Keiry Calero FINAL PRESENTATION

While growing up I spent most of my weekends running around my late aunt’s backyard. In the springs and summers it was always filled with beautiful flowers and fresh vegetables along with spare garden decor. Out of all the fun shapes and figurines, the ones that stuck out to me the most were the pinwheels which would spin along as the crisp, fresh wind caressed my warm, sweaty skin. The seasons changed, the flowers stopped blooming, the vegetables became dormant but the pinwheels remained, spinning along the winds of harsh storms, or being buried in clumps of snow. 

In the summer of 2023 I will gather one of my aunt’s remaining pinwheels and create a plaster mold of it, which will be followed by experimenting with the technique of slip casting.

The goal is to begin this project in the month of June. With trial and error, which I am sure I will face with my first rodeo with the art of slip casting, the first phase of this project which is making the mold will be completed by the end of August with the plaster provided by the school’s ceramic studio. By the time the semester of Fall 2023 begins I will be able to use the ceramic studio along with the guidance of my instructor to slip cast and begin making prototypes of the mold. The piece will then be bisque fired, followed by surfacing with glaze and a  second glaze firing.

The casted pinwheel will be about 5% to 20% smaller than the original piece which is about a foot tall considering the shrinking rate of terracotta and porcelain slip. I intend to make several pinwheels, some glazed and some underglazed. The beauty of a plaster mold is that you can make as many similar or identical items as you would like, because the foundation is already there for you. I will add pinwheels as i see fit, it could be ten, it could be twenty, each being one of a kind.

Elsa Da Silva Calero was the second person in my family to immigrate into the United States of America at 23 years old during the decade of the 70s. She faced many of the same struggles other immigrants face today, such as being arrested by immigration officers and nearly facing deportation. Elsa dealt with a lot of trauma caused by her journey as a once undocumented immigrant of color.

As the pinwheels in her backyard remain, her memory and story does too.  

PINWHEEL PROPOSAL 

Proposal Presentation

Immersive Fashion is a book that I created as a love letter to fashion and research. Learning about aesthetics and cores , where they came from, and how they are implemented today were some of the most interesting parts when creating the book. However, I mainly focused on the clothing and the overall look. Based on the Immersive Fashion Book,I propose a continuation of the series with different aspects of aesthetics. Focusing on more detailed sections of aesthetics, the reader will learn that even the smallest details that may be minuscule are linked to the largest moments in history. These details can be explored in two separate books. The series continues with hair and makeup. Discovering where specific items, and styles originate. These books will require a step-by -step guide to how to accomplish the look since it is unlike the previous book .

Presentation

Final

 My final project will cover my updated artist statment and my theoretical summer project. My revised artist stament is extremely different. However, I took the things that we discussed durring my previous presentation in class and applied them to this revision. I am satisfied with this statment and plan to use it for some time in the coming future.

My summer project will be loosely tied in with my bfa thesis. I am not setting any deadlines for this coming project. I only plan to start putting some aspects of this project together over the summer. For the time being this project will remain untitled. Currently it revolves around the history of the three bridges between Jersey City and Kearny. 

I would like to expand the project to cover multiple bridges from a similar period on the area. The bridges in question would all be lift or swing bridges. I am not comfortable setting a strict time period for their construction yet.

This project is fairly long and could take a substantial period of time. These bridges and the area they were placed both have extensive histories that I am committed to covering thoroughly and factually. I want to have a solid outline and set of bridges to cover by the end of the summer.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/15GyYQTMi87FQRAskrdxeA4zCda3dX_NBedYduXlfTIw/edit?usp=drivesdk

Mildred Roman: Project Proposal

 What’s Next: Living Holistically

Project Proposal

Untitled, 2020

Having worked through my journey of acceptance from 2020-2022, my next project beginning in the summer of 2023 will focus on my choice in deciding not to take medication for my anxiety. It is one of the biggest decisions I have had to make thus far, and one I continue to work on every day. 

I understand the stigma around mental challenges and medication and the “pill shaming” that can prevent people from their recovery journey, but I believe in myself and my choice. I want to continue to share my personal story through my art and what it means for me- a person living with anxiety and how I use the earth as my healer. 

