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Final Reflection

1. What was the most challenging aspect of completing your project, and why? (This might be technical aspects, time constraints, problems that arose, etc.—be honest, this is your space to reflect!)

Definitely the most challenging part of my project was actually starting to draw the flip book. While I knew that  wanted to have the cartoon versions of the paintings and the spiral in the animation I was very unsure of how to start the actual process. Once I began it became easier but then I ran into another problem of finishing the 200 pages. I spent many nights tracing and coloring the figures just to have all the consecutive images without the spiral or golden ratio over them. I was afraid that I may not actually be able to finish but once I got the base images done, the rest was a lot faster than I previously thought.

2. Looking at your learning agreement(s) on ELMS, how do you think you succeeded (or not) in completing your Learning Objectives? Which ones did you fulfill? Which ones did you not fulfill? Why?

Looking back at my learning agreement, I had stated that I wanted to have at least one piece of work from sculpture, painting, and architecture. I did not choose a piece of architecture for my project because I did not find any buildings or structures that I liked enough and I did not want to ruin my theme of 15-16th century art. I do not think this affected my project overall. Also mentioned in my learning agreement, it says I wanted to experiment with other mediums such as watercolor; however, it was hard to use watercolor or any type of paint because of the paper used for the flipbook. I would have needed thicker paper but that would make it harder to flip the book. Other than these two, I think is have fulfilled the learning objectives in every other way.

3. What were the most helpful aspects of the (semi) weekly class meetings? What would you like to see added or subtracted for next year?

The weekly class periods definitely helped me fully think out my project, the peer review especially helped with this. I think without this class, my project would have been less refined and more rushed. The class made sure I was on track and the occasional presentations really made me think about how I would be able to best express my intentions. Also the tumblr page helped to keep me motivated and organized throughout my thought process. Next year I would like to see more peer exercises added, maybe splitting people into pairs for the semester so that each class they can update each other on what they completed in that week and how their process could be improved.

4. What part of the project were you most proud of? Why?

I was definitely most proud of my flip book. Entering into this project I had never worked with flip books and had no idea how to really go about creating one. This process really helped me to grow and appreciate way more advanced animations. Being able to complete the full 200 pages was also a huge point of pride for me because I went into it saying I would do 200 pages and I made it happen. Also I now have a small memento of my capstone project that I can keep and remember the whole semester.

5. What part of the project would you have changed if you could? Why?

If I had more time while drawing my flip book, I would definitely make my drawings clearer. I did not like how I colored in the pictures and wish I could make the lines sharper so the animation would look better. Also the presentation of the flip book was not what I originally thought, I wanted to have some other alternative to just the binder clips but nothing else could support all the pages. Other than this, I am completely happy with how my project turned out and do on think I would change anything else.

6. If you had to offer advice to next year’s Capstone students, what would it be?

I would tell them to choose something that really interests you because if I chose this project as was not interested in the Fibonacci sequence and all its research and drawing 200 pages of a flip book, I would have hated this whole process. But, I really enjoyed working on the flip book and some nights I stayed up till 5 or 6 in the morning just working on it because I wanted to. Choosing a project that you think will be easy and get a good grade is not the best option.  Most likely it will be harder than you think and you won’t want to do it because it does not interest you.

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Here is the research and background portion of my display for ArtsFest. On the side panels are the instances of the Fibonacci sequence seen in the 4 works of art I have chosen. These descriptions can be seen in the posts below. 

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Works Cited

1. "Botticelli's Birth of Venus - ItalianRenaissance.org." ItalianRenaissanceorg. N.p., 20 Aug. 2012. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.

2. Di Dio, Cinzia, Emiliano Macaluso, and Giacomo Rizzolatti. "The Golden Beauty: Brain Response to Classical and Renaissance Sculptures." PLOS ONE:. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.

3. "Fibonacci (Part II): Proof and Curiosities." The Traders Pledge. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.

4. Knott, R. "The Life and Numbers of Fibonacci." Plus.maths.org. N.p., 4 Nov. 2013. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.

5. Livio, Mario. "The Golden Ratio and Aesthetics." Plus.maths.org. N.p., 1 Nov. 2002. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.

6. Meisner, Gary. "Golden Ratio in Art Composition and Design." The Golden Ratio Phi 1618. PhiPoint Solutions, 04 May 2014. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.

7. Obara, Samuel. "Golden Ratio in Art and Architecture." Golden Ratio in Art and Architecture. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.

