Limestone blocks recycled from the Michigan Union have inspired a unique Art and Design class for the Winter 2011 semester. Under the guidance of Professor Michael Rodemer, the six students in this course are learning the stone carving process, from making clay models and forging their own tools to the techniques of carving and finishing limestone sculpture. The class, a unique opportunity for both philanthropy and learning, is intended to teach students more than just the techniques of stone carving: proceeds from the sale of the sculptures created will be used to give financial support to A&D students.

This post is by Eric Harman, a student in the Stone Carving class.

With our sculpture designs set in stone so to speak, we continued our efforts to shape our rugged blocks. The progress is slow, small chips flying off with each hammer blow, it feels like one bicep is going to be twice the size of the other by the end of the semester. 

Some of us are romancing our stones with light shaping at the points of our chisels while other have taken to more aggressive negotiations with an impact drill.

Mother Nature tempted us with a taste of spring on Friday, nothing like stone carving in the afternoon sun!

In case you've been living in a vacuum (I hope it's a Dyson) for the past couple months you should know about TEDxUofM: an event encouraging CRAZY ideas worth sharing. This one is being organized by students (lots from A&D), faculty, and a couple measly staffers who are bringing the format of the amazing TED talks to the Michigan Theatre on April, 8.  If you can't make the event (which is almost sold out), you can watch the live streaming version at several campus locations and on-line at the website.

My involvement grew out of a heavy addiction to TED injections from the past several years including talks by Ray Kurzweil, Theo Jansen and Mae Jemison.  So, naturally, when A&D undergrad Dylan Box sent out the open call for design team members, I signed up as fabricator for the students' crazy design ideas, including the Michigan-Daily-Frontpage-Stealing Diag Day X-Table which was built by Teshia Treuhaft, Dylan, and myself (with sanding advice from Erika Cross, duh).

This is just one of several custom designs of every dimension which will adorn the Michigan Theatre in just over two weeks.  Watch for updates on the TedXUofM website.  Check out the speaker list and sign up to attend via the link above.

Oh! And quit using facebook to tell your friends when you're dropping a deuce, instead use it to connect to the energy surrounding this event showcasing some of the most wicked-brilliant people who work and play around you every day!

Share your CRAZY ideas!

And one more thing,  START USING THESE BLOGS TO SHAPE THE FUTURE OF A&D!!!  Think blogs are tired, stale, washed up? Tell that to this woman:

Donia, one of your fellow students and TEDxUofM speaker, used a blog to give Egyptian revolutionaries a voice when theirs were cut off.  Maybe you heard how that turned out?  Crazy idea.  Crazy.

Who do you want to be when you grow up?

Turning twenty-two last weekend brought on more anxiety about the future. Just one more year until I’m actually old! I keep thinking as the same question I was asked at age five, continues to come back and haunt me. Then, I answered it by finger-painting a picture of myself as an artist holding a palette and wearing a beret by an easel. Seventeen years later, I’m still making art and I’m now wearing a fabulous beret my friend got me while studying abroad in Paris. But trying to figure out what kind of artist or creative person I want to be? Now that’s the hard part.

After my internship last summer at Polo Ralph Lauren, I realized fashion combined all of my interests in one industry, including art, culture, business, and journalism. Recently, I’ve been spending a lot of time researching fashion companies and learning about career opportunities as well as successful people in the industry. I’m even skipping spring break in Punta Cana with my friends to do interviews in NYC. Big moves in “The Big Apple.”

In all of my research and late nights spent creepily stalking companies and people on linked-in instead of doing my schoolwork, I’ve finally figured out who I want to be when I grow up. Cue the drum roll, please. Jenna Lyons.

Jenna Lyons is the Executive Creative Director of J.Crew, my twin (she has light brown hair and wears funky glasses just like me), and my idol. In twenty years when I’m forty-two I hope to be just as successful, stylish, and innovative as her.

While she started at the bottom of the company about twenty years ago and worked her way up, Jenna continues to lead J.Crew in the direction of success with her dynamic vision and creative passion. In a 2006 interview with Vogue magazine, Jenna stated, “I learned early on that what I wanted to do was something that was approachable and real and that a lot of people could afford,” I, too, share the same desire—I want to help design clothes I’d actually wear.

There are far too many quotes and Jenna-isms I’d like to share here (see links to related articles below), but what I love most about her and the J.Crew company is their dedication to making classic items that are still contemporary and eclectic. J.Crew's timeless pieces truly allow shoppers to mix and match in order to create their own personal style.

