I thought this was an interesting call for entries.
This exhibition is open to all interpretations of the concept, Art Biologic. Included are all art forms relating to or gaining inspiration from the biological world. Landscape, flowers, vegetables, fruits and animals are all included. Figurative artwork of human beings is prohibited. All artist interpretations of these biological elements from the realist to the abstract and conceptual will be reviewed and considered…
Check out the Slowart Productions page for det ails.
from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit
Whether you’re heading off to art school, and want to fit in, or whether you’re already there, and realize you don’t, or whether you just want to be different at whatever school you’re at…
Take these steps.
Steps
- Understand that the world, including your clothing, is a palette to express yourself. Find what makes you feel happy or alive, not what others tell you is fashionable.
- Look at your hair. Something has to be different about it. Choppy, bangs? Dreads? Dyed a unique color, or streaks? Shaved head? Mohawk? Teased, big, hair? Extremely short (girls)? Extremely long (guys)? You get the point.
- Do you have any piercings? You’re not required to, as long as you employ many other methods of stand-out-isms, but it can help. Consider your eyebrow, especially. Or if you want something a little tamer, your cartilage. Be careful about nose rings. They can look trashy on girls instead of artsy.
- Give up shopping at the generic department store, except for small staples like underwear, simple tank tops, and maybe jeans.
- Buy the latest and most fashionable pieces you can find at the specialty or thrift stores.
- Dress up any shirt or dress with awesome accessories, with a belt added to the natural waist (on girls) really pumps up the artsy. A well tailored trench coat is a good artsy investment. Most of the time you have to look like you don’t care about what you’re wearing, you just threw something on. It also helps a lot if it fits really well, especially on guys. Artsy guys should never wear ill fitting ruined dress pants or something. If you do wear jeans, make sure they’re stylish and they can be ripped and faded. Shoes can be bought here too.
- Shop at ‘vintage’ stores or at tiny exclusive boutiques. This will be much more expensive, but you can find some truly original things. Perhaps a couple good, classy pieces mixed with other stuff is a good idea.
- Try Anthropologie, an artsy specialty clothing store.
- Look for jewelry that is interesting and unique, or ties together your look. Look for funky pieces, foreign pieces, expensive well made pieces, intricate wood pieces, and the 80′s had a bunch of fascinating stuff.
- Stop shaving (if you’re a guy), or give the impression you have. No artsy guy is hotter than when he has a little facial hair.
- Black is a good tool you can use to unify your look, as is white.
Tips
- Artists see the world around them as malleable and full of visual and physical textures. Clothing is a medium for art, both something that is art in itself and that can allow other art to happen. When you want to make your clothing an art statement, explore colors, fabrics, cuts. Do you find your self drawn to soft fabrics like velvet or stiff starched shirts? What colors do you think go well together? What is your reaction to big prints? Small prints? Also think about dressing so that you can allow art to happen. Have shirts that you can get paint or charcoal on. Wear leggings that you can dance in.
- Make your own clothing with or without patterns. Sew fabric into jeans, crochet a shawl, revel in remaking what is already out there.
- The whole point is to try to find beauty in your own unique style. If you ever find something and aren’t sure whether it’s the best thing you’ve ever seen or kind of cool, it’s a treasure. Buy it, use it, be proud of it.
- No matter what you do, or what style you go with, the key idea here is to look different and look your best. Whatever is not done, do it. Wear patent leather boots with knee length skirts with a stylish raincoat, wear a cute t-shirt with a feminine, flowing skirt. If you throw yourself into anything at all, with poise and self confidence you will most likely carry it off. More than anything, it’s about your attitude. Believe you look cool, wear whatever truly appeals, and you’ll be golden.
- Shopping at thrift stores is a killer way to get your different style on. You can find retro and modern styles and easily mix and match them. Thrift stores can be a great asset.
Warnings
- If you shop at a vintage store, make sure you thoroughly wash clothes before wearing, and only buy overgarments – such as coats and jackets at these stores. At the very least, get vintage store items professionally dry cleaned before wearing. You never know.
- Nobody can tell you your specific style, Again, The best way to find your style is to try things yourself. Try really bold or drastic styles, then if you want, round them off, carving out your looks.
Related wikiHows
Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Dress Like an Artist. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.
Ahhhh. Once again, the power of words.
Along this journey of being a professional craftsperson I have picked up some words of wisdom along the way. One of those tidbits is this:
The way you present your work is the way that people will perceive and judge it.
That is an obvious statement but not one that is always taken seriously. It would be great if our work sold itself. But it doesn’t. We have to also display it and respect it so others do the same. Think of the analogy of going on a corporate job interview. Who gets the job? Someone in sweat pants or someone in office attire?
The same holds true with how we talk about and describe our work and medium. What words do you use to describe your work?
Do’s and Don’ts of Verbal Presenation
When describing your work:
DON’T use words like “stuff” or “junk”, etc.
DO use words like “pieces”, “work”, and actual descriptors, “beads”, “jewelry”, “sculpture”.
DON’T minimize.
DO speak proudly, or not at all, but at least smile and say thank you.
If you show your B-Team of work:
DON’T use words like , “wonky”, “reject”, “seconds”, “lopsided”, etc.
DO use words like “experimental”, “design steps”, “organic”, etc.
When describing your process and equipment:
DON’T minimize your equipment or your actions. Example for glass artists: annealing. Don’t skip over that fact and don’t just say, “Then I cool them slowly”. For PMC artists, DON’T just call it ‘clay with silver in it.” For polymer artists, don’t just say you “bake it at 275 degrees in my kitchen oven.”
DO describe your process with wonder and use proper terms that make your work important and intricate. Example: “Annealing is slow cooling in a digitally controlled kiln for 10 hours to ensure durability.” “PMC is fine silver in a binder that helps it to be malleable when wet but metal after fired in a kiln.” Polymer clay is “cured” in order to set the design. You get the idea.
The bottom line is, if you respect your work, your tools and your process, others will too. If you are in the DON’T group right now and you don’t feel comfortable talking in the DO style, try it. You’ve heard “fake it till you make it?” (I’m full of cliches today, aren’t I?) If you start to consciously change your words, your attitude will follow suit. My Building a Healthy Ego Post can help you with this.
Have you gone through this? How have you changed how you view your own work and how others respond to it? Leave a comment and share your experience!
