Special Edition: Functionality of Eyeglasses

Craft: My glasses are made from a combination of plastic, metal joints, and metal screws. The plastic arms of the glasses are connected to the frames by screws which allow them to be fastened into place. The plastic lenses are specially formulated to fit my vision needs, enabling me to see clearly.The joints add flexibility so that the arms tuck in and can be fit into a protective eyeglass case.

Concept: The concept of eyeglasses is to provide comfort and style that matches the wearers' needs while maintaining functionality so the wearers can see clearly. This is why eyeglasses come in a huge range of colors and frame shapes to fit the wearers' faces.

Composition: My particular eyeglasses, designed by the brand Dereon, feature a very vibrant pink and black tortoise frame that extends into the arms. The frames themselves have a square shape

Special Edition: Lipstick Container Functionality

Craft: Many lipstick containers  are constructed from a hard plastic. Some may have paper labels with adhesive stuck at the top of the container to provide information with the color swatch and name of the color.

Concept: Lipsticks are designed to be portable so the user can retrieve it and apply the product anytime and anywhere. Every lipstick container comes with a top. If successfully executed, unlike NYX lipsticks and lip crayons, the top will fit snuggly enough to protect the product from purse lint or loose hair follicles while being loose enough to come off the container.

Composition: The most functional component of the lipstick container is the ability to raise and retract the content of the tube by simply twisting the base left and right. From my experience, every lipstick that I've used follows the same universal formula: turn left to retract and turn right to raise. While the retractable base displays a level of cleverness, there is still one concern: the inability to use all of the listick stuck at the bottom on the plastic retraction mechanism. When the the lipstick can no longer be raised, a considerable amount of the product is still left. While many toss the remnants then spend another $12 for a tube, some, including me, find it best to use a brush or cotton swab to scoop out the remaining lipstick.

Week 17: Final Lamp

Craft: The lamp was made from wood, translucent wrapping paper, string lights and a puck light. The Design for the lamp first had to first be drawn in Adobe Illustrator where I created the dimensions of the lipstick lamp's base and the cylindrical, triangular frame of the lipstick's tip. Once the drawing was made, I transferred the document to be printed by a laser printer. Using 1/4 inch, 12x24 plywood, the printer cut designs wherever there were black solid lines. The final image of the lamp was taken by a Canon DSLR.

Concept: I wanted to create a lamp that would be a novelty. So with that in mind in addition to my enjoyment of makeup, I chose to design it as a lipstick lamp because it seemed like an interesting idea.

Composition: Since I didn't want to create a typical, red lipstick which is widely seen in pop culture, I decided to choose blue for the lipstick's color due to my personal enjoyment of edgy lipstick colors like purple, blue, and green.  I wanted to generate as much light possible while also communicating to the viewer what the lamp was so I design lip prints to be cut out on the front and back panels of the base. I initially wanted to have the entire tip of the lipstick illuminated but could not find the right light source. I hope to play with the lighting in the future.

Special Edition: Nintendo 3Ds Functionality

Craft: The Nintendo 3Ds is made of a variety of components, including plastic for the overall body of the system, two LCD screens,speakers, a microphone, camera lens and a host of interconnected wires and circuit boards embedded within the device.

Concept: The focal point of the system's development is the ability to play games in 3D without needed a 3D enabling object, like 3D glasses. The system also features other nice innovations, like the ability to take photos and view them in 3D.The 3Ds is the most innovative of any of Nintendo's other handhelds in the DS family which until now remained in the 2D realm with limited capabilities.

Composition: The great part about the 3Ds (aside from the 3D component), is the vibrant array of colors ranging from aqua to midnight purple. Although the 3D visual component definitely gives the player a new gaming experience, it still has its problems. Playing with the 3D function turn on for too long has caused many players' eyes to hurt after a period of time. Both I and a host of other players find ourselves playing with the 3D function on a very low level or completely turned off which kind of makes the $170 purchase pretty pointless. With Nintendo's introduction of the 3DS XL, the 3D function is a bit more bearable being that the screens are wider in size. There is also the problem of control placement. Veteran DS Lite players like me are used to the control pad being placed in the top left corner of the device which enables easy movement while playing. However, the 3DS features a C-stick (like a joystick), which is placed in the exact area that the D-pad was placed in previous models. The player will have to either adapt to the C-stick or risk a hand cramp attempting to play games with the D-pad below the C-stick.

