Final Team Reflection

Final Reflective Paper

Team Virtual Journal
October 29, 2007
Professor Lynn Wocell
Monday, October 29, 2007
Darrell Creech Final Thoughts
This class was well worth it; however I will say that in the beginning I was not at all that happy. Even though this class was a lot of work, I think in the end it was well worth it for me. I can now say that I do know something about Art.As far as the team project, I was a little afraid of the team project in the beginning as I have never worked with a program to create anything other than numbersJ. But I must say that as much as I did struggle with this I really did enjoy working with it. It took me hours, ok days to come up with the finished product. The finished sculptor looks real simple which is what I was going for but believe me it was not that simple. It reminds me of something that I seen when I was stationed in Europe. I was amazed by what I had seen and when this project came up I said, well why not create something like that. So I did and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed sculpting it.

Over the past week, Brian has taken the team’s ideas and suggestions and completed the final landscape design of our sculpture park. The design is an abstract version of a star, with paths leading out to each of the “points” from a center hub. Our goal was to create a relaxing setting that would invite and welcome people to come for a walk and view our sculptures. Brian has also completed his sculpture entitled: “A Bear and her Cub”. He was inspired by the works of Alexander Calder, in particular, stabiles such as: Red Horse and Two Disks, as well as his maquette, The Lion. The large bear is protecting her small cub from the encroachment of civilization. We live in an age where we need to be mindful of the fact that we share this world with the animals. Brian’s hope is that his sculpture will get people to think about how they would react if someone or something were invading their territory. Perhaps it will even inspire some people to develop creative solutions to this dangerous problem.
Brian
I was a little afraid of the team project in the beginning, as I have never worked with a program to create anything other than numbers. But I must say that as much as I did struggle with this I really did enjoy working with it. It took my hours, ok days to come up with the finished product. The finished sculptor looks real simple, which is what I was going for but believe me it was not. It reminds me of something that I seen when I was stationed in Europe. I was amazed by what I had seen and when this project came up I said, well why not create something like that. So I did and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed sculpting it.
Darrell Creech.
First and foremost, this project was definitely a challenge for me. I believe I am pretty computer savvy, however, it really took me a while to get started with Sketch Up. Once I had a plan of what I was going to sculpt, and read the instructions in Sketch Up, I was set to begin sculpting. For the most part, I did not have any problems actually putting my sculpture together thanks to the quick reference guide and learning center in the Sketch Up program. However, I did have difficulty putting the finishing touches on my creation. I do believe working with Sketch Up was a good experience as this is definitely a project I would not have completed on my own. Creating my sculpture has really forced my artistic side, as minimal as it is, to come out. I really had to use my imagination in creating my design.
Nicole Melendez
The projects this week was challenging for me. I’m trying to learn how to navigate a website in which I have to create a sculpture. I’m not too computer savvy so I’m nervous and excited about this project. It’s different experience for me working with a group. Centenary is the only school I’ve encountered that’s promotes group projects. I can see how it prepares you for the workplace. The museum project was fun. My visit was very relaxing and enjoyable. The report was a task but it was definitely a learning experience.
Anthonyette Hunter
I always welcome the opportunity to embrace a new challenge. Sketch-up for me, is very challenging. It wasn't very easy to sculpt as I anticipated. The experience lead me to dig deep and find the ability to create something out of nothing in a limited amount of time. It was very important to me for the sculpture to have significant meaning. I have made a concerted effort in my home to conserve energy and want to lessen the effects of global warming in our planet. Raising awareness is a positive contribution and I'd thought the lightbulb will raise concern and interest.The biggest challenge came when I had to juggle work, home, my son, husband and art class. Not an easy task when you only have a certain number of hours in the day.I have new appreciation for artists and the time it takes to build and create anything. My hat is off to them.
Lissette