David Maupin, co-owner of the Lehmann Maupin Gallery in Manhattan, says that, “If you had to caricature a New York fashion person, it would be a drawing of Jenna. She’s someone who touches every part of contemporary culture.”

Some day, in a hopefully not so far off land, I hope people will be saying the same thing about me… but for now a girl can only dream, and perfect her resume.

Finding incredibly inspirational people like Jenna has definitely helped me feel better about my almost-quarter-life crisis. The transition from art student to artist in the real world will be tough one, but now I know who to look up to and where to find faith that I, too, can be a successful designer.

More about Jenna: http://www.style.com/stylefile/2010/03/jcrews-jenna-lyons-talks-picks-preps-and-the-art-of-personal-connection/

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703515504576142423223345298.html

Jenna’s favorite items hand picked for J.Crew shoppers: http://www.jcrew.com/womens_feature/Jennaspicks.jsp

“About A Shoe” Jenna and J.Crew VP of Women’s Design, Marissa Webb, go to Florence to work with Italian shoe manufacturers. http://www.jcrew.com/AST/Navigation/made-in-italy.jsp#/shoe/video God, this made me miss Italy so much.

Okay, I'll admit that science has never been a big component of my own work, and sometimes when I hear about conferences and other events that focus on the crossovers of 'science and art', I usually flip the channel. Not that I don't think science is interesting.. it's just that, well, I guess I've just never been that excited about science in relation to art, just as I'm not so interested in science in relation to spirituality. The body, yes, definitely interested. And yes, science does play into the body, but not in the way that I'm usually looking at it, which is more on the surface (i.e. physical appearance). However, a recent viewing of images of the winners from the International Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge 2010 has made me consider otherwise.. Hey, maybe science and art isn't so bad after all!

For eight years, the International Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge has been a joint venture between the National Science Foundation and Science magazine to showcase "cutting-edge efforts to visualize scientific data, principles and ideas." The 2010 challenge received 111 entries from 63 countries, and judges selected about a dozen winners in the categories of illustrations, infographics, photography and noninteractive media. The first place Illustration winner, Ivan Konstantinov from Moscow, "reduces HIV to unnerving simplicity. His team at the Visual Science Company in Moscow spent months combing through the latest research, compiling data from more than 100 papers and assembling the information into a coherent image of a 100-nanometer HIV particle. They depicted the proteins in just two basic colors: Gray equals host, orange equals virus. In addition to the stark color scheme, the image of the particle split open to reveal its viral core itself deeply shook the panel, says panel of judges member Tom Wagner: “You have this gaping mouth that almost looks like it's ready to eat you the way AIDS is eating away at society.”(Science Magazine, Feb. 18, 2011)

The result, for me, is both beautiful and disturbing. Beautiful in its ability to capture something into a perfectly crafted object that looks so soft and colorful that you want to sleep in it with your bed like a teddy bear. Disturbing because, well, it's representing the HIV particle, the virus that breaks into someone's cells and hacks their genes, that's increasingly affecting people all over the world, with more than 1 million people living with HIV in the U.S. alone.

In conclusion, perhaps science and art combined is pretty interesting after all, not only artistically but also in its ability to help everday people to visualize what in the scientific world can only be seen through photographs, micrographs, measurements and recordings; data that at least to me, is hard to fathom.

For more info about the Challenge and to see images of other winners and honorable mentions, visit this link: http://www.sciencemag.org/site/special/vis2010/show/index.xhtml

I was recently caught off guard during the opening reception of the first year M.F.A. show when I was asked whether or not 'they' are alive on multiple occassions. I had no idea that my audience would be so uncertain of the answer to this question, but I am delighted that they were.

As the weeks have flown by, the generations of my cells have run the gamut from being featured in short videos, the subject of biological photographs, 2D installations, and most recently the building blocks of 3D sculptures.

Since my last blog post I have made 3 videos. Two of them venture outside of the realm of glue in an attempt to satisfy an assignment for my graduate seminar entitled 'Prompt'. I may post a blog in the future if I follow up on this new line of inquiry, but for now I will stick to posting about my cells.

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine from the English Literature department came into my studio, started cutting up my cells and somehow we got to a point where we were scrutinizing the cells under a microscope while taking pictures and shooting videos of them.

Synthetic Cells is the most successful of those videos.

My favorite photo from this experimental session.

Still images from the Synthetic Cells video that I find particularly interesting.

