        1011 englandONETo help you take stock, please review your reflection postings for exercises 1, 2, and 3. Re-read yours (and others' as well, if you want) in one sitting. Then respond to the following: • As you re-read them now – with the advantage of distance, experience, and hindsight – what strikes you as worth noting and commenting upon? I started architecture school thinking that I’m going to do drafting and designing from the first day. To my surprise we did everything but that this semester. Now I know how the assignments were built upon each other, and led us to this point where we start to do some drafting and designing. • Are there any patterns that you can discern in the learning that occurred in each exercise? I think the whole semester focused on training our minds how to think and look at things. We started with drawing, experienced group cooperation, and finished with designing. • Do you discern a cumulative growth in learning (in confidence, in skills, in understanding etc.), in yourself? My computer skills are definitely stronger than before. My understanding of design process has grown over this semester. • Can you characterize the change, from pre 1011 to post-1011, that has occurred in the way you think/thought about: a) drawings, modelling and other types of representations; b) the process of formulating and exploring ideas; c) analysis and inquiry; d) designing. a)Drawings were beautiful pieces of art and modeling was making physical representation of a piece of art in my head. Now I have a different understanding of both. We used modeling to show a concept and drawing was used to sketch the variety of concepts that we were expected to learn this semester. TWO In order to encourage you to play an active part in your own learning, we would like you to think about and respond to the following: • Identify the 'learning' in 1011 that you think you will carry forward to 1012 Computer skills and drafting skills are the two most important things that I think I’ll be using in 1012. • What do you plan to pay special attention to in 1012? In 1012 I will have my thoughts together and think about the end of each project to minimize the number of useless drawings and models that I made in 1011. I had one third of the actual time to work on each project because of the number of times that I had to start over with a new idea. THREE Two questions about the studio workshop process. Think back through the 3 exercises and tell us what are the 'roles' of EACH of the following in the studio process: • the instructor : for critiques too guide us to the right path • the project or exercise brief/handout: guide line to get us started and make us aware of the next steps coming up. • the review process (pinup, final jury): I think the role was to find out about the weaknesses and strength of our work, but since they only talked about the chosen works it didn’t benefit the rest of the students. • the inquiry book: to recall the process and comment on our own work • your fellow students: very good way of getting critiques • the studio space itself: the place to work and live How would you describe the studio learning experience compared to other learning situations and experiences: for example the classroom, the seminar, the lab, the workshop, the tutorial, the internship, the job. It was surely fun at first but very overwhelming as it went on. The 5 hour long practical studios are a lot more effective than one hour lecture classes. FOUR We would like you to reflect back over the semester and see if you can make sense of the three exercises and the sequence in which they unfolded. Briefly characterize what you think were the pedagogical goals for each and why they played out in the sequence that they did. Then tell us which was your favorite and why. Exercise one goal was to build up our artistic abilities and introducing the different drawing tools and techniques. Exercise 2 was to experience a group work in a design process. We used our skills learned from exercise one to bring out our thoughts and ideas on paper. Exercise three was pulling together the skills and design process that we learned from the 2 exercises and coming up with a new idea from those. My favorite exercise was assignment #1, I feel like I learned a lot from it and I like my portfolio works from that exercise the best. I think I will be using a lot of what I learned in exercise one in the next couple years. Shiva Talebi 1. After looking back I have seen some major differences in myself. In the beginning I was very closed minded and never saw the big picture in my head. It as if I had blinders on. Now I am much more confident in myself and in my work. I also have notice that I’m investigating better and more in depth. My skills have increased and preparation has gotten stronger. 1011 also became more fun for me. I wanted to work more and harder. 2. I think I will take with me the tools required to research and analyze the exercise at hand. I want to focus on making my skills a lot stronger. 3. Instructor- teacher, but also a guide. Making sure the students stay on track and help when they get stuck. Handout- outline to the project, and giving advice on what to focus on Review process- give the student an outside opinion and show the student how others interpret the students work. Inquiry book- A way to look back and review your work Fellow students- support and encouragement, also to learn from and to teach Studio space- A place to work and feel comfortable working It was different because it was so active and constant work. It was not like listening to a lecture all day. It was also very long so you had to make sure you stayed focused. 