Chinese Landscape Exchange
The Chinese Landscape Exchange is a collaborative project between Northern Virginia Community College and Hebei Vocational University of Technology and Engineering (formerly Xingtai Polytechnic College). Professor Stacy Slaten spearheaded the organization of the project with her visual arts students and those of Visual Arts Prof. Matt Pinney with the translation help of Chinese language professor, Prof. Dali Tan and her students. Students in Xingtai, China, worked with Wei Wei, Director of Office of the CPC HVUTE Committee and Administration, and Prof. Yang. Together we bridged international students with a project that could foster stronger cultural connections.
Prof. Slaten’s artist statement, corresponding to the painting above says, “Coordinating the collaborative exchange between China and NOVA was interesting as there are always new things to learn and consider with another culture, although also reassuring that we are not much different. I loved this image of the person by the water with their back to the viewer, very still. I wanted to emphasize the scene’s peacefulness by harmonizing the colors to more analogous with the yellows, yellow-green, blue and blue-green but slightly activating the texture with a palette knife, which not only forces me to economize the shapes but add a slight energy and movement. Hopefully, there is also a feeling of happiness. May this sense of harmony help to harmonize international and cultural divide through the students in my studio.
My hope for this exchange is that we see one another clearer, and not as “other,” that we get to glimpse a view from across the world, with a connection that is really not so far in spirit. I want to thank all participants in this project and hope you carry the memory well.”
Chinese language, Prof. Dali Tan used Prof. Slaten’s artist statement as an example for her classes and translated into the Chinese below. Both professors lead their students by example in the project.
All of the NOVA student artist statements were then translated into Chinese with Prof. Tan’s guidance as a experiential language assignment by Alexandria’s Chinese language students. It was a fantastic learning experience between Chinese language students and Fine Arts students as well as being a cross-collaboration between Alexandria and Manassas campuses, and on the international stage between Alexandria and Xingtai.
Below is Prof. Slaten’s artist statement translated into Chinese:
协调中国和 NOVA 之间的合作交流很有趣，因为总是有新的东西需要学习和考虑另一种文化，尽管也让人放心，我们并没有太大的不同。 我喜欢这幅画面，水边的人背对着观众，非常安静。我想强调这个场景的平和，把颜色调和到更类似的中性的黄色、黄绿色、蓝色和蓝绿色，但用调色刀稍微激活了纹理，这不仅迫使我节省形状，而且增加了轻微的能量和运动。 希望也有一种幸福的感觉。
我对这次交流的希望是，我们可以更清楚地看到彼此，而不是“另一个”，我们可以瞥见来自世界各地的观点，这种联系在精神上确实不是那么遥远。 我要感谢这个项目的所有参与者，希望你。Chinese translation from Prof. Tan.
One of the main premises of the project was to share visual imagery close to each student from their region. This would give a personal glimpse of our part of the world to the other and vice versa.
NOVA and XPC students photographed and documented rural and/or urban landscapes from each of their respective locations and country to exchange. Both institutions then took the reference material to interpret and create a work of art and/or design directly in the classroom. The project provided a cultural trade and interpretation of the reference materials to insure useful learning experiences for the students in a real-world context. It definitely brought a colorful and insightful dialog to our NOVA students, sparking their imaginations about the “foreign” experience of their Chinese counterparts.
Documentation included the photographs and often an initial statement from the students. Students had the opportunity to engage in collaborative international dialog while experiencing a major project and exhibition. The visual arts students also wrote their first artist statements, a common approach in the visual arts to connect the viewer closer to the visual artwork. Then, our Chinese language students at Alexandria translated the artist statements into Chinese for a further cross-disciplinary approach to provide meaningful social and learning experiences. Each respective institution had an in-person or virtual exhibition for the community as desired.
Goals:
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- Provide meaningful real-world experience for international collaboration, exchange, and community into the classroom.
- Students get to “see” the other side of the world from each institution.
- Discussion of each culture and country between students.
- Discussion of relational aesthetics.
- Exchange of visual ideas and interpretation of the original reference material for further discussion.
- Engagement of the greater community in online exhibition.
- Further student engagement of critique and feedback on created images for exchange and dialog.
