Week one began with what I thought was a solid schedule but later changed. It wasn't concrete until week two. With the first week of school starting off with a holiday Tuesday's Printmaking class was a good start to the term. Although its a 7 hour long class it sure went by quick. Although all the standing gets old after a while. The lunch break is nice because after that class whizzes by fast.
Wednesday I had Art of Research in the morning. I am kinda pissed because I was expecting Sean Donahue to be teaching the class. I know last term he didn't teach it but if he wasn't going to teach again why is his name still in the system for it. Not that the guy currently teaching the class isn't any good. I just wanted to take AOR with Donahue.
Thursday morning I had Design for Sustainability. Very interesting class and would have went well with Packaging 1. I later dropped this class but may take it later on.
Friday I had Modernism in the morning and Packaging in the afternoon. Modernism was a late add. I really wanted to take this class on Wednesday right after AOR but it was cancelled just before school started. I needed this class more than DfS and decided Sunday night that I needed to keep Modernism and drop Design for Sustainability.
Packaging was pretty interesting. Class doesn't seem like it will be a lot of hard work but somewhat time consuming. The teacher Dan Hoy is pretty enthusiastic and I think that will definitely make the class more enjoyable.
With Friday being filled up and getting home after 7 I decided that blogging on Friday nights was not going to be happening this term. So I moved my reminder to Sunday in hopes that keeping my weekly blogging habit will continue, at least when I am in term.
Friday also happened to be my birthday. With having class til late I didn't really feel like going out. Jesse and I did go get some grub at Chipotle. However Saturday after working in Printmaking for a couple hours, Jesse, Frank, Brett, Bianca, Lizee, Tyler and I all went went out. We tried to go bowling at 300 but it was packed. Last time we went it was dead so this was unexpected. We decided to go to the Beanery and play some pool. Good times! Sunday was more errands and chores that I didn't get taken care of on Saturday.
Birthday treat!
Monday was the first day of Com 4. This seems more up my alley than Com 4 with Trigo last term. This should be a good term with the classes I have but time management is going to play a big factor. Time to start getting a good schedule going early.
Tuesday in printmaking we started etching our plates. Intaglio printing is the first project. On Saturday I went in all day and finished getting my plate ready. I was able to do 3 prints before I needed to get started on the aquatint.
Wet sanding my plate
Cleaning away the stop out.
With some of the processes for printmaking giving me some free time early on Saturday morning I got kinda bored. So I decided to buy a panoramic app I have had my eye on for some time now. I decided this would cure my boredom. Get ready for the pano pics.
Pretty much alone early Saturday morning.
Wednesday was pretty low key. AOR and then I didn't do much. I should have gotten some work done but a nap got the better of me.
Thursday was kind of a wasted day too. Since I now had it open I got to cleaning some things around the house. I then went to Norton Simon to check out a Manet painting called the Rag Picker for Modernism. Then I had to write a paper about it. Fun stuff.
Friday Modernism and Packaging 1 were ok. In packaging we had to bring in packaging we liked, and didn't like and something from a foreign market. We also had to design a box that was a reflection of ourselves. Didn't do much Friday night as I had to get up early to work all day in printmaking on Saturday.
Collage cube for packaging
Sorting the good from the bad packaging.
Bhudda beer bottle that I took in to packaging.
Saturday after being at south campus all day I went to Dom's place and hung out for a little while. After that I hit up a taco truck in Echo Park that has some decent carne asada burritos.
Burrito spot
This morning (Sunday) Jesse, Frank and I went to eat at Cafe Verde. Breakfast is pretty good there but the service sucked today. Now that I have put off homework by writing this blog entry I think its time I get started.
Jesse and Frank getting cozy
Oh yeah and for those interested here are the course descriptions of the classes I am in:
Communication Design 4
Course description and learning outcome: Developing a graphic voice for client or message. Consistency of voice through different media/contexts. Importance of design as editing (research, content forms) and designer as author of content. May involve branding. More complex problems than CD 1, 2, 3. Media agnostic. Opens up to communicating solutions in print, packaging, motion, interactive, environmental, 3D. Project types: Longer more in depth projects, 1 or 2 per term. Possibility of student-generated projects aligned to their individual interests or in collaboration with work in another class. Maybe all students work on a different project. ie. A theme is given but they must develop/generate content themselves.
Printmaking
This course introduces the basics of lithography and photographic printing processes. Manipulation of inks, media, types of print papers, and technical mastery are emphasized.
Art of Research
This section of the Art of Research will help students acquire a foundation understanding of what research is and how they may implement it into their own work. Beginning with how research has been used historically and a short survey of examples. The course quickly moves on to hands on projects that exploring a variety of research methods and processes: from media surveys to interview techniques and the ethical considerations required with the use of such. Final emphasis will be placed on critical refection and interpretation of research into design criteria and strategy. The research methods explored in this class expose students to a balance of non-discipline specific research techniques and discipline specific research techniques. This combination balances the research process between form making, Community insight and critical reflection. Increasingly, designers use Design Research as a critical component of the design process to establish a strong problem foundation, to discover fresh, uncharted design opportunities and to test their design hypothesizes. This course provides you with a toolbox of techniques and methods that can be used throughout your career to apply design-centric research as an integral component of the design process.
Intro to Modernism
The class will explore, discuss, analyze, and compare various aspects of modernist culture including the visual arts, design and architecture, film, the performing arts, music, literature, science and technology, and provide an historical perspective and critical insight into the political, social, and philosophical dynamics of the era, and its relevance to our current time.
Packaging 1
This course provides a broad overview of essential packaging design basics, including materials, production methods, and experimental investigation.
Random Photos of the Week
Hella Flush Z
