DISPLAYING ARTWORK

This tiny & stunning piece of hand stitching (4" by 4")

was done by one of my favorite Fiber Artists,

Hazel Montes of Handstories.

I purchased it from her shop about a year ago

 and finally figured out how I wanted to frame it out.

I have used this technique now a couple of times with Hazel's tiny Sailing Ships,

and love that you can hang them in a window to enjoy.

I also love the fact that I'm re-purposing 

these vintage crochet doilies.

Now I'm going to send this off to one of my all time favorite students 

whose coming to visit in August from her second semester abroad studying Architecture,

Karisma Dev. 

While with me for each of her 6 years at Whitney,

she studied all the Fiber and Sculptural Arts,

Beginning thru Special Studies 3-D Art,

as well as Beginning 2-D art. 

I know she will love and appreciate Hazel's handwork & design as much as I do.

If you have the time or interest,

insert Karisma's name into my search engine

 and you can see many of the pieces she created for me over the years.

She is also top in her class at Syracuse University

and I couldn't be more proud of her!

AVANTHI'S BIG DAY

I have had many students come and go in my 38 years of teaching,

but these two sisters will always have a place in my heart,

 and we will continue to touch bases for as long as I live.

These are Karisma Dev (right) and her little sister Avanthi.

Karisma,

 you might remember if you've been following my blog for several years now,

was one of the most talented young artists I've ever worked with.

And if you put her name in my search engine,

it will probably be a good hour before you get to the end 

of all the posts I wrote about her and her artwork.

She is now starting her 3rd year in Architecture at the University of Syracuse in New York.

And what a delight and treat it was for me 

to get to work again with her younger sister Avanthi this last year in Ceramics.

I had Avanthi as a 7th grader where she shone like her sister,

but she wasn't able to get back to an Art class until this last year before she graduated.

She made many of the most important and innovative works in the clay class.

You have already been privy to a few this year on the blog;

there will be more as I finish this year off.

It has been an honor to have been invited to both girls Arangetrams,

their 3 hour solo dance recitals.

Both girls have been dancing and preparing for this occasion since they were 3 years old.

I posted Karisma's a couple years back,

but I went to Avanthi's this last August at the Barclay Theater at UC Irvine.

These are lavish affairs,

much like putting on a wedding for their children,

and Avanthis was no exception.

Besides the renting of live musicians and the theater,

spending hundreds on costumes and thousands on dance lessons,

they put on a delicious Indian dinner at the end of the dance performance for well over 200 people.

I believe Avanthi had at least four costume changes,

and this one I feature her in above was my favorite.

I have always adored a secondary color scheme and used it often in my college artworks.

I'm so proud to tell you that Avanthi was accepted to U Mass at Amherst,

as a Sustainable Agriculture Major,

one of the best programs in the country.

Her goal, 

to have her own restaurant with her own gardens.

Avanthi's gardens here at Whitney have been featured these last 3 years on the blog

 and they continue to thrive now with a new group of students.

Both sisters have left their mark on our school and in my heart.

God speed you two.

COILING HER HEART OUT

Alumni from Class of 2015,

Karisma Dev,

Architecture major at Syracuse University in Upstate New York,

is taking her first Ceramics class.

She sent me these two photos of her very first coil pot.

That's right,

her very first one EVER!!

No way I told her.

It looks like she threw it on the potter's wheel.

Nope,

handbuilt.

WOW!!!!!!!!!

Karisma says

"I am in love with Ceramics!  

This clay building is so crazy, 

there's a separate room for everything.

One for glazes, 

and then a whole separate one for mixing them.

I spent so much time smoothing this coil pot out.

I just love the clay!"

  I knew you would Karisma.

It certainly loves you.  :)

WE SAY GOODBYE...

to one of my all time favorite art students,

Syracuse University Sophomore,

Karisma Dev.

Her lil' sis Avanthi took her to LAX last nite to catch the red-eye back to New York.

From there she will rent a U-Haul to drive all her stored belongings back to her new digs,

a town home she will share with a good friend and fellow Architecture Major 

that she met last school year.

Karisma,

you have been in my heart since you walked into my classroom as a 7th grader.

Your body of artwork continues to impact & inspire the young ones passing thru here on this blog.