Build-A-Lamp

Craft: For this activity, we had access to a variety of jars, lights, papers, silhouettes, and other materials to create unconventional lamps. Using these tools along with materials that I brought, such as gemstones and push-lights, I created a variety of lamps, mostly using glass jars.

Composition: I enjoyed experimenting with creating interesting shapes and balances with each lamp. My favorite was the blue, butterfly lamp with the candy silhouette inside the bottle. The blue light created an ethereal feeling amongst the dark background. 

Week 11: Organic Shape

Craft: The organic figure was made using cardboard that had been formed into small triangles and rhombuses by cutting and scoring with a box cutter.
Concept:  The goal of the project was to create an abstract figure with one or more of the shapes we built: squares, triangles, hexagons, etc.
Compostion: The composition of the organic figure was based mostly on randomness. I started of building the based of the figure with rhombuses to create a type of rotary pattern. I wanted to make the figure larger by adding long strips of card board so it would stand out in the space. I choose to place it near the window to highlight the openings inside the figure. Allowing light to shine through it added another visual dimension in addition to the figure itself.

Week 8: Eye Candy Tea Box: Depth of Field

Concept: The purpose of this assignment was to take well- composed photos of the tea box brands I designed called Eye Candy.
Craft: I used a DSLR Canon Camera utilizing both the auto functions and manual functions. The Manual function helped me to control the IOS and shutter speed to create images that demonstrated depth of field. Soft light created from attaching an umbrella to the lamp was also utilized to ensure the boxes looked 3D and not flat.
Composition: This set of photos play with depth if field by blurring the background and setting the boxes, envelopes, and tea tabs forward in the composition. By doing this, it is obvious that it isn't the prop that should grab the attention but the branding of the products.

Week 4: 3D Shape Exploration

Craft: This project was done using a combination of Adobe Illustrator (where the shapes were drawn out) and a digital cutter using the software Silhouette (where the shapes were printed).    

Concept: The goal of this project was to see what types of designs could be made using a digital cutter. The two shapes below, a box and a diamond shape, where examples of 3D designs using personal artwork.

Composition: Composition was of great importance for the box with my art piece due to the positioning of the piece's central focus having the same focus on a 3D shape. Considering the layout of how I want the art piece on a 3D shape is something I want to put more thought into. 

Special Edition Post:

Edyta Stepian's "Non-Phenomena"

This exhibition consisted of large-scale video projections on the walls of SXU's Art Gallery. When I first stepped in, there was a striking impact as if I had been transported to an entirely different environment, Stepian opened her presentation  by allowing the viewers to ask her questions about her piece. The first topic of concern was how the piece was made. She stated that the video clips were taken by pointing a micro-lens camera at a fish tank filled with water, with natural substances such as plants and sand while also including man-made objects such as wire, glitter, and bits of paper. To create a tumultuous atmosphere in this small setting, she created ripples in the water with a blow dryer and moving the water physically to created a disturbance in to the items in the tank. Sound was also a component in this multimedia exhibit. Stepien stated that the sounds came from field recordings of pitches from hurricanes and storms.

Another topic was what she wanted to communicate through this piece. Stepien's inspiration for theis piece came from the catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina. Stepien stated that she wanted to explore the relationship between the natural and mechanical by making this simulation of a violent storm that transported us as the viewers to the center of the chaos. She explored how even natural objects have man-made components.I believe that this was successful in the way the entire gallery space was transformed to envelope the viewer in constant motion and dimness. 

This exhibition is different from any other exhibition I have attended in that it made me pay attention to both space and sound. I enjoyed how more than one sense was required to interpret  what was happening in the composition. Even though I new I was inside of a building, the walls no longer felt like walls because of the depth and scale of the projection. While my eyes were visually interested, my ears were audibly interested in the ominous sounds of wind whistling and high pitched, resonating bells that provoked a certain emptiness or muffled sound as if I really was underwater, immersed in chaos.

Week 7: Eye Candy Tea Photo Shoot

Concept: The purpose of this assignment was to take well- composed photos of the tea box brands I designed called Eye Candy.
Craft: I used a DSLR Canon Camera utilizing both the auto functions and manual functions. Soft light created from attaching an umbrella to the lamp was also utilized to ensure the boxes looked 3D and not flat.
Composition.This set of photos is a straightforward shot of the tea boxes with props surrounding them as documentation.