4. I think the first was to introduce the students to drawing and to investigate. I think second was to make the students investigate more, and look at their objects and the world in ways they had never noticed. The third was to take all that and to add creativity and originality to your work. The second and the third were my favorite. They kind of ran together but I enjoyed working with a partner and then going off on my own. Brett Krause ONE Over this semester in COA 1011, I would like to comment on the variety of exercises and the confusing yet logical order of the exercises. We were first very confused by Contour drawings and in the end were riffing our way to prizes. The semester has held my interest largely because of this diversity and constant change and challenge. I felt that the exercises built upon one another. Exercise one introduced us to basic drawing tools for investigating objects, processes, or motions. Exercise two used these tools and introduced us to the concept of filters and looking at products differently. Exercise 3 undid was exercise 2 accomplished and pushed us to use exercise 1 material to reverse the work in exercise 2. Over this semester, I have grown a lot in my learning. I find myself more apt to attempt new things, especially visual arts and digital arts. My understanding for everyday objects has change immensely also. I no longer see objects as simply objects but more as a result of some design process with a message or question behind them. I feel that I have grown more comfortable with talking about my work also. My charisma has always been a part of me, but this has helped me relax and express myself logically and intelligently. My process in which I study objects and formulate processes and questions in my head has changed the greatest over this semester. I now plan more than ever and think deeper into how my work is presented and what questions could an assignment be trying to ask instead of simply doing the work for completion. This semester has also given me a much greater insight into the design process and even changed this insight as the semester progressed. TWO The learning that will be carried foreword into COA 1012 is aesthetic learning. I would describe this as a combination of all the senses and using them to make complex and abstract discoveries. This will be essential in my experience in COA 1012 and for the rest of my career as a designer. In 1012, I plan to pay close attention to the overall concept behind each exercise. Every exercise has a central idea or concept which it attempts to convey. By understanding this concept, I will better understand the assignment and succeed. THREE The instructor is simply a guide and a mentor which helps with the instruction of the exercises. They do not teach per say but provide tips and some guidance on the exercises. The project briefing is to establish a firm ground in the assignment. It proposes questions describes the requirements in greater depth and can provide some starting ground for the project. The review is more of a criticism than an evaluation. Your own work determines how well you will do, and the review is to simply explain errors and provide input on your process to make future processes more successful. My fellow students are there for input and criticism, but on a more personal basis. They can provide great ideas and help you though the process and should be used. The studio space itself is an atmosphere for work and creativity. It promotes work ethic and collaboration though its openness and very function oriented design. The studio learning experience is extremely different from any other learning atmosphere. Collaboration and free learning reign supreme in this experience versus single, less personal and more guided learning in a traditional classroom. The studio allows for open collaboration and constant analysis and criticism. I prefer the studio because of this quality, as I fell it allows you to produce the best work possible. FOUR I felt this semester was an introduction the basics of design. First, the tools were given to us in the form of exercise 1. These tools can be used for the various situations and requirements of a study that may be needed. Exercise 1.5 was the time for us to show what we had learned by studying something in depth and using these tools combined for the first time. Exercise two was the introduction to the design filters. These filters vary depending on the project and the requirements of the project, but the concept was introduced to us. The investigation tools introduced in exercise 1 were used to investigate the object under the filters. Exercise was used to introduce designing using certain elements. These elements came from exercise 2 (DNA) and evolved into something new but still based off of the original concepts (After Board). This was our first real design and was based off of the tools and filters introduced. You used a filter to make your riff and used the tools to express your riff logically. Eric Balogh ONE
c.) My pre 1011 analysis was naive. I thought about thinks in terms of what they physically appear to be. Although this is not necessarily a poor way to think, it is restrictive. Post 1011 inquiry is more in depth. There is more than meets the eye. I notice smaller details and make correlations between such details. d.) Finally my post 1011 attempts of design were good, but they were still science fair worthy. I had to learn how to professionally layout a competition board. Layout and design can make or break a proposal. It is very important that you convey the right ideas to support your process; therefore, my post 1011 design has the potential to truly be great. TWO
THREE
FOUR One of the main goals of exercise one was to teach us how to look at objects. It taught critical looking as analysis. Also, it taught the basics and functions of lines and line drawings. Once we understood lines we could begin to tackle tone. This was a solid foundation for the analysis we did in exercise two. All of the skills we learned in exercise one were necessary to use when we studied a single object for exercise two. Exercise two introduced in depth analysis. It forced us to not only observe and object but study and “unpack” a solitary object. We analyzed multiple characteristics such as form and space, use and operation, and even explore creating somewhat of a storyboard. Exercise three added all of this information together in combination with teaching layout techniques. Since it was a competition style, we knew the quality of our work should be exceptionally good; however, we also needed to develop successful strategies for organizing the two boards. The order was important because you have to learn how to crawl before you can walk.
