Andrea Pippins

So excited to host designer-illustrator-blogger-author Andrea Pippins in my FYF class this week!

Pattern Palooza

Last month we got together with the incoming first-ever First Year Fellows freshmen to co-create patterns on an app called Google Drawing. A fun time was had by all, and I especially enjoyed seeing the document alight with pixels shifting colors as students collaborated on lovely little artworks. It felt magical, like fireflies on that hot summer’s eve. Working in Zoom breakout rooms, pairs of students had the chance to chat and get to know each other over a nice Google Drawing joint activity. There were so many ideas floating around for what to do next! But alas, it was just an hour-long workshop. It does show that creativity and community can certainly be built online, though!

Participants Najja Akinwole, Austin Chia, Elva Dong, Skittles Douglas, Cassidy English, Donovan Ewell, Abigail Freeman, Celena Grandberry, Hugo Wolf Grande, Ujjaini Gurram, Nicole Hernandez, Sara Hinterlong, Sari Langholt, Sasha Kramer, JD Linton, Nadia Nazar, Leah Nye-Felt, Cayde Rackliffe, Kayla Smith, Marissa Vazhappilly, Matthew Vogel, Danielle Winston, Jessica Xiao and Jessica Yu. Vice Provost Tiffany Holmes pitched in as well!

Faculty Amy Boone-McCreesh, Carolyn Case, Jenna Frye, Jerron Shropshire and Zvezdana Stojmirovic. Additional Support: Megan Miller, Jennine Stankiewicz and Stephanie Chin.

Working with a simple 10 x 10 grid, students created shapes and moods by clicking on each pixel and changing its color. They started off solo, but then joined up with a partner to collaborate.

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After the workshop, we made stickers and mailed them out to everyone. Just an example of the kinds of entrepreneurial projects coming up in class this year.

And of course…we made gifs!

Светска слова — Београд //////// Global Letterforms — Belgrade

Прошле недеље сам имала част да одржим Радионицу Светска слова са групом са Примењене академије у Београду. Радуцкајући у разним програмима — Илустратор, Тинкеркед, Фотошоп — сложили смо 3–д „словне” форме и тиме на свеж начин обележили лепоту ћириличног (а и других) писма.

Резултати полако пристижу, и као што видите, феноменални су! Погледајте ту лепоту писма, композиције, покрета и боје, и сазнајте још више из кратких записа самих учесника.

Учесници: Вања Бајовић, Оливера Батајић Сретеновић, Исидора Вулић, Јована Милојевић, Ана Продановић, Оливера Стојадиновић, Даница Стојановић, Петар Стошић, Ана Трифуновић и Марко Шерер.

Посебно захвална професорки Оливери Батајић Сретеновић на дугорочној сарадњи и подршци.

Last week I had the privilege of holding the Global Letterforms Workshop with a group from the Faculty of Applied Arts, Belgrade, Serbia. Tinkering through Illustrator, Tinkercad and Photoshop, we came up with type-driven 3-d forms, marking the beauty of the Cyrillic alphabet (and others) in a fresh new way.

The results, as you can see, are fantastic! Enjoy the beauty of the letterforms, composition, motion and color, and discover even more from the brief descriptions written by the participants themselves.

Participants: Vanja Bajović, Olivera Batajić Sretenović, Isidora Vulić, Jovana Milojević, Ana Prodanović, Olivera Stojadinović, Danica Stojanović, Petar Stošić, Ana Trifunović i Marko Šerer.

Special thanks to professor Olivera Batajić Sretenović for longterm collaboration and support.

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Ана Трифуновић //////// Ana Trifunović

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Даница Стојановић //////// Danica Stojanović

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Оливера Стојадиновић //////// Оlivera Stojadinović

Композиција се састоји из пет слова – љ, њ, ђ, ћ и џ, која су додата ћирилици у склопу Вукових реформи и која су карактеристична за српски језик. Шесто слово које је тада додато ћирилици, – слово ј, преузето је из латинице, па је зато изостављено из ове композиције. Додатни разлог је тачка на ј, која би тешко могла да буде повезана са целином. Слова су међусобно ротирана под углом од 90 степени и спојена . У простору је објекат изведен као плитки рељеф, са малим разликама у нивоима, да би слова била јасније раздвојена у једнобојној 3Д штампи. У
тродимензионалном приказу рађеном у програму Photoshop свако слово је обојено другом
бојом.