Project Timeline-Planning started in 2020 with execution of the Project in Fall 2021-Spring 2022…
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- Creation of artwork during Fall 2021
- Translation of NOVA student artist statements during Spring 2022
- Formatting for online exhibit 2022-2024
Professor Stacy Slaten, who connected and planned with the Chinese colleagues at Hebei University for this project, said, “This has been a wonderful project that helped the students in my classes ‘see’ a world and a view that is different and yet like their own and create a sense of connection across the globe. I believe these exchanges foster education and academic freedoms, even though it may be a tiny seed.”
The following images were created in ART 122: Drawing II and ART 241/241: Painting I and II with student artist statements. The NOVA artwork is paired with the Chinese reference photograph with both the original Chinese reference statement and the NOVA student Chinese translation.
Kymberly Brooks – Artist from 2D Design class with Professor Stacy Slaten .
“I wanted to keep the intensities and richness of the warm foreground, while contrasting it with a faded blue sky and mountain range. The orange terrace farmland was what caught my eye in this image, and I wanted to make sure they held the focus. The natural texture of the pastels helped to create atmospheric perspective as the mountains moved further into the background. This scene is one of serenity and peace and I wanted my piece to portray that as well.” Kymberly Brooks
我想保持温暖前景的强度和丰富性，同时与褪色的蓝天和山脉形成对比。橙色梯田农田在这张照片中引起了我的注意，我想确保它们保持焦点。随着山脉进一步进入背景，粉彩的自然纹理有助于创造大气透视。这个场景是宁静祥和的场景之一，我希望我的作品也能描绘出这一点。
Diego Moore – Artist from Professor Stacy Slaten’s Painting class.
“This specific project we worked on, was very fun for me. I am so happy with the results and honestly didn’t expect it to turn out this nice. At first, I was a bit nervous because I’m not used to doing watercolor with Acrylic, however it was not as hard as I initially thought it would be because It ended up being very smooth and easy to get details on the canvas. But I didn’t want the painting to have many details because I still want that simple feel when looking at it in person. When painting, I wanted to get the likeness of the original photograph to make it as identical as possible, and even though it didn’t turn out extremely identical, it still turned out similar enough to the picture.”
“Photography is to find that in fact, many times, there are beautiful things and decisive moments in ordinary life, only in. Whether you are willing to press the shutter at any time”.
Department of Arts and Media, Hebei Science and Technology Engineering Vocational and Technical University. Dong Liangxin of Jianzhuang Class 2001.
我们从事的项目对我来说非常令人兴奋。 我对结果非常满意，老实说，没想到结果会这么好。 起初，我有点紧张，因为我不习惯用丙烯画水彩，但它并不像我最初想象的那么难。它最终变得非常流畅，很容易在画布上获得细节。 但是我不希望这幅画有很多细节，因为我希望这幅画在亲自看时有一种简单的感觉。 在作画时，我想得到与原照片相似的地方，使其尽可能地相同。 尽管它并没有完全一样，但它仍然与图片相似。
我最大的挑战是画树和树叶。 将它与图片进行比较时，它是不同的，但我仍然喜欢它的外观。 总的来说，我喜欢画这幅画，而且我发现它与实际照片的相似程度很有趣。
Elizabeth Johnson – Artist from Professor Stacy Slaten’s Painting class.
Student artist, Elizabeth described her work as a 16×20” acrylic painting of Zijinshan Scenic Tourism Area at Zijin Mountain, Hebei Province in China.
She says, “What drew me to this landscape the most was the tree branches in the foreground overlapping the partially cloudy sky, as well as the beautiful Chinese style architecture with curved rooftops. I used a combination of painting styles. For the solid objects, such as the forested hills, the rooftops of the building, and tree branches in the foreground, I dabbed on thicker paint. For the reflections in the water, I used thinner paint that was watered down, and I applied the paint in layers of green and blue. The details of the building and the walkway were painted with the tiniest paint brush I own. I painted the sky with a combination of blue and white that I mixed on the canvas, while the thin, wispy clouds were applied with a sponge. I enjoy painting accurate proportions and tiny details in my artwork, as well as blending colors.”
