friday wisdom, old school.

...an oldie but a goodie.

there will be a new one this friday!

first day of school!

after a great summer, it felt really nice to come back to school amongst coworkers and students whom i love.
keep an eye on my site for updates, contests, and other important info as the year progresses...

glad you all made it back.

and to those of you who have ventured off to college... best of luck - and stay in touch.

city newspaper review.

thanks to the rochester CITY NEWSPAPER for a great review of my show at the little. reading it made my day.
if you want to check it out, heres the link: http://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/entertainment/art/2009/09/ART-REVIEW-Sound-Meditations/

thanks again to everyone who came out to the opening... it was a great time.

its allll happening...

i redesigned 45rpmdesigns.com - its minor, but all new.
theres a easily updatable new portfolio and an all new section to the website - a family photo album... for all of you out there who want to see more pictures of the little man... and a few of the rest of us.
enjoy.

art show!

first off - its been too long since i have posted. busy summer, to say the least.

one reason its been so busy is that i have a solo art show at the little theater cafe and gallery.

it will be paintings, drawings, digital, and mixed-media works all based on jazz music and musicians. its a culmination of a few years worth of work...

opening reception on august 23rd, from 5-7pm.
the show will be up until sept. 19.

i hope you can join us for the opening!

summer academy wisdom.

studio in art stop motion videos

my studio in art classes made stop-motion animation videos this year for the first time. i am so proud of what they did. these short films represent 7 class periods worth of work. the students (mostly 9th grade) worked in teams of 3 to come up with ideas based around the theme of 'a day in the life of..." they had to make one aspect of their character's daily routine.

you can see the results below... some of the music has copyright issues, so the music may be different in the youtube versions, but links to view (and/or save) them on your computer are below each one.



jessie leah & johanna


aaron & taylor


alex maryana & joe


alison nick & sofiya


allison val & kendall


brian travis & robel


brienna haley & hannah


casey & amy


danica rose & bree


danielle casey & mary


greg stefan & steve


jess alyssa & siobhan


zoe loren & ceylan


micky john & bryan


tiffany joey & jazmin

friday wisdom :: goodbye mr. henchen

this one's dedicated to mr. henchen... we're losing him to FHS... their gain is our loss. we'll miss you!

ap art 09-10 summer worksheet

...in case you forget.

"ladies and gentlemen, pearl jam"

pearl jam closed out the opening night of conan's tonight show. check out 'got some' from their forthcoming album 'backspacer', due out in september... sounds like they've been listening to kings of leon...

friday wisdom

new artwork

not sure if this is finished yet or not... but i did it yesterday.
came from a blind contour drawing i did of t.s. monk... digitally altered with paint and textures.

may & june :: great new music

i have spent much too much money on music in the past month... and june should be no different.
looking for something new to liven up your spring? try these:

wilco - wilco (the album)
manchester orchestra - mean everything to nothing
iron & wine - around the well
green day - 21st century breakdown
sparklehorse - dark night of the soul
eels - hombre lobo
grizzly bear - veckatimest
phoenix - wolfgang amadeus phoenix
bob dylan - together through life
doves - kingdom of rust
conor oberst and the mystic mountain band - outer south
metric - fantasies

and new to me... grateful dead - blues for allah

stop-motion video :: "sweet dreams"

today, my studio in art students started their final project, a stop-motion animation film. each group of 3 students will be responsible for 30-60 seconds of film, at 4 frames/second. their first day of brainstorming was awesome - i cant wait to see what they come up with. i'll post the final results on june 11th.

heres a video that we watched in class today - creative, funny, and touching. enjoy!

brittany arnold :: senior exhibition images

i am so proud to have my first group of ap students graduating from art school this year.
brittany arnold has her work featured in the MICA senior BFA show. the pictures above are from BmoreArt Blog.
note the fine detail of brittany's pen work spread over huge expanses - creating a atmospheric haze of forms... i feel like im looking out the window of a plane flying above the clouds. its a wonderful panoramic escape.

for more information, or to purchase work, you can contact brittany at: BrittanyAmodeoArnold@gmail.com

friday wisdom.

thanks to kelsey kilgore for the poem inspiration.

studio in art :: nathan sawaya :: lego artist

art made out of legos!
...a combination of two of my favorite things.

new sites from old friends

4 former students have put websites together of their current artwork.
check them out if you have a few minutes.
i am honored to have been a part of their artistic growth...

kelsey kilgore '05 (schroeder)
aaron bueg '05
carolyn kassnoff '05
jake adams '08

rebranding america.

