Inspiration; Motivation; Growth;

“Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” 

– Andy Warhol

There is a point in most artists career where they experience a lull. This is especially true to the experiences of aspiring artists still developing their practice and goals. They have not yet been noticed or my not even have the slightest idea of where to go with art and yet they still find themselves having to produce work. I mention these scenarios because I think there is nothing more important to artists of any kind than finding inspiration and motivation. It cannot be stressed that no matter what it is you are doing you just need to start and dive into it. Do not wait, do not hesitate because as long as you are creating work you are on your way. Whether or not that work is successful to you may be a different story but it could lead to bigger and better things. One thing most definitely leads to another and although this may sounds cliché, I can tell you with experience that it is amazing where experimentation and taking chances can take you. 

Here is my journey.

Untitled experiment 2 - Miranda Lynn Marcotte- 2012

4' x 2' - soot and salt on aluminium

Untitled Experiment- Miranda Lynn Marcotte -2012

6’6” x 1’ - soot and acrylic on aluminium

These above works are what sparked my interest in alchemy and are at the root of my material choices in my current work. 

From this point I began working with metal wire and some textiles and continued experimenting with both salt and some acidic chemicals. 

3rd Year Final Body of Work - Miranda Marcotte -2013

These textile works were an interesting part of my work that helped me realize that I really enjoyed salt as a material. It transformed the objects and materials and changed their properties entirely. These experiments were important to my development because I learned a lot about my practice and interests. With this being said I have moved away from fabric and continue to work with wire because of the experiment that resulted below.

 Orchid- Miranda Marcotte - 2013

2" x 2" x 1" - salt and steel wire

 Orchid Detail- Miranda Marcotte - 2013

2" x 2" x 1" - salt and steel wire

The variation I got from this small salt sculpture was so exciting. I loved the anticipation of waiting for these sculptures to form because I never quite knew how they would develop. This was probably one of the most important points in my artistic development. 

Sculpture: Frost - Miranda Lynn Marcotte - 2013

1” x 1.5” - Steel wire, salt and colouring 

This journey has led me to the above. An accumulation of 4 years of perseverance and experimentation. A series of trials, and errors that have led me up unto this point of graduation and a final fourth year show. From this point my work will continue to develop and grow like the crystals that engulf my sculptures.

To follow my work:

Blog: miranda-marcotte.tumblr.com 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MirandalynnM9

Pokemon Power

This year has been full of many ups and downs for me. I have done a lot of of experimenting and trying new things but, ultimately got nowhere with my 1st idea. Despite all of this, I have however, grown as an artist and an individual and am very proud of how I've pushed through. 

My intention has never been to become an artist. I LOVE art! It is in my blood, it is a need and my passion, but never have I wanted to be a practicing artist. My true aspiration is to be an Art therapist working with children and individuals with special needs. This has always been my love and main focus!

With only a couple months left in the term, and no real solid direction, I decided (thanks to a push from my prof) to go a completely different direction. I was tired, frustrated and really just longing for something fun! I needed to do something I really loved so that I would be motivated enough to pull off something awesome in the time remaining of my undergrad.

hence why I am now doing…… 

***NERD ALERT***

"Pikachu", painted clay figure,  22x20in, Tiya Sisson, 2013

POKÉMON!!!!!

I am interested in presenting contemporary artist Takashi Murakami's, theory of "Superflat" through my work. "Superflat" places an emphasis on surface, flat planes of colour, and crisp shapes/forms, referencing 2-D Japanese cultural imagery, such as manga and anime. 

For my thesis project I will now be creating two 30 x 20in sculptures, one of Charmander and the other of Squirtle, giving life to these normally 2-D creatures through sculpture. Referencing "Superflat," I will be modelling the Pokémon's posses after iconic historical sculptures, such as Rodin's "The Thinker" and "Atlas". Once completed the two sculptures will be treated with an all over treatment of either bronze or gold (either paint or gold/bronze leaf).