Elizabeth Johnson’s statement translated into Chinese below:
这是一幅 16×20 英寸的中国河北省紫金山紫金山风景区的丙烯画。 这片风景最吸引我的是前景中的树枝与部分多云的天空重叠，以及带有弯曲屋顶的美丽中式建筑。 我使用了多种绘画风格。 对于实心的物体，如森林覆盖的山丘、建筑物的屋顶和前景中的树枝，我涂抹了较厚的油漆。 对于水中的反射，我使用了稀释过的较稀的油漆，然后我将油漆涂在绿色和蓝色的层中。 建筑物和人行道的细节是用我拥有的最小的油漆刷画的。 我用混合在画布上的蓝色和白色组合来描绘天空，而薄薄的云朵则用海绵涂抹。 我喜欢在我的作品中绘制准确的比例和微小的细节，以及混合颜色。
Megan Gerst – Artist from Professor Stacy Slaten’s Painting class.
One Xingtai student sent an urban photo highlighting the color and night life of their city:
“After walking along Nanjing Road in Magic Capital, I have to say that the architectural style is really beautiful, and the streets that are shot at hand are full of charm ~ I started at five or six in the afternoon and walked all the way to the Bund, recording the beautiful sunset”. From a student in the Department of Arts and Media, Hebei Science and Technology Engineering Vocational and Technical University.
Megan’s visual interpretation is below:
NOVA student took that original source material and translated it into a multiple perspective design using a round canvas for a feeling of imbalance. She says:
“Cities are full of life, movement, and light. The original photograph shows neon signs and a bustling city. I chose to work from this image because it is different from my typical content. I generally work with more organic shapes. I was excited to meld my impressionistic style with the structured and bright landscape. The composition is split into three sections to keep the eye moving around the canvas and promote the sense of movement. Working with a rounded canvas provided juxtaposition to the city signs and geometric building structures. Painting with transparent acrylic paint started this piece off with a more muted color scheme. I found that I really appreciated this and opted to keep certain areas less vibrant. The closest sign has that bright neon feeling which jumps out from the rest of the painting and provides a sense of depth.
This piece involved a lot of exploration in how to approach painting and I found that I really enjoyed painting the city street and working with transparent layers. I may not include these in all future paintings, but I want to continue to explore this in aspects of my work.” Megan Gerst.
城市里充满了生机、活力和光明。原本的照片显示了霓虹灯和一个繁华的城市。我之所以选择以这张图片为素材是因为它与我的典型内容不同。我习惯了在作品使用更有机的形状。我很高兴能将我的印象派风格与结构化和明亮的风景融合在一起。构图分为三个部分，以保持眼睛在画布周围移动，促进并增强运动感。用圆形的画布工作，为城市标志和几何建筑结构提供了并列的效果。用透明的丙烯酸涂料绘画，使这幅作品开始有了一个更柔和的色彩方案。我发现我真的很欣赏这一点，并选择保持某些区域不那么鲜艳。最接近的标志具有明亮的霓虹灯的感觉，从绘画的其余部分跳出来，提供了一种深度感。
这幅作品涉及到对如何进行绘画的很多探索，我发现我非常喜欢画城市街道和使用透明层。我可能不会在未来的所有绘画中包括这些，但我想。
Abigail Tucker – Artist from Professor Stacy Slaten’s Painting class.
Abigail, known cheekily by the nickname Art, was “drawn to this photo because of its unique composition and the man sitting alone at the bottom of the picture. While the original colors of the photo are muted, I wanted to give it more liveliness through more saturated colors. I really wanted to highlight the man, the lantern, and the window. I used warmed colors around these objects to highlight them and draw the eye to them. This was a challenging piece for me, but one of my favorites I have completed.” Abigail Tucker.
我被这张照片所吸引是因为它独特的构图和独自坐在照片底部的男人。 虽然照片的原始颜色很暗淡，但我想通过更鲜艳的色彩来赋予它更多的活力。 我真的很想突出那个人、灯笼和窗户。 我在这些物体周围使用暖色来突出它们并吸引人们的注意力。 这对我来说是一个具有挑战性的作品，但我最喜欢的作品之一我已经完成了。
Kelly Collins – Artist from Professor Stacy Slaten’s Painting class.
