Jocelyn Zavala-Garcia's Reflection Post

New Sustained Investigation: The challenges that surround immigration, whether it be before, during, or after the process. 

Changes and revisions: First, I wanted my SI to be about the struggles and joys of immigration. I created my first two drawings and felt like they were not conveying the emotion and reality of immigration that I wanted, so I did more research. I revised what would be the synthesis, which is b&w and color, as well as gates. I also changed the topics conveyed, including the risks immigrants take when leaving and what they are leaving behind, instead of showing both the joys and challenges. 

1. "Reality" --> The collage of the painting is showing the challenges that come before, during, and after immigration, since there are passages of people explaining their reason of leaving their home country, the possible deaths along the journey, and the hard work that comes after. Also, I am explaining the huge risk that comes with immigration, the separation of families. 

2. "Escape" --> This painting is meant to show the challenges immigrants have to endure in their home country, and are some of the reasons they have for leaving. This includes, gangs (which is why I chose a spray painted background), drug cartels (the trash bag with a message on it), and the violence from these (the red paint blood stains). I also wanted to explore the process of the separation of families as a story line, from a parent trying to protect their child, to a parent holding their child tight knowing it is going to be last time they are together, and then to a kid getting taken by immigration officers. 

3. "Left Behind" --> This painting is about the challenge of leaving behind everything known when immigrating. This is my great-grandma's house, which was vibrant and full of life before most of my family immigrated. Now, her house is dull and everything is dark. I wanted to show how when migrants leave, they are locking away these memories and their culture to assimilate in a new country, and when they go back to visit, nothing is ever the same. 

My AP Goals: 

1. I want to learn how to draw more realistically this year in AP Studio because I don't tend to go the realistic route most of the time, but I want to expand my options. 

2. I also want to find and learn more about my personal style so that I can showcase it in my portfolio. 

I would definitely like to continue exploring these goals during the rest of this year. I have not done too much realistic art because I have been more drawn to expressionism, but I could try sketching some realistic portraits or some body features so I become more comfortable with them. I personally feel like I have developed my personal style into something that I am passionate about this year, using topics that may be controversial but need to be talked about, and showcasing them in an expressive way along with 3D features to evoke a sort of emotion. However, there is always room to grow and develop my style even further. 

Ava Passehl Sustained Investigation Reflection

Original Topic: “How can I show the authentic and narrative portrait of someone?"

Since December  I have changed my topic slightly to focus on my male friends. If I were to rephrase this Sustained Investigation question, I would state that my focus is "How can I create a portrait of my teenage male friends that shows their personality and their character?". I plan on incorporating an element of collage into each piece I finish to demonstrate the complexity of each personality. 

1. Sustained Investigation 1: "The difference between men and boys is the size of their toys (Antonio)" 

The collage fills the entire right side of the piece, and there are many details about Antonio's life, personality, and likes/dislikes in the collage. 

2. Sustained Investigation 2: "I don't know, I'm kinda out there, I guess? Oh, and I love the song 'Moon River' (Rob)". 

The abstract style of Rob's eyes and freckles reflects his sometimes cloudy, day-dreaming vision, while his wistful smile reflects a somewhat happy person. The collage elements of the tie and shirt signify the layers of his personality first seen upon meeting him (at first shy but still full of life).  

3. Sustained Investigation 3: "just for fun (Ben)" 

While these are just a few images from the piece, this 3-D piece collages the 2-D and 3-D elements of studio design together. The geometric shapes, colors, and materials chosen reflect his motivated and structured yet fun and successful lifestyle. 

AP Goals (from September):

1. This year, I want to create and develop my own style of art. I have experimented with some styles, such as realism, cartooning, and collaging, and I want to find a style(s) that I excel in and enjoy the most. I want to experiment and take risks to find what works for me. I am open and excited to try a style similar to van Gogh's seen above. 

2. I want to win a Gold Key for a work of mine from either last year or this year. Last year, I won a Silver Key for Poetry and one for Ceramics, and this year I would like to top that with a Gold Key or two for my pieces, especially an art piece. 

 

New AP Goals (as of March):

1. I still want to continue to experiment with new styles. However, I no longer feel the need to develop a 'signature' style and I would prefer to be good at many styles of art. With that being said, I want to continue to hone in on my collage skills because that is a skill I think I am good at and enjoy a lot. 

2. Because I did end up winning a Gold Key this year, I am very proud to check that goal off! My new goal is to secure at least a 5 on the AP exam. 

Atkins SI 4

 

Tessellation made with black colored pencil and photoshop. 

Marino SI#4

 

Passehl SI#4 (Ben)

 

Title: "just for fun (Ben)"

Materials Used: cardboard, foam board, Sharpie, Photoshop

Description: positively Type A, Rubik cube world champ, lovable, highly successful 

Processes/Techniques: collage, found object materials, Photoshop 

Dimensions: 8 inches x 8 inches x 8 inches 

Passehl Progress Post (SI4)

 

Sisson SI #4

 

Trusello SI 4

The Lovers  :)

 

SI #4 meghan dellose

 This is called "Bigger Than Me" because the alcohol is the one and only thing on her mind and the bottles are bigger than her.

Progress Photo SI #3 Ben

 

I plan to connect all the pieces into a mobile by Thursday's critique. 

Savannah Lee- Reflection Post

 My sustained investigation started off completely different than it is now....

My work began as representing the loving relationship between a mother and her daughter. I liked this idea, but I was having trouble coming up with a new idea for each piece. I decided to switch it and basically represent the opposite. I am not depicting the rough upbringing of a child. My pieces consist of fighting between parents, drinking, and the front of a happy family. Although I have yet to redo all my pieces, I now have more ideas for my upcoming sustained investigations. 

Although this may seem like a sweet picture, there is something off about the mom. Her smile isn't as big as her child's who is smiling with her whole face at her birthday party. I wanted to leave this piece unknown as you can tell there is something off with the mother, but you don't know the story behind it. 

In this piece, you can see the happy, clueless child with a smile on his face, just playing with his toys. In the background, his parents are fighting and saying harsh words.

For my next piece that I am not finished with yet, I will show a bottle spilling onto the floor, and the child nearby as he is distracted by the tv. I will be using mixed media to complete this piece. 

Choice Board 13 Gildea

 

Choice Board-Savannah Lee

I drew this sketch in my sketchbook for my next sustained investigation to work on which angle I wanted the person to be looking towards.