TUES. 12/6 Division of Field

Bridget MacCallum

Students finished "D of F" drawings and we critiqued them.  On the whole a job well done. Bridget's drawing above skillfully illustrates the objectives of the project. First, she has directed our attention with the placement of the garbage can and the tiles leading to it. Secondly, her rendering of an otherwise "uninteresting" location is dynamic and original. One of the objectives of the project was to explore the way in which the "viewer" would experience the space.  The steep angles of the walls and floor have created an environment where the floor comes to us rather than us walking across it.

THURS. 12/1 Division of Field

Jeff Box

Students began work on large scale drawings from their sketches. The drawing above is a progress shot. The composition illustrates the left to right balance with the weight in the composition located on the right.

TUES. 11/29 Division of the Field

Joseph Easterbrook

We began studying Spatial Relationships. After reviewing slides and discussing nine possible divisions of the field, we made sketches of various locations around and within the Art building.  Note in the sketch above one of the nine strategies in the lower right corner. These sketches will be expanded into larger scale drawings.

Tues. May 10 DIVISION OF FIELD

Last Thursday my hard drive died, hence the missing post.  We made sketch book studies last Thursday that were then developed into large scale drawings last night. Krishna Chaitanya's drawing (in-progress) exhibits a centered and symmetrical balance.  The figure at the bottom of the composition adds an unexpected element of surprise and mystery.  The fluid contours of the silhouette create a look as though the figure has dripped from the pipes it is laying under.

Leslie Gonzalez's drawing evokes a cold austere feeling of the space. The hard white surfaces are very institutional and impersonal.  The doorway frames the composition and the shelf on the back wall draws our attention into the space as if you were entering a cell.

12/1 Division of Field (continued)

Students continued working on drawings from Monday. Tyler Martinez's drawing is a good example of the compositional strategies at work with the garbage can placement in the bottom right corner balanced out by the door in the background. The "door" is a powerful, metaphorical symbol and adds a sense of expectation to the composition.  It allows the viewer to imagine where the door leads to or what may come through it.  The strong diagonals in the display case as well as the sweeping and arcing shadows help push the eye to the door.

11/29 Division of Field: Large Comps.

Students began work on large scale drawings referencing the sketches made last week.  Again, students focused on the nine compositional strategies discussed in class. The drawing above is an example of a diagonal movement -lower right to upper left- with the trash can working as the positive to the negative of the room.  Further inspection reveals the stairs as a focal point drawing the "eye" back in the space while creating a sense of the "possibilities" that await through the doorway.

5/6 Division of the Field

Here are two from T/TH. Carol Venolia's drawing exhibits a right edge dominance moving towards the center of the composition.  This drawing is rich with textures, mark-making and a strong sense of the dappled light coming through the trees.  Notice the implied diagonal from bottom right to upper left through the darks in the tree to the centered bush and up to the tree on the left. Beautifully rendered.

Troy Tsouprake has taken a more imaginative approach to rendering space. The composition exhibits a lower right corner dominance.  The brick frame draws attention to the bench within the window.  Foreground and background merge through the reaching tree branch.  As an added bonus to spice things up a bit, Troy has created a lagoon with a viking ship sailing past.

5/5 & 5/6 Division of the Field

Students completed their large scale drawings investigating the Division of the Field. This drawing by Stephanie Mezzanato exhibits a left to right dominance and repeating squares and rectangles.  The pictures in the display case establish a "grouping" while relating to the extinguisher and the walls even with the diagonal bottom. In addition, the textural rendering on the back wall is very nicely done.

Xoe Huffman's drawing is texturally rich combining a mix of patterns and shapes while maintaining a more abstracted rendering of the space.  The tonalities and depth in the frieze are beautifully achieved. This composition also exhibits a left to right movement with the left side establishing foreground moving back into the right.

This stunning drawing from Kate Picchi exhibits a right to left movement back in space.  This is reinforced by the diagonal suggested through the garbage can to the hinges on the door and finally leading up the stairs by way of the railing.  In addition to the strong composition, the line quality and tonalities are very complementary both adding dimension and atmosphere to the image.  This drawing also makes use of atmospheric perspective by leading us from the classroom (foreground) to the hallway (middle ground) and finally up the stairs (background).

4/28 & 4/29 Division of the Field

Division of the Field refers to the organizing and dividing of the picture plane into an interesting design of shapes, patterns and/or textures.  Students made sketches inside and outside the Art Building focusing on nine variations for dividing the field.  The divisions consist of  centralizing the composition, left to right movements or top to bottom movements.  Jonathan Florence's sketch, at the top, has a right to left balance whereas Justin Edward's sketch, at the bottom, exhibits a left to right balance.  Carol Venolia's sketch. in the middle, illustrates a right to left balance combined with an implied diagonal moving towards the upper left corner of the composition.