1011 Reflections ONE • As you re-read them now – with the advantage of distance, experience, and hindsight – what strikes you as worth noting and commenting upon? Back then, I was only looking at a small segment of the exercises. Now, I am able to see a bigger picture of what we did and what we learned. For instance, as we were learning the figure study in the Exercise 1, we were not only learning how to express different figures, but also how to observe different objects and people in different perspective. • Are there any patterns that you can discern in the learning that occurred in each exercise? I did notice that in Exercise 1 we were told what to draw and how to do it. In Exercise 2 we were given more freedom in the way we drew and studied our object. And in Exercise 3 we were given almost complete freedom in what we did only basic guidelines to follow. So as we progressed in our work, our teachers were slowly allowing us to work and think on our own. • Do you discern a cumulative growth in learning (in confidence, in skills, in understanding etc.), in yourself? Remembering where I was when I first started drawing and looking at how far I have gotten, I feel pretty confident that my skills and understanding are maturing. I hope that this will continue so that my work may improve. • Can you characterize the change, from pre 1011 to post-1011, that has occurred in the way you think/thought about: a) drawings, modelling and other types of representations; b) the process of formulating and exploring ideas; c) analysis and inquiry; d) designing. I have noticed that I question my actions a lot more. It is no longer simply drawing, but putting a reason behind every mark making sure that the meaning is significant enough to be understood. I have begun to explore more, so as to allow myself to understand what I want to represent in my work. Analysis has always been critical to me, sort of like reading a poem and comprehending it, it’s important to be able to look at work and understand the process and reason. TWO • Identify the 'learning' in 1011 that you think you will carry forward to 1012 The ‘learning’ that I will carry forward to 1012 are the ways of observing and the overall process of presentation. I learned how to look and think in various views. I also learned much about representing my ideas, drawing what I see, feel, think. I learned that a viewer should be able to understand how my work got from point A to point Z without verbal explanation. I got a habit of question my work and criticize myself now. • What do you plan to pay special attention to in 1012? Strong representation. A great idea can be ruined by a weak representation; great ideas are hard to come by so when they do come around, you ought to make them look even better. THREE • the instructor : someone who helps me to think and look at differently • the project or exercise brief/handout: method to learn new knowledge and extend different skills • the review process (pinup, final jury): opportunity to see work in a distance and learn mistakes • the inquiry book: reference for ideas and a timeline of how much progression was developed • your fellow students: friends who can encourage, challenge, and provide good ideas for me • the studio space itself: appropriate work environment allowing for me to focus on studio work How would you describe the studio learning experience compared to other learning situations and experiences: for example the classroom, the seminar, the lab, the workshop, the tutorial, the internship, the job. I really enjoyed my studio experience this semester. I ‘lived’ studio throughout every week, and I saw my studio all-nighters enough to make my experience all the more exciting. It is because of spending so much time in the same place with the same people that I enjoyed studio, it helped me build a connection with the environment and the people in it. I also liked the opened space where everybody can listen to music and dance while they are working on studio stuffs. FOUR We would like you to reflect back over the semester and see if you can make sense of the three exercises and the sequence in which they unfolded. Briefly characterize what you think were the pedagogical goals for each and why they played out in the sequence that they did. Then tell us which was your favorite and why. Exercise 1 was about preparing our minds for investigative study and opening ourselves up for learning new things. During this exercise, we practiced certain drawing methods that trained us to draw what we see, not what we know. Our observation skills also increased in order to get ready for the next exercises. Exercise 2 was a group project and involved a lot more collaborative work than in the first exercise. The point of this was to take the skills and experience that were gained in Exercise 1 and apply it to our object, which was a disposable razor. Exercise 3 let us use more of our own creative effort and ideas, as it involved us riffing on the object and coming out with appropriate proposal ideas. I think that my favorite exercise, Exercise 3, was also the most challenging, and it really made me use my full creative energy to make new discoveries about things I never noticed before taking this class. Hyun Paik ONE From rereading and looking back on the work what strikes me most from the exercises is just beginning to look at things differently. The techniques that were given to us work well as tools in the future assignments. However, the main ideas that are worth noting is the fact that we were introduced to looking at everyday objects differently (as masses, continuous lines, and spaces). There are small patterns that all of the exercises have in common. They all started out slowly with introductory ideas. Then you are asked to “riff” and think creatively. Lastly, you have got to make sure all of the connections are there and that your ideas are organized. I do see a cumulative growth in myself. A lot of the exercises were building to be something more. I used to think about drawings mainly as pretty pieces of artwork that people would honor by putting them up in museums. Now I see drawings and models as informative pieces. The process of formulating ideas has always been easy for me… I tend to jump the gun. Now (especially with exercise 3) I see that sometimes you need to try a bunch of different things and then pick the best option. The reviews have definitely made me analyze work to a new extent. I am now more opinionated on what different mediums and organizations show the ideas the best. The way that I think of design is pretty much the same as I have. Design is the improvement of any