当我第一次看到这张中国西湖的照片时，我就知道我想画这个。水中的倒影，明亮的天空和昏暗的树木之间的对比，对我来说太美了！我渴望马上开始画，我知道我希望这幅画是一种与我正常风格形成对比的绘画风格。
我对这幅画中的颜色采取了自己的艺术自由，选择了占主导地位的蓝色，然后是深沉但不分散注意力的绿色，以及明亮生动的橙色。我之所以选择这种配色方案，是因为我想强调色彩更加饱和，以展示大自然中的色彩是多么美丽，即使它像日落一样简单。我发现我在艺术中为当下的事物汲取了很多灵感，日落经常引起我的注意。我希望这幅画华丽而简单。这种风格和我个人的风格有很大的不同，但我觉得这件作品真的让我尝试了这种风格。我个人相信我已经达到了我的目标，即用这件作品所使用的技术来获得一幅美丽的画作。
Mariah Stearman – Artist from Professor Stacy Slaten’s 2D Design class.
“For this project, my thought process was picking an image that made me feel good on the inside, and I connected with it the most. In this image, what caught my attention was the warm sunlight peeking through between the two mountains. That effect created a feeling of warmth and looking beyond the horizon. Essentially the idea of looking forward to what is on the other side. There could have been an even more beautiful sunset on the other side of the image that I selected – who knows. That same principle can also be applied to life; you never know what can be on the other side. My main intention was to capture the warmth and vibrance of that light peeking through, so all my choices were focused on that idea.” Mariah Stearman
对于这个项目，我的思考过程是选择一个让我内心感觉良好的图像，并且我与它联系最紧密。在这张照片中，引起我注意的是从两座山之间窥视的温暖阳光。这种效果创造了一种温暖的感觉，并超越了地平线。本质上是期待另一边的想法。在我选择的图像的另一侧可能会有更美丽的日落——谁知道呢。同样的原则也可以应用于生活。你永远不知道另一边会发生什么。我的主要目的是捕捉透进来的光线的温暖和活力，所以我所有的选择都集中在这个想法上。
Mustafa Mohammed – Artist from Professor Stacy Slaten’s Painting class.
Reflection
Mustafa explained that he wanted to challenge his skills and see what level of improvement he could make engaging in the painting. He felt the source image would give him that challenge.
“This piece stood out to me as a challenge to take on, but it also reminded me of the colorful spectacle of New York city from ‘Spider-Man into spider-verse,’ which is one of the many reasons I chose it. I have used 42 by 30-inch canvas for this painting, and a heavy body acrylic paint, thinned down with water to make it more like a watercolor. Overall, I had a lot of fun exploring the various ways of expressing the colors on the canvas and trying to find ways to give out the city’s vibes. Admittedly, I wish I had more time with this piece, and if I’m being honest, that’s the case with every piece that I make. Nonetheless, I’m happy with how it mostly came out and certainly learned a lot from it.” Mustafa Mohammed.
我的作品主要集中在提高我的技能和加强我对材料的了解。我无法控制自己，只能选择那些看起来相当有挑战性的作品。你可以说这是我好胜的一面，想要通过更可观的挑战来与自己竞争。这幅作品对我来说是一个挑战，但它也让我想起了《蜘蛛侠：平行宇宙》中纽约市的多彩奇观的景象，这是我选择它的众多原因之一。我在这幅画中使用了 42 x 30 英寸的画布，以及厚重的丙烯颜料，用水稀释后使其更像水彩画。总体而言，我在探索画布上的各种色彩表达方式，并试图找到散发城市气息的方法让我获得了很有乐趣。诚然，我希望我有更多的时间来制作这件作品，如果我说实话，我制作的每一件作品都是如此。尽管如此，我对它的结果很满意，当然也从中学到了很多。
Jose Galicia – Artist from Professor Stacy Slaten’s Painting class.
A student from the Department of Arts and Media, Hebei Science and Technology Engineering Vocational and Technical University explained of his photograph: “Qingfeng Building is located in Xiangdu District, Xingtai City. Standing downstairs in the breeze, looking up at the red old building; reaching out and touching every green brick of the city wall, it is like returning to the long river of history, engraved with the changes of historical development from ancient times to today.”
