Nicolet Schenck

Cozy

2012-02-22T20:30:00.000-08:00

In the Shower

2012-02-15T12:25:00.001-08:00

My first set of relief prints. This is a good technique for me.

Sneak Peek

2012-02-13T22:53:00.000-08:00

I'm working on a double spread for Illustration 2. The assignment was to come up with two unexpected opposites, and I decided on blankets vs armor. Here's a sneak peek of my blanket pattern! I'm excited about this one.

Some portraits

2012-02-13T15:53:00.000-08:00

Here are some weekly sketches for my Portrait Illustration class with Deanna Staffo

Color and Paint!

2012-01-29T22:21:00.000-08:00

Oh so this is what happens when I use color shamelessly and just go wild. Hmmm....

A Book of Saints

2011-12-14T19:38:00.001-08:00

This is my final for Artists' Books. I really enjoyed making this little book. There are more pages than I have pictured here, mostly some pages with text about each saint, but I decided to just show you the drawings.

Ten Paces & Draw 2

2011-12-09T15:50:00.000-08:00

HAHA Oh my goodness, look at what he did. It's so great and funny. I guess Topher MacDonald really wanted to draw space this week.

My sketch:

Topher's Finish:

Ten Paces & Draw

2011-12-07T19:37:00.000-08:00

For my Illustration final in Allan Comport's class, our class collaborated with Ten Paces and Draw, a great illustration blog where you swap sketches with another illustrator and finish their idea. I was paired with Topher MacDonald, which was such a blessing, his sketch was so fun to finish!

Here's Topher's sketch:

And here's my finish:

I haven't seen what he's done with my sketch yet, but I'm excited to see how it turned out. I'll probably post them both here when I get it.

Art Market

2011-12-06T22:16:00.000-08:00

And the time is here, Art Market commences. Wednesday December 7 to Saturday December 10, MICA is holding the annual Art Market. Students, faculty, and alumni sell their art to all ye civilians. Come enjoy the browse and run into me selling my Face Necklaces!

Profesh.

2011-12-06T22:13:00.000-08:00

I have business cards! Look at how purdy dey are.

Melina's Sunflower

2011-12-06T21:43:00.000-08:00

As Melina greets the beginning of the day with a nice book, Tumsy notices something that wasn't there the night before.

Melina's RV

2011-12-06T21:32:00.000-08:00

Melina Hopewell Waits

2011-11-22T13:01:00.000-08:00

The part of the story where 10 year old Melina Hopewell waits in the family kitchen for her father to come home. He never does.

Drawrings

2011-11-15T12:13:00.000-08:00

Melina Hopewell

2011-11-14T19:13:00.000-08:00

I'm creating a story about a character named Melina Hopewell. I'll post more about it later, but here are some characters from it.

Absolut Ad

2011-11-11T10:33:00.000-08:00

Earth Mystics

2011-11-04T12:56:00.000-07:00

Better good, bad, and neutral versions of me! These ladies are earth figures, mystical and powerful, controlling the environment.

What Remains

2011-11-04T12:08:00.000-07:00

My midterm for artist books! This was made from found wood and old wallpaper. I wrote the poem inside that speaks of losing the past and experiencing change.

Boxes and Accordions

2011-11-04T12:04:00.000-07:00

Sitting on the Floor

2011-11-03T18:25:00.000-07:00

I'm playing. This originally was a sketch in my sketchbook that I liked, so I thought I'd go crazy. Here are watercolor, digital, and acrylic versions, completed in that order. I'm trying to decide how I like to work, and what works best for me. **I decided to try combining the digital and traditional realms for the last one. Hmmm...

Watercolor

Digital

Acrylic

Watercolor & Digital Combined

Lists to Swim By

2011-10-14T10:00:00.000-07:00

One Stab Binding

2011-10-14T09:57:00.000-07:00

This is a Book of Addicts

2011-10-14T09:54:00.001-07:00

Faith vs Logic

2011-10-14T09:51:00.000-07:00

This editorial piece deals with the issue of republican politicians reaching out to conservative, religious types by completely ignoring the advances of science in society. There is a disconnect between faith and logic because people push them to the extremes. Why not identify with both?

This is done in acrylic. I'm trying some new things out, and we'll see where they take me.