item, media, building, etc whether for aesthetics, disability use, or function. TWO I will carry through the idea of thinking through many options and ideas before planning out which one works the best for me. I will also take the organizational and presentation skills that have been developed more. I plan to pay special attention to drafting in 1012. This is a really important skill that I need to be able to use anytime. THREE The instructor is in studio for support of what you are doing and to make sure you are heading in the right direction. The instructor also is there to help you develop ideas if you are in a rut. The handouts are the structured part of studio that makes every section be on the same pace and learn the same basic tools. The reviews help you to know what needs work in the future. It tells you how to enhance your skills. The inquiry book, for me, is just something that you can use to remind yourself of what your past exercises have taught you. In the group project for exercise 2, I learned a lot from other students’ work habits and the differences in ideas that people come up with. The studio space is a great work area. It replaces the classroom and allows cooperation among students, groups, and instructors. It combines all of the sections and allows for us to see what other students do and the diverse ideas. FOUR The first exercise was given to introduce us to looking at the world differently. We learned about many different mediums and techniques that were proven useful in the future exercises. Then exercise 2 was a great thing because it allowed us to get into more cooperative group work. It took the skills from exercise one and used them in a structured way to organize different ways to look at objects. We experienced the ID major I this exercise. The third exercise was looking at the objects as continued from exercise 2. These ideas were then extracted and made more abstract by using the tools presented in the beginning of the course. My favorite exercise was the third one. I enjoyed the way we could individually present our information. Nobody even comes close to thinking the same things with this exercise and everyone works at this/her own pace. The exercise allowed a lot of freedom and allowed creativity and experimentation. Kimberly Para ONE I think it is actually pretty amazing how linked together the three exercises are. Skills learned in exercise 1.1 were used in exercise 1.2 - 1.5, and then skills learned in exercise 1 as a whole were used in exercise 2 and 3. I do feel like it has been a cumulative learning experience and that I am a little better at drawing then I was at the start. On the other hand, I feel like the whole semester was too set on making you "think" rather than just get better at drawing. I feel like there should have been more tutorials or lessons on drawing rather than just giving us an assignment and letting us draw. I would characterize the change in thought from pre 1011 to post-1011 as a change from someone who can draw to someone who can draw with meaning behind the drawings. TWO The learning that I will carry forward to 1012 is studying objects in greater detail. Before 1011 when I drew an object I never really studied it, but just drew what I thought I saw. Now I will look at the object more, and not necessarily pay attention to the paper as much, as it will turn out nicely as long as I see the object well. In 1012 I will pay special attention to how much work I do. In 1011 I tended to get bored of the assignments and thus discouraged (especially exercise 3) and not produce as great a quantity (or quality) of work. I realize, however that there will be a lot of assignments in these next 4 years that I dont particularly enjoy doing, so I will try to improve my effort next semester. THREE Instructor - A guide, someone with ideas, someone whos been through this and knows what to expect The project handout - A rubric or guideline on how the project should he completed The review process - Your final test to see if you achieved the project's goals The inquiry book - A sort of diary or portfolio of all your work during the semester Your fellow students - People in the same boat as you, source of ideas The studio space - A place of learning, a place where the task is carried out. I would call the studio process a unique experience, although the inquiry book is somewhat like a portfolio, and the final review is like a job interview. FOUR I think that exercise 1 was about reshaping the way you think about drawing. This explains the blind contour and the gestural drawings. Exercise 2 was about studying an object in greater detail than you would have ever thought about. Exercise 3 was building on that data and producing something entirely new. I would have to say exercise 1 was my favorite, specifically exercise 1.3 (perspective drawings). I really enjoyed doing those drawings. Exercise 2 was alright, although I wish we had a done a different object. Exercise 3 was by far my least favorite. I was looking forward to the cube and this exercise was really way way too abstract and obscure to me. Blake Williford Yun Jung ONE To help you take stock, please review your reflection postings for exercises 1, 2, and 3. Re-read yours (and others' as well, if you want) in one sitting. Then respond to the following: As I re-read them now, I noticed how far I improved from Exercise 1. Mostly, I agree with my reflections on exercise 1 and 2. I could tell that what I learned from the previous exercise was effectively used in the next exercise. For ecidence, I was using most of what I learned from previous exercises. The end of a previous exercise ties to the beginning of the next exercise and the learning is continued. That was a pattern I found about learning of each exercise. I saw a flow of learning that focuses on deeper levels of investigation. Exercise one taught drawing skills and seeing skill. Exercise 2 taught a way to express and organize what we see in terms of form, operation, fabrication, and measurement. Then exercise 3 taught potential variations a category can have. Before 1011, I did not know that I was able to draw well. 1011 gave me a confidence about my drawing skills. For modeling, I always liked modeling, but during 1011, I was exposed to different materials and tools. Photoshop changed the way I think about it the most. Before 