Consolidating and moving to a new site. It is time for new adventures: http://christinahep.tumblr.com/

I'm giving threadless a shot. I am not a graphic designer, so I'm not used to formatting everything for a website. Getting exact pixels ready for presentation was the hardest part. However, I think that it is a nice introduction to some sort of web design. Hopefully, I'll get some good critique and have a shot at winning in the near future.

I am currently without a car and am going to take this opportunity to post the two woven designs that I have created this past semester. The first is a sample of tapestry techniques using a linen warp and wool weft. The dimensions of this piece are 10"x36".

The second piece is a woven sample using wool for both warp and weft. I couldn't manage to get a full photo of the piece, so it is shown in pieces. The dimensions of this piece are 12"x39".

Every semester keeps getting more and more insane. However, I believe that my work has improved the most over the past few months. My print design final was inspired by Sol Lewitt and a print from Marimekko it is dealing with line weight and the creation of many grays through pen. I need to play a lot more with the design itself and the materials I used to create it. My main print is ink on illustration board.

The coordinate for this piece was meant to be a window panel. I used colored pencil on mylar.
I also discovered that the window piece looks interesting as an overlay over the black and white piece.It was interesting to do something so structured for once. I have found that I really enjoy sketching with pens and I was trying to incorporate that into my print designs. I hope to play more with black and white because I think that it really helped me to have great focus on the design itself. My woven final ended up turning out better than expected. Our assignment was to create a self portrait tapestry. Clearly, this piece is not a direct self-portrait. The imagery is of fingers interlocking. I have always been an independent person and so I wanted to portray the idea of being able to hold your own hand. The truth is that not many people are reliable, so it's best to rely on yourself. The nails are red and woven with a shiny cotton to contrast from the skin which is woven with wool. I like the subtlety of the piece. Mixing colors of different wools was much like mixing paint, but it was much more satisfying. I think that the focus on slight color changes helps the piece have interest. I may post a detail photo later.

Finals are underway. Plenty of blogging to follow. Enjoy the confines of my desk:

Long time, no posts. Things have been busy, to say the least. Since my last update, the blocks prints have been completed. I was relatively happy with the results, though they all need some work. The next print we were assigned was coming along beautifully until I decided to add a stripe to the background. Needless to say, it needs some work. Our final assignment is to come up with a repeat for an interior as well as a coordinate. I am rather excited about the piece that I'm working on. I will post progressive photos as I work on it, but it was inspired my Sol Lewitt.. to give you an idea. My computer print design class final is to create a print with two coordinates and map them into a garment or an interior. I am choosing to take the scanned images from my photo class and structure them into a repeat. I have a few that I have created, but I need to narrow my ideas down.






Each piece was done in photoshop. The piece with the windows is the piece I am most excited about. I am going to map it into curtains of an interior. I just love the irony of windows covering a window. The blue piece was actually a monoprint of a sweater I have, I might use this in addition to the windows, although it does not quite match the concept. Once finals are finished, I will upload a slew of the work I have accomplished this semester. As for now, finals are waiting.

My block print critique is officially over. Needless to say, I am tired of printing and reprinting silhouettes of floating men. At one point, I became so discouraged that I began to create a large-scale drawing of lines. I am learning that I should actually use the things I enjoy to draw in my prints.
(These are in reverse order, but you get the point)









We are continuing to use our blocks to create prints on fabric using bleach and inks, but I am most likely going to begin carving another block so that I have more interest in creating something that I could possibly use. I have had this incredible urge to draw lately and I want to incorporate that into my prints as much as possible. Hopefully I will be able to report back with some more interesting prints that I am willing to show. I did end up putting a white block print over the finished version of this drawing, however it is not something that I am proud of to show yet. It needs much more nurturing to become finished.

This photography class is turning out to be one of my most time-consuming classes this semester. It is not that I mind, but I wish I had time to make it the focal point of my semester. I spend the majority of my time thinking about prints and trying to come up with ideas for more prints and noticing different prints. Prints are even seeping into my photographs! I could see everything I tend to photograph being turned into a motif for a print. This is something I want to work with over the summer. It would be a great to combine b&w photography with print design. I do feel like I am learning more about understanding my camera and I find myself taking more time to make sure my camera is doing what I want it to do. However, I have a long long way to go.

These are my pieces for our "unusual objects" project:




This is one of my photos from our "pinhole camera" project:



As I said, I have a long long way to go. However, I am somewhat pleased with my results.

She gets it.

..and so does he:

This was the view from my window on Saturday when it snowed almost two feet. As I sit here typing, it is currently snowing what is supposed to be at least another foot. Though the commute to school has been less than desirable, this was a rare and beautiful moment of color. Sunsets are overdone, to say the least, but they are not often th ought o f in terms of a snowstorm.
Another plus to this unusual amount of snow in South Jersey/Philadelphia is that we are still unfamiliar with how to react to the chaos. Thus classes are canceled for Wednesday. This gives me an entire day to catch up on the prints I have be en working on. We have been working v igorously on block prints for my Print Design class and after much drama, my piece is starting to come along. My inspiration came from recent encounters with Cirque du Soleil. There is a group of people who climb poles with no safety except the strength of their muscles. It is absolute insanity the things human beings can do with their bodies. The pole climbers hold onto the pole using only one arm and create this directional pattern with their bodies. I decided to use their silhouettes as inspiration for m y block print. These are my test prints so far:

I have not neglected my blog. I have just been thinking. Looking for inspiration:
http://www.jeniferaltman.com/

I truly wish that film, in any form was not dying. It really is a magical process. I am taking my first "real" photography class where I will be critiqued on my work. It is somewhat intimidating, but I am mostly in it for experimentation. We did pinhole cameras, which is something I had never done before. Developing a photo is an incredible feeling, but a make-shift camera is an entirely new perspective. I really do understand the workings of my camera a little better.

Polaroid by Jenifer Altman. Sort of twisted, but beautiful.

Now, this may be completely irrelevant towards my last post, but it is something I have been thinking about lately. I watched Food, Inc. and was initially disturbed by what we have made of our food system. Food is something I have always had personal qualms about and I think that many people could agree. I understand that I am still ignorant towards the subject, but the footage in the film has stuck with me for a few weeks now. I cannot seem to shake the disturbing images of chickens collapsing because their legs cannot withstand the weight of their own body. It seems to be that most people are naturally disturbed by seeing the film, though I have only personally shown it to a few friends. However, disturbance does not mean that everyone is going to take action to deter themselves from eating the problem. How do you get everyone to take action?
I've done a bit of poking around the internet for some information on organic eating, things of that nature. One of the first things I discovered was the Organic Consumers Association. After sifting through some articles and videos, it was all very disconcerting. Each video talked about the possibility that the Mayan calender could be correct, and it may be too late to change it. I do not quite understand how that is helping anyone. Although anything is possible, it definitely does not help in instill that sort of terror in anyone, especially the average American consumer. This is the audience we need to be addressing because they are a product of the market. For example, my mother is the typical consumer who buys everything that Food, Inc. addresses as being the problem. As I tried to explain to her the workings of the system, she did nothing but ignore me. How do we get through to those people? The information is not as readily available as it should be. Food is something we deal with everyday, we make decisions to eat certain things and we could skew those decisions to make an impact.
I know this all sounds terribly hopeful, but something needs to change. I am offended, as a human, that I am being forced to choose between processed food and processed food. It does not seem too much to ask to want genuine food, something grown from the earth that we live and breath on every day. This can be changed. Hopefully, this effects someone.