The composition consists of five letters љ, њ, ђ, ћ and џ, which were added to the Cyrillic alphabet as part of Vuk’s reforms and which are characteristic of the Serbian language. The sixth letter that was then added to the Cyrillic alphabet, – the letter j, was taken from the Latin alphabet, so it was omitted from this composition. An additional reason is the dot on j, which could hardly be connected to the whole. The letters are rotated at an angle of 90 degrees and joined. In space, the object is made as a shallow relief, with small differences in levels, so that the letters are more clearly separated in monochrome 3D printing. In a three-dimensional view done in Photoshop, each letter is colored separately.

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Јована Милојевић //////// Jovana Milojević

Наша ћирилица осликава нас као друштво, као нешто наше што треба неговати, користити и представити другима. Јединство и лепоту њених облика.

Инспирисано скулптуром азбучних слова у недавно направљеној Градској башти (мислим 2017.) која се налази у склопу Нишке тврђаве.

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Исидора Вулић //////// Isidora Vulić

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Марко Шерер //////// Marko Šerer

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Ана Продановић ////////  Ana Prodanović

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Петар Стошић //////// Petar Stošić

Pandemic Polemic 2

Sarah Foley

 

Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been countless articles and news stories written about coronavirus. However, a lot of this news has contained misleading information resulting in panic. This gif represents the concept of information overload during this time and how the media in general has control over our perception of reality.

 

 

This gif explores how the pandemic has made people feel isolated from the outside world and from their loved ones. Many people have been staying inside of their homes while at the same time, worrying about what is going on outside.

 

Lauren Ottignon

 

 

To process the current pandemic, I created models of a consumer (the dog), and the worker (the rabbit), to show how people were behaving during the beginning of the lockdown. I wanted to illustrate how this crisis has affected essential workers, and to relay the panic people felt while in a public space.

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Loli Vaccaro

This digital drawing of a family using technology during quarantine belies the mental health issues that have been brought on by the isolation. The colorful escapism is contrasted with the grave nature of the situation..

 

Yiwen Yu

The USA has the world’s largest international student population, with more than 1,000,000 students choosing to broaden their education and life experience in the United States. However, due to the break out of COVID-19, all schools have shut down with most even closing their dorms. A large number of international students have nowhere to go. I propose building a platform for international students that will enable them to share information and help each other through this difficult period.

 

 

Pandemic Polemic 1

 

Brian Toruellas

Special thanks to Brian for building our other site, micaforum.weebly.com.

 

In this unprecedented time where citizens of the world are consumed by fear and uncertainty, a good laugh can be greatly beneficial to our mental health. This is a parody of Henri Matisse’s DANCE I. Unlike the original, where the dancers hold hands, the version shows them dancing six feet apart, a now well-known health official’s suggestion. In the second panel, the dancers are attending a now universally known event, a Zoom meeting. No more dancing together in a field. Though its now in their bedroom, at least they are still dancing.

 

In an era where much of the work force works remotely, attending virtual meetings, there is no longer a need for pants. Let it fly.

 

Ananya Mohan

 

 

Check out Ananya’s project website:
An Indian Migrant Worker’s Story

The migrant workers of India, a large part of the population, is currently struggling with the nationwide lockdown imposed due to the pandemic. To raise awareness about this important and large sect of people and what they are going through, I have created a website that features articles and illustrations that show a small percentage of obstacles they have had to encounter.

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Cole Bryant

 

 

Wash Your Hands | Write Your Friends encourages people during quarantine to slow down, think, and reflect while writing thoughtful letters to friends, family or strangers. The website offers the option of signing up and immediately being able to write to an anonymous penpal, or purchasing a letter writing package which includes letters and envelopes with the Wash Your Hands | Write Your Friends branding.

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Sailor Adams

 

 

 

This gif illustrates how washing your hands for an extended period of time can minimize the risk of contracting covid. Red swirls slowly leave the hand… (more text?)

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Charlotte Russell

 

 

 

These collages deal with the fear and stress going on right now, specifically the social isolation experience. I wanted to show the rules and precautions taken during this time and show how overwhelming it can all be.

