studys of the foot

studys of the human skeleton

Female nude in acrylic

Self Portrait in acryic

Blogging Experience

This is the first time I had ever heard of Blogging, and I was scared. I am not one with the computer so creating my own "website" or personal page was something that made me quite nervous. At first really procrastinated with starting this blog once i got going i started to find problems that frustrated me with the process. But after I got my feet wet everything seemed to be coming together. I started experimenting with taking images with my camera as well as with photo booth, and found pros and cons for each. I found with editing many times the blogger site is "unwilling" to accept photos and i just had to come back at a later time. I also played around with the layout and the general look of my blog, and I really started enjoying cataloging my work. When i go in to edit my work i often get frustrated because it feels like what ever i want to change; I just cant do it. its probably more so a miss function with my computer skills than with the program itself, but having no lesions, no in put, or suggestions as to go about creating this website makes things difficult.
Along with the muscle and drawing posts required for this class I also started to post work from my past and other classes. I would have to conclude that this experience overall has been frightening at first, but rewarding in the end. I enjoy the fact that if i continue posting my projects i will become more familar with the blogging process as well as have a permanent record of my work thus far.

I Dream of Genie Vase

45 min. Female Nude

20 min. Male Nude

35 min. Female Nude

30 min. Female Nude

25 min. Male Nude

Quick Gesture Drawings

flexor digitorum longus tibialis posterior flexor hallucis longus popliteus soleus gastrocnemius

extensor digitorum longus (long extensor of the toes)
extensor hallucis longus (long extensor of the big toe)
peroneus tertius (consider this part of the extensor digitorum longus, as its fifth tendon.)

peroneal brevis (left)
peroneal longus (right)

Abstrack in ink

Sketch of Skull

So far in this class we have done a lot of research in relation to the body. We started with simple sketches concentrating on the axis lines of the body. This was a very important lesion for me because before I always concentrated on the out side edge of a figure. We then continued on with learning the bend of the skeletal system, the spinal column, the rib cage, and the hips. For several class periods we concentrated on drawing and understanding who these main points on the body work together.
While we have been working on all of these figure drawings we have also been building the muscle system on our manikins. Building the muscles that make up the 'bulk" of the body has probably been the most effective learning device so far. When i work on building the muscles I concentrate on where the muscles connect and the function of them. Relating this muscle work to human figure drawing has been very effective.
Now when i look at the human figure i see whats on the inside that makes up this form. I concentrate on capturing the accurate shape by focusing on the curve of the spinal column, the direction of the rips and hips, and most of all the shadows the curves throw on the body itself.
This class has been extremely rewarding thus far. I never thought i would be able to capture an accurate representation of the body, but with these steps we have gone through, it makes it a lot easier to see.
Throughout the remainder of this class (the next five-six weeks) I hope to finishs building the muscles on our manikins as well as be able to complete some longer pose drawings. It is very rewarding to have a drawing that you are proud of.

copper rings

Forged Hair Sticks (copper)

Poem By: Jessica Moran (2008)

Wonders of the day;
How it stands and what is to come.
Listening to what people say,
Words of wisdom,
We so seldom hear.
Common ramble and bullshit
Is what enters the ear
Roaming around so lost in this space.
Feeling so lost and alone
No matter the time or place.
No kind words,
No thoughts of pure.
Minds are all lost with in the thoughts we all fear,
Rapists and killers out on their own.
We don’t even feel safe
In this place we call home.
Screams of terror
Echo through the streets.
Thoughts of chaos
And scrambling of feet
Everyone runs
So very far away
They put it all off,
And wait for the day.
The day they have the courage;
To stand up for what they believe.
Our passions and desires
Are so often deceived
We are followers not leaders
We do what we are told.
Not because we want to,
But because were to afraid to be bold.
War and destruction
Why are some so blunt?
I think I know why
Its because they enjoy the hunt.