After all of the experimentation I have been doing, I had to pick a direction to go in for my first year M.F.A. show. I thought about projecting a video, hanging photographs, installing a sculpture... and the list goes on. In preparation for the show I went into the Warren Robbins gallery and photographed potential spaces I could infect with my cells. At one point I was hooked on the idea of installing my work in a corner, so it would appear as if it was alive and had been growing there for months, but when I physically entered the space I was presented with a new idea. I decided that the large windows in the gallery would be the perfect site to take advatage of the material properties of my cells, such as the translucency.

I installed the cells on both sides of the window and built up the surface of the piece by piling up cells on top of cells to enhance the depth of the piece. During the installation I discovered that the cells and the translucent drawing I was making to accompany the cells, were casting shadows on the opposite wall in the hallway. At the opening of the show, I spoke to Jim Cogswell, a painting professor here in the school of Art & Design, and one of his comments was that people were walking into my piece. I was really excited to hear him say that because since I started painting I have always wanted to paint large enough to give people the chance to feel like they could walk into my paintings. This was before I knew about installation art.

This image on the right is an example of the space/boundary where my work seems to be stuck, between the two-dimensional and three-dimensional realms.

A few nights after the opening I came back to the site of my installation to facilitate its growth. Over the course of the night I discovered a process that allowed my work to become more sculptural. I started attaching the cells to each other before I installed them on the window, which freed me from the limitations of a vertical plane (the window).

After discovering this process I pushed it further to create a larger more intricate sculpture.

On Friday February 25th, I will be taking down the installation in the Warren Robbins Gallery, but I want to offer any student the opportunity to take some of my cells out of the gallery and transplant them out into the world. If you leave a comment on this blog I will leave a cell or two or three (an arrangement of cells) on the window for you to peel off and restick somewhere. I am asking you to put them on anything they will stick to and take a photo of where you end up putting them. Think about who you want your audience of people to be who will happen upon the cells. I will post a blog including all the pictures showcasing where the cells end up if I get enough participation. You can e-mail your photos to jjgold@umich.edu. 

Limestone blocks recycled from the Michigan Union have inspired a unique Art and Design class for the Winter 2011 semester. Under the guidance of Professor Michael Rodemer, the six students in this course are learning the stone carving process, from making clay models and forging their own tools to the techniques of carving and finishing limestone sculpture. The class, a unique opportunity for both philanthropy and learning, is intended to teach students more than just the techniques of stone carving: proceeds from the sale of the sculptures created will be used to give financial support to A&D students.

This post is by Courtney Harring, a student in the Stone Carving class.

Many of us are in the finishing stages or finished with our clay models and we are ready to start chiseling.

But before we can begin we needed to do a little mapping out on the stone with chalk and charcoal.

Strapping on our stylish safety glasses, we are ready to get dusty! The first blow of the chisel is both exhilarating and nerve wracking all at the same time, and boy does the dust fly.

After the first initial hit, we are able to experiment with each of our handmade tools. We are also able to get a better feel for the material.

I think it's safe to say that we all have a much better appreciation for Michelangelo now!

I have always been fascinated by creative inspiration and where people find it. Sometimes it’s a person, place, or thing…

A trip to Antarctica,

The growth cycle of amaryllis flowers,

Or a childhood memory of viewing a sunset upside down.*

But whatever that influence is, it moves you in someway.

Maybe it forces one to create

to explore

or to change

and to see life in a new light…

As an art student on the brink of graduation, and the start of my life as a starving artist, I’ve been taking much of my recent inspiration from successful, creative people, who successfully do it all.

Cue Kanye West.

Rapper, Singer, Record Producer, Taylor Swift-Offender. Now he can even add Film Producer/Director to the list. Bravo!

I guess my love for Kanye began when I had my first kiss to his song “All Falls Down.” Although that is quite embarrassing to admit, it's almost ten years later and I'm still listening to this artist's music. It was only a few months ago that West debuted his first 35-minute film, “Runaway.” And I can't stop playing it on repeat. Actually, I’m listening to it right now as I write this entry. 

It's just beautiful. Why, you ask?

I don't want to ruin it for those of you who haven't watched it yet but let's see... There's melodious sounds paired with West's insane hip hop vocals. Throw in Philip Lim's incredible fashion. Supermodel Selita Ebank's heavenliness as a phoenix. A romance amidst themes of discrimination, social ostracism, and rebirth. Fireworks AND ballet dancers. What more could you really ask for?

Every time I watch and listen, I appreciate Kanye and this work of art more and more. Moving forward, I'm going to channel my inner Kanye West, minus the cursing but definitely the free-flowing creativity and collaboration.

