Ning!

My ning network account name is Courtney Look, and my social network that I am creating is called "Everyday Beauty"

The link is http://everydaybeauty.ning.com

I want to add this photo as my icon, but it's not working:

Douglas Weathersby

As artists, we all want to be original. We want to think we are making work nobody else has thought to make. We like to think we notice things that other people pass over and ignore. Douglas Weathersby does this in a very practical way. He provides a service to a client or a gallery, and uses that work to make his art. The commentary made a good point that in many ways he is working for you, but in other ways you are working for him.

Douglas Weathersby uses photography and video to record his work process to capture moments that may otherwise be considered “mess” or “dirty” or as something in need of cleaning or fixing and gives them significance. He finds beauty in these small moments that are often very intimate. He takes photos at unique perspectives of things like a close up of dust or light or a spider web blowing in the wind. These photos often seem abstract at a first glance, but then you realize that you have just never noticed how many colors can be found in sawdust, or a revelation of a similar sort.

This way of working is very interesting because he does not have to have a studio to make art, he can make art anywhere, and as a result, he is able to support himself as an artist. It is inspiring to see his work and how he turns what might be considered a mundane activity and turn it into an opportunity to create art.




I think an obvious, but significant generative topic that can be derived from this work could be “notice something you’ve never noticed before” or “make art by doing your homework or chores.” It might be interesting to have a middle school to high school age student carry a camera around and take a series of photos based on their homework and chores because it is probably not a place they have thought to look for the potential for art and it might give them reason to be excited to do something that normally causes frustration and boredom. Looking at these things from fresh perspectives can make them more fun. This sort of assignment would probably go over very well with the other teachers and parents as well!

My images are Douglas Weathersby photos from Google Images.

Generative Topic Idea

This is my project. The concept behind the piece was to explore the dualities of self within two separate but connected worlds. I wanted to explore the existence of self in both my "jelly-ware" world, which I have dubbed the "real world" and my self in my virtual world, via facebook. I wanted to explore and attempt to disprove that "anything can happen" in virtual worlds. If you consider our real world as the gateway to the virtual world, then you have to accept that anything that happens in a virtual world is only possible through your existence in the real world.

I was inspired by the lives of people who spend more time as their virtual selves and seem only to exist in the real world in order to get to their virtual existence. I do not feel like this applies to me, but I do use facebook as a major means of communication, and I wanted to question my life in these terms.

My generative topic idea would be to assign students to work in a medium of their choice to explore the dualities of their selves. The two worlds do not have to be real vs. virtual as my exploration was, but everyone has situations in which they behave or think differently. It could be an exploration of comparing behavior while around family vs. friends, school vs. home, academics vs. sports, etc. I would say that this project would be ideal for high school students because it is an exploration of identity which takes in to considerations the complex lives of students. It is a conceptually based project that allows an exploration in craft that is unique to their strengths and is unique to the way they might define themselves. It is a less literal version of a self portrait.

In my previous post I talked about using meditation as an immersive environment. I think that the use of meditation in addition to my new concept would make a very good pair. Students could use meditation to explore their ideas about their existence.