Some Artist Books

2011-10-14T09:46:00.000-07:00

Makin books!

Some Character Design Work

2011-10-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

Bill Haley and Elvis Presley

2011-09-23T12:45:00.000-07:00

A portrait of some celebrities from the 50s, done in the style of Robert Weaver.

Breakfast at Tiffany's

2011-09-23T10:15:00.000-07:00

Redesigning Audrey Hepburn's movie poster for Allan Comport's class!

Little Bo Peep

2011-09-19T15:57:00.000-07:00

Little Bo peep has lost her sheep
And doesn't know where to find them.
Leave them alone and they'll come home,
Bringing their tails behind them.

Little Bo peep fell fast asleep
And dreamt she heard them bleating,
But when she awoke, she found it a joke,
For they were all still fleeting.

Then up she took her little crook
Determined for to find them.
She found them indeed, but it made her heart bleed,
For they left their tails behind them.

It happened one day, as Bo peep did stray
Into a meadow hard by,
There she espied their tails side by side
All hung on a tree to dry.

She heaved a sigh, and wiped her eye,
And over the hillocks went rambling,
And tried what she could, As a shepherdess should,
To tack again each to its lambkin.

Monsters!

2011-09-19T15:54:00.000-07:00

A bunch of tribal monsters for Advanced Character design with Pierro Macgowen

More...

2011-07-21T23:05:00.000-07:00

Per usual, just sketching.
BUT, I made a banner for the top of my page! I think it looks pretty swell.

I like sketches.

2011-07-11T12:00:00.000-07:00

Strictly Figure

2011-07-11T11:56:00.000-07:00

I'm a TA for the strictly figure class at MICA's pre-college and I get to mold kids' minds and draw from the model! So much fun! Here are some of the drawings I've done, which I am really pretty happy with.

Happy Birthday Ma

2011-06-16T21:15:00.000-07:00

A drawing for my mom, of my mom :)

Hot Jam Factory

2011-06-16T21:13:00.000-07:00

THIS BAND asked me to draw something for them, so I did! Based on their song "Bang," I created this image.

Name Cards

2011-05-20T23:04:00.000-07:00

It's my grandmom's 80th birthday! And we're celebrating. Chicken and fish all around! I made these name cards so that the waiters wouldn't get confused.

Dreaming

2011-05-20T23:02:00.000-07:00

The other night I had a dream about weird creatures that everyone was turning into. They had pale heads, bald, and their eye sockets looked like they were tearing away. Their bodies were just black shapes and they just wandered around in my dream world.

Illustration II Final

2011-05-04T20:48:00.000-07:00

We got to do whatever we wanted for our final in Illustration II and these little babies happened.

-That one is in acrylic, while the other two are in watercolor.

-That one is my favorite

Sketchies

2011-04-29T17:36:00.000-07:00

I'm really happy with that last one. I might finish it off! I think I will.

Maria and Poppit

2011-04-26T10:51:00.000-07:00

Final book illustration project!
We created a character and presented the character in class. Then, we chose one of our classmate's characters and created a spread for the two of them.

How embarrassing

2011-04-26T10:49:00.001-07:00

For Illustration II, we had to write down an embarrassing tale anonymously. Then, we randomly chose a classmate's story and illustrated it!

My gal went to see a Wagner concert in Chicago. She was all dress up and excited to be in the city for the first time when she fell in the middle of the crosswalk. She then proceeded to shout "I CAN'T GET UP, I CAN'T GET UP" until a stranger picked her up and brought her to the other side of the street.

AH LOOK

2011-04-21T23:10:00.000-07:00

CLICKCLICKCLICKCLICKCLICKCLICK
Guyz look. My stuff is on a real website with real people looking at it and thinking real thoughts and giving me real feedback. Read what people have to say! Some like it, some don't. I know I have a lot to learn, and I already have learned more since this project, but I like reading the criticism that people have, as well as the praise. This is wonderful.

Antoine

2011-04-21T21:34:00.000-07:00

A portrait of a nice little frenchman with a sweet disposition and an understated personality that I interviewed for visual journalism.

A Trip to Fells Point

2011-04-20T09:21:00.000-07:00

I went out exploring and sketching the other day in Fells Point. I found myself taking pictures of textures and patterns, always noticing the little details of a place or person that make them unique. When I was drawing, I focused more on the feel of the environment and the figures in the area. After I got home, I remembered some people that interested me throughout the day and I made little characters out of them. I'd like to take them into some kind of finished illustration for my final project in Illustration II.

