this is my face.

the final examination for my first drawing course in the appalachain state institution was to do a self portrait. mainly i wanted to portray myself in the most honest manner possibly, examining the relationships between the features of my face and neck and whatnot. but as my instructor, TIM FORD, suggested (and he's right) i could've taken this illustration further and really pushed the bounds of visual interest. he wants for me more than merely. so just wait, next semester i'm going to really push it find my boundaries until i'm at the edge of it all looking down

collaboration. enough said

this is a still-life collaboration that i did with several class mates in drawing. we each had 3 basic drawings which are arranged by student: left- jeff martin, center- mary crockette, right- sarah. through the initial drawings were done on an individual basis, we each worked on all of the panels in some way helping to blend the separate images into a more cohesive larger one. i'm satisfied with the illustrative quality of the piece, though i find the composition to be lacking and the color could be a bit more dynamic. anyhow, it was my first experience with collaborative art making, and i pretty much really enjoyed the experience.

in my dreams it's summer and i'm laying on my hill in the sun

this is a hockney inspired piece which is composed of photo cuts that i took near GRAGG cemetery off of poplar grove road. its one of my favorite spots in boone, a good place to be pensive or really to just be. the photos have been hand sewn together and then as a whole sewn to matte board. it was time consuming this way, and my little priss fingers were sore for several days following the completion of this project, but it was worth it...maybe just because i spent that much more time caring and tending to this piece than i may have spent using some sort of adhesive. and i do love this piece for being sappy and sentimental just for me.

what happened to the books? they must be in la hoya

also for class i had to make these pamphlet stitch and long stitch booklets (about 20 of them). these are a few of my finest ones i think. i really struggled with this assignment at first, it focuses greatly on craftsmanship which i wouldn't say is my strong suit. but i got into it after the first 4 or 5 that i did and began experimenting with

design and structure.

an ode to my home

this is another piece for one of my foundations art courses. the assignment was the create a flag for the county i grew up in so i played with the literal (triangles-research triangle park) and the abstract, which was sort of a statement about the evolution of the wake county area grown down home southern town to a city setting that's become quite a popular little place. anyhow thats the short of it. i really enjoyed producing this piece, i am coming to think that my style is well complimented with mixed media, maybe there is more freedom there for me to explore but enough room to explore that i come to know boundaries quickly enough.

the machine is done

rauschenberg inspiration piece is what this is. i did it for one of my classes and tried to really play up colors and imagery. wish i had spent more time on this piece because it because some what of a sensory overload which was greatly unintentional but for my first painting with acrylics, i felt a certain freedom and expressive nature to this medium that appeals to me. it's something new i will definitely need to revisit here soon.