Finishing Matting and Other Stuff

   So on Friday I finished printing and I was able to trim all of the remaining photos so that on Tuesday I can start mounting right away. Wednesday is the Senior trip which means that I won't be getting any mounting done that day so I will have to get a lot done on Tuesday so that I don't fall behind. I will be finished mounting by the end of the week. I have three days.... and a little over 30 pictures to print. Which means that if I can do more than 10 a day I will be on track; lets hope I can. Crossing my fingers here. I'm also trying to think of a better way to hang my photos, as the fishing line might be too complicated and time consuming but I'm hoping it will work. I'm going to ask Adam Z on Tuesday about the possibility of the show staying up and open because that way more people will see it. I don't know if this is possible but we will see. Also by the end of the week I will have a more concrete idea and sketch of how I want my pictures hung. If the fishing line doesn't work I might just prop them up on the tables that have Avalon's ceramics. I will be making the cake balls on Saturday so that I'm not scrambling, more than needed, on Sunday.  I still need to make up price cards or stickers to put next to each piece. I also need to write up an artist statement and print out many copies of "Just a Horse." I think thats all for now.

Almost done printing!!!

    So today I went to Judy's room 3rd period and started to finish up the editing and printing. I continued printing into 4th period and by the end of 4th I had all but 9 pictures printed. Please realize that I had almost 36 pictures to print at the beginning of 3rd period. It was a VERY successful day!!! I'm really happy because my goal was to be done printing by tomorrow and now I will be able to finish printing and start matting all of my photos tomorrow. I'm very excited for my show now because I'm closer to finishing all the matting and such in time. I have all of next week to mat and I am positive that will be enough time. I will spend all of Sunday of the show finishing setting up for hanging and getting price stickers on the photos.

Progress and Setbacks

    So this week was my freakout week. I wasn't able to print for about two days and then when I tried printing in the library I wasn't allowed to. One of the librarians didn't want the printer being ruined by my photo paper. I told him that it shouldn't mess with the printer in any way because I have been printing on ink jet photo paper in a laser jet printer for the past two months and the photo classes have been printing like that all year but he didn't want me using his printers. So after I couldn't print in the library and I basically freaked. I was falling behind and I was afraid I wouldn't finish my printing and matting and I wouldn't be able to be ready for the show. I called my mom freaked out and once she calmed me down we went out to lunch so I could regroup. We decided that I would try printing at her work and if that didn't work we would think some more. Her work printer didn't produce a good enough quality print but my dad was able to figure out why the photos weren't printing at school and showed me how to make it work. I was then able to print a lot of photos today and I am feeling a lot better about the whole time issue. I plan on writing the rough drafts of all my presentation materials on Monday seeing as we have it off from school. I am planning on finishing printing this week and finishing printing next week. I'll then spend the weekend getting ready for the show. I'm back on track and ready for the show to be here.

Matting 101

    Ok so here is the entry about matting I said I would do a while back. The first step is to print out the photo on high quality paper. After the paper has cooled and the ink has dried the print is ok to be matted. Because all the photos are a different size they need to be trimmed. So Judy has a rotary cutter in her room and it can take off the tiniest of slivers of paper so its really good for precise trimming. Then there is a special wax paper which you tack to a corner of your photo. To tack the wax paper onto the photo you use a tacking iron. It basically melts the wax to the photo so you can attach the photo to the board. So you tack the wax paper in two opposite corners on the photo. The photo and wax paper are then trimmed till they are the same size. After they have been trimmed you have to select your mat board size and color. I usually use the same size for my photos and usually use a black background as opposed to a white background. Now on the photo with the wax paper there are two corners that you did not tack to the photo, once you line up the photo on the mat board you tack these two free corners to the mat board. You now have a photo that is tacked to the mat board. You then place the entire photo mat board combo into the press. Its basically a large flat clamp. It gets up to 225 degrees F and you close it onto the photo and hold for 30 seconds. This melts the remaining part of the wax paper to the photo and mat board, effectively gluing them together. If all of the wax paper does not melt then you press it for 10 second intervals until it is fully connected.

     That is how you mount a photo. 

In Class 23/5/11

     So Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've been really busy with life. So today in class we wrote for about 15 minutes on what we have learned since the beginning of the year. We then shared what we wrote with a partner and then with the class. Kelvin brought up a good point that if you don't try you'll never succeed and I think that a lot of people subconsciously realize that this is true but they don't take it to heart and live by it, myself included. I want to do this for the last few weeks of my project. 

    This is what I wrote about in class yesterday.

    The biggest thing I think I've learned is to not be afraid of your project changing the direction that it is going in. I was dead set on one idea at the beginning of the year and when it came time to write proposals during the second semester my ideas had changed. Even then I thought I was going to do a collage of horses and I never ended up doing that. Also once you find a good idea that you like and think will interest you for an entire semester, go with it! I put two things that I loved together which kept me happy and interested for the semester. There are always going to be frustrations in your project but if you are flexible it works out in the end. You'll be surprised at where your project goes if you are flexible and work through the problems and conflicts. Another thing I learned is that WISE is a huge time commitment. I know a lot of people took this class because they liked the idea of having class only once a week for the second semester but it is a huge time commitment. I have been doing so much work in and out of school for this project and its somewhat exhausting. I have also learned that I don't do cold calls very well. I have balked at doing them all semester and I am finally doing two tomorrow. I am also going down to the shop on Cayuga street on Sunday. Its not the calls themselves its more of the anticipation of the call. 