A quick study

2011-04-13T11:30:00.000-07:00

A quick gauche painting! I wanted to play with gauche and further a sketch I did. So, this is what happened in an hour!

Maria de Cruxio

2011-04-13T11:19:00.000-07:00

This is Maria de Cruxio. She was derived from the words "Prima Donna," "ruffles," and "sharp."
She likes to be the center of attention and strives to outshine everyone. She reads romance novels and biographies. She likes cultured things, and wants to be as cultured as she possibly can, so she visits museums and auctions regularly. One day she hopes to perform on broadway and own a mansion filled with famous paintings. She is afraid of getting close to people and then losing them. She has never been in love although she has had many boyfriends.

The Cabin & The Storm

2011-04-04T12:50:00.000-07:00

A fake title and author for a fake book. But, my illustration is real!

Open Life

2011-03-27T12:14:00.000-07:00

Taking advantage of a free nude model session

Space

2011-03-26T12:22:00.000-07:00

Simple space for illustration II.

Sketchinnggggg

2011-03-24T12:01:00.000-07:00

The result of an SVA meeting.

Photo shoot!

2011-03-23T11:12:00.000-07:00

Sketches

2011-03-19T13:09:00.001-07:00

It's Kristina and some weird guy that came out of my imagination!!

Vis Jo

2011-03-19T12:52:00.000-07:00

Movie Poster

2011-03-09T10:39:00.001-08:00

These are still in progress, but I like them so far, so I thought I'd post them

Watercolor Sketches

2011-03-09T10:37:00.000-08:00

Just playing around with lines and patterns and watercolors

Mr Linden's Library

2011-03-09T10:33:00.001-08:00

"He had warned her about the book, but now it was too late"

This is my initial sketch:

And this is the finished piece:

"Fear"

2011-03-05T13:34:00.000-08:00

Danamarie gave us an assignment based on what we told her we were afraid to tackle artistically. I told her I was afraid of watercolor and creating something cliche or corny. So, she told me to use watercolor and illustrate a grandmother and her grandchild having a tea party with stuffed animals and cookies.

Next, after that assignment was over, we were assigned part 2. We had to use the same medium, but the content could be anything. I chose to illustrate a dream that I had:

Inside my room there were two airy, eerie albino girls. Their hair was blonde and messy, almost defying gravity. Their eyes were a piercing white blue, too large for their faces, and both of the girls seemed to work with the same mind. Their clothing was white and bohemian, billowing and flowing, transparent dresses. They used no words, just looked at me with their hypnotic eyes and I felt as though I'd become part of them if I did no escape their gaze.

Posters

2011-02-23T20:12:00.000-08:00

For Typography I, some posters.

Latex

2011-02-21T10:03:00.000-08:00

That's Not What I Expected

2011-02-21T10:01:00.001-08:00

Illustration II "That's Not What I Expected" (all versions)

The Beast

2011-02-20T22:38:00.001-08:00

Finished Beauty and the Beast spread for Book Illustration using my character design for the Beast. The full thing is 6.5"x18" and is done in graphite and watercolor.

Flickr

2011-02-18T22:59:00.000-08:00

I have created a Flickr account for posting Typography I work, so I figured I might as well use it for photos too, now that I've got a great new camera. So, my flickr page.

Also, my tumblr if you're interested. I gather things I like and am inspired by here.

Spring

2011-02-17T18:57:00.000-08:00

It has been some time since I've posted anything other than the art I'm working on. I tend not to go into how my life is going or how I'm feeling in school or in general, but that may be because last semester was rather discouraging and tiresome. I didn't feel satisfied in my classes, nor did I find any inspiration in my work. I was very lost in the way of art and MICA and nothing I could do could really get me motivated or excited about being at MICA.

This spring is turning out to be quite the opposite. First of all, this weather makes me feel liberated. I can't believe what 20 or 30 degrees can and will do to my state of mind. I think I have discovered that during the winter, I shut off a piece of my mind. I know that I cannot skip the cold months, thus I compensate by somewhat ignoring and mindlessly enduring. As soon as the weather opens up and spring commences, so does my mind and my attitude. I feel energized and ready to seize the days. I cannot sit at my computer for much longer than 30 minutes, making me clean the dorm or rearrange my room on a whim. I feel inspired to be productive and I long to learn and grow and make.

