cut paper – Brittany Spencer // Papermaking & Graphic Design

Design I // Stop Motion Animation Final

May 10, 2017May 8, 2017brittanyspencerLeave a comment

For Design I’s final project, we focused on time and motion. With technology speeding ahead these days, it is beneficial to challenge students to try this as a school project.

Students had to produce a one-minute stop motion animation consisting of photography and sound. Creativity wise, the sky was the limit! The best video-editing software available to them were Apple iMovie and Windows Movie Maker. The more frames per second that were compiled, the smoother the video appeared. To put this into perspective, the Wallace & Gromit 30-minute shorts were shot close to 20 frames per second, adding up to be around 35,000 shots per video. That’s a bit extreme for my students, so they were encouraged to place at least two frames per second. We also watched short films by Disney and Tim Burton, and the hilarious YouTube classic “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On“.

It was a challenge for students to work on an art project of this scale, especially if they were new to Apple iMovie & Windows Movie Maker video-editing software. However, they were very proud of themselves for figuring out such a feat. We had a lot of fun in both sections eating snacks and watching everyone’s videos, and celebrating the end of another school year!

Below are some examples of what was submitted. So turn up your audio and be entertained by these one-minute shorts!

* I have permission from my students to promote their work on my website.

2 sections:

Design I // Texture

April 22, 2017April 20, 2017brittanyspencerLeave a comment

For Design I’s fifth project, we focused on texture. Students collected an assortment of black and white textures including…
• found (photography, magazines, books)
• rubbed (charcoal rubbing of physical texture on paper)
• created (using a range of mediums to invent a texture).

Then they collaged and glued them together into a quilt block pattern of their choice. They had to be precise and mindful of their workmanship. Since they were working with a grid and pattern, slight mistakes would be noticeable.

Below are some of the composition sets that were submitted. All have aspects to be improved upon for their portfolio, but overall I was very pleased with their results!

* I have permission from my students to promote their work on my website.

Section4_Breanna-Rochelle_Texture — by Breanna Rochelle

Section4_Landen-Rucker_Texture — by Landen Rucker

Section4_Lexi-Bennett_Texture — by Lexi Bennett

Section4_Olivia-Lewis_Texture — by Olivia Lewis

Section5_Bess-Reilly_Texture — by Bess Reilly

Section5_Samantha-Marshall_Texture — by Samantha Marshall

Section5_Taylor-Fikes_Texture — by Taylor Fikes

Section5_Wes-Edgeworth_Texture — by Wes Edgeworth

Section5_Willie-Griffin_Texture — by Willie Griffin

Section4_Kaleb-Baker_Texture — by Kaleb Baker

Design I // Balance

March 26, 2017March 27, 2017brittanyspencerLeave a comment

For Design I’s third project, we focused on balance. Students constructed 4 compositions based on the following options of balance: symmetrical, asymmetrical, radial, and pattern. Their theme had to be inspired by the lyrics of a song or poem of their choosing. The medium used to depict these shapes was black construction paper, and good craftsmanship was emphasized. They also had to implement the elements and principles of design in their work. Some students even accepted the challenge of making 3D pop-up elements.

Below are some of the composition sets that were submitted.

* I have permission from my students to promote their work on my website.

Section4_Abby-Jenkins_Balance_GoodMorningBaltimore-Hairspray — Song: “Good Morning Baltimore” from “Hairspray”; Design by Abby Jenkins

Section4_Ashley-Baker_Balance_HakunaMatata-AshleyBaker — Song: “Hakunamatata” from “The Lion King”; Design by Ashley Baker

Section4_Breanna-Rochelle_Balance_Loverman-Train — Song: “Loverman” by Train; Design by Breanna Rochelle

Section4_Cassidy-Jones_Balance_TinyDancer-EltonJohn — Song: “Tiny Dancer” by Elton John; Design by Cassidy Jones

Section4_Dylan-Turner_Balance_CagedBird-MayaAngelou — Poem: “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou; Design by Dylan Turner

Section4_Kaleb-Baker_Balance_TheHouseOfTheRisingSun-TheAnimals — Song: “The House of the Rising Sun” by The Animals; Design by Kaleb Baker

Section4_Kimberly-Kazmark_Balance_SpacePoem — Poem about space by unknown writer; Design by Kimberly Kazmark

Section4_Lexi-Bennett_Balance_PianoMan-BillyJoel — Song: “Pianoman” by Billy Joel; Design by Lexi Bennett

Section4_Mary-McClung_Balance_Escape-RupertHolmes — Song: “Escape” by Rupert Holmes; Design by Mary Beth McClung

Section5_Bes-Reilly_Balance_DeathOfABachelor_Panic!AtTheDisco — Song: “Death of a Bachelor” by Panic at the Disco; Design by Bes Reilly