Saturday, October 27, 2007
Weekly Team Update
Our team made significant progress this past week. We completed the design of our landscape as well as the majority of the sculptures. The park is really coming together and we are excited to share it with the group! Once we received clarification on the due dates, we adjusted our schedule and were back on track quickly because the entire team was already ahead of schedule.First and foremost, this project was definitely a challenge for Nicole. She considers herself relatively computer savvy, but found working with Sketch Up to be more challenging than expected. Nicole shifted gears away from her original concept of the silhouette models, and instead decided to construct a large ribbon to symbolize the Jersey Battered Women’s Service. Taking advantage of the quick reference guide, Sketch Up tutorials, and help from teammates, she was able to create quite a sculpture. As is commonly the case, the devil was in the details and it took some time to get it just right. Overall, working with the program was a positive experience and forced Nicole to explore her artistic side and exercise her imagination.
Lissette is always one to embrace a new challenge and the process of sculpting using Sketch Up proved to be quite a challenge. Her concept of a light bulb seemed like an easy enough design, but it turned out to be a long learning process, that ultimately led to an excellent design. Drawing her inspiration from “Fountain” and “Bicycle Wheel”, ready-made works of art from Marcel Duchamp, she felt that a common item such as a light bulb would convey her message of energy conservation. This experience has led Lissette to a new found respect and appreciation for the skill and effort involved in creating art. She hopes that her piece, “The Light Bulb”, will inspire people to do their part to conserve energy.
Darrell was one of our members who felt uneasy about our choice of using Sketch Up for our team project. He has had very little experience with any computer programs outside of Microsoft Word and email, but was up for the challenge. Early on, he struggled to come up with a concept but as he continued to work with the program, some intriguing ideas emerged. He had seen some interesting sculptures while stationed in Europe and thought that now was his chance to create such a work of art. Darrell put in a lot of time with Sketch Up, but the more he used it, the more he became comfortable. Finally as his comfort level rose, his sculpture started to take shape. Even though the project took quite a lot of time, Darrell found the experience to be rewarding and hopes that everyone will enjoy his sculpture, “The Beat to My Own Drum”.
Anthonyette has also found working with Sketch Up to be quite a challenge. Her concept of honoring our soldiers fighting throughout the world has been difficult to translate into a Sketch Up sculpture. She has taken inspiration from Michelangelo Buonarroti and his sculptures and feels that this experience has given her the opportunity to feel a little bit of what he must have felt while creating his works of art.
Over the past week, I have taken the team’s ideas and suggestions and completed the final landscape design of our sculpture park. The design is an abstract version of a star, with paths leading out to each of the “points” from a center hub. Our goal was to create a relaxing setting that would invite and welcome people to come for a walk and view our sculptures. I have also completed my sculpture entitled: “A Bear and her Cub”. The large bear is protecting her small cub from the encroachment of civilization. I was inspired by the works of Alexander Calder, in particular, stabiles such as: “Red Horse” and “Two Disks”, as well as his maquette, “The Lion”. We live in an age where we need to be mindful of the fact that we share this world with the animals. My hope is that this sculpture will get people to think about how they would react if someone or something were invading their territory. Perhaps it will even inspire some people to develop creative solutions to this dangerous problem.

Saturday, October 20, 2007
Weekly Team Update
Our team, The Virtual Sculptors, continued to move forward with our sculpture park throughout the week. The research provided by Nicole helped each of us begin to understand the different approaches available to us. Listed below are the updates from each team member for this past week:
Nicole was inspired to create a sculpture based on the prevention of domestic violence. In today’s society, domestic violence occurs far too often and she hoped to bring attention to this serious issue through art. She is modeling her sculpture after silhouette models that are used by the Jersey Battered Women’s Service to represent victims who have unfortunately been killed as a result of domestic violence. This subject holds a personal significance to Nicole as she has lost family member to the terrible tragedy that is domestic violence. Her hope is that her sculpture will increase awareness of the scourge that is domestic violence.
Lissette was inspired to create a sculpture based on the current concerns surrounding energy and its impact on the environment. Her hope is to motivate people to do the little things that everyday Americans can do that will help conserve energy. Lissette is modeling her sculpture into the form of a light bulb. The average American family has increased their living space by approximately 1200 square feet. Cars are bigger, garages are heated, and spare bedrooms have additional TV sets. Her goal is to inspire people to return to the idea that contentment is not the fulfillment of what we want, but the appreciation for what we have.
Darrell has been inspired by Alexander Calder’s work and intends to create a sculpture in his style. Calder was an American sculptor and artist who is most famous for inventing the mobile. In addition to the mobile and stabile, Calder also created paintings, lithographs, toys, and tapestry. After experimenting with a variety of subjects, Darrell is currently struggling between a couple of finalists, but expects to settle on his subject this weekend.
Anthonyette has been inspired by the current war in existence. It consumes the minds of people not just in America, but all countries. It is our hope, that all of our soldiers come home alive as soon as possible. The artist Michelangelo Buonarroti inspires her with his artworks such as ‘Daniele da Volterra, bronze bust’ and ‘pieta, Master of the Beautiful Madonna’. Anthonyette’s bust will be titled ‘The Soldier’. Michelangelo was so greatly admired, that everyone refers to him just by his first name. Michelangelo considered himself a sculptor, but has one of the world’s most famous paintings, ‘The Sistine Chapel’ ceiling which Anthonyette had the pleasure of viewing. He saw human beings as unique, almost godlike. She thought ‘The Soldier’ was fitting after she read that Michelangelo sculptures and the process of its creation reflected people’s struggle with their imperfect selves-souls in turmoil, bound in their bodies.
I have been inspired to create a modern sculpture of a bear and her cub in the style of Alexander Calder. As our population continues to rise and developers build further into the wilderness, the natural habitat of the local animal population is disrupted. There are no easy solutions to this problem and hopefully my sculpture will remind people that we share this world with the wildlife and should find a way to be respectful of their homes. I have also continued work on our sculpture park and am updating it with some of the latest suggestions from the team.