I'm so happy you were able to give me a couple of hours with you yesterday before you had to leave.

I had a blast telling & showing you the new crafts assignments I've cooked up for this year.

Kaili & I will look forward to seeing what you will create in your Ceramics class this sememster.

I think that was the only class you didn't get a chance to take with me.  ha ha

Love you to the moon & back beautiful woman!

2014-2015 SENIOR FAREWELL - PART IV

Karisma Dev,

you have touched my heart & my life 

 like no other student in the 36 years  since I've been teaching.

You came to me as a shy 7th grader 

who stood out because of your creativity on each  and every assignment.

I definitely took notice.

Who was this youngster who was thriving,

attentive,

hardworking and respectful,

who clearly had a gift?

Little did I know at the time

 what a big part of my life you would become.

You mother,

Joodhi,

 saw it too.

She watched you blossom into a young artist in a short 8 weeks

in that 7th grade class.

You both were hooked.

So much so

 that your mother fought to have you in my classes

 all six years of your Whitney career.

You were the first!

No parent had ever convinced a counselor, 

at the # 1 Academic High School in the State of California,

# 10th in the Nation,

to allow their child to take six straight years of art & crafts.

Unheard of.

But then no one had ever come up against Joodhi Sood  :)

With your mother in our corner there was no one to stop us.

Oh yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

So let's list those classes shall we:

7th Grade - Art Wheel

8th Grade - Beginning 3-D Art

9th Grade - Intermediate 3-D Art

10th Grade - Special Studies 3-D Art

11th Grade - Advanced 3-D Art

12th Grade - Beginning 2-D Art

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You have pushed yourself harder than any student I've ever had,

and made many of the most important art pieces to come out of Whitney High School.

We know this because when you took your Portfolio to Portfolio Days,

the colleges reps. were blown away by what you had created and built.

They told you that no other high school student

 was doing anything even remotely close to what you were pulling off. 

And in addition,

you continued to take a full academic load as well.

You are quite a woman Karisma Dev.

Your mother has instilled in you one of the best work ethics I've ever seen 

in one so young.

Not only that,

she has raised you to be one of the most disciplined, 

honest and responsible people I've ever met.

She has also taught you to be a strong and independent woman

who can take care of herself,

as you are doing now at Syracuse University in Upstate New York

where you earned yourself a full scholarship ride 

as an Architecture Major.

No easy feat!!

One of my fondest memories was made with you this year 

when you asked me to accompany you to receive your prestigious scholarship award 

given to you by the AAA& E (Asian American Architects & Engineers) 

at the Los Angeles Millennium Biltmore Hotel.

What an honor that was to accompany you on that special evening,

getting ourselves all gussied up,

 to watch you get up and give your thank you speech to over 1000 adults,

some of who will eventually be your contemporaries & mentors.

I was bursting with pride.

My second favorite memory was this summer,

 being your special guest on stage 

at your Arangetram,

your 3 hour dance performance that you've been studying for 

since you were 3 years old.

What a treat that was for me.

It showed me a whole other side to you that I couldn't even phantom.

But it also reinforced where so much of your training and discipline has come from.

Your strength of character,

your work ethic,

your intelligence,

your maturity,

and your creativity are going to take you far.

That's a given.

I'm so thrilled to have been a part of your life for so many years Karisma,

and feel so blessed to have had you pass thru my classroom doors.

I feel like my life as an art teacher is complete now,

that everything that will come after you is icing on the cake.

I could retire tomorrow knowing that I have taught the best of the best.

I love you with all my heart Karisma,

and I so look forward to what you will create from here on out.

And I also pray that I live long enough to see your work published in Architectural Digest. 

Because I know that's where your journey will take you.

Dear Friends for Life!!

AN OLDIE BUT A GOODIE

EMBOSSMENTS WITH ADDED COLOR

BEGINNING 2-D ART

small printing press, printmaking paper, cardboard plates & printing ink

I've been teaching this assignment a long time now, 

and the kids always seem to enjoy it.

I think their favorite part is getting to work the printing press,

and then the unveiling of their print.

The students had many choices even though we were short on time.

They made their cardboard plate

and only had to print one embossment.

But if they worked quickly they could also do another embossment and then add a bit of color

like 8th grader Rochelle Serrano did with watercolor above.

