Amanda Batson's Blog

ATX

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Batson) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:09:00 +0000

I am here in Austin!

Lonely, but lovely.

It really has been hard not being productive, being surrounded by boxes, and hardly knowing anyone. I miss the comfort that I had in Dallas/Denton. I have been such a hermit, :( and...like all artists I need some inspiration to get me out of my funk. CANNOT wait to start school.

As I Embark...

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Batson) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 20:10:00 +0000

The day approaches that I will have to say goodbye to DFW and my University surroundings and ebrace somewhere new and exciting (Austin, TX and UT!). I have been reflecting on my journey up to this point and truly believe life is and will be what you make of it. The University of North Texas has been a place that has helped shape who I am and who I want to become. The faculty and the friends that I have made have been a strong support system and family to me. My stomach is in knots...but somewhere new will be just as amazing and wonderful. Too emotional to write more lol.

Graduation

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Batson) — Mon, 18 May 2009 20:40:00 +0000

What a great feeling to now consider myself an alum of The University of North Texas! It's a wonderful time in my life and I am looking forward to my future as a graduate student at The University of Texas in Austin. I will post pictures soon. :) To my Townview students, I really do miss working with you. You are truly a great group. Sorry for the short blog, more to come.

My whirlwind of a day...

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Batson) — Thu, 07 May 2009 19:59:00 +0000

Late last night I received an email from the former NAEA Student Chapter President (national level). The email really rocked my world. Things are happening in my life that are so great but so scary.

ex: getting into graduate schools, making the decision to move to Austin and go to UT, and now this...

I am really thrilled that I am going to have this amazing opportunity. I hope I don't let anyone down. However, Christine Miller is right today is the day to just breathe and be excited. Here is the announcement that The University of North Texas posted today that will explain everything:

"Amanda Batson, past president of CVAD's award-winning National Art Education Association (NAEA) Student Chapter, will become the new NAEA Student Outreach Coordinator for the Western Region. As an Outreach Coordinator she will assist in keeping communication with student chapters and faculty at such institutions as The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Northern Illinois University, University of Illinois, Indiana University, and University of Minnesota. She will be advocating for art education throughout the region in her attempt to establish new student chapters while providing support, enthusiasm, and creative fundraising ideas."

Then at the student teacher reception I was presented Student Teacher of the Year by the department. Oh man what a day!

Artist Statement Requirements Art I/Speech

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Batson) — Wed, 06 May 2009 19:17:00 +0000

Francis Bacon, Self Portrait

You will need to write a one page double-spaced statement about the work we have been doing in class. Your statement should include but is not limited to the following:

Think about what you did.

How did you get into this work?

What are your favorite things about your work?
1. What is your favorite tool? Why?
2. What is your favorite material? Why?
3. What do you like best about what you do?
4. What patterns emerge in your work? Is there a pattern in the way you select materials? In the way you use color, texture...?
6. What do you do differently from the way you were taught? Why?

What does the work mean to you as a whole or by an individual entry?

This will be due on Tuesday when we will be doing a class critique. Thanks for all your hard work this semester I will miss you all.

Minneapolis 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Batson) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:26:00 +0000

My dear friend Becca inspired me to write a post about our trip to Minneapolis...

A group of art educators from The University of North Texas traveled to Minnesota a few weeks ago to attend the National Art Education Association's National Convention. The convention was amazing, and full of fun workshops to attend. These workshops provided us the opportunity to gain more knowledge in our field and learn new ways to approach teaching. There were also plenty of hands on activities teaching us new skills or providing us the opportunity to use new materials. FUN! Attending these trips really is a breath of fresh air and and a growing time in our lives. You are just surrounded by tons of people from all over the nation that share your passion.

We were BLESSED to be able to spend the day at The Walker Arts Center and Sculpture Garden. I had been dreaming of the day when I could visit The Walker. I was extremely ecstatic when we stumbled into a room full of artist books (Rebecca and I are teaching about altered books in our classes!) by Salvador Dali, Kiki Smith, Kara Walker, Andy Warhol to just name a few. I was overwhelmed. I was also thrilled to see so many amazing pieces of work there, I literally stood in front of a Rothko for fifteen minutes in awe.

We had many oppertunities to bond with our faculty and department. I would love to thank Dr. Donahue-Wallace for presenting us with a new Fall 2008 NAEA Student Chapter award (the old one was broken) for Service Organization of the Year. Go Team! I was a little emotional thinking those times with my art family are soon going to be few and far between. They have been my constant strength and guiding light. But I am excited about joining new families in the fall at The University of Texas in Austin.