8. Posamentier, Alfred S. The Fabulous Fibonacci Numbers. N.p.: Prometheus, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2016.

Images:

1. Uk.pinterest.com

2. https://jdlreflections.wordpress.com/tag/natures-geometry/

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_(Michelangelo)#/media/File:%27David%27_by_Michelangelo_JBU0001.JPG

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birth_of_Venus#/media/File:Sandro_Botticelli_-_La_nascita_di_Venere_-_Google_Art_Project_-_edited.jpg

5. http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/golden-ratio-photography

6. https://3010tangents.wordpress.com/tag/golden-ratio

7. http://vanseodesign.com/web-design/golden-section-proportions

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Mona Lisa, 1503-1506

Leonardo DaVinci

As one of the most famous paintings in history, the Mona Lisa has been held as a standard of artistic beauty. DaVinci used his mathematical knowledge to construct the proportions of the Mona Lisa. Looking at the rectangle around her body, the lower left corner starts at her right wrist and extends over to her left elbow. The entire rectangle rises up to the height of the crown of her head. As the rectangle splits itself, the 2nd largest section lines up with her left eye. The best examples of the proportionality comes with her nose and chin, her nose is perfectly enveloped in the middle section and her chin is cradled by the spiral as it reaches up to the crown and back down through the elbow. These exact proportions are why the Mona Lisa has been consistently seen as a beautiful and masterfully painted piece throughout the ages.

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Self-Portrait, 1500

Albrecht Durer

In Durer’s Self-Portrait, he focused on the perfect symmetry and balance of the face. A golden triangle can be drawn around his head, the two bottom points starting just below the ends of his hair, the triangle lines continue up and align with his temples until meeting in a point at the center of the crown of his head. With a line drawn through the center mark of the triangle, this line maps out the middle section between his mouth and nose. Above this line, a series of golden squares are spaced out. The square above the mouth-nose line is cut down the middle and this is where the nose is cut in two. Durer’s eyes are in the upper region of this square and each lie on the middle line. The top of the square connects with the golden triangle at the temples. The golden square below the nose-mouth line can be cut in half to represent the stopping point of Durer’s chin and the remainder of this half plus another half make up Durer’s neck. Adding a large square and a circle inscribed inside also highlights the symmetry of his face. With two diagonals from each corner of the square, all points meet at the one point on the mouth-nose line. It is evident that Durer’s use of the golden ratio in his painting has created a balanced and proportionate face. Each section is mapped out perfectly and it creates a very realistic and stable self-portrait for Durer.

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Birth of Venus, 1484-1486

Sandro Botticelli

Botticelli’s Birth of Venus uses the Fibonacci spiral to layout the proportions of Venus as well as the relationship between her and her companions. The spiral starts in the center of the paintings at Venus’ hand. As the spiral fans out, it connects with the crown of Venus’ head. However, the spiral is not just applicable to Venus, as the spiral moves from her hand. It creates an arc that Botticelli highlights with the swell of fabric that Pomona, the goddess of spring, moves to drape over Venus. Pomona’s arm follows the curve almost perfectly. The arc continues to the pair flying towards Venus and cuts through their center. The spiral promotes a harmony between these 4 individuals and plans out their space in the painting. Also, looking at just the fractal rectangle, the box severs Venus from the hips down, deciding the proportions of her body. Another fractal inside the rectangle aligns with her right side down to her knee. It is clear that the use of the Fibonacci spiral in this work of art created a harmonious and uncluttered layout despite all of the individuals being in the foreground.

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Here is the final video of my flip book displaying the use of the Fibonacci spiral and golden ratio in historic 15-16th century works of art. 

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Final Draft for Academic Showcase Poster

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Process Progress Reflection

While looking through my groups Tumblrs, I saw that many of them were around the same stage as I am in. We have all planned out a large portion of our project before starting the physical process. It was good to see this as it made me feel like I was not too far behind where I should be. The most helpful question I have received in the whole process has been, how will I connect effectively these images and the spiral in the flip book. After thinking about this, I have decided that the images of art are going to remain static throughout the flip book and the spiral will be the movement throughout. Also instead of trying to display a lot of words, I am going to focus on four pillars that the Fibonacci spiral install into the works of art such as stability, beauty, rationality, and proportions. These four points will tie into each piece of work in the visual guide. Another piece of feedback I have received has been wondering if the time constraint is too much and I should scale the size of the book back. I have considered this but my method right now is to continue making the flip book as planned and if I do not need that many pages to explain the spiral, I will scale it back. If not, the 200 page flip book is not too far out of reason. Currently I have 85 pages sketched out that only need the color and text. I plan to have all my pages sketched out by the middle of next week and start coloring before the final Academic Showcase poster is due so I can include some images from my book.