Click here to read more about Kanye West's "Runaway" >> http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1650692/kanye-wests-runaway-film-premieres.jhtml

*Artists' Inspirations documented from the current A&D Emeritus Faculty Exhibition @ WORK Gallery 

Limestone blocks recycled from the Michigan Union have inspired a unique Art and Design class for the Winter 2011 semester. Under the guidance of Professor Michael Rodemer, the six students in this course are learning the stone carving process, from making clay models and forging their own tools to the techniques of carving and finishing limestone sculpture. The class, a unique opportunity for both philanthropy and learning, is intended to teach students more than just the techniques of stone carving: proceeds from the sale of the sculptures created will be used to give financial support to A&D students.

This post is by Sean Watts, a student in the Stone Carving class.

This week we learned to forge stone carving tools out of steel.  Each student was tasked with making a set of tools for themselves. 

The process required intense heat and the students forged their tools with hammers and anvils. 

The tools had to be made into specific shapes to fulfill different purposes.

The process took several hours and each one of the five tools was tempered. The students were given the chance to polish their tools to their liking. 

The next step was to finish up the clay models, and then transfer the outlines to the stone. Students could begin to carve once they had a final design.

What happens at the School of Art & Design during summer semester when classes are out?  Is it week upon week of orientation tours?  Or does the building just sit there waiting for its fall semester of students? Are the studios invaded by mice? 

Luckily, none of the above because the school offers a variety of summer camps for non-A&D students.  Anna Foster (BFA '10), Marissa McLain (BFA '12), Reed Esslinger-Payet (MFA '12), and myself had the pleasure of teaching 'In The Middle,' a camp of thirty 11-13 year old kids in the Ann Arbor area.  During a week of teaching about art books, silkscreen printing, linoleum print making, collage, drawing, and a trip to the Detroit Institute of Arts, I was able to show the students a hands-on lesson about stop motion animation.  Thanks to the Duderstadt's Digital Lab One and the program Frame Thief, every student was able to create their own animations, compiled in this video here.  Enjoy!

In The Middle - Final Draft from Ashley Elander on Vimeo.

As it probably says somewhere above the body of this post, I am a first year graduate student. Before I started the program here at the School of Art & Design I asked a few of the M.F.A. candidates if they came here knowing what they wanted to do. Most of them ended up doing something completely different, but I figured I would plan out at least a few projects before I arrived so I could get started right away. Somehow, all the planning didn't seem to do me much good because I ended up back at the drawing board after a few weeks. I came in with installation/sculptural ideas, but I have more experience as a 2D artist, so these ideas never made it off the ground. So in an effort to start to dig into my subconscious and see what I really wanted to make work about, I covered one wall in my studio with paper that I could paint and draw on. I figured going back to my roots would give me the opportunity to focus on my thoughts rather than the effort of controlling an unfamiliar medium.

Inspired by my love of layers and transparency, I decided to experiment with ways to build up the surface of my painting. The first experiment I did was place a piece of tracing paper over one of the forms in my painting and then put it under a piece of glass and trace the form with glue. The next day I peeled the glue off the glass and put it over my painting. I did not really like the results, but I was intrigued by the way the glue looked by itself. A few days later I decided to give this technique one more try, but this time I was going to cover a cellular form in one of my paintings. Again, I didn't like the results, but was even more intrigued by the way the glue looked on its own.

The next iteration of my glue experiements featured the addition of color, which was written about on this very PLAY blog by Kath Weider- Roos!

Now that you have a better idea of how I got myself into this sticky situation, I want to fast forward to what I have been doing since school started this semester. My goal this semester is to focus on 2 - 3 mediums. Glue is number one, and glass is number 2. More on the glass work soon...  Anyway, two weeks ago I did several small test batches, and the most desirable form was a very simple combination of two types of glue and the partial use of color. Then I took my little glue forms for a test drive around the studio to see what I could do with them...

and then I started making a larger (with approximately 840 individual pieces) second generation ...

which are characterizes by the irregular interruption of the pigment in the center of the forms and a slightly larger shape. As I continue to create generations of these forms I plan to make careful notes of how the morphology evolves, and post them for you all to see.

In the last few days I have been focused on planning a multimedia installation for the first year graduate show entitled 'SIX' at the Warren Robbins gallery that opens on February 11th. I don't want to spoil the surprise, but you can bet these little guys will be making an appearance!

Stay tuned to see them evolve and cause trouble!