The legs were a very complex area to build, so rather than talking about each muscle individually i will talk about them as a whole. Many times the muscles can be seen from more than one image because of their connecting points. I started with the Vastus intermedius, this muscle is responsible for extending the knee. According to your text this muscle is the "foundation" for the muscles in the leg. The Vastus medialis and the Westus lateralis also extends the knee, and it also rotates the femur. Next came the Rectus Femoris which allows the flexing of the hips, and the ability to raise the thigh to the thorax. The next set muscles, Pectineus, Adductor longus, Adductor brevis, Adductor magnus and the Gracilis, all work with the same function of flexing and rotating the hips. The Semimembranosus, Semitendinousus, Sartorius and the Biceps femoris, work together to extend the knee and rotate the hips.
This was a very frustrating area of the body to work on because it is very difficult to identify where the muscles connect and lay in relation to one another. Having my group members next to me, so we were able to work together and compare as we went was a very nice convienance.

Tuesday, October 14th, 2008

We are up to date with having our muscles on our mannequins, so that makes it a lot easier to compare them. We started off by discussing our muscle placement, first thing was that Jess was confused where to attach the Gluteus, so she looked off of Lance’s model and the book and then attached them after discussion about it with the group. Then we also had a difference of opinion of the muscle placement of the Tensor fasciae latae. Jess had hers attached further away from the knee cap and a little bit further down the femur than Lance. We looked into the book for this muscle and discussed it. It was decided that Jess’ muscle was almost in the right spot, just a fraction off, so Lance needed to make an adjustment on his mannequin to match hers. Derek missed the last class so he didn’t have the muscles done that were assigned. He noticed that on both Lance’s and Jess’ models the Gluts were attaching to the femur on a big plane instead of the crest were the two planes meet on the backside. Also he noticed that they were attached on top of the coccyx instead of on the side.

This is the image that i found to be most interesting as well as helpful this week. here you can see the layers of the gluteus muscles and how they attach to the spinal erectors. i thought this image was particularly helpful because it really helps you see the tear drop shape of the gluteus as a whole.

In this image you can see the Tensor fasciae latae again along with the different layers of the Gluteus maximus. The function of the gluteus is to abdust and rotate the thigh. Its attachment is the facet of ilium to the posterior superionr and inferior spines. From this angle you are also able to see the Gluteus minimus, this muscles function is to abduct and rotate the hip. Its attachment sight is the gluteal fossa and the surface of the iliup. Having a Gluteus minimus and a gluteus maximus you can also see the Gluteus Medius. this muscle lays inbeween the other two and controles the motions of the hips.

Moving on with our manicans, we are now constructing the muscles in the legs and gluteus. in this image you are able to see the Tensor fasciae latae. This muscle is responsible for the copression of the hip and knee. Its attachment sites are between the anterior superion spine and the iliac tendinous.

Back View

When I began this clay-molding project I actually did not become frustrated at all. Molding and hand building projects have always been something I have enjoyed (so far anyway.) We have really just begun this process, so I don’t know exactly how it will continue to go, but so far it has been very useful in my becoming more familiar with the body. By understanding the muscular system you have a better basis for understanding the bones, the motion and the general “bulk “ of certain areas. One thing that did frustrate me was that the book series we use as our reference, Atlas of Human Axial Musculature in Clay by Jon Zahourek, because the book shows one picture at a time. So when you are working on muscles that layer you cant see where they lay in reference to the others.
In this variety of views you are able to see the muscles that line each side of the neck and spine allowing us to rote or nod our head. The muscles that layer the back, and stomach that allows movement in the center region of our body. The muscles I built consist of the Cervicis, Capitis, Thoracis, Iliocostalis, lonissimus, abdominals, and the spinal erectors.
A web site I used as a second reference was www.building-muscle101.com.

Back Angled View

Side View

Front View

Tree Tattoo

Heron Tattoo

Emil Ganso
Seated Nude
1939
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
Drawings of the Masters American Drawings
Bartlett H. Hayes, Jr.

Strait View of the Ribs and Hips

Raffaello Sanzino (Raphael)
From the Resurrection of Christ
1500-20
Sketch Book for the Artist
Sarah Simblet

Angled View of the Ribs and Hips

A.R. Williams
Lateral Contour Map
1979
Sketch Book for the Artist
Sara Simblet