Visual Literacies as I see it Today

Well now that we are near the end of this class I've noticed quite a few things about myself. I also realized how this class has changed my perception of visual literacies. Before starting this class if someone was to ask me how I use visual literacies in everyday life....I probably would have said, I don't. But oh we do!!! Without even realizing it we definitely run across visual literacies at some point but the interpretations of it is the difference. 

Although I missed a class, that actually happened to be the most interested lesson for me. Being able to go look at art and interpret it in a way that only you see it. Taking special time to focus on textures, colors, and meaning. I did not have the chance to visit the art with the class and even though that was missed, I feel like being alone viewing the art was much more meaningful and  I really enjoyed it. I was able to view all the pieces and let the art choose me rather than choosing the art. I walked around one time and slowly viewed each piece. Since I had it in my mind how I should be thinking it took longer for me to look at art than it usually would before attending this class. 

Now, I would love to go to the Public Museum, or the Art Museum, and just look at art. I would actually enjoy it more than I have ever thought I would. Looking at textures, picking out focal points, and different aspects of the gray scale. It is all more interesting now than it has been before I sat in Dawn's class and for that, I appreciate this course. 

Color Galore!

I'm a fan of color so this week's topic was a pretty interesting topic to study. It was nice hearing the presentation about color and printing and how many colors can be made from 3 base colors as well as the basics of White and Black. I never was an artistic student during my grade years but during art class whenever there was a project dealing with color blends I always NAILED it! Also, I was a huge fan of the coloring book, that was about as artistic as I was able to go. Color is extremely important, I tell my friends and boyfriend all the time how picking out a nail color in the salon is one of the biggest decisions in the world and takes me almost 20 minutes to decide! The struggles of a women....

Anywho, I took the test on color and found that my answers compared to the averaged results of others were fairly similar. There was one color/mood that I knew probably would differ from what most think and that was the color you think about when you think of mourning. Typically, most would say the color symbolizing mourning would be Black. I beg to differ, I feel the best color for mourning is Dark Grey. Reason being is because when I think of mourning I think about the day. I compare mourning with weather and think about dark grey cloudy skies. Now, I understand completely that this is not factual. However, it is my way of placing a color to a mood/feeling. Aside from my idea (color choice) of mourning being completely different from the average, I did have some similarities with my color choices and one was the color that you think of when you think about expensive/pricey things. That color for sure is GOLD. This matched up with the results at the end of the survey.

So after taking this survey I went ahead and chose my own two pictures of color that I felt symbolized characteristics or moods. I definitely thought Red was the color for sexiness and I wanted to find a Picture that represented that. The picture below is a sexy silhouette of a women. The color they chose to place in the background was red. Perfect example of red being a symbolized color for Sexy and Seduction. 

I also wanted to choose the color I thought symbolized Expensive. I love GOLD. I think it is a gorgeous color that definitely represents expensive and quality things. Just as this beautiful picture shows. I would love to have this in my driveway.

I thought Angelica was a great guest speaker because she provided examples of how color is matched and mixed together. She also showed us how colors and printing can be challenging. I liked the examples she provided showing the matte colors compared to how the contrast of the color brightens when it is glossed.

Commercial Photography

As I was casually looking through a Mary Kay magazine, (because I can be a Make-Up Freak sometimes) I started noticing how perfect all the photos of make up looked. After Jim's presentation and this class' introduction about commercial photography my mind began to wonder how Make Up is really set up behind the scenes when preparing to take photos. I started browsing online to see if I could come across any websites that may include the secrets behind Make-up commercial photography - unfortunately I found nothing relevant to my curiousities. However, I did find this picture and immediately I went - aha! I bet this is a clear presentation of commercial photography.

I mean, it may be kind of hard to really see but I wanted to take the picture of the entire advertisement because the price baffled me after analyzing how extremely made up this picture could be. This photo represents acne cleanser. The model in this picture is posing with her hands together as if she is holding water to clean her face. I looked closely at the model and went - well she is obviously wearing make up, and two - that must be something other than water she is holding to make it easier to capture.

So here they are selling facial cleanser but the model is wearing a face full of make up so how do we actually know this works and leaves your skin acne free?

