I got behind in my summer curriculum assignments because I lost some of my motivation and inspiration. To get back on track, I put some heavy metal music on my iPod and cranked through these projects. Works like a charm for me!

Our second assignment was to illustrate a quote using traditional media, no digital rendering allowed. I tend to fill up many pages in my sketchbooks with quotes, things famous people have said or things I hear on the radio, so I was excited to try this challenge.

I have an entire sheet of favorites quotes I love by Ralph Waldo Emerson, so that’s what I started with. Instead of illustrating the actual lettering, I wanted to connect my illustrations with the quote in subtle ways, and just use my own handwriting.

I have always wanted to do a self portrait, which is actually quite hard – hard to draw yourself and then to include those little details you might not like but still make you You. I chose to include a self portrait form of illustration with this next quote because it can be hard to change yourself, change the way you do things, and to stop measuring yourself.

I’ve had this next quote written in my sketchbook for awhile, but I didn’t make a note of who said it or where it came from. I illustrated it like a trail or the loop of life.

Our third assignment was to create a traditional collage, using newspaper clippings, ribbons, bits of colored paper, artwork, photographs and found objects, glued to a piece of paper. I’ve never done any collaging, so I wasn’t sure how to approach this one. I looked for a central idea in a stack of magazines and catalogs I have been saving. I originally intended to look for images of body parts to go along with a theme “your perfect body.” But then I came up with an inspiration I liked better, “Express yourself.”

I am happy with how this turned out, but I learned that I’m not crazy about doing collage as an art form or a form of expression. It can be very putzy with all the cutting and gluing of tiny pieces. With that said, I was inspired by this post, so I felt like I should try another collage piece.

I like my second piece much better because it just feels more me. That’s why I like to try multiple versions of these assignments – it gives me a chance to try again if I’m not completely satisfied with the first attempt, especially when learning a new technique.

(Addition: I should add that your final image or message also really depends on the materials you have on hand to cut apart and glue back together. For this exercise, I had access to Lucky magazines, Martha Stewart Living magazines, Victoria’s Secret catalogs, Title 9 catalogs, and Patagonia catalogs –  quite the hodge podge of imagery!)

I’m not sure what our fourth assignment will be for our summer curriculum, but I’m looking forward to it even more now that I’m caught up again! UPDATE: our next project is to create a poster for an every day event by taking a trivial daily activity and promote it with a poster.
.