last day of classes

Its here! The last day of classes. It's so triumphant! I've finished everything now except for two projects. Not bad at all. I'm not at all frazzled anymore. The end is within reach! I'm so glad I worked really hard the last few weeks though, I'm really happy with what I've made. It's strange to think the semester is almost over already. I feel like it just began. I've gotten into the swing of things now and its sad for it to end. But I'll be in Syracuse this summer and that should help me to keep working in the studio. I don't want to forget where I was as far as my work goes.





I have a critique today at 1:30 for fibers. I managed to finish my project pretty early yesterday. I was home in time for dinner! It was the first time I've silkscreened in a long time. I screened onto four silk scarves I later dyed several colors. I highly recommend a fibers class. You learn all sorts of things. I even dyed my paper last week for my book. OOo my book! It went very well. I was up quite late finishing it for class. Actually, I only managed to finish one for class-instead of the three we needed-but my professor was very understanding and let me hand them all in a day later. I'm glad she did. The book was much better than if I had rushed to finish it in time. The professors are usually very good about the due dates being flexible if you are working hard. They're also very flexible about the assignment if you have a good idea that you're excited about. My one professor always says, "if you're bored, your work will be boring." I'm taking her assignment in a different direction then she had in mind, but I think it should work out for the best.





Ok, that's it for now. I'll be back next week for the final blog of the semester. Wish me luck!

Mayfest

It's Mayfest today here on campus, meaning... no class! It is a much needed day off. Well, really there is still much, much to do, but it doesn't seem as pressing when you have a day to have a BBQ. I know, I'm at work right now, but usually I'm not done with class and work until six, and today I'm done at three! A three hour window of relaxation. It's the end of the semester so things are getting crazy and down to the wire. I feel like I'm on top of things this year though. I'm not too freaked out. I have one project due on Thursday that still needs a lot of work, but it can be done. I know I only freak myself out because I want it to be so good.



After that project I just have two more to do for my fibers class. And all the while I'm supposed to be etching my plates for intaglio. It's hard to multi-task all these things at once. I tend to follow one project at a time for a few days, then switch to another. I can't really get my head to focus in on one well when I am thinking about another too. But it's all about time management. As long as you keep everything in mind, it can usually work out. I almost forgot to write a paper for today. I was working so intensely on my book, I completely forgot until late last night. It's just a 2-3 page reaction paper to a video we watched so it wasn't a big deal. But jeez, I need to look at my planner more often. That's important: GET a Planner and READ it! I write things down, but don't read it.

alo alo

So it seems my posting of photos didn't work at all. I'm new to this blogging thing so you'll have to excuse me. Hopefully I can figure that out.

Anyway, things have been busy here. This week I had to plan out my last projects of the semester. They're all starting to overlap in wonderful ways. I think I'm getting to the stage where I know what I want, then I just have to find the right way to do it. I think my fibers class this semester is really helping to expand my art. We're learning how to make dyes, knit, silkscreen, felt, and use unusual materials. The assignments are really open to interpretation and the professors will agree to any project as long as you're excited about it. Fibers had a show in the gallery on Friday and I installed my crayon piece-I think I've mentioned that project before. I'm hoping to expand on that project though in the coming weeks.

I just made my first drop spine box! It was a huge success. Thankfully. It took so very long to make. It's black and sleek. I'm very happy with it. I also did my first recasing of a book! It's a new level of mending for me. It's all for this project I'm doing with a woman in a retirement home. I'm supposed to make a legacy project for her. So I decided to fix this etching book that was very important to her--she's a printmaker too; it was damaged in a flood at the retirement home. I'll give her the project next week, so hopefully she'll like it!

i still can't believe it's april

There's only about four weeks left of school! I can't believe it. It's terrible and wonderful at the same time. I can't wait for the summer but I also love all my classes. I'm staying in syracuse this summer. My roommate and I have rented an apartment and I have a job in the Conservation Lab in the library. I mend the books on the special collections floor. It's really fun; I like it. So I'll be working hard. And I'm also going to an etching workshop in Barga, Italy for the month of July! I can't wait! I've never been out of the country and the whole time I'm gone I get to do printmaking.


I told you about the visiting artists last week, Dennis McNett and Chris Johansen. So the steamroller printing with Dennis went very, very well. I'll upload some pictures from the gallery show. We put all the prints from the steamroller up in the Coyne Gallery and had a barbeque/gallery opening. It was quite crowded-we ran out of food! All the print students helped Dennis put up his work and create a large tree sculpture in the middle of the gallery. We printed t-shirts and buttons with Dennis's prints on them. It's all skulls and wolves, very graphic. Overall, the event was a big success.



O and I'm posting a bit of my work so you can see what i've been up to.

april fools

Happy April! Its beautiful in Syracuse today. very refreshing. I wish I wasn't so tired, I would enjoy it more. I'm working hard on a nine book edition for my book arts class. It's repetitive and difficult but I love it. I'm trying hard to get everything together for class on Thursday so the sleeping is a little short lately.

Thursday is a big day. We're having two visiting artists in the printshop. They're printing large scale (8 feet by 4 feet) woodcuts in the parking lot of ComArt, not to mention demos in silkscreening, and work and artist talks galore. There will be a gallery opening too - so food and fun. I hear there will even be a pig roast. Interesting. I've been cutting out my woodblock with a friend - it's much too large to cut on my own. But we worked together for an image and there's just a small bit left to cut out. I'm excited to see what it looks like printed.

an intro

Hey, I'm Ashley Kanaley. I hope to give you an idea of what life is like at Syracuse University as a junior printmaking major. I come from the much teased but beautiful New Jersey. Its a tiny little town near the Delaware Water Gap. I love it here in Syracuse. Its a nice cross between a small town and city environment. There are many things to do without being so distracting you don't get your work done. Plus if you drive in any direction for twenty minutes you are out where its quiet again with hiking and mountains, and skiing if you like that.

SU is a good mix of a small school within a larger one. I know everyone in my classes and in the art building, but when I walk across the quad, I rarely see anyone I know. You can be well known and blissfully unknown. I also really enjoy having an art school and a liberal arts school available to me. I am a psychology minor and would hate to be influenced only by art classes. I enjoy the freedom of being able to take anything from art history to math to political science. It also allows for a diverse group of friends. I have my art friends I see in the studio and in class and then there are my other friends that don't know much about art. I find it to be a great influence to have many people from different backgrounds and ideas surrounding me at all times. SU gives you many options because there are so many people.

The printmaking department just had a gallery show in the art school's Coyne Gallery. It was up from February 14-22nd. I'll have to see if I can get some pictures. But all the printmaking majors and students were given the opportunity to share their work. We had a great opening, a good crowd and quite a bit of food. It's an excellent opportunity for your resume and meeting new, possibly helpful, people.
It was actually scheduled for that very purpose. We had a visiting artist that week, Dr. Eric Avery. Look him up he's wonderful (docart.com). He gave an open lecture to the public, visited one on one with the print majors, gave talks in the studio, showed his work, and even printed a linocut edition with all the print majors. I love when the visiting artists come because you get to experience their lives and see what real artists in the field are doing and seeing, not to mention the great feedback they give you on your work.