t care if it’s cool or in with the trends, I don’t care if your popular or hated, if your my friend your my friend. I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t find fitting in with everyone appealing. The second thing is I look at life like my phrase “ If you don’t like your life, fix it” I don’t see any use in moping around because you think your life is too hard ,no. If you think about other people who are going through worse, you realise it’s not a big deal even if it is, you will survive, change will come.

Renovations

Well our class now looks much much better than it did before, we've painted the walls white so it makes our work stand out on the wall, to help us critique- this took forever!! but I think it was well worth it. We put up new shelves and computer desks, painted doors and cupboards, created a cloak bay to put up our bags, that was one of the things I was looking forward to, it feels like primary again :) and created a kitchen area. One thing that was disappointing was that there was some people that did a whole lot of work and others did hardly any, Mr Cunnane (My art project teacher) said this happens not just at school but also in jobs, so we're working on evening out the load to carry out our class phrase we only succeed, if we all succeed.
Check out our renovations...
http://curriculumintegrationproject.blogspot.co.nz/

Introduction- Creating our classroom

Hey my name is Sharnae Amber Hope, and I go to Fraser High School in Hamilton, New Zealand. I'm a year 12 and have been accepted into a new art project this year. We have been given the chance to create magazines and websites that will be sold/viewed by people. This is my second day in the art project and I'm enjoying myself :). Our first assignment was to create a room that we felt comfortable to learn in, so we have all pitched in ideas of the things we would like in the class and have come to an agreement. At the moment we are just sorting out how to design our classroom and what colours we want to use. I'm really excited about this year because I'm focusing on a subject that I really enjoy (including Biology) and am able to expand my knowledge in journalism, photography, art etc...