1011, Photoshop was something I would never use in my life. Using Photoshop on my drawing seemed like I am cheating. After 1011, I learned that Photoshop is another tool. Compared to before 1011, the process of formulating ideas became more concise and clear. Once I decided what to explore, the process of getting there got shortened without losing the quality. Before 1011, I analyzed ideas in objective perspective and sought logic from the ideas. After 1011, the range I think has been broadened with all the things I learned, but kept the same attitude. Before 1011, design was more with form and aesthetic quality. But after 1011, I also think about user, operation, and fabrication. TWO Eliminating unnecessary information, or foregrounding and backgrounding, will be carried forward to 1012. Being professional to my works and being on reviewer’s shoe will also carry out. Looking and investigating in various scales and from different directions will help me through 1012. I want to pay special attention to Photoshop and Illustrator skills as well as AutoCAD. Enhancing my work graphically is a task for me. THREE 1. A number of students are not satisfied with their current instructors, probably due to comparison with instructors from other periods. It also produces different rates of learning. Is there anything that can be improved about this issue for next semester? 2. Why is ending 1011 so confusing in many ways? To me, ex 4 that suddenly appeared and all these procedures confuse me. 3. the instructor: the instructor to me was an experienced person who I can ask for comments on my works. Instructor is also a person who gives out handouts for each exercise. the project or exercise brief/handout: They are something I read to feel the project. They also provide basic guidelines on investigation. the review process (pinup, final jury): The review process for me was a chance to receive critics from people other than my instructor. the inquiry book: Through the inquiry book, I could investigate and review my works in different ways from the handouts. your fellow students: they are peers who can give me the up-to-date live comments on my works. They are also peers who I can help and learn from teaching them. the studio space itself: I spent many nights in the CFY studio. I am not the kind of person who has to be in a certain place to do a certain thing. But the studio space made it easier to draw and make models. I could say the studio was my second room if and only if people donated more foods more often. Studio is a very open space. Anyone can come in with foods and drinks. Examples above are all private areas that have rules and regulations. Studio has rules, too, but they are for convenience rather than regulation. Learning in the studio is, for that, open as well. For me, I learn more in the studio because I am not restricted by limitations. FOUR Some students like me never had any art lessons. Exercise 1 was nice in teaching different materials and techniques. The main purpose of exercise 1 was close investigation of environments. Then exercise 2 subdivides the investigation into 3 parts, which are form, operation, and fabrication. Exercise 2 also teaches systemized investigation and correlation of three categories. Exercise 3 comes from exercise 2, but goes to different direction. In exercise 3, we were to riff exercise 2 works to an open end. Exercise 3 taught me immense possibilities of design variation in terms of form, operation, and fabrication. Yun Jung One After rereading my reflection postings for exercises 1, 2, and 3, I noticed the transition from learning how to draw to building on my drawing skills. Since I had never taken an art class or anything like this class, exercise 1 taught me how to draw what I saw and not what I thought I saw. In the beginning, I had no confidence in my ability to draw. As I can see in my reflections, my confidence grew in every exercise. I would characterize the change from pre 1011 to post-1011 as one that went from me learning how to draw to me learning how to draw with a purpose. Two The learning in exercises 2 and 3 I believe will carry on to 1012, especially the experience of ‘riffing’ and the skill of building models and investigating. In 1012 I plan to pay attention to what I’m drawing and what it means, not just the quantity of the drawings. Three Instructor: someone who molds the ideas of the students and doesn’t just read off the handouts and lets them go. Exercise handout: a guideline to help us get a start, but shouldn’t refrain us from putting our own spin on the assignment Review process: helps us present our ideas and see what we did right and what went wrong. Inquiry books: way of reflecting on our work and picking out our best work. Fellow students: another way to help us critique our work and make our learning experience better Studio space: area to help us draw! The whole studio process is completely unique from any other learning experience at this school, which is a positive thing in my opinion. Four Exercise 1 was an assignment based on teaching us how to draw what we saw and not what we thought we saw. Exercise 2 was about investigating an object and drawing to inform. Exercise 3 was about riffing on that object and making a new design. After doing all three of these exercises, I think that exercise 2 was my favorite because it had a clear beginning and end. Exercise 3 was unclear and very vague which was extremely difficult when I was trying to draw. Exercise 2 had assignments broken apart, and at all times I knew what I had to do next. For me, it was also the most fun assignment. Although I didn’t particularly want to know the inner workings of an artbin, the experience as a whole was interesting and very informative. Jason Webster Mark Ducote Part I: I can tell that the CFY program has been modified and improved on year after year because of how well each exercise proves to be great starting points and transitions through out the year. I found myself commenting on what we were asked to comment on. The questions were formatted to help me as the student see my experience gained from the exercise by forcing me to reflect upon what I did. I was worried about this course because I am not a strong drawer, but I was able to motivate myself to spend a little extra time to produce presentable work. I learned that this course was not just