Section5_Jillian-Lovato_Balance_ADreamIsAWishYourHeartMakes-Cinderella — Song: “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” from “Cinderella”; Design by Jillian Lovato

Section5_Samantha-Marshall_Balance_AWholeNewWorld-Aladdin — Song: “A Whole New World” from “Aladdin”; Design by Samantha Marshall

Section5_Taylor-Fikes_Balance_IJustCantWaitToBeKing-LionKing — Song: “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” from “The Lion King”; Design by Taylor Fikes

Section5_Wes-Edgeworth_Balance_HuntinFishin&LovinEveryDay-LukeBryan — Song: “Huntin Fishin Lovin Everyday” by Luke Bryan; Design by Wes Edgeworth

Design I // Texture

January 20, 2017January 17, 2017brittanyspencerLeave a comment

Fall 2016: For Design I’s fourth project, we focused on texture. Students collected an assortment of black and white textures including…
• found (photography, magazines, books)
• rubbed (charcoal rubbing of physical texture on paper)
• created (using a range of mediums to invent a texture).

Below are some of the composition sets that were submitted. All have aspects to be improved upon for their portfolio, but overall I was very pleased with their results!

* I have permission from my students to promote their work on my website.

ashtyn-carpenter_texture — by Ashtyn Carpenter

karleigh-harfst_texture — by Karleigh Harfst

marykatherine-swindoll_texture — by Mary Katherine Swindoll

meghan-norman_texture — by Meghan Norman

melissa-sones_texture — by Melissa Sones

Design I // Balance

January 16, 2017January 17, 2017brittanyspencerLeave a comment

Fall 2016: For Design I’s third project, we focused on balance. Students constructed 4 compositions based on the following options of balance: symmetrical, asymmetrical, radial, and pattern. Their theme had to be inspired by the lyrics of a song or poem of their choosing. The medium used to depict these shapes was black construction paper, and good craftsmanship was emphasized. They also had to implement the elements and principles of design in their work. Some students even accepted the challenge of making 3D pop-up elements.

Below are a few of the composition sets that were submitted.

* I have permission from my students to promote their work on my website.

hayden-hunt_balance_georgiaonmymind_raycharles — Song: “Georgia on My Mind” by Ray Charles; Design by Hayden Hunt

megan-henry_balance_poorunfortunatesouls_thelittlemermaid — Song: “Poor Unfortunate Souls” from Little Mermaid; Design by Megan Henry

meghan-norman_balance_awholenewworld_aladdin — Song: “A Whole New World” from Aladdin; Design by Meghan Norman

Design I // Shape

January 12, 2017brittanyspencerLeave a comment

Fall 2016: For Design I’s second project, we focused on geometric and organic shapes. Students constructed 3 compositions: 1 for all geometric, 1 for all organic, and 1 for a combination of geometric and organic. The medium used to depict these shapes was black construction paper, and good craftsmanship was emphasized. They also had to implement the elements and principles of design in their work.

Below are some of the composition sets that were submitted. All have aspects to be improved upon for their portfolio, but overall I was very pleased with their results!

* I have permission from my students to promote their work on my website.

anna-terry_shape_combo — Combo by Anna Terry

anna-terry_shape_geo — Geometric by Anna Terry

ashtyn-carpenter_shape_combo — Combo by Ashtyn Carpenter

ashtyn-carpenter_shape_org — Organic by Ashtyn Carpenter

caroline-fitzwater_shape_combo — Combo by Caroline Fitzwater

elise-sears_shape_geo — Geometric by Elise Sears

hayden-hunt_shape_combo — Combo by Hayden Hunt

hayden-hunt_shape_geo — Geometric by Hayden Hunt

megan-henry_shape_combo — Combo by Megan Henry

megan-henry_shape_geo — Geometric by Megan Henry

megan-norman_shape_combo — Combo by Megan Norman

megan-norman_shape_org — Organic by Megan Norman

melissa-sones_shape_combo — Combo by Melissa Sones

melissa-sones_shape_geo — Geometric by Melissa Sones

Design I // Stop Motion Animation Final

September 6, 2016September 1, 2016brittanyspencerLeave a comment

For my Spring 2016 Design I class, I decided to do something different for their final project to focus on time and motion. When I was a graduate student and instructor of record at Louisiana Tech University, my Basic Design class produced stop motion animation films for their final project. With technology speeding ahead these days, I thought it was time to bring this project to Mississippi State University.

It was a challenge for students to work on an art project of this scale, especially if they were new to video-editing software. However, they were very proud of themselves for figuring out such a feat. We had a lot of fun in both sections eating snacks and watching everyone’s videos, and celebrating the end of another school year!