    Thats all I wrote about, I'll be posting at least two more entries tonight, one on matting and one on my progress.

Art Show

    So Avalon and I met this morning to discuss the show and all of the logistics. We decided that Avalon would get the posters signed by Mr. Mills and then we would make a lot of copies and post them around the school. I am going to make a Facebook event and invite everyone to it.
     Hanging: I have decided to hang my pictures with fishing line. I am going to run a line across the windows in a zig zag fashion and then tie my pieces to the line. Avalon is planning on setting up her pieces along the walls on tables I believe.
    Food: I am making Cake balls. Cake balls are exactly what they sound like in that they are balls of cake. Once the cake is baked you crumble it up and mix frosting into it so that its moist. You then roll the cake into balls and dip them into a candy coating. I'm planning on making a batch of red velvet, chocolate, and vanilla. Yum. We are also planning on having a fruit platter with lots of yummy deliciousness.
    Sales: We decided that if a piece was purchased the buyer would be able to take it on the spot. They would pay us in either cash or personal check and then they could take it when they left. We also thought of having a donation box for people who don't want to buy a piece to contribute money.
     Cranes: Because this show and sale is for Japan, Avalon thought that we could make the idea more known by making origami cranes. I have tons of origami paper and we are going to place them around the room as a constant reminder of what the sale is for.

   We will be showing up an hour early to start setting up. I will be doing all of the loop making before hand so that all my pieces are ready to go once I get to Kulp. I have not gotten much farther in printing and I'm freaking out a little about that. I know it will get done by the show so I'm not freaking too much. I am also ordering my portfolio book soon, I'm excited!

Some more Progress

So this week I started printing, it was definitely frustrating at times because there is special photo paper that I use and its expensive so I switch the paper in the printer so that I can print but then sometimes other people print at the same time and end up using my photo paper which is a waste and it really pisses me off. Ughh oh well it hasn't happened too often yet. I then take the extra photo paper out of the printer to use for next time.

So far I have printed about 10 photos. The low numbers are from problems with the compatibility of my photography files to the photoshop at school. Unfortunately a number of them have not been compatible so I have had to switch computers until I find one that works. Its really frustrating and time consuming!!  Also I only have a 1 GB flash drive so it doesn't hold a lot of files, as I was trying to save the photos I had edited today I couldn't save more than 7 .psds because my flash drive couldn't hold any more files. It sucked.

Also another frustrating thing that happened today is that Judy wasn't there. This wasn't a problem in the beginning. I set up at one of the Macs and started editing all the photos I needed to. I had edited about 15 photos and then tried to start printing. Well thats when I realized that the art office was locked. The art office is where the printer is located. This meant that I was unable to print at all today. Had I been able to I would have almost 30 pictures printed. Grrrrr. oh well I am just going to go crazy with printing next week. I should have all 70 photos printed by next week and then I can start matting. I'll have an entry on this later.

Here are some of the Photos going in the show. It is one continuous quote. Also Avalon and I need to get together and figure out the logistics of the show very soon.

Updates

   So I had my AP Bio exam on Monday so I missed class but I have the assignment that is due on Monday so that is good. I have yet to have my mentor meeting this week I think I will be meeting Mrs. G on Friday so that is planned. I am now starting to print all of my photos. I haven't figured out exact payment with Judy yet but that will happen eventually. There is a special good quality paper that the photo classes print on and a gorgeous amazing printer and that is what I'll be using.  After all the photos are printed I will be matting them ( I'll have  another entry devoted to printing and matting). And then its the show. Wow this semester has gone by quickly. Only about four weeks till the show.  I still need to:

  -Print all 71 photos
  - Matt all 71 photos
  - Figure out how I'm going to hang all 71 photos (some will be on the same mat or next to each other)
  -Buy all the needed hanging materials
  -Get the show publicized!!!


 

  

    I think I'm pretty much done taking pictures for the show. I'll definitely continue taking pictures for WISE and my project itself but I'm pretty much done for the show. I'm happy with what I've created for the show and I really hope it goes well and we raise a ton of money for Japan.

   Also I really need to get together with Avalon soon so that we can discuss the logistics of the show.

These are a couple of the photos going in the show.


    Ooooh I just remembered!! I went to Judy's art opening a little while back and she had these cards there that were of dog noses (they're really cute my mom and I liked them alot!) and my mom suggested that I make something similar with horse faces and heads. She said I could do little post cards or cards and each would have horse faces on them. We'll see if it works out, maybe I would do it separate from the show because I don't know if I'll have time before then but I might try this after the show is finished, as another little project.

Pictures from Freeville

   Here are some of my favorite shots from the Freeville barn pictures. Enjoy and Happy Mothers Day!