Week 5: Tea Boxes

Craft: The tea boxes were made in Adobe Illustrator using the pen tool. The pen tool was useful in both drawing out the figure and also adding/deleting anchor points where needed. During this project, there was a variety of new techniques required to successfully execute the project. One technique was being able to add artwork to the figure so it would fit perfectly inside with the Draw Inside tool. This required me to order my work into 3 different layers: fold lines, cut lines, and art. I had to select both the folds layer and cuts layer, then copy the shape by highlighting everything in the layer. Then, I pasted the figure in the art layer as a mask. Locking the folds and cuts layer, I adjusted the shape in the art layer to fit directly over the original shape, then clicked the button in the tools panel named Draw Inside. This enabled me to copy and paste my art into the figure. Thereafter, adding text and designs to the box became very easy.

Concept: The concept was to create tea boxes that demonstrated branding with the use of personal art.
Composition: This compositional layout was inspired by a brand of tea that seemed to be interested in promoting their logo by printing it on multiple sides of the box. I let the artwork or color underneath the tea boxes influence the overall theme of the logo and mood. For example, the blue box seemed very serene, so my logo included a sun, rays, and clouds to respond to the background. The colors also popped from the background being that orange is complementary to blue.

Week 6: New Tea Box Designs

Concept: The purpose of this assignment was to create tea boxes that appeared to come from the same brand of teas. Though the brand would be the same, the art on the boxes needed to have multiple variations but not so different that each box looked like it was an entirely different brand.
Craft: These layouts were made in Adobe Illustrator. Since the box design had to be unique while still fulfilling the dimension requirements, I had to research a lot of different designs. I first started of with a "sketch" arranging 3x5 rectangles on the page to determine how I wanted the box to look like and function. I then traced the sketch in another layer, which became my layer designated for the cutting lines. Another layer was designated for fold lines while the other was designated for the art inside the box.
Composition: Since this projected required uniformity, I made sure I did this by having the same brand name " Eye Candy" for each box. Though I had three different art pieces, each done in a different medium, I arranged them in a similar way, making the eye the focal point of the design in the boxes, tabs, and envelopes. I think that this compositional design is different because it not only provides the consumer with tea but draws the consumer's eye to the art. When the consumer looks at the box, there is a figure looking back at them which goes beyond grabbing a tea bag.

Week 3: Cubes in Adobe Illustrator

Craft: The cube templates were made using the program Adobe Illustrator. I made each template using the pen tool and the line tool. Since these templates would be used in a digital cutter, each drawing had to be extremely precise to ensure that the printer could distinguish between tabs and the areas that needed to be cut. This was done using a combination of solid lines and dashed lines. To do this I drew out the entire T shape of the cubes along with the shape of the tabs with the pen tool. I then added dashes along the tabs and other folds using the line tool. Making sure the Smart Guides, Snap to Grid, and View Grid options were turned on made accuracy very easy to make sure each side of the cube will be equal. The hardest cube to draw had to be the one that used slots instead of tabs.

Concept: The concept of this exercise is to see how various different methods/designs can arrive at the same goal. Each cube net has unique components that achieve different effects. For example, using the slot method instead of the tab method eliminates the need for adhesives, making this method more accessible with limited supplies.

Week 1: Introduction

Hello. My name is Kyeara Aikens and I am a junior here at SXU. As a Studio Art major and Graphic Design minor, I desire to grow in skill, creativity, and technique as an artist. The knowledge I gain in both very different forms of media will enable me to express my ideas in multiple visual languages. After I graduate, I hope to start a career in concept art.

Week 2- 3D Shapes

Craft: Each 3D figure required the use of scissors, an Exacto knife, a ruler, grid paper or template, glue, and tape. The pyramid, cube, and rectangular prism were mapped out by hand using a ruler and pencil to draw specific measurements to ensure the shape would hold together. The penguin and iPhone figures were made from folding online templates.
Concept: The concept of this project was to understand the simplistic foundation that creates a 3D figure. These exercises helped me to realize that all 3D shapes start from a basic, 2D form.
Composition: Each handmade shape required careful mapping of its measurements. The grid paper made the task a bit easier as the number of squares within each numerical measurement by the ruler dictated if a square was truly, geometrically a square and that all sides would be equal.The iPhone and penguin figures were easier to build based on the visual information in the printed image.