Progression of 1 week [CRIT] piece

Process:

Upon finishing the chairs and having my quadrant assigned to me (B) in class, I realized I wanted to go in a much less literal direction in terms of my 1 week piece. I chose to use the same medias/ color schemes and add the materials that would be expected of if my chair was actually in a real three dimensional space and was a feasible physical piece of furniture. I got a reference image from a MDC gym regular I had made friends with after my first couple visits, as I found his facial features interesting and wanted to do a portrait of him. I outlined my portrait and began adding graphite values, but I wanted to be ambitious and not just draw another graphite drawing I traditionally do. I then delved into different media experimentation which resulted in the portrait having about 3 different layers all with different materials utilized. The breakdown was: 1st.) Graphite portrait / 2nd.) Clear paper layered above with blue ballpoint pen values added / 3rd.) Rayjet laser printer engraved and cut piece of plywood glued on the clear paper layer.

Summary:

 My piece relates to the chair quadrant by using the same color scheme and general media. Graphite and blue ink are the two primary mediums present in the piece, along with the white background relating to the white structure of the chair, and the most predominant element is the laser woodcut hand that rests on the figures face. I felt I was the most ambitious in this regard because I was very keen on using the "Maker's Lab" machinery as a means of creating art. I had to take my original reference image and edit the hand in adobe Photoshop so I could isolate the hand, "posterize" it to lower it to a single value, and then smooth it in adobe illustrator in the maker's lab. After multiple days of trial and error due to several factors from the rayjet printer, the woodcut engraving and cut was successful.

Reflection

Even though I felt an uneasiness Tuesday morning (day of the critique) because my piece was still unfinished without the woodcut engraving part being done, I am glad I spent all those hours in the makers lab. I got an in depth experience with the rayjet laser printer, and know how to troubleshoot the printer to figure out what makes it work and what makes it fail. I also have a much clearer understanding of the capabilities of the machine now, and can sign into the maker's lab on my own and get started with the printer without any assistance. I also generated good relationships with Ralph from the maker's lab and Walter, a sophomore who works in the lab that helped me throughout the entirety of the process. 

Chair reference (top view)

Outline of portrait

Rayjey Laser engraving of portrait's hand (plywood)

Finished piece