And then if there was still a day left

 they could use a brayer and roll printing ink over top their plate 

and either rub or send it thru the press one more time.

You are seeing all the forms above with a close up of the used plate below.

Fantastic work Rochelle!!

And a great design.

Junior Bermice Lin choose to do an embossment and a color print along with it's ghost.

Sometimes the ghost turns out even cooler then the first colored print.

A ghost is pulled right after the first color printing.

You place another fresh paper over top whatever ink is left on the plate 

and send it thru one more time.

Senior Melissa Lanto choose to do two embossments.

I like how she changed up the outside format edging for added interest on her ball player.

And junior Hazel Cruz charmed us with her embossment and pastel colored print.

Her plate is below.

One of the class favorites belonged to senior Karisma Dev.

She went all out on building her plate,

adding seed beads for a super cool effect in the embossment.

You can see the plates get pretty thrashed after you've run them thru the press a couple of times.

Here are the outstanding prints that sweet little 8th grader Iris Choi did.

I really like that she blended her printing colors for a nice visual effect

And junior Christopher Wongsavanh chose a non-objective subject

in which the color print turned out really well.

..I also think I remember he went over the printed color piece with some pastel work. 

Clever young man.

8th grader Sara Ryave blew it out of the water with her brilliant pieces.

I'm always so amazed at the sophisticated work she turns out for such a young one.

And check out how she used hardware in the bordering of her piece.

Here  we have junior Katherine Ku on the left with her King of Diamonds, 

and senior Cryus Salvani with the oval format on the right.

Cyrus' was another class favorite because his plate was so intricately built (very difficult),

and then he was able to get such cool effects with each printing.

Love how the beads stuck to the paper in the bottom one.

What a great assignment to end the year with.

Bravo Beginners!!

Thank you for working so hard for me  

xoxoxox

FRESHMAN ARCHITECTURE AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

Alumni Karisma Dev 

(class of 2015)

 started her first year as an Architecture Major 

back east at Syracuse in Upstate New York.

I asked her to send me a couple of pix of what she's been working on in the studio.

Here are her first assignments.

And I was thrilled to hear that her professor told her she had the best craftsmanship in the class

OH YEAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, so here's an update about what's been going on this past week at Syracuse:)

Okay, the schedule is Writing, Architecture Theory, Representation 1 on Mon and Wed, and Studio Tues, Thurs, and Fri. Theory is a really fun class, where we're learning about the basics of Architecture, basically answering the "why" question of what we're doing in studio. Representation is essentially a drawing class intended to assist with non-digital conveyance of ideas and proposed design intentions. The professor for this class is a little boring, so it's hard to stay awake especially towards the end of the day. Studio is the best class of the week, and I spend most of my time there. 

Our project this week is called "Cube on Cube", and our final model is due this week along with an elevation drawing of it. This project looks at the tectonic and stereotomic methods to construct a cube structure. Our first model was two paper cubes size 3"x3"x3", and then we got together with a partner and used each of our cubes to build a larger 6x6x6 cube. We got pretty good reviews on our project.

The next step of the project was to build six more cubes, sized at 3x3x3, but to now think more about the spatial hierarchy that we were trying to define. This step was supposed to be a variety of materials, so paper, basswood sticks, and basswood sticks with foam core. I got pretty good reviews on this step as well.

Part C was then to build a single 6x6x6 cube and to also do an elevation drawing of the cube. I stayed up until finishing this step of the project, and in the end during our pin up, realized that I had defined the borders of the cube too much. My studio professor pointed this out to me, but had also said that I had excellent craft in both my cube construct and drawing -YAY! :) 

The final step is due, so I will be spending the next two days in studio working on it.

 Attached are some pics of the first step, second step, pin up, and my studio desk.

 I also put in a pic of the view of some of the school at sunset from the roof (not sure if we're allowed up there, but it's a really nice place to spend some time). 

STARS ARE BORN

WATERCOLOR/CHARCOAL

BEGINNING 2-D ART

watercolors & charcoal

I am such a proud mama to share these works that my babies created in the 4th Quarter.

Keep in mind they have now an understanding of drawing and design under their belts.