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I like that you have decided to focus on the emotions for a part of your process, I was initially wondering how you were going to connect images to your meditation process. You seem to have a good layout and plan for the completion of your project and deciding to move on from the form of meditation that did not work too well was a smart idea in order to allow time for the other methods. I especially like the colors you have used in the sketches in the post above, the colors are very inviting and make you feel closer to your meditation than I think images would.

These are the sketches I made a couple of weeks ago in reflection of my first method of meditation, which was guided meditation apps. Something about sitting still and listening to apps for some reason did not work for me. I’m sure that if I were to continue with this method, I could eventually get the hang of it. But, in the interest of time for this project, I had to move on. Since this meditation was all in my head with no visual aspect, I decided I would like to do something with color/movement to portray emotion for this art piece. I played with a few ideas in the sketches above. Each takes a slightly different approach at telling the story of my mental state. For example, the top sketch focuses more on the overall experience; starting with serenity and eventually flowing into frustration. Meanwhile, the bottom two tell a story more like how a single experience would feel. With periods of serenity interrupted by moments of frustration. 

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Currently in my project, I also feel like I am in the ugly stage and am hoping once I begin to fill in my sketches with color it will look a lot better. I like the process you have begun and it seems very well planned out with the sketching and thumbnail creation. I like your idea of painting scenes from Maryland and your inclusion of the blue herrings. We are both in a similar stage and I too was concerned if I could finish my project in time; however, I believe that since you have put in a lot of background work before starting, you should be able to finish in a timely manner.

My art teacher used to say “every painting goes through an ugly stage” and I’m beginning to think this one might last well into the process. I’m still getting used creating straight lines and the color blocking used in the posters. My composition is sketched and I’m beginning to fill it in.

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With less than a month left for our project, I am just wondering when you will begin to measure the amount of waste you are producing and what waste are you collecting for your final sculpture? Also\, where will the data you collect be compared to the waste standards, will this be included alongside your final product? I find this particular project very interesting because as college students, I think we often forget about the waste we create. I know I am definitely creating more waste at college and this project is making me think more and more about how to correct this issue. Will your project include any resolve or plan to reduce the amount of waste you create? 

This, my friends, is what my trash can typically looks like after about 3-4 days. I know it’s a small trash can but it fills up so quickly!! It’s gotten me quite worried about how much waste I’m producing! I think I’m going to weigh my next full trash can to see how much I’m actually producing. It’s all usually lightweight stuff with an non-moldable form which is why it takes up so much room in the bin, which makes me feel better but still concerns me.

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Here is my flip book rendition of Michelangelo's David. He will be shown throughout the flip book against the Fibonacci spiral and it will show the mathematical proportions of his body. His face is not perfect; however, this is a minor detail that I will fix as I continue drawing the flip book.

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Flip Book/Process Update

This is a quick update for my flip book and my process for today. I managed to complete more pages in my flip book and will post another video tomorrow. I started my cartoon version of Michelangelo’s David. I struggled with making him easy to draw multiple times but also still be stable within the Fibonacci spiral. I managed to do this as well as I could and I think it will be successful. I still have to do cartoon versions of my other two paintings. I finished the first section of my visual analysis for the Mona Lisa and will post more about this in the next week. My flip book is coming along faster than I expected and am on track to finish the 200 pages before Arts Fest. I will also be focusing on the cover of my flip book and hopefully will post a picture of this tomorrow along with the video.

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This is just a brief intro for my flip book, it will be in full color and the transitions will be a lot smoother. So far I have 35 pages in this video and the remainder will showcase my other three works of art and include text explaining the basics of Fibonacci.

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The four images above represent the four pieces of art I have chosen to use to demonstrate the use of Fibonacci's sequence in art. The first image is Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa(1503-06), the one to the right of that is Albrecht Durer’s Self Portrait(1500). The bottom left is Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of Venus(1486) and the last image is Michelangelo’s David(1501-04). These are the images I am including in my visual guide and will be using in a more cartoon version in my flip book.

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First Draft of First-Look Poster