“This Project was one that I will not forget, from the picture chosen to the technique used. I decided to paint the Qingfeng Building in Xingdu district, Xingtai City. The painting is done in a transparent wash acrylic technique in which we water down the acrylic with medium and water to give it a watercolor feel. I tried to capture that glow in the painting by building up the different colors on top of each other working from light to dark. The moon was another reason that I chose this picture. I liked how it had to compete with the building since they both gave their own light. The whole composition captured my interest when it was shown to me. The building itself has so many different colors from a range of yellows and oranges to green on the front. This piece was fun to make, and I hope that whoever sees it can get a sense of the lit building.” Jose Galicia.
从选择的图片到使用的技术，这个项目是我不会忘记的。 我决定画邢台市邢都区的庆丰楼。 这幅画是用透明的水洗丙烯酸技术完成的，在这种技术中，我们用介质和水冲淡丙烯酸，给它一种水彩的感觉。 画布是 18×24 英寸，花了大约十七个小时来完成我必须绘制的所有图层，以使颜色变得更加坚实。 我们收到了来自中国学生的照片供我们挑选。这张照片让我着迷，因为建筑物在夜景中散发出的光芒。 我试图通过将不同的颜色从浅到深绘制在彼此之上来捕捉这种光芒。 月亮是我选择这张照片的另一个原因。 我喜欢它如何与这座建筑竞争，因为它们都有自己的光芒。 整个场景在展示给我时引起了我的兴趣。建筑物本身有许多不同的颜色，从黄色和橙色到前面的绿色。 这件作品制作起来很有趣，我希望任何看到它的人都能感受到这座灯火通明的建筑。
Anna Carey – Artist from Professor Stacy Slaten’s Painting class.
“I chose this photo because I liked the feeling of being high up and being able to see these mountains almost eye to eye. I wanted to focus on lighting and to recreate the subtle transition of greens within the tree line. I ended up putting a final layer of green on top to create a sense of texture and to replicate the look of leaves.” Anna Carey.
我选择这张照片是因为我喜欢高高在上的感觉，可以从上面看到群山。 我想专注于照明并重新创造树木中绿色的过渡。 最后我在上面放了最后一层绿色，以创造纹理并复制树叶的外观。
Kathleen Slotten – Artist from Professor Matthew Pinney’s Drawing II class.
Manassas joined the project as they could for a intercampus connection. Kathleen from MA writes:
“I am participating in the Relational Aesthetics project with art students in China. We exchanged photos of places that are near us. I sent them pictures of Mount Vernon, Blue Ridge Mountains, Sunset over a Street near me, and the Reflecting Pool in Washington DC.
I picked a picture of West Lake, China. I painted the photo for the exchange project but also wanted to do a separate project for the class assignment. I asked my family to also draw the same picture I was painting. They could pick from crayon, pencil, markers, pastels, or digital art. My family ranges in age from 2 years to 55 years. Most of my family are math/science people. So, it was almost more interesting to see how the math/science side approached the drawing compared to two who were more creative. I think everyone had fun.” Kathleen Slotten
我正在与中国的艺术系学生一起参与关系美学项目。我们交换了我们附近地方的照片。我给他们发了弗农山、蓝岭山脉、我附近街道上的日落以及华盛顿特区的倒影池的照片。我选了一张中国西湖的照片。
我为交换项目画了照片，但也想为课堂作业做一个单独的项目。我让我的家人也画我正在画的那幅画。他们可以从蜡笔、铅笔、记号笔、蜡笔或数字艺术中挑选。我的家庭年龄从 2 岁到 55 岁不等。我的大多数家人都是数学/科学人士。因此，与两个更有创造力的人相比，看到数学/科学方面如何接近绘图几乎更有趣。我想每个人都玩得很开心。
Matthew Powers – Artist from Professor Stacy Slaten’s Painting class.
“I selected the birds in flight photograph because for me the photo represents freedom, speed, and living in the moment. My submission is a pastel painting with the sky drawn with diagonal strokes to create the illusion of energy and to represent the wind lifting the birds.
The photograph has a monochromatic color. A simple color scheme is not always present in nature which makes the photo unusual. I tried to remain true to the photograph with my selection of colors and the placement of birds and trees.” Matthew J. Powers
我选择了飞行中的鸟类照片，因为对我来说，这张照片代表了自由、速度和活在当下。我提交的作品是一幅粉彩画，天空用斜线画出，营造出能量的错觉，并代表风举起鸟儿。
照片是单色的。自然界中并不总是存在简单的配色方案，这使得照片与众不同。我试图通过选择颜色以及鸟类和树木的位置来忠实于照片。
Jiali Liang – Artist from Professor Stacy Slaten’s Drawing II class.