  
   This is Sketchers, as I was walking around his paddock to get to the pastures he followed me along the fence line. So adorable! I love the texture of the fence here. I have a mini-series of shots like this.

   This is also Sketchers, he is the cutest most curious little pony. I love him already.

So the shorter horse that is closer to the camera is Sketchers again and the large Belgian in the background is Diesel. I love the size difference here. Sketchers can barely reach the top of the fence and Diesel is towering above the fence. I just love the contrast.

   I love the movement in this shot.

"Just a Horse"

   I went to Misty today and as I was putting my lunch into the fridge I started to read this paper that was on the front. It was called "Just a Horse." I immediately loved it, it was everything that I felt and couldn't put into words. I have decided that this will be the name of my healing series. "Just a Horse" I fell in love with it so much that I asked Holly if I could have a copy, she said I could take that one and she would print out another for the barn. So here it is "Just a Horse", Author Unknown.

     From time to time, people tell me, “lighten up, it’s just a horse,”or,”that’s a lot of money for just a horse”. 

They don’t understand the distance travelled, the time spent, or the costs involved for “just a horse.” 

Some of my proudest moments have come about with “just a horse.” 

Many hours have passed and my only company was “just a horse,” but I did not once feel slighted. 

Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by “just a horse,” and in those days of darkness, the gentle touch of “just a horse” gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day.

If you, too, think it’s “just a horse,” then you will probably understand phrases like “just a friend,” “just a sunrise,” or “just a promise.”

 “Just a horse” brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust, and pure unbridled joy. 

“Just a horse” brings out the compassion and patience that make me a better person. 

Because of “just a horse” I will rise early, take long walks and look longingly to the future.

 So for me and folks like me, it’s not “just a horse” but an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment. 

“Just a horse” brings out what’s good in me and diverts my thoughts away from myself and the worries of the day. 

I hope that someday they can understand that it’s not “just a horse” but the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being “just a woman.”

 So the next time you hear the phrase “just a horse” just smile, because they “just” don’t understand.

Project in a Project

   So this past class we got an assignment. This assignment is to create another way of representing your project, a newspaper article or something like that. One of the options was to create a soundtrack for your project and this is what I plan to do. There is a minimum of 10 songs and I have to write a paragraph on each song that I include on my playlist. Obviously I'm going to include "Wild Horses" as that was a huge inspiration for my project. I also have alot of other songs I have in mind including "All the Pretty Little Ponies" and some others. I want this playlist to not only reflect my project in title but also in the lyrics. I'll be listening to my entire iTunes library soon so that I can figure out songs I want.
   Here are a couple of the photos I took at the barn out in Freeville.

Thank God for Dads

     Soooo you know how I lost like all 200 of my photos from the Freeville barn and I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I would have to go back and take all new pictures? Yeah well Dad to the rescue!!!! He used a recovery program to get the files back and now I have all of the pictures again. I cannot tell you how happy I am at the moment. My Dad just saved me so much time and energy!! I'm really excited to see how they really turned out. I'll post some pictures later. Thank you so much Daddy!!!

More edited photos

    I have edited almost 20 photos finished and edited. I still have a ton to edit and add text to but this is huge considering I got 20 done in two days! I love productiveness!! Also I have emailed three local photographers in regards to meeting up with with them to talk pricing, framing and hanging in general. Anyways here are some of the most recent photos with text, as well as some others that will not have text.

    Please leave a comment with any criticism, things you think I should change or that you like, thanks!!

Great!!!!! (please note the sarcasm)

    So the day started off really well, I got contact information of local photographers whom I will be contacting later in the week to make an appointment to visit their studios and talk with them about their photography. And also I went up to Healing Rein Farm and took lots of pictures.
    When I got to Healing Rein, a woman named Peggy was there to meet me, she told me that Lauren had taken a bad fall last night and was unable to meet me today. Good news is Lauren is ok. Also a funny little thing is that I knew Peggy from intercession polo, so that was cool. I learned that Judy, a teacher at my school, photography wonder who I am getting ideas from and just working in her room during free periods, leases a horse there. It was soo strange that of all the barns in the Ithaca area, this was the one that Judy, Peggy and other people I had heard of all ride there. So Peggy showed me around the farm, introduced me to Jodi as well as all the horses. I got tons of great shots and I was soo excited to edit them.

   Then disaster struck, somehow while I was importing my photos to my computer they got deleted. I mean gone, poof thats it. So pretty much an hours worth of photos were gone. :( UGHHH I had another SD card that had some pictures on it but out of 200 photos I got to import about 15. Soooo dejected right now.

      I'm going to have to make another time to meet Lauren at the barn so I can take pictures. I'm also going to ask Judy if I could go with her when she rides. In the meantime I will be continuing to edit the pictures I do have and making more appointments with friends and such to photograph their horses. Here is another picture I took on Saturday, yesterday, and edited.

Pictures from this weekend

    This is Annie Oakley from the Misty barn. She is a paint mare who we think is pregnant!! We're keeping an eye on her until we know for sure.