rina-cassie-capstone-blog

[rina-cassie-capstone-blog]

New background for cover

[rina-cassie-capstone-blog]

Cover art progress shot - still have more to do but this is an updated pic of the cover.

[rina-cassie-capstone-blog]

We went shopping for bookbinding materials.

[rina-cassie-capstone-blog]

Hi Charlie! Interesting poem, cool imagery. Just wondering, in the last line, is “ours” meant to be “hours”? 

I like how you showed how this piece started, its original form something completely different and not even finished. It really speaks to how our art transforms from its beginning stages, until it doesn't even resemble the original concept. I know I can relate to this- in the story I’m writing, what I have now is so far from its original concept and outline its crazy. 

As for your poem itself, I’m not sure I understand it, but thats ok. Ambiguity is pretty cool and I like where this is going. If you’re still taking edits, can I suggest something for the first line? Instead of it saying: The vacancy of it invited possibility, how about: Vacancy invited possibility. 

I think this is a cleaner and stronger statement. But obviously its up to you if you’re going for something else.

Excited to read these poems Charlie!

The very first version of “In a Newly-Bought House.” It began its life a prose piece that I stopped writing midway through. It turned into an ekphrastic poem later, and I thought it would work well to set the table for the second half of the project as an allegorical and fairly hopeful poem. The final text is:

In a Newly-Bought House

The vacancy of it invited possibility.

Green, watery sunlight filtered in,

spilling the floor.

A chair, which we kept, was too small for a grown person,

and faced inwards.

We dripped words to each other.

The ours gathered us.

[rina-cassie-capstone-blog]

Hey Emmie! I’m so excited to read your poems, I know you're an awesome poet. I think when it comes to organization, you can consider the mood or tone of your poems. How does the reader feel at the end of the poem? What would be a good transition? For example, after a sad or cynical poem, an uplifting or hopeful poem could follow, and then maybe a fierce or impassioned poem. Get the feel for it. Topical organization is good too, but may also come across as a little static. 

But I feel you on this struggle, definitely. For my project, I’m writing a story following two separate characters in two completely different places, and weaving their stories together. It’s been a struggle deciding when to alternate chapters, how to start one characters story, knowing a reader has just read from a whole other character. In the end, I’ve been going with what feels right, no real system. 

If topical, chronological, emotional or some other system feels good to you, I say go for it. If the point is to get lost in a poem, then it won't matter what came before it or whats up next. 

thoughts on the organizing process (or lack thereof)

This week, I was assigned to read a collection of poetry titled King Me by Roger Reeves for my writers house workshop. We wrote craft commentaries and had a book discussion in class, and I found that this experience was super influential on my thoughts towards my capstone, because for a while we discussed the order in which Reeves chose to organize this collection. It was interesting hearing varying perspectives - some classmates would have preferred if the book was sectioned off into topics (racism, his sister’s mental health, etc), some appreciated the seemingly disorganized organization, and so on. This discussion really got me thinking (and worrying??) about how I’m going to decide what order my pieces will be in, and how much it even matters in my case considering its going to be such a short collection. While drafting pieces on such a wide variety of topics, some of my poems are closely related and some aren’t (other than the common thread of power) so I think this week is going to be spent giving a bit more consideration to how I might want this book to flow and what sort of organization i want to use to accomplish that.

[rina-cassie-capstone-blog]

Even though you have nixed the object projection idea, you might want to consider projection surfaces other than the walls. Maybe you make the images coming out of the corners of the room, a manipulation that can be done with the projector itself or in the file. Consider what you lose by getting rid of the objects and how you can regain the effect that you initially wanted your presentation to have. Good luck!

I’ve decided for thee sake of time and logistics to just do a projection onto a wall, instead of onto 3D objects as I originally intended. This means I will no longer need VPT, which helps map the 3D surface being projected on. As of right now, I’m planning on making the projections with Adobe after effects. Attached is a link to a tutorial on how to create chaotic particles. The Aesir gods, Ymir, and the cow will all be made up of turbulent particles,so this is a very useful tutorial.

[rina-cassie-capstone-blog]

I think your concept is really interesting and am excited to see how you bridge the gap between the digital and physical worlds. Don’t be afraid to make drawings that look terrible or unclear from close up, that sends another message to the viewer. However, do be aware of what it is you want to say. Your thoughts should come across in your brush strokes and your message should be clear to everyone who looks at your paintings. Good luck!

I’ve been trying to decide how I want to display my work at Arts Fest. I’m on the fence between having the works there or taking pictures of the works and having them printed to add a photography aspect which I’ve wanted to explore. I’ve shown in other posts snapshots of hands in whole paintings. I like the look of details of paintings and statues. I was thinking about adding that aspect in and showing details of my drawings and paintings. It’s also a way for me to get comfortable looking up close at my pieces. Usually I don’t like to get too close because I feel like it looks better from farther seats. However, when I took a snapshot of the hands in my self portrait oil painting I loved seeing the imperfections and brush strokes.

