From www.vmfa.museum/piction/6027262-98307438/: The Imperial Peter the Great Easter Egg was presented by Tsar Nicholas II to his wife, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, in 1903. It commemorates the 200th anniversary of the founding of St. Petersburg by Tsar Peter the Great. The top of the egg bears the Cyrillic initials of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna. When it is opened, a replica of Étienne-Maurice Falconet’s famous statue of Tsar Peter the Great rises out of the egg. 1903 Egg: gold, silver-gilt, diamonds, rubies, enamel, watercolor on ivory, rock crystal, Statue: gold, sapphire Dimensions: Overall (egg): 4 3/4 × 3 1/8 in. (12.1 × 7.9 cm) Overall (miniature): 1 7/8 × 2 3/4 in. (4.8 × 7 cm) Overall (stand): 3 1/16 × 2 3/4 in. (7.8 × 7 cm) Notes:
The Faberge Obsession -- Russian decorative art Ms. Kitts
Reflection: I've always thought of the Faberge egg as mystical, an art form hailing from a different time -- a different world. In many aspects, this notion of elusiveness coincides with the long history of lost eggs. In the lecture, Ms. Kitts did an excellent job of highlighting the sense of mystique and grandeur of the Faberge eggs. In tracking the journeys of specific pieces from factory to palace to museum to art collector, she showed us how, after decades, the astonishing detail and precision which which each was crafted can still take your breath away. However, I felt like the lecture was extremely fast-paced and much too focused on the historical narrative of the Russian royalty. Ms. Kitts seemed to speed through the descriptions of the eggs themselves and their unique meanings, instead choosing to linger on details like the monetary value and family relationships. I didn't feel like I was able to truly absorb a lot of information because I was scrambling to just follow along with her words. Still, though, I gleaned some important and interesting information. For example, the initial egg was crafted specifically with instructions by Emperor Alexander III for his wife, the empress. What really stuck with me was that he had the present made because she was extremely sad and wished to cheer her up. That initial Faberge egg sparked an annual commission of Karl Faberge so that the Emperor could give both his mother and wife an egg. These handcrafted gifts not only reflected the wealth and prestige of the royal Russian family, but also paid homage to Russians of the past, like Peter the Great. In this manner, the Faberge eggs were not only honoring the contemporary Russian rulers, but also remembering especially revered historical figures, and sometimes even religion. The ornate nature of the eggs indicate a larger trend in contemporary Russian society during this time period; Russians were looking back fondly upon old Russian style, as well as responding to nationalistic sentiments which were sweeping across Europe. In this manner, Faberge had his workmasters design equally lavish and resplendent household commodities, like a gilded cane cap and decorative tea cups. Even though this lecture was sometimes confusing and hard to follow in terms of a timeline and structure, I found it to be an interesting peek into the history of a culture I have never really paid much attention to.
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These are the explorations from this class period. I am struggling to find a balance between the words and photograph. I like the scratch and hatch marks of the first image because it sort of softens the effect of all of the exposed skin to make it feel less confrontationally naked. I also like the colors of the words because the layers add dimension. And I incorporated those same colors into the body to create some continuity. The second image is just me playing around with the sparkle pen that shimmers. I was trying to figure out how I could invert the colors and make it just glow softly. I ended up experimenting with all of the different settings. It was fun, but not supposed to an actual version. The third version is me trying to manipulate the body with actual colors with editing tools, rather than just focusing on adding words and maintaining a semblance of realism. Coach Hall and I had talked about how drawings and paintings of nudes are generally more accepted than raw photographs, so so wanted to sort of combine these two mediums. I used what I learned about the glowing pen to create the varying line colors and thicknesses. I like the sense of energy and movement, but I don’t like how I attempted to resolve the issue of the words. I’m not really sure where to go from here.
For this semester's home project, I decided I wanted to do an oil painting because I've never done a formal oil painting before. The image I chose had weird dimensions, though, because of the way I edited it after I took it. So, I had to buy the canvas frame from the art store and stretch the raw canvas myself. Then, I painted and sanded two layers of gesso. Once the gesso dried, I did a rough pencil sketch of the basic shapes. Then, I gathered the paints and brushes that I would need to use for painting at home. I couldn't find any linseed oil, so the painting here is straight oil paint. I'm going to try and find some next class so that I can thin out the paints and mix the colors more easily.
I am nervous about how well I will be able to capture the different hues and textures. Regardless, I am excited for this new and undoubtedly invaluable experience! As soon as I unlocked the iPad and pulled up the image on the editing app I use, I froze. What the heck did I want for this piece to look like? I had a good sense of the sort of emotion I wanted to convey, but I had absolutely no clue how I should go about doing so. It was like white-canvas syndrome, except on an iPad. I talked to Coach Hall. He suggested that I should try to make as many copies as possible so that I could explore my options and keep on generating new ideas as I create. For some reason, hearing that took the pressure off me -- self-ascribed pressure, that is. I did notice that all of the variations I made have some similarities: I prefer for the letters to be bold and angled across the house. Additionally, I have also used all warm colors (red, orange, and yellow) for the writing. I have been trying to resolve the exposed skin near my chest by other covering it with words or basically "wiping it away" by blending it into the background. I keep on wanting to resist this, though, because it feels like it goes against my theme of ownership. I need to let go of this rebellious feeling because it is keeping me from getting close to a version that satisfies my own goals and also respects the school.
I wasn't able to work on the iPad today, so I decided to take some time to plan on paper. I printed out some of the images I had from my photoshoot for my previous project. I decided on the one featured above because I liked the composition and energy; to me, the raw image conveyed power, but also some tension in the way my hands hold the house. Coach Hall and I had a discussion about focusing more on the relationship between the text and house, rather than the exposed skin. I completely understood his concerns for liability and safety. Still, it was a hard conversation. So, I am trying to figure out how to resolve this conflict of decency and artistic expression. I want to still express my message of empowerment and ownership while also respecting myself as a teenage girl and my school as a respectable institution that should not deal with problems of indecency in Art classrooms. Still, it's hard for me to think of myself as being portrayed "indecently" in this image. It's a tricky path to navigate, but I want to tackle it head-on.
I brainstormed what I want for the words to be before playing with composition because I wanted for them to be more purposeful and planned out than the text was for my last piece. I wanted to combine the house image and feeling of independence -- that's where the idea of the Homeowner's Association (HOA) came in. I explained the text to Coach Hall. After that conversation, I decided on "I am my own Homeowner's Association." Fierce and concise. My next step will be to actually use the iPad to experiment with compositions and how to effectively portray the text in a way to 1)support my content 2) minimize the exposed skin 3)work with the image, rather than just acting as a separate layer This is my planning for the second semester home project. I chose this image because I am really drawn to the vibrant colors. I also think the composition is interesting because of how my edits elongated it to really focus in on the tree and its reflection. I have never done a formal piece with oil paints before, so I took some time to research different techniques. Once I began to learn about them, I realized that I remembered most of the techniques from past art class lessons. Oil painting is a highly regarding traditional genre of art, and for good reason. I hope to use it effectively so as to render this image with technical accuracy.
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