Behind the Canvas

My name is Emily Deane and I am interested in Graphic Design. I have had a love for art since I was a toddler who colored with a crayon in each hand. I have a broad interest in different art forms and my ultimate goal is to touch others with my work. I am ready to face new challenges and be pushed to a new level with my art. I yearn to get out of my hometown and start to impact strangers with my art in a powerful way.

"Let Loose"

Let Loose is a piece that originated right from my sketchpad. For this piece I wanted to combine screen printing with one of my original sketches (bringing it into Photoshop and then making small changes.) For the text I did a color blend with teal, kelly green, white and black. And brought those colors onto the back of the shirt - coming out of the spray can. My favorite part of this piece is the line variation on the spray can going from very tight to loose and a bit crazy.

"A little bit of Everything"

This piece combines photography, Photoshop knowledge and screen-printing. I made a photo-stencil by using Illustrator because it is not a pixilized based program, unlike Photoshop. This burned a sharper image onto the screen that I personally stretched. After I printed the image to the shirt, I photographed it using this model (the person I made the shirt for.) I then brought the picture into Photoshop. The first thing I did was clear out the background with "the magic eraser tool". I then made a new background layer, and dropped in a plain brick background so the focus was no longer on the background. Finally I put in a "filter effect" giving it the feel that it was almost a cartoon or something. Over the past year my passion for screen printing has grown and I really enjoy making clothing and handcrafted gifts for others.

Handcrafted

Materials/Process:
- Handcrafted sign beveled and sanded by my dad
- Painted by me, one coat of black, two thin coats of white to give it texture
- Vinyl letters printed/applied by me

This sign was used to give me an opportunity to use the new vinyl cut machine at my high school. Although using vinyl may seem as simple as printing off the text and sticking it on, it is a much longer process. First you must measure the surface you plan to adhere the letters to. Then a roll of vinyl must be placed into a special kind of print. After the letters are printed, you must "weed" out the excess material around the text. Then you apply an adhesive paper to the vinyl message left behind. After that you peel of this paper, pulling the vinyl off from its original location. Finally, you stick this onto any material of your choice (in my case, a wooden sign.) The final product came out looking extremely professional while having my own special touch. I am considering making more of these signs and trying to sell them and promote my name at local craft fairs.

"Dare to be Different"

Although clay is not something that I have gotten into, I really enjoyed myself while creating this piece. I constructed this by first making a mold and making my own clay stamp (the peace sign.) After it was fired for the first round, I did three coats of yellow over the whole plate, and then meticulously hand-painted each peace sign three times. This piece is about not settling for being the same as everyone else. This is why it has jagged edges and one red peace sign to show that being different makes you stand out.

Strong Photography

These are some of my favorite photographs in my collection. I love the colors and power behind each of the individual pieces. Something I focus on while taking pictures, is the composition. Last year I took Commercial Arts and Photography class and was able to take what I learned in the classroom, and apply it while shooting.

"One with the Mountain"

This multi-media piece is based on the sensation of skiing and becoming one with the mountain. For this piece I used water color paint as well as acrylic paint. Something I love about this piece is how bold it is. Lately I have been striving for simplicity with immense strength. I believe this would make an excellent graphic on a shirt.

Toothpaste

Main goal(s):
- Strong images
- Sharp lines
- Powerful composition

I had lots of fun drawing these!

Sink

This is a sketch that I am extremely proud of. The assignment was to draw a sink. Although I contemplated taking a creative approach like I usually do, I decided to do something more straight forward. Although the sketch does not strictly focus on the sink, it gives viewers a feel for being in the bathroom. My favorite part and something I concentrated while sketching this, is the wood grain. I feel that it made the difference of a good sketch, to a great one.

Contour Figure Drawing

Above is a sketch that was composed in my Portfolio class. This sketch was the first of our contour unit. My focus while doing contour, is having strong blacks and strong whites so that the image would be bold and powerful. I plan on developing this sketch into a screen printing piece about balance and meditation. I will show this message by not only cleaning up my lines and strengthening the line quality for a bolder image but also by converting her face into a ying-yang to show balance.

Here is a sketch that I constructed with my non-dominant hand. Although this task was difficult, I found that it really made me look at the subject of what I was drawing. During this sketch I also tried to focused on a strong contrast where the quality of line was not as strong.

Plaster Self Portrait - "Is the grass Greener?"

Above is a 3D representational self portrait. This is the process to achieve the final out come:
- Getting my face plastered
- Making hair out of plaster
- Priming/Painting the wood as well as plaster
- Constructing a poem (by choice)
- Collecting hay
- Spray painting hay
- Attaching/problem solving how to get the hay to stick

For me this piece was to represent where I am in life. I look forward to venturing on to a new chapter, but fear I will miss what is currently so comfortable and secure. My poetic thoughts are covering the face of my plaster self showing that to me, it is obscure what the future withholds.

Self portrait/Transformational Piece

This 5x5 painting represents my journey through high school. Coming into my high school experience, I was timid, submissive and unnoticed. Through the years I progressed into a true leader and individual, now forcing others to notice my success. My color choice was thought out rather than a random color jamboree. Power colors: Red, black and white. The strength of these colors are simple yet strong. I really wanted this piece to show my transformation without having to spell it out. The figure in the bottom of the piece shows the old me while the figure on the right shows the new and powerful self that I have developed into.

Project Pink

Every year Mt. Blue's National Honors Society puts on Project Pink to raise awareness of breast cancer. Project Pink is built off of donations that go to a local hospital. Students and teachers agree to participate by dying a strip of hair pink. Members of NHS do everything from buying the hair dye, advertising for the event and dying students and faculty's hair. This year, as Vice President, I took the responsibility to advertise for the event. Above is the poster that was displayed around the school for Project Pink 2009.

Portrait Photography

For the past two years, I have taken senior pictures for my fellow students who do not want to deal with the high prices from "professional" photographers. This is one of my most recent portraits from the Fall of 2009.

Nature Photography

This is my most recent photograph in my collection. The goal of this piece was to capture the natural beauty of the rain and pine needles. No enhancement on this image was used to ensure that the piece was truly natural.

"A new begining"

To some, this image may just be a beautiful a flower. However, this piece is about A new Beginning and what will come next for me. As high school comes to an end, it is time to look ahead to the next chapter of my life. Although it is unknown at this point,
I know that a bright and beautiful future is ahead.