an art class, but more of an investigative/scientific process based course that required your discoveries to be backed up by informative drawings and diagrams. I look at everything with a different interpretation, by not being in awe by the final product, but rather being more interested in the designer’s process in how he/she got the final product. Part II: Now that I have a better understanding of what to expect in 1012, I hope my skills acquired in 1011 will carry over. The final exercise really wraps up all that I want to carry over into 1012. I know the importance of my “before work” to help clarify my thought process. All my sketches, diagrams, investigations, riffs, etc, are extremely important in a review. It is interesting and informative to see how students can build upon ideas and drawings, and continue to move forward. All the unpacking, riffing, specific diagramming, researching, detailed drawings, and re-building help understand the object in ways that I would never have seen before. By having a strong DNA, I feel comfortable that I can take that DNA and riff it through a series of modifications. I plan on forcing myself to not have an end product in mind, but to just think and produce work based off of my initial DNA. Part III: The instructors help guide the students in the right direction after analyzing their individual and unique interpretations. He graded them on there clarity, neatness, though process, how well they followed the guidelines of the exercise, etc. The exercise handouts worked hand in hand with the instructor as something the students could refer back to if they get lost or confused with the assignment. The review process proved to be very important in that your work is critiqued by an outside person on how well they understand your presentation and the ideas behind it. It really helps to step back and take a look at what your project looks like. The inquiry books help organize your before and after process. The student is able to express his/her thoughts, concerns, process, and more to help walk through the whole project experience. It was really interesting to see how the student interactions influence each others work. It was a good way to get the advice or feedback from someone who is doing the same work right there with you. Also the work they do gives you a better idea of your standing in the project, weather you think you need more work or are on track. I personally enjoyed working in the studio space because of the atmosphere it presented. I was able to sit down and get to work with out distractions, and I was stuck, I had nearby help and advice from my fellow students or past project posted on the walls. The studio experience was great in that it required dedication and confidence from me as the student. We were given instruction and guidance from our instructors, but we were expected to produce work through our own investigations and research. We were expected to find something that fascinated us and be motivated to continue our study. Other learning situations seem like they just give you the material and expect you to learn it, where as the studio allowed you to pick what you wanted to learn more about and conducted your own research. Part IV: Personally, it took until the exercise was over to make sense of the whole thing. Exercise 1 was extremely important in forcing me to visualize the world a series of lines to help simplify things. I was able to experiment with different tools (perspective, mediums, lighting, color, movements, mass, pressure, forces, etc) to help me display what I see. Exercise 2 took me through a series of studies that helped me expand my understanding of an object. As the exercise unfolded, I attacked the Art Bin from some many angles, allowing me to think more like a designer. Exercise 3 lead off of exercise 2 in that I was forced to transform an idea into a series of riffs. Through these riffs I was able to present my abstracted, improvised understanding of an object, which leads to many very unique interpretations. I enjoyed exercise 3 because of what it forced me to do. I had to leave my “comfort zone” and try to think abstractly on my own. I tried not to plan my end result as I naturally do, but to produce work through thoughtful interpretations that build off each other and by keeping an initial idea in mind. I got feedback that helped me explore different aspects of my riffing and use tools that help me further my investigations. Mark Ducote 1011 EXIT REFLECTION ONE: Before most of my drawing had been for artistic purposes.1011 has really taught me to make my drawings means something and have a full purpose. Every drawing that ended up on a final board had to have a purpose and relation to the rest of the project. My design skills have improved through the process of exercises one, two and three. While in 1 and 2 the final presentation was kind of cluttered and confused, exercise 3 forced me to use my design skills to produce a final organized piece that made sense. Another thing 1011 forced me to do was be able to relate my ideas in a physical form. I had to be able to draw what I was thinking in a way that others understood it as well as I did. TWO: The learning that will carry over is that of turning my ideas into drawings, making all of my drawings have a full purpose, making sure my final designs look good and make sense and creating final projects that flow instead of clutter. One thing I need to focus on in 1012 is being able to differentiate between a bad design/picture and something I should use and keep. I can’t just pick everything I like; I need to be able to use what makes the most sense. THREE: instructor – Sets goals for the class. Helps to critique ideas and drawing clarity. Provides further explanations of exercises. Structures the class. project – Basis for the class. Provides a foundation on which the instructor builds. review process – Provides critique from a different standpoint than the instructor. For example, a reviewer does not have the same understanding of the exercise as the instructor and can provide additional comments inquiry book – I thought this was pretty worthless unless something was not explained in the review pin up. I found I only really needed it in exercise 3. fellow students – Provide more critique for work and support. Help sometimes with explanations of exercises