User:Charlenebrossow

bio
I'm currently studying Interior Design at the Art Institute of Seattle, and hope to someday design the interiors of yachts. I spend what little free time I have with my fiancee, and my Border Collie Leia.

midterm
Charlene Brossow

GE 100

02/07/09

I have only been living in the area for a short time, and wasn’t sure what to expect when I got to the Olympic Sculpture Park. Much to my surprise I enjoyed almost all of the pieces that were displayed. Although some of the pieces were not exactly my “taste”, I could at least see the artist’s creativity coming through. Then I came to the piece by Roy McMakin. It is an untitled piece of three mismatched seats, a concrete bench, a plastic garden chair rendered out of bronze, and a cardboard office box made of steel.

At first I walked right by it, thinking that the bench was simply just a bench, and I didn’t even notice the box or the chair, but as I looked at it again I realized it was a sculpture. After studying it for a minute I decided that I really didn’t like it. To me it had no creativity what so ever. The other artists had a least made something new and different, all Roy McMakin did was take things that already exist, and make them either steel, bronze, or concrete, put them together and call it art.

After doing some research I discovered that this collection is actually part of a much larger installation at The University of California in San Francisco. That collection is mostly more of the same benches, boxes, and chairs, with a few boulders added. The collection in San Francisco makes more sense to me, because he was trying to make it look like a “wild party” had recently happened, and was showing his “sense of humor”. After learning this I disliked the piece at the sculpture park even more, because now it felt out of place.

After doing some research on Roy McMakin I discovered that he had another piece at the sculpture park, so I went and checked it out. That sculpture is called “Love and Loss”. This piece also includes concrete benches, but adds tables, an illuminated “and” sign, and a live tree. I liked this piece much better, because it wasn’t simply just seats and tables, but spelled out on them are the words “love” and “loss”, with the “and” sign connecting the two words. This showed a lot more creativity, and emotion. I also looked into other works of McMakin’s and found that he makes furniture and is also an architect. The more of his work that I looked at, the more I disliked it. Although I do like clean lines and “modern” design, I feel that he takes it a step to far, almost taking design and creativity out of it completely.

After doing all my research and going back and looking at the piece again, I disliked it even more; however, I do understand it now. Since Roy McMakin is not just an artist, but also a furniture maker and architect his  work blurs the boundaries between these disciplines, which at least explains the piece at the sculpture park.

In the end, my feelings about the piece are about the same as they were in the beginning. Which is actually kind of exciting to me, to know that my first instinct was right. It is nice to know; however, that though I may not be able to change my mind about the piece, at least I could come to understand the artist’s vision.

Bibliography:

•	"Permanent Collection." The Seattle Art Museum. 2009. The Seattle Art Museum. 7 Feb 2009 .

•	Lisa, Cisneros. "McMakin Describes Work at UCSF Mission Bay." University of California, San Francisco. 04 OCT 2004. University of California, San Francisco. 7 Feb 2009 .

•	Roy, Roy McMakin. "Domestic Furniture, Domestic Architecture." Domestic Furniture, Domestic Architecture. 7 Feb 2009 .

final
By the end of this quarter, I want to: Have my dog complete a basic obedience class.

The research component of the goal is to: Research dog training, especially "clicker training", and where we can go after basic obedience, such as agility.

Week 2: Register for class

Week 3: Get ready for class (vet visits, vaccines, etc.) and begin research

Week 4: Class starts...Basic commands-sit, stay, lay

Week 5: Begin working on loose leash walking and staying at a distance

Week 6: Work on "leave it" and "back up" with distractions

Week 7: Advanced loose leash walking with distractions

Week 8: Stand for vet exams-teeth, nails, etc

Reflective Assessment
The Art Institute is the third college that I have attended, and I felt that I had already learned most of what was taught in this class; however, since I am new to The Art Institute it was somewhat helpful. I did learn about our library and other resources, which was very beneficial, I have already used what I learned for my other classes. I feel that I did pretty well in this class, I completed all the assignments and I was very pleased with my work, unfortunately I did miss a class, but that was unavoidable. The main assignment, “I’ve Always Wanted To”, was my favorite part of the class. I picked a goal that I knew would keep me interested, and I made sure I stuck to my week-by-week timeline. I was very pleased with my self for not only completing my goal, but also being very happy with the end result. Overall I was happy with how I did in the class, and my participation, and I look forward to continuing my journey at The Art Institute.