The Lake of Baiyangdian
Jiali is a Chinese international student at NOVA AL and felt a special link to her Chinese peers. She chose to ponder over how similar we truly are by saying:
“The reason I chose this landscape image to draw is the similarities between China and the United States. I have seen many sunset views like this in Northern Virginia, the U.S. The only difference might be those flat-bottomed wooden Chinese boats. It reminds me that the similarities appear more often than differences over time. For example, many Chinese and Americans both equally put their family first, maybe both live too much of a fast-paced life, and are both exposed to media and technology. However, Sejal Badani says, ‘The same blood runs in every human on the earth. You just have to see past the variations in skin and culture.’ “ Jiali Liang
我之所以选择这张风景图来画，是因为中国和美国的相似之处。 我在美国北弗吉尼亚见过很多这样的日落景观。 唯一的区别可能是那些平底木中国船。 它提醒我，当我第一次住在美国时，我总能找到不同之处。 然而，随着时间的推移，相似之处多于差异。 比如，要么是一些中国人和美国人都把家人放在首位，生活节奏快，甚至媒体或多或少操纵的现象。 Sejal Badani说： “地球上的每个人都流着同样的血。 你只需要超越皮肤和文化的差异。”
Jeanine Jimenez – Artist from Professor Stacy Slaten’s Drawing II class.
Jeanine liked to ponder the main reason why shr chose this beautiful sunset in the middle of the road, saying it was because of the pleasant sensation that she got at first sight.
She summarizes, “Seeing this photograph, I felt the same peaceful sense and satisfaction that nature brings along with the closeness and familiarity of society. This image is ideally between the urban and the rural, and the scenery transports me back in time. After being entertained for a while with that picture, I imagined what I would do if I were physically there, concluding that I would do nothing but enjoy it. I’d just be there… enjoying the view, enjoying the moment, enjoying the journey.” Jeanine Jimenez
之所以选择路中间这片美丽的落日，主要是因为第一眼就有一种美好的感觉。 看到这张照片，我感受到了大自然与社会的亲密和熟悉一样的平静和满足。 这幅画面兼具城市和乡村的特色，风景把我带回了过去。 在被那张照片逗乐了一段时间后，我想象着如果我身临其境我会做什么。 我决定除了享受它什么都不做。 我会在那里……欣赏美景，享受当下，享受旅程。
Juan Manuel Lucas Temoche – Artist from Professor Stacy Slaten’s Drawing II class.
Juan completed two different artworks, he was so inspired. He wanted everyone to know the following:
“Even though I’ve barely done landscapes, I really enjoyed this project. It was fun to use pastels. I did two totally different landscapes, it was hard to manage my time between the two of them but after getting the first one done, with all that experience it was easier to do the second one faster. I had a clear idea of what I wanted to do with the first one, but I did not realize that making details was going to be hard.” Juan Manuel Lucas Temoche
尽管我几乎没有做过风景画，但我真的很喜欢这个项目。使用粉彩很有趣。我做了两个完全不同的风景，很难在他们两个之间管我的时间，但是在完成第一个之后，有了所有这些经验，第二个更容易更快地完成。我很清楚我想用第一个做什么，但我没有意识到制作细节会很困难
Going back to Mannassas, we have a drawing student who felt an instant connection to her Chinese peer through their pet.
Grace Williams – Artist from Professor Matthew Pinney’s Drawing II class.
“When I first saw this image, I automatically knew I wanted to paint it. My choice was cemented when I read the beautiful paragraph the student had written describing the scene and what it meant to them. The aspect that caught my eye was the adorable dog in the foreground. The first sentence of their description, ‘People who have never had a dog can hardly imagine living with one, and people who have owned a dog can’t imagine living without one’ really resonated with me, because I really can’t imagine life without my dog, Sugar.” Grace Williams
当我第一次看到这张图片时，我知道我想画它。 当我读到学生写的描述场景及其对他们意味着什么的优美段落时，我的选择更加坚定了。 引起我注意的方面是前景中的可爱狗。 他们描述的第一句话，“没有养过狗的人很难想象和狗一起生活，养过狗的人无法想象没有狗的生活”真的引起了我的共鸣。这是因为我无法想象 没有我的狗，Sugar 的生活。
谢谢,
Branden Forman – Artist from Professor Stacy Slaten’s 2D Design class.