[rina-cassie-capstone-blog]

Hi Rachael! Maybe you can place quotes under or over the photos, HONY style? Either way, I’m sure it will look very cool. The aesthetics are important because that is usually whats draws people, so maybe include an eye-catching element, like a large title, or a particularly evocative photo? I don't know all the details of your project but there are many ways to lay out the visuals. 

For my project which will be an illustrated story, I’m thinking of putting the title and cover art in really large, while filling the rest of the space with quotes, character descriptions and a summary or premise. Perhaps also a brief history of the world and the different species in that world since the story is fantasy. With all these elements, plus the illustrations, it can be pretty overwhelming. I guess we’ve just got to trust that our projects interested us, so our passion and enthusiasm, in addition to our displays, will draw people in. 

Good luck!

Presentation of Photography

Recently I have been thinking about how I am going to present my final selection of photos to the public on Arts Fest (and the Academic Showcase.) I was originally thinking of using a powerpoint that I could also attach my inspirations, process binder pieces, and so on. But I’m thinking that maybe having one or two physical copies of each participant may be more interesting to the audience. That way they can see the photos up close, analyze the piece, all that jazz. However, with my idea to overlay some of the quotes from interviews onto the photos may make printing them a bit difficult. I just don’t want the powerpoint to bore any viewers away. More thoughts on this after spring break I suppose!

[rina-cassie-capstone-blog]

I really like the characters you have developed and the way that you are able to draw them over and over again. As I am also doing an illustrative capstone, I find a lot of similarities between our two projects, just in terms of the needs that have to be met. I love the world building that you have done and look forward to seeing how/if you incorporate color into your final project.

Featuring Gran & Little Boy. This is one of many rough sketches that I’m making to get an idea for how my characters interact, their roles in the comic, etc. (and take my word for it when I say there are many more.. ha…ha ha..). Gran is the one who is responsible for the family taking a wrong turn and driving through a portal that takes them to the skeleton people world. So props to her.

[rina-cassie-capstone-blog]

I’m sorry you had trouble with your glue gun. I really love your project and think it is a really cool way to talk about such an important issue. You said that initially you wanted it to be asymmetrical and one way that you can acheive that (with the limitted supplies) is by using an exacto knife to shave off parts of the circles, making it seem more natural and less geometric. Good luck and I can’t wait to see what you do.

After my catastrophe with the glue gun, I was able to finish building the base for my coral reef. I had originally imagined my base a little larger and not perfectly symmetrical. I wanted it to be slightly more organic so that it would seem like a natural formation in the ocean. However, I was limited to the shapes and sizes of floral foam I could find in my local Michael’s. I decided symmetrical was the best way to go with what I could find to make it visually appealing. Over spring break, I want to have all of my corals assembled on the base and, hopefully, have them all painted so that I can focus on fine tuning the appearance after spring break. The few corals you see on the table next to my base are made of coffee filters and cupcake wrappers. I have several of these that look like really cool ruffled corals. 

[rina-cassie-capstone-blog]

Hey Julia! I know what you mean about the plotting thing-its comes in parts. For me at least, I would have something figured out, and then nothing would come to me for a bit, and then something would inspire me and I would figure out some other bit, and so on and so on. For me the plotting took absolutely forever to fit in place, and world building from scratch is pretty overwhelming, though also fun. 

What kind of story are you writing? Do you know how long you expect it to be? One of my biggest struggles has been finding the time to write out a pretty long story. How do you pan to display it at Arts fest? I imagine you're farther along now then when you wrote this and hope everything is going smoothly. I also understand the need to create pinterest storyboards-I have some google images that help me and different actors that I’m using to help me write my characters, but nothing so cool as a pinterest storyboard. If you do end up making that, it could be really awesome for your arts fest display! 

Capstone Journal Entry

Journal #1 This week and the week before has been the time when my plot has really been coming together. Last weekend I got an actual outline of what I wanted to take place in my story and a complete character list done. You have no idea how much of a relief it is to finally have something to work with other than background information. Now, I can go and just work on specific parts or character profiles with an outline of what is going to happen. I figured out the plot not in like a moment of pure and divine inspiration, but by continually thinking and thinking and thinking about it until something clicked in a way that made any kind of sense. Yesterday and today I have been able to go back through and read what I did with the plot work and the previous inspiration works to craft coherent character profiles. This also allowed me to further flesh out what each character is like, what their background is, and how they all fit together to go with or against each other in this strange dualistic world that I have created. Just recently, I figured out some of the further backstory and driving force of the conflict of the story and how it relates to the other characters. It is really phenomenal when you can see the different random parts of the things in your brain fall into place in holes you didn’t even know exist, fitting seamlessly, and filling the gaps with meaning. Next, all I want to do is make like some form of picture compilation/plotline/character portraits (from Pinterest not from my own artwork because I am high key not that talented) of the whole thing so I can physically see it. It’s yet to be determined if I will ever get around to doing that, but it is this itching thing that I feel like I need to do.

