Other Project

Here are a few photos of the other project I created this past semester.

End of 1st Semester

Happy Holidays!!!

The end of the semester was a few weeks ago and it's been awhile since I have updated.

I created one last work that contained three wooden triangles made from 2x4's with plexiglas window panes. The triangles were painted - black, grey, and white, also all three triangles spun with the help of disco ball motors. The title of this work is 'Avoidance'

I wanted to create a work that reflected a certain situation that had happened in my life. Also I am still using triangles as a symbol of female [and male in the this case]. Also the colors are referencing that not everything is black and white, which also references my ethnicity but I didn't want to the viewer to make that connection - I only say that because my peers mentioned it in critique and of course that would know that since they know me.

With the triangles spinning constantly - the black and white one spin counter clockwise and the grey one spins clockwise - it speaks of motion and time. And also the triangles occasionally 'bump' into each other which I feel reflects my situation very well and it also very ironic.

After creating this work, a couple of friends of mine created a music video to go along with the piece.

Avoidance from kendra werst on Vimeo.

I also created a lightbox this semester as a side project. I used vinyl from my internship and put special daylight bulbs in the box. I used those bulbs because I was learning about Seasonal Affective Disorder in my abnormal psychology class blah blah blah light therapy. Anyways here is an in progress picture but I finished it and the box is just painted white.

I just noticed I left out a project that I did this semester. So tomorrow I will try to post another update. And one of my resolutions for this year is to keep up with this blog and writing more about my work.

Wish me luck!

Junior Year....so far

Well I feel like I am off to a great start of my Junior Year. My teacher is Michael Wickerson and I really enjoy having him as a teacher.

He gave our class a mini project that would get us back into the swing of sculpture. The project was based off the concept of the Spirit of Gravity.

I had found a whole dead dragonfly this summer in the middle of downtown Kansas City and it was the first thing that came to mind when Michael stated Spirit of gravity. Dragonflies have many different meanings but the ones that mean the most to me are the fact that dragonflies have 360 degree vision, symbolizing self-realization. Recently I had been going through a period of self-realization of lots of actions and ideas in my life. So I decided to build a wood object that would frame the dragonfly. Also in this period of self-realizations, I was feeling lots of tension - pushing and pulling, mentally and physically.

So I decided to sew thread through the dragonfly. I went through many sketches of how I wanted to present the dragonfly. I found myself in love with the process of sewing the dragonfly to this wooden frame system, it felt like a dragonfly sewing machine. When I was fabricating it, i had a drill bit placed on a piece of wood that held the spool of thread. Then I would place the piece horizontally on the back side and thread the needle through the drilled holes, through the dragonfly and then through the other set of drilled holes, pulling a continuous piece of thread. With each thread added there was a lot of pushing and pulling of the dragonfly, in the end the dragonfly has a slight curve to it.

One of my favorite parts of the piece is the way the dragonfly is lit, creating shadows that reference movement.

Prints!

I finished carving my wood blocks and decided on colors for the prints. (Below) are some test prints on drawing paper. My final red, green and black prints were printed on Hosho paper.

I decided to try out some different colors and techniques. So I learned how to do a rainbow roll, which I really really enjoyed!

Then my teacher taught us how to make this mini screens out of everyday materials - fabric, embroidery hoop and glue. I decided to do a kdub logo

I then printed it on the back of one of my tank tops :]

Here is a sneak peek of what's coming next....

Wood Block Carving

Recently in my class we have start wood block carving. My key block is a 8" x10'' piece of birch plywood. First we are making a key block which will be our black layer and then print it on the other two blocks to figure out the rest of the design. So in the end i will have a 3 color woodblock print.

I was using hand wood carving tools but soon remembered I own a Dremel tool.



So I decided to use it instead...



I really enjoy wood carving and 'wood' like to expand. I'm looking forward to producing some sculptures with wood carving techniques in the fall.

Letterpress

So recently my class and I learned how to use the letterpress and our assignment was to create a business card. I chose to use the Mystery Font and this decal for the front. I also decided to make my card front and back.

Front

Back

If I were to fix it I would of made the text color on the back black. Also oriented the '@' more in the center. The '@' is from a different set of type.

But this upcoming week I am going to make a whole new set, hopefully with two or more layers on one side.

Summer Class

So I started my Summer class this past week. I am taking a Printmaking DIY/Grassroots class with Nick Naughton. We will be working on the letterpress, silkscreening and exploring wood block carving. Our first assignment was to make a zine....here are some images from the zine that I made...

The images were in color before but I changed them to black and white due to my funds going towards duplicating these. hahaha

Update

Well I have recently finished my Sophomore year at the Kansas City Art Institute. For those of you who don't know I am studying Sculpture.

Here are some pictures of what I produced this spring semester

'Patience' 18'' x 16'' Silk Screen on Canvas with beads, feathers and human hair

From Left to Right:

'Cactus' 'Chair No. 1' 'Grey'

'Cactus' and 'Grey' are made out of MDF board and 'Chair No. 1' is made from Birch Plywood. 'Grey' is spray painted gray and has a white pattern that was silk screened. 'Cactus' is spray painted and the design was created by stencils.

Also this past year I have been interning for Sike Style Designs.

Here is the latest show I have helped out with

Plenty of Action, No Control

Anyways I will post more later and have decided to start using this blog. Since it's summer I plan on having more free time.