“For this project, I have chosen a city landscape from China. The structure of the buildings is captivating and unique from what we would usually see in the west. The colors are also engaging, with cool colors in the back and warm colors upfront. For choosing this image, I wanted to show the contrast in colors and unique structures.
After choosing my photo, I manipulated it in Photoshop to give it a patchy look. In the same process, I’ve also clearly identified the colors. After completing that process came the pastels. I have struggled a bit with using pastels. I focused on putting the most detail on the focal point in the back and let the rest of the buildings frame the main building.” Branden Forman.
The following works are depicted with final NOVA artwork alonw with statements in English and Chinese and no Chinese reference photo:
Bridget Santos – Artist from Professor Stacy Slaten’s 2D Design class.
“For this project, I chose an image of a girl sitting on the road. I liked the energy of the girl, she seemed to be happy and alone. I feel I struggle with the use of pastels, but I did enjoy making this. I chose to edit this to make it look like her energy and all the energy around her radiated up towards the sky. I think we all have our different auras and energies that contribute to the overall energy of the earth, and I like that.” Bridget Santos
对于这个项目，我选择了张坐在路上的女孩的照片。 我喜欢这个女孩的能量。 她似乎很孤单，但很开心。 我觉得我在使用粉彩时很挣扎，但是我喜欢做这个。 我选择对其进行编辑，使其看起来像她的能量，并且她周围的所有能量都向天空辐射。 我认为我们都有不同的光环和能量，它们为地球的整体能量做出了贡献，我喜欢这样。
Rosa Kamara – Artist from Professor Stacy Slaten’s 2D Design class.
“As an artist who focuses mainly on photography and fashion, I found it rather interesting to attempt to create a still life painting. I enjoyed creating different colors rather than what was depicted in the actual photo and using my imagination and creativity to depict the subject in a different way than it was presented. I gained experience working with different mediums and working with different kinds of techniques such as. creating a sense of lighting, casting shadows, highlights etc. and it also helped me strengthen my ability to work with pastels rather than with photos and photo collages. This landscape piece was very interesting to create an interpretation of and I am glad that as an artist whose area of expertise is photography, I am able to gain experience in becoming an artist who works with different mediums and techniques to create compelling pieces of art.” Rosa Kamara
作为一个主要专注于摄影和时尚的艺术家，我发现尝试创作一幅静物画是一件相当有趣的事情。 我喜欢创造不同的颜色，而不是实际照片中所描绘的颜色，并利用我的想象力和创造力以不同于呈现的方式来描绘主题。 我获得了使用不同媒介和使用不同种类技巧的经验，例如： 创造一种光感、投射阴影、高光等，这也帮助我加强了使用粉彩而不是使用照片和照片拼贴的能力。 这幅风景作品的创作诠释非常有趣，以摄影为专业领域的艺术家我能够获得成为一名使用不同媒介和技术创作引人注目的艺术作品的艺术家的经验。
Ashley Gabales – Artist from Professor Stacy Slaten’s 2D Design class.
“Living in the suburbs of Virginia, I have gotten used to the sight of residential areas, strip malls, and an endless horizon. In its own way, it’s beautiful; however, I missed the silhouette of the mountains that I saw back in the Philippines. When I saw this image, it just took me back to living in a small town near the mountains with my grandparents. It is an image of a village in China, so it was foreign yet familiar, which is what I tried to capture. Viewers that have lived in the suburbs or urban areas may feel foreign in an area free of the bustle, but some sort of architecture might be able to offer some sort of familiarity or comfort to them. I wanted to explore the duality of a single area, how one area can have both natural and artificial, and how that plays into what is foreign and familiar to us.” Ashley Gabales
住在弗吉尼亚的郊区，我习惯了住宅区、商场和一望无际的地平线。 以自己的方式，它是美丽的。 然而，我错过了我在菲律宾看到的山脉的轮廓。 当我看到这张照片时，它让我想起了我和祖父母一起生活的那个山区小镇。 这是一个中国村庄的形象，既陌生又熟悉，这就是我试图捕捉的。 居住在郊区或城市地区的人们可能在一个地区感到陌生，但某种建筑可能能够为他们提供某种熟悉或舒适。 我想探索单个区域的二元性。 我想展示一个区域如何既是自然的又是人造的，以及它是如何影响我们陌生和熟悉的东西的。
Toni Maschler – Artist from Professor Stacy Slaten’s 2D Design class.