In addition to this weather, my classes and teachers this semester are incredibly positive and inspirational. The teachers are very open to their students and have a desire to connect with us and push us in a direction that we want to pursue. I am somehow overjoyed with the assignments, although they are not much different than last semester. I just have this longing to push and push and push, and finally I feel capable of pushing hard enough. I have the energy and the mindset. I feel good.

Be prepared, you're about to witness a leap in my quality of work. It will happen.

Sketches

2011-01-27T09:24:00.001-08:00

Subway

2010-12-30T21:31:00.000-08:00

For my cousin Jeff

Transit Twiddling 7" x 5"

Christmas

2010-12-30T21:29:00.001-08:00

Mike&Ike

2010-12-13T21:37:00.000-08:00

Final graphic design project! This is my redesigned package for Mike & Ike.

Fear/Obsession

2010-12-13T21:23:00.000-08:00

Illustration I assignment - illustrate your fear and obsession.

I fear being smothered, I'm obsessed with spirituality.

Here are two different developments.

Power

2010-12-04T15:30:00.000-08:00

This is my final for Fine Art in Illustration. I started with the sketch, then did an ink drawing, then colored it with watercolor. I hung the red and gold one on the wall for the class, but I wasn't happy with the coloring or the quality. So, I printed out the ink drawing on better paper, played with colors, and redid it.

I was assigned the object "Euros (100-1000)" and to use figure drawings that we did in class in order to make a finished illustration. I started thinking about how the euro, or money, is power, so I did some sketches of men surrounded by a swirling vortex of coins. The vortex started looking like it had a life of it's own, so I made the money itself a figure or an entity. I decided to deal with the struggle that women have with the power of wealth and the power of men.

Bjork

2010-12-01T12:46:00.000-08:00

This is my response to Bjork's song, Hyper-Ballad

Acrylic

2010-10-04T21:46:00.000-07:00

My Illustration teacher did a demonstration on acrylic paint. He taught us a method of layering paint and then scratching it away with sand paper. Here is what happens! I love it!

Broken Home

2010-09-17T19:06:00.000-07:00

The first project for Fine Art in Illustration was to create an illustration for the article In Praise of the Broken Home by Ellen Lupton (who happens to be my graphic design teacher by the way).

After reading the article, I knew two things stood out in my mind visually. One was the pink couch with which Ellen seemed to connect her experience. She mentioned it frequently, and it almost seemed like a metaphor for her memories of the traumatic experience. The other element that stood out to me was how her parents ended up living next door to each other, after divorcing. In my mind I pictured a wife house and a husband house, facing in different directions and subtly turning away from each other.

So, to incorporate both ideas, I created the room with the couch (the space that is Ellen's subconscious memory) and the two houses in a picture on the wall. The siamese twins act as both two people, and one person, for in the article, she has a twin that went through the same situation as her, but in her mind, she could have experienced a split in emotion. One side of her wanted to take responsibility and act as though she was not affected by the divorce, while the other wanted to curl up and cry. A struggle with how to act.

First I made a pen drawing, then I went over it in water color. I decided to post both of the images, for i can't decide which I find more powerful. I tried to lighten it up a bit when I added the color, because Ellen's article has an upbeat tone, and I realize that my piece has more weight.

6 inches by 8 inches

Spoooooons

2010-09-14T12:23:00.000-07:00

Illustration I assignment - create 96 illustrations of the same object. I chose a spoon.

Sketches

2010-09-11T20:19:00.000-07:00

Just some drawings in my sketchbook that I like

Life Drawing

2010-09-05T15:08:00.000-07:00

My favorite drawings from my Life Drawing class

Drawing I & II

2010-05-01T15:59:00.001-07:00

My work in Drawing I & II as a freshman at MICA

Painting I

2010-05-01T15:47:00.001-07:00

Oil, 30"x30"

This was my final project for Painting I with Cornel Rubino. He had each of us choose a poem to create a triptych. I chose Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss, but instead of portraying the happy-go-lucky mood of Seuss books and poems, I tried to go for a more eerie, melancholy approach. As I was working, I thought of my own narrative. Sue sews clothes for the crows and socks for the fox, as the poem says, but she does this day and night, never leaving her house. She has this obsession with sewing clothes for her captive animals which she keeps in her house. The fox has nothing else to do but amuse himself with the boxes, and the bear and cat must discuss who shall eat the pear. Notice that there are no windows, the clocks have all different times, and her dress is tattered. I hoped to point out her kooky mind using all of these elements.

