Emily Piwko

[empiwko]

ARTH 102- Abstract Expressionism

For my final assignment, I took elements from the art styles cubism and impressionism to help me create my art piece. Since this is my last art piece and my final assignment of college, minus exams, I wanted to use that as my theme.

During the week focused on Cubism, I really took a liking to the idea of analytical cubism and the themes of muted colors and geometric shapes. I have always liked how in cubism, there really isn't one specific way to view the art. You can look at it from different angle and get a new perspective of the piece. I loved the background I created for my cubism assignment, so I wanted to use ideas of that for my final. Instead of adding all different shapes, I choose to stick with round edges to allow your eyes to smoothly glide across the piece in a circle pattern. I stuck with shades of yellow and brown to keep with the muted color scheme of analytical cubism, while also using colors of my soon to be alma mater.

For the figure in my piece, I took inspiration from Impressionism. I think Louis Leroy's description of impressionism being nothing, but an incomplete sketch is perfect. The "incomplete", streaky style allows for movement and a raw, "in the moment" art style. The world we live in is chaotic and you don't have time to look at all of the details. Impressionists focus on capturing the whole idea rather than individual little details. The figure in my piece is in grayscale and shows movement in time through the rough stokes in her hair and gown, as well as her walking away.

I enjoyed sketching my figure, as drawing is my favorite art form, and since I didn't get to focus on just sketching much this semester, I knew I wanted to incorporate this style into my piece! The "what comes next..." was added simply to put a title to the piece and I thought it tied the two styles together nicely. College is ending for me, and you never know what's going to happen next. :)

[ryanndonlon]

This is my puppet and her name is Genevieve. Genevieve likes to dance and have fun all the time hence her flowy skirt that moves as she grooves!

I constructed my puppet out of a toilet paper roll for the base. Then, I used colored paper to add her clothes, hair, hat, and arms. I attached these all with glue. I added string to the arms and hat to make her able to move her arms and so that she could fly without her arms being ripped off. Genevieve is now lovingly displayed in my room.

[empiwko]

Genevieve is such a princess, I love her

[ryanndonlon]

For my surrealism project I created a purse with some lanyards that were laying around and a McDonalds fry box that my sister walked in the door with as I was brainstorming! Perfect timing!

My model here is my friend, Cameron! He was very excited to model this lovely bag! Inside there was a perfume that he sprayed at me.

[empiwko]

Amazing work! Who doesn't love fries! I think everyone should own one of these!

[jenartblog]

Surrealism

For my project, I created holiday-inspired earrings. I used an old Christmas light bulb and turned it into a pair of statement crystal earrings. My mom was excited to model this project for me!

[empiwko]

Christmas is my favorite, and I think these would go great paired with a holiday sweater to spread Christmas cheer!

[chloeszot]

For this weeks project I made a necklace. This was made out of a cardboard box as the pendent, an avocado bag around the beads and a ribbon. The leaves are from a fake plant I found as pieces on the side. This was a fun week!

[empiwko]

I really like the color choice of your necklace! It's so bright and green, perfect to wear for summer!

[empiwko]

ARTH 102-Dada

I'd like everyone to meet Ned! Ned loves to bop and fly around on his way to work, while listening to Hot Wings (I Wanna Party) from the movie Rio. His friends love all of his bright colors since they say it matches his bright lifestyle! Ned is always up for a party after work!

Ned is made up of many household materials! His body is a toilet paper roll with sticky notes. His legs and arms are index cards and string. His colorful hair is made up of beads. His head is made up of bubble wrap, topped with a paper crown of course! Ned is able to move with his beaded hair blowing through the wind and his legs by being pulled on with string!

[empiwko]

ARTH 102- Surrealism

For this week's assignment, I decided to make a purse out of left-over gift-wrapping materials I was going to throw out. The purse itself is made out of tape and colorful index cards. The strap of the purse is tape and gold pipe cleaners. I thought the frayed index cards I made looked like a piñata, so I continued to add to the piñata theme by filling the purse with candy and adding dum-dum key chains with a ribbon bow.

My wonderful model Cam showed off the function of the crossbody piñata purse by pulling out a piece of candy!

[empiwko]

ARTH 102- Futurism

For this week's assignment, I decided to focus on dissolvable pacemakers that are used for infants. This device has been developed fairly recently and it's so small that it can be inserted into an infant's body without surgery. The grain of rice sized pacemaker is inserted with a syringe and once it is no longer needed, it will simply dissolve. Instead of using the radio frequency scheme for wireless control, like in a normal pacemaker, a light-based scheme has been developed for turning the pacemaker on and delivering stimulation pulses to the surface of the heart. Infrared light penetrates very well through the body (like if you stick a flashlight to your finger, you can see the light on the other side) and the light flashes on and off corresponding to the heart rate of the infant. Pediatric heart surgeries are complex and harsh on a child's body, so with this device, trauma and patient risk is reduced greatly. Also, due to its size, this pacemaker can be integrated with other types on implantable devices!

World’s smallest pacemaker is activated by light

Northwestern University engineers have developed a pacemaker so tiny that it can fit inside the tip of a syringe — and be non-invasively inj

For my art piece itself, I tried to create a neon/glow to certain elements of my work to stand out against the futuristic background!

[ryanndonlon]

Cubism! This project was extremely fun! I loved doing the background because it was so care-free!

[empiwko]

I love the springy vibe going on in your piece! Love it!

