Tessellations

I was really interested in the assignment we had this week in class. Tesselations are really easy to make, yet they can create unique pieces of art. Robert Fathauer is a famous tesellation artist that has created astounding pieces of art. Fathauer is talented enough to create actual pictures from his tessellation designs. Anyone would definitely benefit from checking out his work. Some of his designs are featured at the website below.

http://members.cox.net/fathauerart/TessellationArt.html

Picture from: http://members.cox.net/fathauerart/FractalTree2.html

Thinking Abstractly

For anyone who has any trouble thinking on an abstract level with ideas or projects, here is a really good website that discusses the differences between abstract and concrete thinking and gives tips on how to think abstractly. It helped me a lot because it provides a solid expirations of both types of thinking and I was able to better decipher between the two. Here is the website: http://www.projectlearnet.org/tutorials/concrete_vs_abstract_thinking.html

Foamboard Models

I came across this website today that contains some great tips and techniques for making foam core models of buildings. The site focuses on how to create a realistic texture using limited materials, and I thought this could help with not only our current texture study and installation assignment, but with models we will have to create throughout the year. Some of the tools used while working with the texture on a piece of foam core are fine wire brushes, paintbrushes without bristles, and exacto knives (all tools most of us have in our boxes!) The artist who created this webpage pays close attention to the details in his pieces, which is something we all should keep in mind when working on our own.

ceramics with texture

I was searching for some cool ceramics stuff that related to what we're doing in studio and I found this site. Definitely check out the "installations" section, but look at some of the other stuff, too. There's some pretty intense texture going on.

Clay

I don't know about everyone else, but I have never enjoyed working with clay. I dislike how it never stays in a definite shape and how it always changes. I did some research and found a website that discusses the terminology that people should know when working with clay. It also discusses different techniques that can be used. You should definitely check it out!

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/67264/introduction_to_working_with_clay.html?cat=24

Picture from : http://www.dezeen.com/2009/02/15/drawn-from-clay-%E2%80%93-noordoostpolder-by-atelier-nl-at-gallery-libby-sellers/

Tips for Clay

I found this website with almost 2 thousand tips for working with ceramics. Although many of the topics do not relate to our project and the amount of tips is rather overwhelming, I found that one of the FAQs is "How do I add texture?" and it has 12 answers which may be helpful if you are having trouble thinking of ways to make certain textures or what to use to make texture. What I learned from several websites is that basically anything can be used to apply texture to clay so you should try lots of different techniques for making textures. The column on the left side of the website sorts the tips into categories in case you have a different question relating to working with clay. Hopefully these tips are helpful.

Materials and Processes

Course selection always seems to be a time-consuming, tedious task, even for my friends who have been here for years. It always helps to hear suggestions from those who have taken particular courses, whether it be for another major, a minor, CLEs, or electives. Prior to entering the College of Architecture and Urban Studies, I minored and Industrial Design and was able to take some ID courses before it became my major.

The one course I would recommend to any architecture and design student is Materials and Processes (IDS 2034) with Ed Dorsa. It is the best course I have taken at Virginia Tech, thus far. Ed does an amazing job explaining the stages an idea must endure to become a physical product. He also speaks in great detail about the qualities of materials used in design. This is useful when determining which material is the best option for a project or idea.

IDS 2034 is a requirement for both Industrial Design majors and minors. Even if you're not planning on formally taking ID, I think it's a good idea to take the class. It's 3 credits and definitely worth your time. It will only enhance your future projects by bettering your knowledge in these major the design field.

The book for the class is one of the few I have actually kept following the course. It's called

Materials and Design. It sits on my desk, so feel free to take a look through it.

IDS 2034 is only available in the Spring semesters.

Textures in Photography

Hey everyone! this is a really cool site i found about capturing textures in nature through photography. Check it out, the pictures are amazing!
http://www.designzzz.com/capturing-textures-and-patterns-in-photography/

Texture in Clay

http://www.ehow.com/video_2377072_fabricated-clay-texture-sheets.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Plkz3OPqUcI&noredirect=1

In trying to figure out my design for my structure, I researched some techniques on how to impose texture in the clay. I found some videos on how to do this. These techniques might help in creating the natural textures of our places. If taking an abstract path in your structure, it might be interesting to make a mold first. There are so many ways to go with clay, which I think makes this a challenge, but these videos gave me a place to start with making sketches.

Clay and Technology

Since we are dealing with photo shop and indesign and getting familiar with all that technology and we are beginning our assignment with clay I thought this was an interesting article that kind of combines the two.

http://convozine.com/2444-mason-makes/c/6902

adding contrast in photoshop

I have not worked with these programs at all before this year so I am having to look up simple things like adding contrast. The quality of my photographic study pictures was decent in color but in the black and white print out I was having trouble with how they all read at about the same gray tone. Here is one website I found with some lengthy instructions on adding contrast to a photo. There are many steps to his process which may not all be necessary but it helped me to learn about more functions and buttons in photoshop. http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/extreme-contrast/

Adding Images in Photoshop

I haven't had much experience with photoshop, so I looked up this video tutorial on how to add an image into another image. The video is very helpful if you haven't used photoshop at all. This video is specific to adding images into other images, but there are tutorials up on youtube that step you through all aspects of photoshop.