 

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Olivia Schrecengost

 

 

This room is a visual representation of the mental impact of COVID-19, specifically on art students who are now forced into the confines of their bedrooms. The mass in the middle is a metaphor for emotion, and that emotion can be anything at any time. More importantly, the emotions have taken complete control of the room, leaking into every corner and inserting themselves into every aspect. The small pictures hung on the wall over the bed represent the only interactions humans are allowed at this point in time, which is digital calls. The only connection we have with people is through looking at their face on a screen. The pictures control the room and fuel the emotion, as those policies govern our lives.

 

 

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The Anthropocene

 

In Forum 2, we worked on The Anthropocene, a common project for the whole freshmen class this semester. Researching this term spawned so many threads of thought, from Gen Z anxiety to overpopulation and racism, from the perils of disposable waste to the consequences of farming and logging. As the process unfolded, students developed bits of writing — seen below each entry — to go with the work.

Once the artwork was done, we went into the RISO lab in the graphic design department and produced flyers, adding a typographic dimension to the project as a whole. The first results are below, and more are to come!

 

Ananya Mohan

 

 

 

 

 

By using plastic spoons to depict floral structures, I aim to show how unnatural and manmade objects are so common in today’s world that they provide a false pretense of necessity. By overlaying this mix-media piece with an animation of constantly reproducing fingerprints, I am trying to emphasize our overwhelming and dominating presence over the environment.

 

Liddy Wells

 

This work broaches the idea of pollution and the delicate balance of environmental systems. Man-made substances like plastic, combined with natural ones, like oil and water, are used to create light and space in the artwork. In the type exercise below, I combined my visuals with typographic designs of the project title, the word, Anthropocene.

 

Leah Mattox

 

 

We constantly upgrade unnecessary wants while simple fixes are left unattended to. Despite the huge window showing the problems, we put up covers and avert our eyes from the problems we’re making. Instead of trying out solutions, we make things to distract us from the real problems.

 

Olivia Schrecengost

 

 

 

Here the natural form of the leaves contradicts the geometry of the red netting that is meant to represent human networks. The leaves fall downward and into the corner, falling apart as they do, while the red thread grows thicker and more intertwined as it reaches the corner, to represent the progression of civilization at the expense of the planet. There is a very light pattern of hot glue on the base and webbed throughout the red netting to represent the Earth as a delicate web of natural connection. However, it has been interrupted and torn apart, and has now become a part of the red netting, as humans have exploited the Earth’s resources in their own process of development.

 

Yiwen Yu

 

This text-based project is about urbanization. It shows the human population exploding, as people start to build cities and then disappear. The word HUMAN, the main element of this animated loop, grows bigger and explodes, dispersing into several groups of small words. Those words gradually form a a house, a building, then a dense urban area, which implodes, and the loop starts again.

Global Letterforms Exhibition

We had just mounted a show of our beautiful 3d prints in the Decker Library at MICA, when, alas, the coronavirus struck and the college had to close. This exhibition will therefore not be seen for a while, but nevertheless, let us rejoice in it online:

In our ongoing fascination with language, its shape, content and meaning, we 3d-printed  global letterforms. Letters, English and non-English, served as starting points for sculptural expressions. Typographic marks unleashed personal narratives. With art and with words, students articulated what these letters meant to them — signposts in a complex maze of aesthetics, identity and culture.

They drew on personal memory, family lore, or just pure visual pleasure, to create these beautiful forms. Make sure to read their thoughts in the accompanying labels. Process-wise, the project involved starting out by drawing vectors in Adobe Illustrator, modeling in Tinkercad, and prepping the files for print in Cura. Printing was done on the Lulzbot 3d printers in the MCS Lab, under the superb guidance of Jerron Shropshire.

Special thanks to: Jerron Shropshire, Raven Warner and Roger Woods.
We are thankful for the support of Sammy Hoi, David Bogen, Tiffany Holmes, Colette Veasey-Cullors, Brockett Horne, Jenna Frye, Michelle LaPerriere, and all our wonderful colleagues at MICA.