Final Presentation: EXORDIUM

LINK TO PRESENTATION

Exordium is a project that explores the prologue of The Paradox of Theseus, strictly based on the realm of science fiction. The project is a two-part comic zine that goes in-depth on the backstories of the Cyborg, Theseus, and Astraeus, the alien. I approach the two backstories differently to reflect the characters' personalities. Theseus has a bold illustrative style with heavy contrast and shadows, showcasing the brutality of his former military occupation juxtaposed with the whimsical organic compositions of Astreaus’ homeworld. The stories take inspiration from retro-sci-fi magazines Fantastic Planet (1973), Humanity Lost by Callum Diggle, All Tomorrows, and many Science fiction novels. I also wrote a research paper analyzing transhumanism, posthumanism, and the Human condition. While I presented The Paradox of Theseus at the surface level, I aim to use this project to display the intricate details I included in the creation of these characters, ranging from the political structure of Theseus’ home world, the mechanics of their cybernetics to Astraeus’ entire evolutionary line, the language they speak, and the animals I have combined to create this species. Exordium is an exercise in making comics and narrative storytelling as I continue to broaden my portfolio. 

Exordium One is a zine that features Theseus’ backstory during his time as Soldier 476. Throughout his backstory, the tone is dense with bold shadowed compositions, jewel-toned backgrounds, and sets reminiscent of 70’s sci-fi art. The themes of this story are based on Blind Sight; I also take inspiration from soldiers telling their stories to understand better the military experience as it is now. The narrative follows 476 as he goes on his planetary missions, excavating resources from alien planets and fighting off their defenses. The humans in this distant future have transformed their baseline humanity with cybernetics and genetic modifications as they have evolved across the galaxy. In turn, for their service, they are promised a spot in Genesis’ artificial afterlife, ‘Heaven,’ a bastardized Valhalla where human consciousness is stored and uploaded to live eternally within a simulation. While the cyborg soldiers revere their commander and follow his every will, 476 is at odds with his purpose, the meaning of life, and the importance of perpetual human expansion.

While the first part of Exordium is a commentary on war, colonization, and the human condition, the second part explores the alien planet of Cnidaria. Cnidaria on Earth are classified as invertebrate marine life, such as jellyfish. The aliens in Astraeus’ evolutionary line take inspiration from the aesthetics of cnidarians, especially with their bioluminescent transparent skin and the presence of cnidocytes (specialized cells that sting prey and release venom). I also combined mollusks and crustaceans into the design of the aliens. Their appearance is bug-like despite being confined to the oceans. The aliens use their technology to capture potential invaders within their orbit and take their prey to experiment and extract DNA to contribute to their artificial evolution. Astraeus is the product of such experiments and, due to complications, is not able to survive on this planet without accommodations. The story comments on unethical experimentation, inaccessibility, and overcoming impossible odds. 

This project will be compiled into a webcomic which can be published into a zine. The budget for this project is determined by the printing costs, which have yet to be determined, but depending on the printer, I can order one hundred 24-page zines for about 180 dollars. Each character can have 12 pages for their stories. If I wanted to expand on their stories, I could order the zines for about $200. Setting aside $300 for print would be good. Either way, this comic will be promoted online as a webcomic with no additional budget. With the popularity of science fiction and fantasy, this project can capture an audience as I continue to work on this personal project. 

Project Proposal (Final)

Project Proposal (Updated)

     While taking Information Design, the students were given a task to design data revolving around a social issue of our choosing. As I continue to look for ways to spread the saddening truth of climate change and global warming, this assignment gave me the perfect outlet to incorporate compelling statistics. However, as I began to plan out the design of this assignment, the process became time-consuming yet intriguing. Many citizens in society do not take the time to research and understand the data they are observing because it may be “too time-consuming” or “too confusing”. The task of designing data-based information allows designers to convey a message in a way that draws the audience’s attention. 

I decided to focus on human-caused climate change, specifically land-ocean temperature rise and antarctica vs greenland ice sheet mass decrease as they coincide with each other. I collected data through NASA’s Global Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet and I gathered the climate change laws through Climate Change LSE: Climate Change Laws of the World. I decided to incorporate the increase in greenhouse gasses, as well as information pertaining the causes behind these gasses, to teach viewers where they come from and a main component that is causing the damage. Though understanding the information for the ice sheet mass, as well as finding the right information to support my thesis statement, was a little challenging, I enjoyed doing the research and designing the poster in a way that grabs the viewers attention while incorporating graphs and dense information. 

I want to create a series centered around the consequences of human-caused climate change and the devastation currently happening as a result of society's choices. This series would support a larger project with the appropriate data to show the need to take action. I would like to create a line of stickers, clothing, and pins with illustrations of elements in nature (animals, landscapes, short quotes) with a QR code. The QR code would link to a website featuring the data-filled poster designs, illustrations, and links to multiple non-profit organizations and charities working towards healing our planet or slowing down the rate of change. One page could feature products with companies that are environmentally friendly and working towards making a change, such as Ecosia (a downloadable web browser that proposed to plant a tree every time a user searches a topic using their browser). This website helps clarify the amount of information surrounding the environmental issue and allows citizens to find multiple ways to help by placing them all in one area.