Also, the water in her hand reminded me of the photo on the commercial photography unveiling website. (below) It revealed that the "water drips" on the food is actually a clear liquid oil that does not evaporate so it can last a long time and perfect for the idea of water drops or water for images on food, flowers, etc.... Great idea, and I'm willing to bet that is what the model in the facial cleanse picture is holding with her hands.

Art Gallery

***If you are looking for my Animoto Blog...please keep scrolling down to the post previous to this one :) ***

For last weeks topic I missed blogging about the Art Gallery. However, I took some time to view the art earlier today and wanted to briefly share the piece that immediately struck my attention

As soon as you walk on the 2nd floor this piece is sort of hiding behind your back. It was one that I quickly glanced at, then looked away then glanced again and thought. That is actually a gorgeous piece. Now I'm no Picasso but the paint, or oils, that were used here made this piece look 3 dimensional. (ignore the window glare). The metallic gold and the blue shades in this photo are amazing to me but what stands out the most is the texture in this picture of the rocks. When you stand in front of it your attention immediately goes to the rocks because it looks so 3D. Then I began to see the other textures that the gold sort of gives off. I would hang this in  my house! 

ANIMOTO

Hello Ladies! First things first, allow me to share the link to my Animoto.

My Animoto

So, my animoto topic is friendships - specifically women friendships. I chose this topic because I think it is important and beneficial building friendships, and networking with women who share similarities and/or ambition and goals. I remember when I was younger during middle school and high school I always thought friendships are tough, especially with women! I also had the same friends during these years and that was a total of 3. As I became older and started working and attending college it dawned on me how easy it was to just form relationships. I've learned along the way that having an actual friendship, and building a bond with other women as you get older is totally fine! In my opinion, some of the strongest friendships are the ones that begin later in your adult years. 

I just want to throw out there --- The bonds that I've witnessed form since the beginning of this AOE program are incredible. Every student shares a common interest in some way and it's nice to see some friendships created coming from this program. We may have spouses, significant others, and friends outside Alverno, but having support from classmates going through the same journey can certainly be beneficial to your success and completion of our program. 

So while making this Animoto I gathered pictures of myself with some of my friends outside of Alverno and within Alverno. I did not want to include all pictures relating to my life so I thought it would be cool to include some other pictures to represent friendship with some familiar faces. It was fun creating this Animoto and I didn't experience much difficulties putting it together. I can definitely see myself using Animoto in the future for work projects and school presentations. I would even use it for personal use on social networking. It is a nice way to combine memories and tell a story and I can bet my story is much better told through Animoto rather than drawing a storyboard. That would have been scary! 

The meaning of a Candle :)

First, I have to start by saying. I absolutely enjoyed Brian Kennedy's Ted Talk about Visual Literacies. 

Now with that being said, while watching and listening to Brian's Ted Talk I began glancing around my room at different objects. Knowing that all of these objects I obviously SEE everyday but what is something that I really don't see. Something that I pay attention to everyday without actually paying attention to it. 

Once I started thinking about that, immediately I went....BAM! --- My Candles of course <3 

To just put it out there, I am addicted to candles. Bath and Body Works specifically. Candles are all over my house and especially my room. So I see them everyday. I walk passed them. I stop and check to see how much is used and if one should be replaced. I light them. I blow them out. All of these are usually daily rituals for me once I am relaxed at home. However, it is an object I constantly see without realizing how much I see it. 

In reference to Brian, you can read a visual text quicker than you can read an actual text. I took a moment to look at my candle and analyze it. First few things that came to mind was relaxation and scent. I also made meaning out of my candles. In my everyday world, my candles represent the time that I am ready to chill out, relax and watch T.V. I light my candles every time I am ready to climb in bed and turn on my lamps, pour a glass of wine and watch something good on TV. It represents relaxing....and peace :) 

Pet Peeve

My pet peeve......The one thing that really grinds my gears is talking with your mouth full! Just, DON'T

It's really simple. I absolutely can't stand when someone is talking to me before they finish chewing their food up. It's just not cute. More importantly, I won't listen to you :) 

Oh, you don't know what I'm talking about?....take a look :-/

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