Below are some examples of what was submitted. So turn up your audio and be entertained by these one-minute shorts!

* I have permission from my students to promote their work on my website.

Design I // Texture

September 1, 2016August 31, 2016brittanyspencer3 Comments

For Design I’s fourth project, we focused on texture. Students collected an assortment of black and white textures including…
• found (photography, magazines, books)
• rubbed (charcoal rubbing of physical texture on paper)
• created (using a range of mediums to invent a texture).

Below are some of the composition sets that were submitted. All have aspects to be improved upon for their portfolio, but overall I was very pleased with their results!

* I have permission from my students to promote their work on my website.

Fall 2015 // 1 section

Christina-Stachowski_Texture — by Christina Stachowski

Hannah-McCain_Texture — by Hannah McCain

Jessie-Holloway_Texture — by Jessie Holloway

Josie-Goodman_Texture — by Jessie Goodman

Kaitlynn-Harness_Texture — by Kaitlynn Harness

Wrenn-Parrish_Texture — by Wrenn Parrish

Zynettra-Woodard_Texture — by Zynettra Woodard

Spring 2016 // 2 sections

Section1_AK-Russell_Texture — by AK Russell

Section1_Carson-Brantley_Texture — by Carson Brantley

Section1_Grant-Carter_Texture — by Grant Carter

Section1_Johnathon-Johnson_Texture — by Jonathan Johnson

Section1_Mary-Zuniga_Texture — by Mary Zuniga

Section1_MaryHannah-Ruff_Texture — by Mary Hannah Ruff

Section2_AnnaKatherine-Surholt_Texture — by Anna Katherine Surholt

Section2_Elizabeth-Phyfer_Texture — by Elizabeth Phyfer

Section2_KacieLynn-James_Texture — by Kacie Lynn James

Section2_Kenan-Morris_Texture — by Kenan Morris

Section2_Kyle-Murphy_Texture — by Kyle Murphy

Section2_Mimi-Sheppard_Texture — by Mimi Sheppard

Section2_Olivia-Williams_Texture — by Olivia Williams

Design I // Balance

August 24, 2016August 23, 2016brittanyspencerLeave a comment

Unfortunately I did not do a good job of keeping documentation of the songs and poems the students were inspired by.

Below are some of the composition sets that were submitted. All have aspects to be improved upon for their portfolio, but overall I was very pleased with their results!

* I have permission from my students to promote their work on my website.

Fall 2015 // 1 section

Christine-Smith_Balance — Design by Christine Smith

Annie-Kesler_Balance — Design by Annie Kesler

Hannah-McCain_Balance — Song: “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad”; Design by Hannah McCain

Jessie-Holloway_Balance — Song: “How to Save a Life” by the Fray; Design by Jessie Holloway

Josie-Goodman_Balance — Design by Josie Goodman

Kaitlynn-Harness_Balance — Deisgn by Kaitlynn Harness

Lexus-Nealy_Balance — Design by Lexus Nealy

Rachel-Wilson_Balance — Design by Rachel Wilson

Wrenn-Parrish_Balance — Song: “Hail State”; Design by Wrenn Parrish

Zynettra-Woodard_Balance — Design by Zynettra Woodard

Spring 2016 // 2 sections

Carson-Brantly_Balance — Design by Carson Brantley

Colin-Brown_Balance — Design by Colin Brown

Elizabeth-Phyfer_Balance — Design by Elizabeth Phyfer

Emory-Endicott_Balance — Design by Emory Endicott

Gabrielle-Martinez_Balance — Design by Gabrielle Martinez

Grant-Carter_Balance — Design by Grant Carter

Jeremy-Hamilton_Balance — Design by Jeremy Hamilton

Johnathon-Johnson_Balance — Design by Johnathon Johnson

Mary-Zuniga_Balance — Song: “Wildest Dreams” by Taylor Swift; Design by Mary Zuniga

Mimi-Sheperd_Balance2 — Design by Mimi Shepherd

Olivia-Williams_Balance — Poem: “Roses are Red, Violets are Blue”; Design by Olivia Williams

Design I // Shape

August 22, 2016brittanyspencerLeave a comment

As mentioned before, I will be catching up this summer to feature artwork my students produced over the last school year.

For Design I’s second project, we focused on geometric and organic shapes. Students constructed 3 compositions: 1 for all geometric, 1 for all organic, and 1 for a combination of geometric and organic. The medium used to depict these shapes was black construction paper, and good craftsmanship was emphasized. They also had to implement the elements and principles of design in their work. Some students even accepted the challenge of making 3D pop-up elements.

Below are some of the composition sets that were submitted. All have aspects to be improved upon for their portfolio, but overall I was very pleased with their results!

* I have permission from my students to promote their work on my website.

FALL 2015