PAPER magazine has invited 15 of their favorite designers to help them 'rebrand america.'
sounds like a good idea to me.

read their manifesto and see more examples here.

this one is my favorite (by dan wieden)

tromp l'oeil car

sara watson, an english art student, turned a car "invisible" with a lovely trompe l'oeil paintjob:

she is studying drawing at the university of central lancashire (uclan), took three weeks to transform the car's appearance.

she created the illusion in the car park outside her studio at uclan's hanover building in preston.

the car is now being used for advertising by the local recycling firm that donated the vehicle.

awesome.
full article here.

now here's the car from the side:

artist of the week :: miso

i am enamored with how miso combines the use of pattern with simple drawn forms to create such interesting portraits.

the combination of the figures with their worn, aged 'canvases' (city walls) creates a great juxtaposition of clean intricate pattern against age and texture.

you can find out more here, or read a short interview here

bob dylan & willie nelson

so i finally get to cross bob dylan off my 'concerts to see' list. he's coming to syracuse with willie nelson on their tour of minor league baseball parks, and mr. matt and i are going.
it doesnt get more american than bob dylan, willie nelson, and the baseball park. all i'll need to get is a hot dog, milkshake, and a slice of apple pie and it'll seal the deal.

youtube friday

check out this video to see more of how the art is made with the extreme perspective:

artist of the week :: kelly mckernan

from kelly mckernan's website:
kelly's work is defined by internal struggle in its many forms through personal growth. she illustrates various situations for her female protagonists to interact with through symbolic elements in vague settings. these scenes often comment on the operating consequences of idealism and fantasy due to naivety and youth with two opposing forces at work: natural inclination versus cognitive reasoning. these rival dualities are further represented by stylistic differences and the contrasting mediums of photography and painting. there is deeply personal meaning to be found as the multi-layered struggles depicted in her current body of work reflect her interests and concerns as a growing woman with a penchant for idealism.

i am amazed by this work, as well as how it fits into the project we are working on now in drawing 2. a perfect fit.

youtube friday.

yes, gross... but kinda cool.
thanks to mrs. chandler for the heads up on this one.

new mix :: RISEN.

new mix for april 2009.


1. phoenix : lisztomania
2. grizzly bear : two weeks
3. peter bjorn & john : nothing to worry about
4. dinosaur jr. : puke + cry
5. death cab for cutie : a diamond and a tether
6. thenewno2 : out of mind
7. kid cuti : day ‘n’ night
8. metric : twilight galaxy
9. gomez : win park slope
10. peter bjorn & john : living thing
11. the decemberists : here i dreamt i was an architect
12. phoenix : 1901
13. metric : sick muse
14. dinosaur jr. : thumb
15. gomez : little pieces
16. death cab for cutie : little bribes
17. +/- : subdued
18. grizzly bear : southern point
19. yeasayer : tightrope

crawling baby.

crawling. talking. playing.
...oh the life of a baby...
its crazy to think that in 2 weeks he'll be one year old. where did the time go?

youtube friday.

banksy hits a few nyc museums with his own artwork.



for more info, and to see the artwork he put up, click here.

1,000 journals project book... missing.

at some point in the last year, i lent out this book. it was not returned... i love the book and would really like to get it back.

if it randomly has shown up at your house, in your dorm room, or in your portfolio... could you please please please bring it back... no questions asked.

thanks!

visit their website to learn more about the 1,000 journals project.

pre-college summer art programs.

if you are considering AP art for your senior year, and are going into either your junior or senior year in high school, there are a number of summer opportunities out there for you to extend your artistic thinking and abilities.

most, if not all, art colleges in the nation offer pre-college summer residence programs that you can go to (and in many cases, earn college credit through).

here is a list of ones i would recommend (linked where available):
columbus college of art & design (CCAD)
maryland institute college of art (MICA): baltimore
maryland institute college of art (MICA): tuscany
rochester institute of technology (RIT): see me for info, or call 475.4977 (this is a very cost-effective program taught by webster schroeder's AP art teacher bill stephens)
cleveland institute of art (CIA)
pratt
new york state summer school of the arts (NYSSSA)
savannah college of art & design (SCAD)
college for creative studies (CCS)
the art institute of boston (AIB)