and are very helpful. studio space - A place to work and spend most of my time in during the week. I like the studio learning process. It made me think more than any of my other classes this semester. I did not just have to sit there and memorize information I (for the most part) did not care about. It improved my thinking and drawing skills and the things I learned will actually stick with me. FOUR: The order of the three exercises made sense. Exercise one was to present us with basic drawing skills and the materials we would be using. Exercise two presented us with an object and incorporated drawing and computer skills. It expanded upon our observation and design skills. Exercise three brought together our previous skills and made us use thinking skills that we barely ever use. It forced us to think a lot harder than in the other exercises. I liked each exercise for different reasons. Exercise one allowed a lot more freedom than the others. Exercise two was restricted in the objects sense but the possibilities for observing it were endless. I liked exercise three because unlike the other two, there was a set space for the finished product. In the other exercises, it was cluttered and confusing. I liked that I had a specific workspace for my finished product. Michael Sak ONE I never thought by just doing three exercises how far all of our drawing skills would come. Looking back at exercise one I never knew where it would go and why we were doing these tedious drawings that did not make sense at the time. But after going into exercise two it was nice to have those skills to use and measure the object we were drawing without rulers. I catch myself every now and then looking at an object or a perspective and thinking to myself how could I draw that? What would work best? I definitely think this is a huge change from pre 1011, I never thought these things. TWO
THREE Instructor- to be there and show us new ways to see things and to draw them. Give us advice and direction in our assignments. Handout- a tool to look to when we are stuck or confused. A guide to know where to take the assignment in the right direction. I know it helped me the most outside of class when I was doing the homework to make sure I had everything covered for class the next day. Review- it was a good way to see how strangers read our work. If they could understand it as well as we could. I know my pinups changed a lot from one to two and the first review helped that a lot. Inquiry Book- This was a nice place to find our favorites work and document them and make it more personal than the pinups allowed us. Fellow Students- we counted on our peers more so than our instructors because when we are there late at night it is nice to see what they are working on and what advice they have for us. Our instructor is only one when we have up to 15 peers among us to ask questions. Studio Space- I think it works really well the way it is set up. The desks are big enough to get stuff done. The one problem that really bugged me was that our section was at the first tables and those were so tight together that you couldn’t walk through them where as the tables at the end had plenty of space. Basically the table s could be spaced out better. The studio learning experience is of course more hands on and more interactive among your peers which is drastically different from other majors on campus. FOUR Exercise one was just a jump start into a lot of different uses of medium and drawing skills. Help us see objects in movement, perspective, and light. Exercise two was to help us explore one object and see how it was made what its made out of, how that affects its shape and look. How parts work together in the object. Why the object was built that size shape and what it was meant to be used for. Dissecting the object to the max. Exercise three was to see how we could see our exercise two in a different way. Picking the right tools to change it in a way that only we could see and then going back and explaining our thoughts so that everyone else could understand. My favorite exercise was two because it gave us enough direction to know where to take it and what the instructors wanted from us but enough freedom to take each assignment and give it our own twist and make it special, and possibly something that other people haven’t seen in our object. Christa Torri 1. The most important factors worth noting are the observation skills by using different mediums and drawing styles to note specific ideas such as charcoal, lines, perspectives, etc. With the proper use of each medium, one will be able to describe what he or she means to describe without speaking or text. In each exercise there was a pattern of sequence and organization. In each exercise we began on a simple representation of our final product and began to add weight, depth, shade, color, and reason behind it to make it as realistic and believable as possible. In the same manner, our organizational skills evolved by increasing the content and information presented with each project, to make our layout efficient and understandable, I definitely am aware of the progress within myself. Overall my thinking has changed between pre 1011 and post 1011 from partial thinking to holistic thinking. I began to think how my drawings, models, ideas, analysis, and designs would affect my overall project and add meaning and logic. 2. I believe that all the learning will carry forward to 1012. The different mediums, drawings styles, and diagrams will be the basis for our 1012 explorations. I will pay special attention to incorporating the skills I learned from 1011 with the skills I will learn in 1012. If it was taught, then it was meant to stick with us. 3. Throughout the process, the instructor brings experience to the table and states what works, what could work, or how to make it work. The handout was quite ambiguous with its wording. It provided a general outline but maybe too general. Some portions were understandable but at certain levels it was indiscernible what the difference was between different section of the exercise and what exactly needed to be done. The review/pinup was the most influential part of the process because it assessed the entire process from beginning to end and the holistic process, ideas included. As far and the inquiry books go, I found no real use for them during the