[eelyons]

ARTH-102 Cubism

[empiwko]

I really like how you chose to incorporate multiple faces into your work! It works really nicely together with your background!

[nataliezucal]

Cubism

For the Cubism assignment, I began by doodling some abstract shapes and lines all over my sketchbook. Then, I found facial features in a magazine and clipped them. Finally, I found the most fitting spot for the facial features on my abstract drawing to give the idea of a floating face.

[empiwko]

I really like how you chose to create the background. I think it's cool how each color is associated with its own shape! I also enjoy how the face blends in with the background!

[empiwko]

ARTH 102- Cubism

Here is my abstract human for this week's assignment!

Background:

Collage Pile:

Final Piece:

[empiwko]

ARTH 102- Fauvism

For this week's assignment, I decided to draw my friend Mason. Mason passed away recently from congestive heart failure, but I was lucky enough to have him as a close friend for the past 3 years! I took this photo of Mason a couple of years ago and I think the photo perfectly represents his silly and happy lifestyle!

Mason loved Halloween and his favorite colors were green, purple and orange. I decided to incorporate those colors into the background of my piece. Mason lived a very uplifting and positive lifestyle. He was always bright and optimistic no matter what he was going through. His warm and outgoing style created a sense of happiness in anyone around him. I used shades of yellow to show the brightness he created in everyone that knew him, and the light that he was in people's lives.

Anyone that knew Mason knew how kind-hearted he was. He was the sweetest soul and a gentle giant. His warmth and sweetness brought a sense of welcome and compassion to all of his friends. I used shades of pink to not only show his sweetness but show that he will live in all of his friends and families' hearts forever.

Mason had a way of making everyone feel like they were the most important person in the world, and he created a sense of belonging for everyone lucky enough to know him! :)

[empiwko]

ARTH 102- Impressionism

For this week's assignment, I decided to choose a moment from Meryl Davis and Charlie White's Free Dance Performance during the Winter 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. I usually don't remember many sports events, but for whatever reason, I can vividly remember watching this ice dance. I remember sitting in a restaurant, eating chicken tenders, watching in awe as Davis and White effortlessly skated around the rink. This performance ended up being a historic achievement, as the pair became the first Americans to win Olympic gold in ice dancing.

Prior to this event, Davis and White were skating partners for 17 years. They began skating together as kids back in 1997. Their connection with each other was outstanding to watch. The trust they had in each other allowed for intense and beautiful performances with chemistry between the two was felt through every glide and spin on the ice. The 2014 Olympic Free Dance had seamless transitions, lifts, and footwork that told a story to the audience. The music, Scheherazade, added a layer of elegance, which, combined with their technical mastery, created a performance that felt timeless. Davis and White retired from competitive ice dancing after winning gold in the 2014 Winter Olympics.

[empiwko]

ARTH 102- Midterm

Why This Image: For my midterm, I decided to choose the photo of Madonna when she took another girl's photo and put her head on that girl's photo. I feel like a lot of the photo editing in this day in age is body altering. Whether it's smoothing out blemishes or giving your body curves in the right places, most of the time people are so fixated on changing their bodies. I thought Madonna's photo was interesting. Rather than "fixing" her body, she just photoshopped her head onto another person. She didn't take the time to make her curves more noticeable, but instead just picked a whole new body. Plus, I've seen so many photos from the Kardashians with their obvious photoshops, I wanted to focus on someone who isn't in public light about photoshopping as much. For my piece, I decided to recreate the body of both images, but just get rid of the face completely to show the reality of how we truly don't know who someone is through social media.

Photo Editing Impacts: Celebrities tend to make a "perfect" image for themselves that is setting an unattainable ideal for everyone, but particularly younger audiences. In this day in age, it's hard to see real people. People are put into this insecure lifestyle where everyone has to be a real-life barbie or ken doll. People have forgotten how everyone is born perfect in their own ways and have blurred the line between reality and "flawless" versions of themselves.

The Future of Photo Editing: I believe people of all kinds will continue to use all types of editing in their photos. AI will just keep getting better and soon, we won't be able to see the flaws in the photo editing, resulting in the unknown of who someone really is behind a screen. I do think however, overtime, more people have been desiring more authentic portrayals of themselves. Boundaries will continue to be pushed though until everyone gets sick and tired of the constant perfection.

[empiwko]

ARTH 102- Your Art Voice

For my assignment this week, I decided to focus on Ellie and Keegan's pieces. I liked the connection both pieces had by incorporating a nature focal point, taking up majority of the space, with the background being a pastel color along the same color scheme of the focal point. The pieces are simple but insure the center image pops.

For my personal piece, I wanted to maintain that simplistic style while incorporating a nature focal point and soft pastels. I offset my focal point of flower bouquets while pulling the purple and red hues into the background to create a harmony within the piece.

[empiwko]

ARTH 102- Formal Elements

For this assignment, I decided to focus on the chaos of walking through city life. I choose to use blue and orange as the background colors for my piece. The body of my figure is a DayQuil bottle wearing a winter coat. Their legs are made of chess pieces, and they are sporting a light purse. You will also find headphones and yellow-orange boots to compliment the outfit, the necessities to walking your Pillsbury Dough Boy.

With my vision involving city life, I tend to think of everyone blurring together in a city. I wanted to have elements of my piece blend into the background colors, so I made the body, shoes, and leash blend in by keeping them yellow/orange colors and the light purse blue.