After a couple of weeks practicing different watercolor and charcoal techniques,

they chose their subjects and jumped right in 

I couldn't be more pleased with the results. 

So thrilled that I photoed almost every students work,

something I seldom do.

Let's start with junior Risha Bhakta. 

From the get-go we were all thrilled with her start.

So much so that I had to take a picture of it.

Notice how she is using the yellow mask for windows and parts of buildings 

to resist the watercolor. 

We were all so excited to see her finished product, 

and she did not disappoint.

WOW!!!!

Love how she faded out the foreground,

and how well her background compliments but does not distract from her cityscape.

This next beauty is by senior Suha Malik.

A brilliant contrast with her complimentary color scheme (yellow & purple),

and wonderful use of charcoal to build values.

And then junior Bernice Lin gives us something completely different using a diagonal horizon

that right off the batt pulls us in.

Then we enjoy her use of color as she pulls our eye to the center of interest.

Bernice is also cleverly using a complementary color scheme (green & red),

and then throwing in neutrals to balance composition.

I feel she has done a wonderful job with the textures of the wood.

She also is using the charcoal to build values.

Junior Hazel Cruz gives us a really fun,

 and beautifully drawn and painted eye as subject.

Those lashes are gorgeous and so natural looking,

not easy by any means.

And I love the clever cityscape as a central axis.

I wish I would have thought to photo this from a slight angle 

so you could see the dimensional effect that senior Karisma Dev achieved in her landscape.

It came about by accident which the kids know I love.

Senior Payal Moriarti gave me the perfect goodbye/thank you gift,

a canvas she painted with this quote

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes;

art is knowing which ones to keep"

Karisma had started the piece but didn't like part of it 

so she cut it up and then created another piece to go with it and glued them together.

So cool!!!

Everyone really liked junior Katherine Ku's piece above.

I like that she thought to stretch the subject so that it goes off the top and bottom of the paper.

That creates a nice balance.

Her color choices are brave,

and she is able to achieve her value ranges with her watercolor,

instead of relying on the charcoal.

Way to go Katherine!

And of course I can't forget to mention the wonderful textured backdrop she got 

with a black Salish salt I found at the grocery store.

Another favorite was this beauty by 8th grader Sara Ryave.

Sara built this very original abstract landscape.

and she has developed a very distinct painting style,

completely different than anyone else.

Very important to stand out like that.

My 8th graders were impressing us all.

Here is another by Iris Choi.

Love, love, love how she worked out her background.

Backgrounds are often challenging in watercolor because usually you paint the subject first

 then you have to fill in around it and you are scared of messing the piece up.

This year I took an online watercolor class with artist Fred Linus,

and I shared his technique for filling in backgrounds with several of the kids who were struggling.

It made a huge difference.

This next landscape by junior Jane Juan is so very delicate and lovely.

I especially like how she faded her side edges,

and allowed the white paper to act as her border.

She has also created the illusion of dimension 

by making the stars close larger then the ones behind.

She is also using a very pretty analogous color scheme to achieve a calming effect.

Birds are a favorite subject for me

so I have a large collection of bird resources that the kids can use.

This piece is so well done by junior Kyla Balquin.

She is using Fred's technique for background and she nailed it.

I feel like she's really captured the moment when the bird realizes it's being photographed 

and it's ready to flee.

That one exact moment in time.

This next work shows great depth of feeling by 8th grader Rochelle Serrano.

There is definitely a message here that she wants to convey.

We had another student use the eye as subject matter,

Emily Chen.

What I found very appealing is how she mounted her practice piece 

above her one to be graded with exciting angles.

Very unique!

And her painting skills are exceptional!!!

We end with these last two birds.

Both are lovely,

each with it's own style.

The one above belongs to junior Charity Lizardo.

She killed the background with rich diffused color and added texture with the black salt.

And notice those cool charcoal details she put into the bird's wings.

What's really impressive is that she used the exact same colors in her bird 

that she used in the backdrop.

Yet they contrast beautifully.

Told you these kids are STARS!

Junior Hapshiba Kwon is the artist of this last work.

Delicate, lovely, and precise.

Just like Hapshiba  :)

She has also done the Fred backdrop (as did Charity)

and nailed it.

But what makes it really special is the added salt.

The texture she achieved is PRO!