process. I believe that it will be useful for 1012 and throughout the rest of my education as notes. Fellow students were useful in stating if something looked good, but really could not state whether it was the right path or not because almost everyone was lost. The studio space helped me get work done, if I drove home to drove, I would be tempted to fall asleep and would fall to that temptation. While in studio, I stayed awake, and the atmosphere fueled me. Studio is definitely an experience especially the long 8:35 to 12:55 morning ones. It has its own special magic I would say. 4. Exercise 1 served as an inventory of procedures one could use to investigate and generate a piece of work or project. Exercise 2 served as the platform to create ideas and how to incorporate those ideas into project. Finally exercise 3 brought it all together as was the test of how well art and thought could be intertwined through layout to make magic. I like perspectives because it was the most relevant exercise we did to architecture. Architecture is really where magic really happens, everything else is just illusions and tricks. Ralph Raymond 1011 exit reflection ONE As I reread my responses now, I find that my writing was very unconfident in the beginning of the year. I never really stated things as fact, but more as my own opinion. With the advantage of hindsight, I now feel that I’ve really matured in my “eye” for things, and that I’ve learned a lot about observing the world around me. In each exercise, I feel that my learning pattern was one of trial and error. Many times I would redo the work simply because I was not satisfied with the first time, and it almost always turned out better because I learned from my initial mistakes. However, because I feel that I have a perfectionist mentality, I was never truly satisfied with anything, but because of time, I had to move on to the next project. It is fairly apparent that there was a cumulative growth in learning over this year. I now feel like if I spend enough time on something, I can make it good because I’ve been provided with many tools to accomplish these tasks. I’ve also realized that my work will not always be the best as it seemed to be in high school, but instead of being hostile to this idea, I find that its very helpful to still strive for this and to learn from what other people are doing and what things work for them. I can definitely characterize the change from pre 1011 to post 1011 in the ways that I think about things. In my drawings and models, I now view them as thorough investigations and not just pictures. My ideas are now more responsive to problems and the process of forming them is not just be sitting somewhere brainstorming. Instead, I now understand that it’s important to “play around” with in the process of formulation and exploring ideas. My analysis is more thorough in this unique realm of design, and I’m not so tied down to formal ideas that I had learned, and finally, I feel that I now view design as having purpose and serving functions for everyday life and not just aesthetic ones. TWO In 1012, I plan to continue learning about different types of drawings and ways to observe the world around me. I think that I will continue to better my presentation skills, and will also make use of the time management skills that I learned through this semester’s studio. I found that when I needed to get work done, I would stress and try to do things faster, but really, I ended up saving more time and being more satisfied with work when I did right the first time. In 1012, I plan to pay special attention to drafting. I’m very interested in drawing when there are specific rules to follow. It helps me to know that I’m doing things correctly, and I find that I work best under guidelines. THREE I believe that the role of the instructor is to guide us through processes. He helps us to realize the ideas that are already within our own minds. The handouts further this role, and define what each project is supposed to be achieving and how we will be evaluated based on this achievement. The review process teaches us to try to make our ideas accessible to others because really, our ideas would be worthless if we could not find some way to clearly share it with another. The inquiry book served as both a journal for future reference and a learning tool. It helped me to define where I had made mistakes and where I had been successful. My fellow students provide comic relief and support. They also provide a sense of competition and a basis for how I should be doing my own work. The studio space is a convenient area to get work done, but it is also inspiration in itself. At any given time, there is work pinned up to browse upon, and many times, I was inspired by these. I would describe the studio learning experience as completely different from other learning experiences. It is definitely more hands on than any seminar or classroom could be, and I feel that it is a very personable experience. The studio is a good experience for learning how to be an individual and how to convey your own ideas in ways that other people will understand. FOUR Exercise 1 was an introduction to basic drawing skills. I believe that it taught us to get out of our comfort zone and to not be afraid to mess up and try again. From the very first day, we were learning foreign skills, like blind contour drawings. I think that this first exercise was a great way to get us to start to begin noticing details and connecting relationships between what we see and what we draw. Exercise 2 focused our attention to one object and made us really intimate with that object. I believe that the goal of this exercise was to fine tune our observation skills and further introduce us to design opportunities and drawing skills. Exercise 3 taught us that when making variations, we must make it interesting enough to be different, but recognizable enough so that we do not get too far away from our original goal. This exercise taught us to try to think differently than any of us ever had to before. My favorite exercise was exercise 1. I was very enthusiastic about learning how to draw, and because I was given so many guidelines and opportunities for varied drawings, I feel like I really broadened my capabilities. Jimenez, Caitlin Link to this Page
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