Poem Visualization

In creating the visualization for this poem I decided to take a different approach than what I had originally intended with the gecko-shaped children's book. I felt that my final resulting structure and format better reflected the deeper meaning of the poem, and it was just easier to read than the other format would have been. The only thing I would change is that I would have printed the book on a thicker, more textured paper to go along with the feel of the poem. The font I used for the text was Present which was activated from the Extensis Suitcase.

Self-Visualization: Final Product

This is the final result for my self-visualization project. This is the first time I have ever really tried to do something different, and really step outside of my comfort zone by making the project a little more three-dimensional and almost interactive. I chose to have the text on the back of the photographs, and reflected in the mirrors in order to have an explanation for what the objects mean. Basically, it serves as a deeper reflection of myself because it goes beyond the material objects and represents something deeper about my interests and my character. Overall, I am very pleased with the outcome, and it's a project that I'm really proud of.

Word Visualization Exercise

The font I used for this exercise was the Hobo Std Medium. I used this mainly because the type had the right curves in the lettering that would allow me to manipulate the word "apple" into the proper apple shape that I was going for.

Poem, Poet & Concept for Handmade Book

GECKO

Blessed be the morning
of childhood when
I found myself
sister to the gecko
acrobat.
On the wall of the room
utterly at ease
just like me
tumbler
on the edge of the planet

ASTRID CABRAL

I found this poem to evoke a feeling of nostalgia, and almost a longing for the innocence that childhood provides an individual. I also feel that the poem attempts to illustrate a child's imagination, and how a person's youth is free of worry and any major responsibility. As for the actual book, I have a few ideas in mind. I thought that I would some how construct the body of a gecko, and have the body wrap around the book. Another idea I had in mind was to construct the room that is somewhat described in the poem, and to place the book inside of the room to make it part of the scene. My other concept for the book included making the body of the gecko act as a spine for the book, and that my book would also take on the look of a childrens' book to coordinate with my interpretation of the poem. However, after some more consideration, I felt that by making the entire book and its pages into the shape of a gecko would probably fit more with the children's book theme. I am also deciding on whether or not I will have the book spiral bound or if I should have it fold in an accordian style.

Reaction to Dia:Beacon

Visiting Dia:Beacon was actually a really great experience. I had never really been to that kind of museum before, and I loved how relaxing the atmosphere was. I especially loved how most of the space was constructed to allow natural light to come in and light up all of the pieces. One of my favorite exhibits included that of Robert Smithson. His piece titled Map of Broken Glass (Atlantis) was one that I found to be the most interesting because of the unique shape and arrangement of the glass. The light blue tint to the glass was also an interesting aspect of the piece because it made the glass almost resemble seaglass washed up on the shore; the natural light seemed to enhance this aspect as well. Overall, I found the trip to be an interesting experience.

Robert Smithson's Map of Broken Glass (Atlantis), 1969.

Illustrator Assignment

This is the final result for my illustrator project. I really just wanted to simplify the image, and I had to make the trees their own layers in order to work with them how I wanted to. Basically, I just really wanted to make the trees pop because I felt that they were not really a central focus in the other two images, and I thought I was successful in achieving that.

Ideas for Self-Visualization

For our next project, I had a lot of ideas running through my head of what I thought I should do. At first I thought of doing a composition of six to nine photographs of different parts of my face to focus on what I think are my positive attributes. Another concept I came up with was to do three large photographs; each photograph would represent something important to me in my life. A third idea I thought of included photographing my eyes from different perspectives and angles. With this I felt I could show the different ways I see things or see myself at times, and emphasize the feature that I like most about myself. However, the concept that I finally decided on was to photograph four items or accessories that I use everyday, and that all have some kind of sentimental value for me. Coincidentally, all of the accessories that I plan to use for the composition are red, and red is actually one of my favorite colors. Given that, I took all of the photographs in color, and with Photoshop I would make them all black and white, but leave the accessories their red color in order to highlight them and make them the center focus of the photographs. I was also hoping to add some subtle effects using Photoshop or Illustrator, but overall keep them simple. We'll see what happens...