Rebecca, Dr. Kalin, Dr. Bain and myself had the fabulous opportunity to present a workshop at the convention: Traveling to Uganda: Global Art Workshops for Families. We were able to share with other art educators our experience creating workshops in our community with a theme and global cause by working with artist FRED MUTEBI and our university.

We had the most amazing trip and cannot wait for TAEA in Dallas and NAEA 2010 in Baltimore!

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Batson) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:04:00 +0000

For those of you still interested in viewing the Dan Eldon video Click HERE

Note to Art I

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Batson) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 16:20:00 +0000

Amanda Batson, Artist Book, Mixed Media, 2008

FRESHMEN:

I really hope you are as excited about this project as I am. This is going to be a wonderful experience in exploration and experimentation to create your altered book. Your new sketchbook assignment is to PLAN for your first assignment. The overall theme for your altered book is IDENTITY. I want you to plan for your first days work in your book when will be focusing on our CHILDHOOD using images that remind us of this time.

Use your sketchbook to come up with possible compositions and ideas about that time. PLANNING brings forth a better product. However, you are not a slave to your planning. Planning is used as a starting point that can be changed or kept the same.

Your planning needs to include your written component (as usual) with art language and a visual. Talk about what elements of art or principles of design you will use to create your composition. As we have learned in class, artists use these as tools and rules to make a great piece of art. KEEP those elements and principles close to you as we move forward through this project.

So PLAN, PLAN, PLAN and write. Let there be a conversation between your sketchbook and your altered book.

Now...I am on my way to my trip to Minnesota. By request I am putting the links I asked the Freshmen to look at while I am away. See you Wednesday! Also, Congratulations William Mills and Sabra Ewing for making a 100 on the Elements and Principles Test! :)
Teesha Moore
Sabrina Ward Harrison
Dan Eldon
Altered Books

Don't forget to bring your book and ink jet images.

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Batson) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:13:00 +0000

Dadaism

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Batson) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 19:43:00 +0000

Man Ray, Indestructible Object, 1923

Marcel Duchamp, Fountain, 1917

Dadaism was formed during the first world war that particularly reflected the social issues and values of the time. The Dada Manifesto was written in 1918 and accused Expressionist artists of 'resistance to the times'. The Dadaists refused to create art that would be confined and to make people aware "that the definitions and standards by which we label and judge works of art are possibly secondary to art and not definitive of it."

The artists explored the use of haphazard, nonsensical, by-chance production. Some say their artwork was even destructive and had a more liberating approach to art making. Having decreased meaning behind their work. They hoped to really shock society.

Typical to their style, the word Dada was chosen randomly out of the dictionary. The word means "hobbyhorse" in French and "yes yes" in Slavic. Dada paved the way for Surrealism in the 1920's.

Oliver Herring

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Batson) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:52:00 +0000

Oliver Herring, Untitled (A Flower for Ethyl Eichenberger), Knit transparent tape, 1991

Oliver Herring was born in Heidelberg, Germany in 1964, and lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. This artist is inspirational to me because we work in similar ways through weaving, and knitting with alternative materials such as Mylar, wire and transparent tape. Herring is also known for his expressionistic paintings, and performance art. His work has always been about stripping things away and generating art with simple and accessible materials.

The piece above explores the relationship of death and the “hidden something that unlocks somebody”. This ghostly form, which evoked introspection, mortality, and memory is Herring’s homage to Ethyl Eichelberger, a performance artist who died unexpectedly in 1991. He felt that the process of his work helped him work through his feelings. Knitting and weaving allowed him time to open up, really empathize and think. Herring believed that the time it took to create a finished product was important to heal.

“Once you sensitize yourself to understanding that even the narrowest thing is explorable –infinitely-it’s liberating. “

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Batson) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 21:55:00 +0000

This is a British street artist with an international reputation. I want to know your thoughts on this piece.

