Week 4: Craft Focus

This collage is made out of an onion ring and an eyeball. My classmates picked this object because it can be easily isolated. First, I opened this photo with Photoshop and highlighted the pixels that I wasn’t using. I used the rectangular marquee tool to delete large areas around the onion ring. I also used the polygon lasso tool to delete pixels around the onion that weren’t perfect shapes. Then, I used the eraser tool to get around the edges to make sure there weren’t any extra pixels I didn’t need. I selected my entire final cutout and copied and pasted it in a blank file in Photoshop. I renamed the background layer to change the color to a bright pink. After, I went into edit and clicked paste nine times. I played with each layer by putting them in the right order so that certain onion rings would stand out more. I brought the ninth layer to the front and changed the saturation to a bright blue. I arranged the onion rings this way so that the center would stand out the most. I am controlling the viewer’s eye by positioning the ninth layer in the center which stands out the most because the scale is bigger compared to the other objects. Also, I saturated the color which made this onion ring stand out over the other onion rings because of the contrast. This blue helps the blue eyeball also stick out more in the center of the onion ring. The other normal onion rings are further which makes them look less important. This helps the blue onion ring in the center stick out more because since the onion ring is repeated the others are ignored. This is an eyeball inside an onion ring and it does not mean anything in particular. I am trying to say by playing around with different tools such as size, color, and position helps an item stand out more. 

Week 3: Re-shoot

I made this picture with two onion rings and a set of eyeballs. First, I picked out a handful of onion rings of all different sizes. I made sure that I had two onion rings around the same size. Second, I placed all the onion rings into a fryer to cook and when they were all done I let them sit to cool off. I placed the onion rings on a paper towel to let the grease soak up before I took any pictures. Next, I had my co-worker take two onion rings around the same size and place them up to her eyes to make glasses. Then, I made sure that the onion rings were in the center and were showing her eyes a certain way. I arranged the photo like this to show both of the whole eyeballs. I am controlling the viewer’s eye by starting with the outside of the onion ring and making its way towards the center of inside the eyeball. The eye goes from the outside frame to next inner frame and ends up in the pupil of the eye. This photo is of onion ring glasses. This means that you can use onion rings as fake glasses because they have holes for each eye to see out of. I’m trying to say that onion rings can represent something other than food when you become creative.

Week 2: Photos

I made this with vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream, chocolate syrup, fresh strawberries, a banana, whip cream, Nabisco cookies, chopped peanuts, and cherries. First, I sliced a banana in half and placed it into a banana split dish. I scooped three scoops of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream each. I placed each flavor of ice cream beside each other in between the banana. Next, I poured fresh strawberries and chocolate syrup over the ice cream. Then, I topped the sundae with whip cream, chopped peanuts, three Nabisco cookies, and three cherries. I arranged the sundae this way because this how to make a proper Battleship sundae according to Lindy’s Chili & Gertie’s Ice Cream. I am controlling the viewer’s eye by placing the three bright red cherries at the top of the sundae. The eye quickly works its way down to the bottom of the sundae where the banana is located. This photo is of a Battleship sundae. This sundae received its name because it is in the shape of a battleship. It has three Nabisco cookies to represent the three towers you would find on this particular ship. I’m trying to say that a sundae can represent a real life object if one uses their imagination

Week 1: Introduction

My name is Jen Holecek and I attended Nazareth Academy High School in LaGrange Park where I first learned of St. Xavier University. I'm currently a freshman here at this institution and majoring in Early Childhood Education. I decided on St. Xavier because I believe that I can academically succeed with all the opportunities around me. The School of Education has many staff and faculty members who are very dedicated with plenty of experience. The help from these professionals will allow me to reach my full potential and give me a better understanding of what a great educator is all about. I chose to go into the field of education because I believe that I have a special gift working with young children. I believe the importance of education should be stressed at an early age. I wish to set young children down the right path and to be a great role-model in the near future.