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A Windex bottle made entirely out of glass

On Thursday, January 19, my art foundations class took a field trip to the Art Museum in Toledo. It was very fun. We left at 11:30 am and arrived back on campus around 5:30 pm. As we arrived to the museum, everyone began to take their cameras and phones out and prepare to have a wonderful time. There were a lot of SAU students there so we all split up into our own groups and toured the museum as we pleased. There was this exhibit there where all you could see was large cargo boxes with tiny holes in them. The museum director told us that if you take a picture of the hole and blow it up on your phone you would be able to see a small world that was inside the box. It was all to cool. Then, outside of the museum stood this tiny house. It was so cute and surprisingly warm inside. It could fit four people at a time. It was fully furnished with a bed, toilet, shower, sink, desk and sitting area. It was to be auctioned off on eBay soon. My favorite part of the trip was going to the glass pavilion. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot.

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Today in Art Foundations, I’ve learned very interesting facts about the Egyptian and Greek culture’s contribution to art. Both cultures were among the first to really interpret the art of the human body. The Egyptians would mainly created art for the after life. Once a person died, a sculpture would be made of him or her. It was said that if the sculpture broke, then their spirit would die and be gone forever. With the Greeks, their way of interpreting the art of the human body was purely for the beauty of it. Even though both cultures had many similarities in their presentation of art, there also existed slightly noticeable differences. I really thought that those facts were very interesting. The second hour of the class period, my classmates and I were able to do a Celtic knot. Now that was so interesting. We were able to take a piece of thin transparent-like paper and trace a design of a Celtic knot that our professor brought in. Then, were were to turn the paper on the opposite side and trace it onto a large sheet of drawing paper. It was so cool. I thought for me to have very little knowledge about art, I did a pretty decent job, lol.

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Its time for J-Term! It’s that time in the school year where students take 1 or 2 classes everyday for 3 weeks, take their cross-cultural trip, or take a break until spring semester. I’m excited because this J-term I am taking Music and Art foundations. My schedule looks pretty relaxed, which is good, considering the fact that I still have cheer practices and games. So far it has really been a breeze for me as well as fun and informational. My Art Foundations class starts at 9 and ends at 11. It is very hands-on, which I love. The second half of the class period after our professor allows for a 10 min break, then he lets us use the rest of the class period to get the assigned art project for that day done. My Music Foundations class is so exciting. Soon the class will be going to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra where my professor will be performing. I have learned how to really have an ear for the art of music. It is a very enjoyable class. J-term has been very easy so far. I’m looking forward to everything else that I will learn in this 3-week period.

Happy J-Term Everyone =)

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This is just ONE side of the gallery! Come visit and see both!

As some of you may know, the end of the year brings many exciting events for Spring Arbor University students. Events such as Hanging of the Greens, Midnight Breakfast, Christmas Chapel, and an event very near and dear to me: the end-of-the-semester Art Show.

Every art student is required to enter at least one piece per art class that they are enrolled in, so this year there were over 200 entries in the show! The judge, who was a photography professor from Michigan State, had his work cut out for him! But I think he did a phenomenal job judging all of these pieces. And since the show is judged by an “outsider,” the students who got work in the show can now put this competition on their resume! It’s a great program that SAU has set up.

Like I said, come visit and you *might* be able to see my piece!

So be sure to stop by the Ganton Art Gallery in the next few weeks and see the amazing work that the students produced this semester! Who knows, you might even see one of my pieces hanging in the gallery! But hurry and visit because this exhibit is only going to hang until the end of January!

God bless!

- Mark

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This past year, graphic design has been fun, but physically taxing! For each project, I spend a lot of time sketching, planning and researching, re-sketching, bringing my idea to the computer screen and sketching there and then finally working out some form of a project… And then I might sketch a little more just to be safe!

My version of Peter Parker, from Spider-man!

But for our most recent project in graphic design, I had very little sketching to do because I was able to use an idea that I’ve been wanting to bring to life for a long time now! The project required that we take two photos and merge them together (with Photoshop) to make them look believable. As soon as my professor revealed the project requirements, I knew exactly what I was going to do: Superheroes!

As I said, this is an idea that has been bouncing around my head for a LONG time now, so I knew exactly what to do and how to do it! But I’m very thankful to the friends I have on campus because this project would, literally, be impossible without their help! Thanks to them the project was a huge success and one of the photos was featured on a international graphic design blog!

So check out the full set of superheroes I made here! and be sure to check back often because I am going to keep adding photos to the set as time goes on!

God bless!

- Mark

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Being an art major, I have access to a great privilege here on campus, and that is to serve my fellow students as a Lab Aide.

Now one may ask, “What is a Lab Aide?” Well, I’ll tell you. My job is to help you. That’s it! And I love it. Basically, the Lab Aide is meant to be in the building when the professors are not. So if you have a question about a project, need help with technology issues, or just want to chill and talk about life, the Lab Aides are here to assist, supervise, and serve you.

From here, I can see all that happens in these art buildings halls.

I love this job simply for the fact that I get to be here, in the art building. It’s a great atmosphere because everyone is in the same boat: Projects. Projects are the main thread of an art students homework and the majority of it needs to be done in the building. Having projects done this fosters a really great community of jokes, laughs, and service because these students love helping each other out. And from my little ”perch” in the building, I get to see students do that. What a joy!

Don’t believe that art students can laugh while working on a three-week project? Come over and see!

God bless!

- Mark

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