Student Participants

Color / Design / Process, Spring 20: Gil Dickinson, Lauren Giard, Val Hansen, Kiki Kirkpatrick, Blue Lan, April Lee, Addison Luetkemeyer, Rhys Mallan, Tate Meredith, Abby Mesarch, Will Roschen IV, Anika Shah, Trinaya Spriggs, Hedy Ward, Al Williams, Dodi Williams, Susanna Wise and  Max Zhu. Color / Design / Process, Fall 19: Gabbie Contreras, Dakota Coon, Zixin Gao, Chantel Harrison, Rebekah Jie, Chuqing Liang, Chengcheng Liu, Ashton Poole, Juila Ramey, Jessie Stepp, Cole Wade, Hannah Worsley, Liz Xiao, Binbing Yang, Sihan Ye, Mahaya Yttri, Wenhui Zhang and Geyuzhen Zhu.

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Installing the show with Raven Warner in Decker Library

The amazing Raven Warner and the folks over at Decker Library have put together an accompanying reading list on subjects such as art + language, new media and algorithmic culture. Once we’re back on campus, make sure to check them out; in the meantime, browse for them online.

Dialect : a game about language and how it dies

Hymes, Kathryn. ; Seyalıoğlu, Hakan.; Thorny Games.; 2018
Available at Decker Library Non-circulating Special Collections Material

3D typography

Abbink, Jeanette. ; Anderson, Emily C. M. 2010
Available at Decker Library General Stacks (Z246 .A25 2010)

Digital handmade : craftsmanship and the new industrial revolution

Johnston, Lucy, author. 2015
Available at Decker Library General Stacks (N7433.8 .J64 2015)

3D printing for artists, designers and makers

Hoskins, Stephen, author. 2018
Available at Decker Library General Stacks (TS171.95 .H675 2018)

Form+code in design, art, and architecture

Reas, Casey. ; McWilliams, Chandler.; Barendse, Jeroen.; LUST (Hague, Netherlands); c2010
Available at Decker Library General Stacks (QA76.76 .D47 R42 2010)

Mathematics + art : a cultural history

Gamwell, Lynn, 1943- author. ; Tyson, Neil deGrasse, writer of foreword. 2016
Available at Decker Library General Stacks (N72 .M3 G35 2016)

Booklets Galore!

How do you present your work in a professional manner? In this project done in November-December 2019, students gathered all the work from the semester and presented it in a 16-page booklet. I provided an InDesign template file and they filled it with their own content, learning basic commands for working with type and image. I especially enjoyed reading their reflections on each stage of the class. In this way, the project served as a summative assessment of the class itself. Great job, everyone!

 

Hannah Worsley

Dakota Coon

Chantal Harrison

Ashton Poole

What if…You Could Build a Startup?

I asked students to work in teams to propose solutions to life’s pressing problems by way of business pitches to the great folks from our Career Development Center. So proud of the after-reach of this project: some students were invited to participate in Innov8MD, a campus entrepreneurship conference in Baltimore; The MICA/Life group was invited to an advisory lunch with a MICA dean developing a similar app, and one project even got media coverage! Paper, Etc. was featured on Technical.ly Baltimore, a tech news site. See below for brief descriptions of each pitch.

 

Olivia Schrecengost, Sailor Adams, Lauren Ottignon and JB Rooney presenting at the Innov8MD conference in Baltimore.

 

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1. MICA / LIFE
   Cole Bryant, Leah Mattox, Lauren Ottignon, JB Rooney

Our focus is to make the resources available for students living on campus at MICA easier to understand- and to make the surroundings of the MICA campus more accessible. 

JB Rooney

JB Rooney

JB Rooney

 

FEATURES:

• Figuring out where to go for groceries or how to get to a specific store – or what place has better prices
• Pictures and video tours of the dorms offered on campus
• Up to date status of surrounding businesses
• On-Campus Housing: Front desk, Package Pick Up hours, special events
• Web to app interface

 

 

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2. Swap Shop
Jess Lin, Liddy Wells, Aznu Guo

SWAP is an app for managing MICA Swap Shop inventory. Currently, there are two Swap Shops on campus, both in various states of disarray and sometimes it’s hard to figure out where things are, or what exactly is in there. Our app allows MICA students and users to list their free items, search for items, and receive notifications for wishlist items. The scan/tag function allows Swap Shop inventory to be self organized and and tracked. 

