This week we were given the task to redesign the USU wedge. The wedge is a problem in the sense that there is not enough space for the ongoing traffic. I changed 3 existing pieces. As you can see in the picture below, there is almost no room to walk by.

The benches, items A & B were moved closer to center. The main concern bench was item A but to maintain parallelism, both benches were moved. The column, item C, was moved further from the edge. These changes were to maintain the design and allow more walkway space. The picture below shows my sketch with the changes modified.

This is better because it still has the essence of the design but allows a smoother flow. Trade offs are minimum. If anything the benches are not as close to the edges, which under the current time, the columns could’ve provided shade. I think students will not see a difference. Its ample enough to be safer but discrete to notice a change.

 

This week we had to do a landscape with a corpse picture. The idea of thinking how we die is morbid and very dark. I thought about going in a heart attack type of way. My props include my laptop, homework, to-do lists, 4 shot espresso caramel machiatto, and a vodka bottle. As an engineering student it is very hard to balance your social, work, school, and family life.

I think the picture did not capture the stress essence too well. The main focus is not all the work on the table. If I were to do this activity again, I would pose in a at the bottom of a tree because I climb trees and get bruised while doing it. It would be more probable falling off, hitting my head and dying that way.

I did the paintings twice because I thought I did the first one wrong. The first one I did coming home from work and with my brother. It was an attempt to do something together. However, he worked on it and got bored quickly. I finished my painting alone while listening to my playlist. I say a lot of doodles came out of it and there were some intentional things. That piece is the picture in the bottom.

I realized this morning that my art wasn’t abstract enough since there was still some parts that had figures. During my next art piece I had an audience, my brother and mom. It definitely influenced the colors I chose. They kept on trying to interpret my paint at every state. That was frustrating and I wanted to prove them wrong. In general the second one was more enjoyable because I was less stingy with the paint and I felt less pressure to fill each empty space.

Finger painting was harder than I thought. I think I would need a lot of paint to create a fuller look. Painting without a subject was hard. I like having a reference or an idea. I felt liberated when I stopped using just one finger and just used my entire hand – the black part in the top painting. Overall I really liked it.