"The Thinker" Auguste Rodin
http://www.musee-rodin.fr/en/collections/sculptures/thinker

My pieces will focus on the "flattening" or purposeful combination of opposites in an attempt to lessen the divide and blur the lines between the two extremes. 

By turning these characters into sculptures I am bringing low class common place objects, the Pokémon, into the high class arena of the art world to be criticized and examined by a select portion of society. 

Through posing the Pokémon as these well known historical sculptures, I am flattening the lines between old and new.

Finally, by covering the sculptures head to toe in either gold or bronze, the Pokémon copies will be referencing their historical counterparts, whose construction was typically made of bronze (which is both strong and expensive).

"Atlas"

However, my sculptures will be made out of clay, which is incredibly fragile. They will appear to be bronze or gold, but in reality that will only be thanks to the modern and cheaper alternative of acrylic paint (or potentially gold leaf).

Hopefully I am able to pull it off and that I will be the creator of some super fun and cool Pokémon sculptures!

I hope you all are super excited for the show and like getting to know our crazy/eclectic group of artists.

- Tiya Sisson

Sometimes I want to go off the grid. But then I remember, there's no internet there.

The human species is a naturally selfish and curious creature. We are constantly seeking new answers and confirmation of our own self-actualization. The opinions of others have seemingly wedged themselves into our everyday lives. 


Don't believe me? Have you checked Instagram, Twitter or even Facebook today? If the answer is yes, than your probably like me and the thrill of posting something, then seeing the notifications of this and that person liking your photos is exciting. However if you said no, than you will eventually today, it’s just a matter of time. 

Recently I was driving with my grandparents, elderly immigrants from Portugal born in the late 20's. Now with that being said, it is hard to believe all the new and different things that have been invented in the time they have been alive. I wonder how crazy it must have been to go from a small farm in Portugal with no electricity to now, electrical devices that are on your person at all times, no wire required.  I digress; my grandmother was questioning me about my phone, as I was about to type in an address on the GPS application.  I explained to her that it had Internet and it knew our location, along with allowing you to listen to music, check emails, send messages and call someone. I distinctly remember my grandmother’s response, "wow that's a smart phone", and it finally dawned on me how smart my "smart phone" actually was. I don't know if that's amazing or scary.

On the one hand its handy always being connected and being able to share every moment with people. Whether that is through blogs, vlogs, posts or tweets. On the other hand, what happen to privacy and living in the moment? I have seen people at concerts or shows, filming it on their phones and actually watching it through the screen!  Photos and videos are nice because they serve as a permanent record of your experience. However if capturing that moment starts to interfere with actually experiencing it first hand, than I think that's where you need to draw the line.

With this in mind, I want my work to evoke craftsmanship and emphasize the artist as a work of art rather than the piece itself. I take reference from the constant documentation of the Internet, through painting moments of memory captured in photographs and documenting this process through video.





So if you want to be apart of every moment of my life, follow me on all kinds of social media. :)

Twitter: @amberpacheco91
Instagram: @amberpacheco91
Facebook: Amber Pacheco
Blog: www.amberpacheco.blogspot.ca
Youtube and Vimeo: COMING SOON

I'm in love with Colour

An abstracted/apocalyptic landscape in process

Through out the last couple of years, I have concentrated on the use of colour in my paintings.  Last term, my study was directed towards doing multiple little abstracted/apocalyptic landscapes and designs within a long rectangle.  They all followed the theme of colour, and I was able to explore the use of colour, and how the effect of the colour changed depending on the different paintbrush strokes.



This term is new.  For this term, I will be focusing less on landscapes, and more on the microscopic world.  The paintings will still be colourful, with some being trippy, due to the colour scheme.  The organic forms being depicted range from virus, flora, critters, and all things in between.  With the colour use, I am hoping to abstract the subject, so that it isn't easily distinguishable. 

One of the pages from Forms in Nature

After studying a couple books, such as Forms in Nature  by Ernst Haeckel, and numerous sketches later, I have started my microscopic series, and I am so excited to see how they will all turn out.

A Sketch of a Jellyfish