 

 

 

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3. Paper, etc.
Ananya Mohan, Charlotte Russell, Olivia Schrecengost

 

Artists can donate their old, used-up sketchbooks and art supplies for recycling into new, 100% environment-friendly sketchbooks and select art materials — at a reasonable, affordable price.

Phase 1: Local dropboxes that allow anyone and everyone to donate used paper and sketchbooks. In return they will get coupons to our products that can be used on our online store by signing up as members. (Years 1-2)

Phase 2: Partner with local Art Supply stores to install drop boxes within their stores, put our productis on their shelves, and allow our customers to use the coupons they have in these stores. (Year 3)

Phase 3: Launch of our own, Paper etc. Art supply stores. They will hold all of our products and all other services mentioned in phase 3. (Years 4-5)

 

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4. A.R.E. Desserts
Alice Shu, Rita Peng, Emily Zhang

A.R.E Desserts creates unique flavored desserts and beverages, such as bitter melon milk tea and taro cake. We designed a special, two-layer cup for our drinks. The layer below is empty to prevent burns. It also contains a small toy, if you buy our products during the holidays!

 

 

 

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5. Chameleon
Kaire Sherrod, Samantha Mautner, Sarah Foley

Chameleon is a pen that dispenses different colored makeup. Customers can pick a color from our app’s extensive catalog. Than pigments inside the pen are mixed and deposited on the eyes or lips. Refills can be purchased on the app and at beauty shops.

 

6. Shift
Loli Vaccaro

Shift is a smartphone application directed at Gen Z and Millennials to transform their music taste and knowledge. Utilizing curated playlists that use music history to trace the origins of a genre, users who are fans of, say, Jazz, can begin listening to Alternative Rock. The playlists work as a gradient, beginning at music genre A, transitioning into music that is a mix of genre A and B, and finally ending at genre B.

 

Loli Vaccaro

Loli Vaccaro

Loli Vaccaro

 

7. Score
Yiwen Wu

Score is an app that provides latest music information and a community for music lovers to contact each other. A great way for users to learn more about music and connect around music events.

 

Global Letterforms

In our ongoing fascination with language, its shape, content and meaning, we 3d-printed  global letterforms. Letters, English and non-English alike, served as starting points for sculptural expressions. Typographic marks became markers of identity. With art and with words, students tried to articulate how complex, solid or porous identity can be. They drew inspiration from snippets of memories, family lore, or just pure aesthetic pleasure, to create these beautiful forms. Make sure to read their thoughts in the captions below!

Process-wise, the project involved starting out in Illustrator, modeling in Tinkercad, and prepping the files for print in Cura. Printing was done on the Lulzbots in the MCS Lab.

 

 

Chantel Harrison

Sihan Ye — I had so much fun making the Korean characters nyeongnyeong, which mean “yes! yes!” in English.

Chantel Harrison — I chose three characters from the Bengali alphabet and combined them to create a mini sculpture.

 

Hannah Worsley

Jessie Stepp

 

Rebekah Jie — I chose V because it’s the name of the kindest, nonexistent blue-haired boy the world ever beheld!

Liz Xiao

 

 

Binbing Yang — The first character means “water,” and the second one, “cold,” in Chinese. These resemble my name, which can be translated as, “waterside and ice.”

Vikki Zhang — This 3-d print is in Chinese. It’s my favorite song’s name, 海水不下坠, which means, “the sea water will never fall down.”

Viki Zhang and Binbing Yang

 

 

 

Ashton Poole — I took the Arabic character “ س ” (sīn) and rotated it in on itself to create a sort of 3D printed pottery piece. This is the first letter of my father’s name in this script, and is based off of his time in Amman, Jordan, where I was born.

Dakota Coon —I chose the character ‘Kha’ from the Bengali alphabet. My grandma is from Bangladesh and she can not speak much English — so it’s a language I’ve always wanted to become fluent in.

 

Hannah Worsley — The Hebrew letter I chose was (Shin).This letter is on the dreidel and when it is facing up the player who spun has to put one gold coin into the pot. I made this letter into a Menorah with eight candles around the taller shamash.

Hannah Worsley — I chose the Ukranian letter ж (zh) because it’s part of my ancestry. I made it into a little windsock monster because it looked like a figure when I was playing with it in Illustrator.