Cherie Smith, Altered Book

The strong reaction I had to the process of creating the altered book took me by surprise. I was a little off balance from the beginning. I also had a strong reaction to using the old images and photographs I had brought with me. Even during the final discussion I resisted the impulse to say that my altered book told a story. I only realized in the quiet of my home that every image that ended up in my altered book was a picture of someone who directly influenced my choice to start a master's program and further my education. So my book is telling a story...it is remembering the guides who have led me down this path thus far.

melissa swift, found drawing

I thought for sure I'd gravitate towards the shadows of foliage for this assignment, but surprisingly, I found my way into the linear world. Plastic surfaces made the most interesting reflections of light and shadows - which clearly I am fascinated by.

Christie Knoll, Peer Response

 I really enjoyed Sarah Sparks Project Book. I could see so many different ways her concept could be used within any art program.  I think she captured the innocence of her daughter in the manner she drew her. I think she was able to pull from the marks her child made, interesting ways to create compassion. She keep the lines simple but they had energy and strength.   Most of all it made me smile.

Cherie Smith, Translation to Teaching

There were several ideas that I think would translate well into the museum setting. Primarily I use projects that tie into the overall theme of the tour I am leading. I liked the one page book project as it would work well with several themes that we use. One of the tours is about finding line, shapes and animals on the tour. Then I could use that imagery to have the children create a wax resist drawing of animals we had discussed or found during the tour. After folding the paper and creating the one page book we could talk again about the lines and shapes that make up the original image as well as the story behind it.

Christie Knoll, The Day After Sketchbook

Project Book

For my project book I carried on with the theme of 'Time.' My ideas connected to the research I mined from the Altered Book project. I started with a variety of experiments using transfer techniques of images of the tracks of subatomic particles. I also created wax resist drawings of clock parts and used watercolor to abstract the drawings to give them a more organic quality. I explored the pendulum in relationship to time and movement by creating a pendulum out of found metal pieces and attaching a brush. I swung the pendulum over my paper for varying amounts of time creating interesting drawings. I also videoed the pendulum in motion which gave me ideas for slowing down or speeding up the pendulum in recorded time. Photographs of the pendulum in motion became ghostlike and transparent in the most surprising and beautiful way. I composed these experiments into my project book and generated several ideas for how to make this "play with purpose" into an exhibition. I considered variations in scale, material, time, methods for installation etc. I am very excited with the process and direction of the project book and can't wait to continue developing my ideas.

Here are a few of my favorite spreads:

Christie Knoll,Found Drawing

The Unseen Marks

I was sitting in a restaurant, thinking about our walking studies. I remembered we talked about the shapes between. I took pictures of the people in the restaurant that had interesting lines. I came back put them into Photoshop so I could relay to you what my mind had seen.

Susan Striepe—Found Drawing

My found drawings reflect my daily walk to class in the morning and back again to my dorm at night. They are based on photographic images of the sidewalk. I find when I am walking, that I look down at the pavement while I am thinking and then I look up again to take in my surroundings and converse with my friends. I think of it as traversing interior and exterior spaces, much like snorkeling. The space on these three images is flat in the same way that the surface of the water is an illusory flat dimension, dividing the water-breathing world from the air-breathing world.

Amelia K.,peer response

I really enjoyed all the concepts Nicole put into creating her installations within her project book-she came up with some great ideas that can go so many places. From the use of several different materials to having a consistent visual theme that makes her overall theme apparent throughout.