Post #2

"The Dancer"

My merged image is a dancer using a seashell as the tutu. It is an ink sketch on paper, using a shell sourced from Treasure Island Beach. When looking for baroque inspiration, I initially used the search term "baroque dance" because I knew I wanted to explore movement in my piece. Almost immediately, I came across this painting:

It caught my eye right away, as I was drawn to the white dress focal point. When looking at the thumbnail alone, the skirt reminded me of a shell I had picked up at Treasure Island beach a few weeks prior. I have a small collection of shells, and I had one in particular that looked as though it has "ruffles" and is a similar shape. I got the shell out of the container and inspiration struck: if the shell looked like a skirt, why not use it as one?

I once again looked to Google images for guidance while sketching out the dancer. I searched for ballet dancer silhouettes, looking to capture the graceful and elegant look of the female subject in the painting. After carefully lining out the image, I traced over it in quick bursts with a thin Sharpie, seeking to maintain a more organic look; sharp lines and bluntly geometric figures did not seem to reflect art from the Baroque time period. I then placed the shell where the tutu would go. 

My piece essentially draws from Baroque inspiration through a lens of capturing movement and fluidity, infused with an object which represents a sector of my identity (a reflecting of my home and habitat, coastal Florida). 

Post #1

My name is Gracy Hardin and I'm a second semester senior from Avon, Connecticut. I am an Advertising & Public Relations major with a concentration in creative advertising. While I originally wanted to go into advertising, later in my college career I took a Criminology course and it sparked interest. After some time exploring this interest and doing research, I decided that I want to pursue a career as a private investigator. It was too late to change my major, so I decided to finish earning my degree in this category. While it seems like my major and aspiring career are totally unrelated, I have been pleasantly surprised to find that my courses offer me plenty of information that could be useful. We learn a lot about how people's minds work, typically through the lens of trying to appeal to them, but the information at its root is incredibly interesting and I think I will definitely utilize it.

One thing I have enjoyed about my concentration in particular is the amount of art and art related classes that make up my requirements. I like getting to think creatively and I find that many art courses are more engaging and hands on. While I don't know if these courses will help me with private investigation specifically, but many of my professors have gone over the cognitive benefits of cultivating and developing creativity. That is one thing I am hoping to gain from this course.

Upon going to the first class and reading over the syllabus, it seems like this class has a lot of unique projects which involve out of the box thinking. I like that the class structure is atypical in the sense that we don't have exams. That isn't just because I appreciate not having to study for them, but because I tend to like project-based courses much more. I feel like it is more productive to use the knowledge I have gained to create something than to simply regurgitate a bunch of notes onto a piece of paper every couple of weeks. I am hoping that I will gain a better understanding and new ideas of how to use technology in a creative way, even if I end up using these skills as more of a brain exercise or for leisure rather than in my future career. But then again who knows, maybe I will change my mind one day and go into advertising after all. For now, I am just excited to learn more about a topic I am already interested in.