And here are other paintings from the class:

Still Life:

Master copy of Vincent Desiderio's Soaking:

Elements

2010-04-22T17:22:00.001-07:00

Work from Elements of Visual Thinking

Illustration is the best

2010-04-22T13:34:00.001-07:00

I am officially an illustration major. I decided to go with illustration because it is much more open to interpretation, narrative, and metephorical references than graphic design, and those aspects are what I enjoy most in art. I am still concentrating in graphic design, for it does interest me and I'd love to combine the powers of illustration and graphic design to emulate a powerful art force.

In the meantime, I have discovered Edward Gorey and have fallen in love. I already used some of his technique in my work before I knew of his existence, so he is stylistically what I am to become. He is also really fun with his illustrations, even though they are dark with an eerie undertone. His attention to every tiny detail of every inch of the page is spectacular.

I also love Lisbeth Zwerger.

I want to be both of them.

Sculptural Forms

2010-04-22T13:21:00.001-07:00

Everything I did for Sculptural Forms, freshman year

Freshman Spring Semester '10

2010-04-07T09:18:00.000-07:00

I am currently completing my second semester of freshman year and my courses include Drawing II with Dave Cloutier, Critical Inquiry with Soheila Goussy, Elements of Visual Thinking II with Katherine Mann, Sculptural Forms with Adelaide Paul, and Painting I with Cornel Rubino. So far, although this semester has proven itself to be much more challenging and stressful, I feel as though I've learned so much and I'm starting to understand what I want to focus on and what style I want to identify by.

Dave Cloutier is my drawing teacher and he is spectacular. Not only do I admire him for his technical skill as an artist, but I admire his values and ideas. Every Monday when I'm in his class, I have an overwhelming feeling of content. He tells us about living as an artist, thriving as an artist, and surviving as a student, and he always makes me incredibly happy to be at MICA and to be working for art. I learned so much from him and I cannot imagine my MICA experience without him.

Example of one of Dave Cloutier's works in progress

I also respect my painting teacher, Cornel Rubino, greatly. He is much like Dave, for he is friendly, yet incredibly knowledgeable. He often gives life lessons and stresses the importance of art history. Again, I feel so privileged to have him as a professor and I feel as though he is really helping me to shape my artistic desires.

Example of Cornel Rubino's Work

My Sculpture teacher, Adelaide Paul is very inspiring. I find her work beautiful and incredibly well-made. I enjoy her class, but I'm not as enthused about sculpture as I am about drawing and painting.

Adelaide Paul's work

High School

2010-04-06T22:27:00.000-07:00

Ok, let's get started here.
First, I'd like to post a few things from high school that I'm pretty proud of. I'd like to thank Pennsbury HS, Ms. Danyelle Lala, and Mr. Tony Napoli. You made my art experience wonderful and pushed me into pursuing art.
Of course there are my parents as well, for they are the ones that introduced me to pencil and paper. Thanks mom for my first little easel!
That's enough sap for one post.

Peacock - Stained Glass - 14x20

Still Life - Oil - 18x22

Figure Drawing - Charcoal - 20x16

Here I Am

2010-04-06T20:04:00.000-07:00

Hello blogging world!

I am Nicolet Schenck and I am currently a freshman at MICA. I intend to document my works and my inspirations here on this blog.

Currently I am trying to decide my major here at art school. I've always been quite certain that I wanted to be a graphic designer, but I'm questioning myself recently, for I absolutely love drawing, painting, and everything in between. I feel like a major in illustration will allow me to explore more mediums and create more personal work that graphic design will not allow me. It will also refine my abilities in fine art and create a more well-rounded artist. The decision is so difficult though. At the moment, my heart tells me to choose illustration and concentrate in graphic design, but in the past I've always been so sure that graphic design was the way to go. I definitely want to focus on both artistic modes, but the question I have to ask myself is, which one to I care about more?