[rina-cassie-capstone-blog]

Writing update: Writing against the clock here. I’m moving too slowly, but I’m not sure how to speed things up. Right now greatest fear is not having a finished story in the end, but having to present only the start of one. 

Fingers crossed everything works out. 

Here’s a snippet (again, with the caveat that it may and probably will be changed or omitted in revision): 

“A plume of green smoke suddenly shot up, and splayed over the ceiling, hovering above their heads. And then, right before their eyes, the tendrils curled into vines bearing bright red daffodils. The vines cascaded over the ceiling, then trailed down the walls, before escaping out the various windows. The kitchen was quiet.”

[rina-cassie-capstone-blog]

Writing update, Current Struggles: I’m trying to world build without slowing down the action. But I’m also trying to increase the tension and the pace as the story progresses, not startle the reader by throwing them into drama. It’s a hard balancing act, especially since I’m writing fantasy and there’s so much information to impart. The culture, religion, backstories, physical spaces, relationships between characters, while also keeping the plot moving forward. 

But on the upside, writing this week has also been a lot of fun. Here’s a snippet of the story so far. (Disclaimer: I may take this out or change it in revision.)

     “She pleaded, begged. Her eyelids fluttered and then closed under the pressure of dirt caving in over her body, packing her in, burying her alive, while the Curse drained her of her blood. She couldn’t open her mouth, her eyes, couldn’t move her hands. So she whispered in her mind with everything she had left.

    My blood, my magic, for yours. Just this once, I promise, I promise.

     Sing us a song, young witch, oh yes, sing us a song. Your words will allow your blood to live even if you should die.

     You want…you want a song?

      Oh yes, oh yes, a witch song, a witch song. Sing us a song witch, sing your blood to life.

    In her mind, Jo hummed a song that Sofi often sang to Kiera, the first song that came to mind.

       If the trees should whistle, should whistle, should whistle, young witch, what should you do, you do, you do? Why give it some water, some water of course.

      And if the water should spill, should spill, should spill? Why bless it with magic, with magic, of course.

    And should the blessing not work, not work, not work? Why go find a charm, a spell, a chant, young witch.

     And if you don’t know a charm, a chant, a spell, a wish? Why ask your clan, your home, your heart, young witch

     And if you don’t have a home, a heart, a clan, a love? Why witch, maybe you’re not a witch at all, at all.  

   Maybe you’re not a witch at all.”

[rina-cassie-capstone-blog]

I have been doing cover design research, trying to figure out the best way to convey the emotion and setting of the story. The pixys live in trees with fragile bridges running between them. Cassie and I want to incorporate this in to the cover for our story. I have read through this website: https://designschool.canva.com/how-to-design-book-covers/ that talks about how to design an effective cover and will continue to work on the cover design. ~ Rina

[rina-cassie-capstone-blog]

Characters

Using the descriptions that Cassie has provided for me, I have been working to develop clear character drawings. I am currently working on the facial features and body types of the pixys, trying to create a humanoid creature that is also recognizable different. While their wings do differentiate them, I want the reader to be able to see other differences. ~ Rina.

[rina-cassie-capstone-blog]

Writing is a hell of a lot of fun. I tend to get into a groove, I get lost in it. But, this often leads to homework getting neglected. So I have to choose: other homework or capstone writing. 

Of course, my desire to write is often the strongest when I have a billion other things to do, and it becomes a way to procrastinate. Which is great, productive procrastinating. But I’m aware that I’m procrastinating, which makes it stressful.

I don’t know about everyone else, but I have my answers prepared if a genie offered me three wishes: 1) the ability to understand and instantly speak any language, magically, without having to study it, 2) to be able to breathe underwater/swim like a pro, and 3) perfect eyesight, no surgery. 

But I’m thinking that I would actually switch one of those out for perfect time management skills. I could really, really use that particular ability. 

Hopefully I’ll get more writing done over break. 

- Cassie

[rina-cassie-capstone-blog]

I have been experimenting with the working title for our short story, “Wingless”. Using the earthy tones and imagery that will be found in the story I played with mountains and unrealistic looking sky. I was also experimenting with font/typography. While this will not be what the final cover image looks like, it is the place where I begun. ~ Rina