Here is the link for the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPgEyfgw5x8

Image printing and file sizes/types

This is a graph showing the differences between what you can see, what you can see on a computer, and what you can print. Martha talked about this, but the graph helps me to see whats really going on. Before this I always thought red was red, turns out there's a big difference!

Heres some more random information about Printing, Photoshoping, etc. I have a whole powerpoint from my Photography class I anyone wants to see it.

• JPEG- is a graphic image created  by choosing from a range of compression qualities
• PSD- native file format of the Adobe Photoshop, enables editing
• RAW- A image file that contains minimally processed data from the camera

•  Resolution- determines width and height of the image in pixels and he size and density of pixels within a square inch- how large the pixels will be when you print
• SPI- samples per inch- scanners
• DPI- dots per inch- printers
• PPI- pixels per inch- computers
• Resampling/interpolating- when you try to increase your resolution- magically go from 72 PPI to 200 PPI

•  Printers and Computers also don't look the same because they use different light (transmitted vs. reflected light)

• Glossy Paper- gives a deeper, more brilliant, saturated color
• Matte Paper- will not produce good strong blacks unless you have a printer that can use special black ink for matte papers
• Copy Paper- absorbs a lot of ink and, thus, produces muted flat colors

I could keep going but you probably stoped reading already so just ask me (Shannon) if you have any questions.

Photography Tips

Some people may think that you can not take good quality pictures without an expensive DLSR camera. However, digital cameras can take really great pictures when properly used. It is really important that you get to know your digital camera and learn all of its different settings. The below website has a video with some really great tips on how to get the best results with any camera.

http://www.videojug.com/interview/digital-camera-tips-and-tricks

photo from : http://www.itechnews.net/tag/panasonic-lumix-dmc-fx55/

The Gates

I found some pictures from my trip to New York City in 2005 to see The Gates by Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Here is an informational excerpt from the website, "The installation in Central Park was completed with the blooming of the 7,503 fabric panels on February 12, 2005. The 7,503 gates were 16 feet (4.87 meters) tall and varied in width from 5 feet 6 inches to 18 feet (1.68 to 5.48 meters) according to the 25 different widths of walkways, on 23 miles (37 kilometers) of walkways in Central Park. Free-hanging saffron colored fabric panels, suspended from the horizontal top part of the gates, came down to approximately 7 feet (2.13 meters) above the ground. The gates were spaced at 12 feet (3.65 meter) intervals, except where low branches extended above the walkways. The gates and the fabric panels could be seen from far away through the leafless branches of the trees. The work of art remained for 16 days, then the gates were removed and the materials recycled."

photography

I was having a lot of trouble with focusing my camera and dealing with the blurriness of my up close pictures. I watched a few tutorials on working camera settings and found this site very helpful in learning to control my camera in different conditions: http://www.hp.com/united-states/consumer/digital_photography/tours/controls/indexb.html. This helped me greatly improve the quality of my pictures!

Photography Tips

hey guys! this is a link that talks all about lighting in photography, it should help with taking pictures of your wood models and is also cool to know for future reference!
http://www.popphoto.com/gallery/top-10-photography-lighting-facts-you-should-know?image=8#container

Photography

Our last project, taking twenty pictures of texture, was difficult for me because I have never really taken pictures that were going to be used for a presentation. I struggled with being able to know what angles, distances, and focal points were good for each picture. I came across this website that has a lot of useful information about different types of photography. Not everything will apply exactly to what we have done so far, but there is a lot of good information here.

http://www.picturecorrect.com/

Photography

I know this week we are starting our unit on photography. For our texture assignment, I had a difficult time capturing quality photos. I had a hard time getting the lighting just right and my photos often had a glare. Fortunately, I found a website that offers great tips on how to improve one's picture taking skills. You should definitely check it out.

http://www.photographytips.com/page.cfm/664

Image from : http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/dslr.htm

Lighting tips for a backdrop

Lighting tips

Here's a video about lighting. I tried to find a good one using small objects and this is the best I could find that was short, and just gave some quick tips on how we should be using lighting to help the full potential of the object show in a photograph. If the video doesn't work, there's a link to the left of it (lighting tips).

Lumenhaus

Here is the direct link to the Lumenhaus to learn more from the lecture on wednesday!

http://www.lumenhaus.com/index2.html

Innovation Space

here's the site and some info on renting equipment, just in case anyone was interested. They have a live count of what's available (on the right of the home page). They also have tutorial videos, ways to contact them, etc...

so here it is!

Do you think these are plants?
Look closely- these are made of colored pencils.
They're some of Jennifer Maestre's work!
I found them while searching for different texture,
and I just thought how she plays with the rigid material to form 3D forms and curves so intricately was really interesting.