Art Nouveau

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Batson) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:24:00 +0000

House in Brussels, Victor Horta

Vase, Louis Comfort Tiffany, 1903, favrile glass

Alphonse Mucha, La Dame aux Camélias. 1896. Color lithograph

Art Nouveau (new art) is one of my favorite art movements; inspiration for my own work. The artists of this time believed in Gesamtkunstwerk the philosophy that all the of the arts should work in harmony to create a "total work of art." Art Nouveau, 1890-1914, explores a new style in the visual arts and architecture that developed in Europe and North America at the end of the nineteenth century. This movement attempted to create an international aesthetic based on decoration. The movement also was highly influenced by the Industrial Revolution and artists started to embrace the use of cast iron in their work. The style completely took over the city and homes during this time in decoration and architecture. Nature was a big inspiration for the artists of this movement, they started to explore that humans were no longer more important than nature but a huge part of it, and were fascinated about how these relationships work together. Notable design features are the clear whiplash curve, and natural forms. The World’s Fair held in Paris in 1900 made the movement important to the world. Artists that I love (to name a few) from this movement are: Alphonse Mucha, Victor Horta, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Louis Comfort Tiffany.

Art In Our Area

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Batson) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:29:00 +0000

20 Elements, Joel Shapiro

Street Scene, Gugger Petter

Ad Astra, Mark di Suvero

Corridor Pin, Blue, Claes Oldenburg

Check out these famous artworks that are on view at Northpark Center, it is really an outstanding place to view art! Take some time and notice Gugger Petter's work behind the check out counter in Nordstrom's shoe department (she also weaves with paper). The cool Oldenberg in the garden courtyard. Joel Shapiro's work outside of Nordstrom, and Mark Di Suvero's sculpture by Forever 21. Next time you are heading to the mall, take a few minutes and really notice the things surrounding you.

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Batson) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 13:17:00 +0000

Don't, Amanda Batson, Mixed Media Weaving, 2006

I wanted to speak a little bit about some of my own work. I enjoy weaving with found objects, particularly with paper. I created this weaving in 2006 from a collection of newspaper articles about the War that started as a result of 9-11. I cut strips of the news articles and spun them creating the material for my weft. In weaving, the weft is the material which is drawn under and over parallel warp yarns to create a fabric. I had personal journal entries (written in red pen) that were written by me from September 11th 2001-2006 that I included in the weft. This aspect made my piece even more personal, it really helped me deal with my emotions. I cut out the rectangular pieces you see above and placed red, white, and blue pieces of yarn in the negative space, to represent the World Trade Centers. I stained the weaving in parts with tea to create the feeling of burning and to try to display the anxiety that the nation was feeling at the time.

Francisco Goya

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Batson) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:12:00 +0000

Condesa de Altamira and Her Daughter, Maria Agustina, oil on canvas, Francisco Goya, 1787–88

This portrait is one of four that Goya painted of members of Count Altamira's family. Shortly after this portrait was completed Francisco Goya became the court painter for King Charles IV of Spain. Becoming a court painter was highly important to advance an artist's career and to keep them monetarily stable. Goya's treatment of fabric in this oil painting is brilliantly detailed and carefully rendered. He truly shows his skill as a painter. Many critics also believe that the faces of the family show his inner thoughts about the human psyche.

The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters: Plate 43 of The Caprices (Los Caprichos), Etching, aquatint, drypoint, and burin, Francisco Goya y Lucientes, 1799

This is one of my favorite Goya etchings, and probably the most well known; his work is very profound and thought provoking which makes it an interesting study. This piece was made for the series Los Caprichos, it is print number 43 out of 80. 43 shows the personification of reason. Goya envisioned himself in a dream state surrounded by his drawing tools, but he intended to focus this work on the darkness and deceptions of sleep. This nightmare depiction showed how he viewed the Spanish (his own) society at this time, and the modern day demons he felt his community was facing, when reason was no longer present in his world. In this dream state these beasts are let loose. He felt as if he was surrounded by very corrupt society of people in Madrid. These prints in Los Caprichos began to really display the artist's sense of isolation from an illness he suffered that had made him completely deaf. In this piece you can see his angst and torment with his heavy head buried in his arms. He hoped that the Spaniards would reawaken reason.

With the confines of being a court painter and knowing that Goya struggled with many things that create a living nightmare: suffering, war, a fracturing society, hunger, the human mind. Do you think it effected his slow isolation?

I'm interested in your views. Please post!!

Some of Goya's amazing prints are right here in Dallas at The Meadows Museum at SMU.

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Batson) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 03:37:00 +0000

Requiem Aeternam, Amanda Batson, Mixed Media, 2008

I am excited to start my first blog, and thrilled that I have a forum to talk about art! I hope you enjoy what I plan to share, and am looking forward to your posts! WELCOME