Xian Art Museum
“I was drawn to the cheerful red and gold tones of this art museum set against the night sky. I tried to accurately capture the pleasing curves of the roof and balcony, although I simplified the composition. What a lovely home for artwork; maybe I will see it some day!” Toni Maschler
我被这个与夜空相映的艺术博物馆的红色和金色的色调所吸引。 尽管我简化了构图，但我试图准确地捕捉到屋顶和阳台令人愉悦的曲线。 多么可爱的艺术品之家； 也许有一天我会看到它！
Dyanna Saravia – Artist from Professor Stacy Slaten’s 2D Design class.
“I chose this picture because I really liked the cool colors, and all the tree branches It wasn’t my first choice but I’m happy with the results. It wasn’t easy to paint this, I actually at some point regretted choosing this because at the moment of painting the landscape with the pastels and especially the tree branches were very hard for me to do so. I really tried my best and I do feel that even though I am not great with pastels I could do a good job.” Dyanna Saravia.
我选择这张照片是因为我真的很喜欢冷色调和所有的树枝。 这不是我的第一选择，但是我对结果很满意。 画这个绝对不容易。 事实上，有一次我后悔选择了这个，因为用粉彩画风景和树枝对我来说很难做到。 我真的尽力了。 我觉得，即使我不擅长粉彩，但我画得很好。
Adam Busch – Artist from Professor Stacy Slaten’s 2D Design class.
“I am creating a pastel landscape based on my edited Photoshop landscape shown. I’m using pastel sticks to create such a piece. I used the sticks in conjunction with paper. I aimed for a feeling of simplicity even. I very much enjoyed the outcome of this piece and feel I did what I set out to do.” Adam Busch
我根据显示的已编辑景观创建了一个柔和的景观。 我用粉彩棒创作了这幅画。 我用了棍子和纸。 尽管所展示的雕像完全在异国他乡，但我的目标是一种温暖舒适和熟悉的感觉。 我很享受这幅画的成果，并觉得我实现了自己的目标。
Will Stryker – Artist from Professor Stacy Slaten’s 2D Design class.
Towers of Potala Palace
“When I was looking through the Chinese photographs, my aim was to find something with enough structure and balance to help me push the abstraction without it becoming completely non-representational. I ended up on the photo of Potala Palace, which is beautiful with lots of interesting angles and geometry to pick from; but I was really drawn to these parallel towers that overlook the road below.
I thought by pushing the distance between the towers, and breaking the rules of atmospheric perspective a little, I could draw the eye to the furthest tower with a push-pull effect. Even though the first tower takes up almost half of the paper, it just exists to better inform the texture and feeling of the second tower. I chose a bright red-orange because I thought it would be eye-catching, and the lilacs and magentas lend to the dreamlike and surreal feeling of the work.” Will Stryker
当我翻阅中国照片时，我的目标是找到具有足够结构和平衡的东西来帮助我推动抽象，而不会变得完全不具代表性。 我最终选择了布达拉宫的照片，它很漂亮，有很多有趣的角度和几何形状可供选择； 但我真的被这些俯瞰下面道路的平行塔所吸引。 我想通过推动塔之间的距离，并稍微打破大气透视的规则，我可以通过推拉效果将视线吸引到最远的塔上。 尽管第一座塔几乎占据了纸张的一半，但它的存在只是为了更好地传达第二座塔的质感和感觉。 我选择了明亮的红橙色，因为我认为它会引人注目，而丁香色和洋红色则为作品增添了梦幻和超现实的感觉。
Other Artists without Artist Statements from Stacy Slaten’s Drawing II Class:
Victoria Sprankle – Artist from Professor Stacy Slaten’s 2D Design class.
Toni Maschler – Artist from Professor Stacy Slaten’s Drawing II class.
Rin Hernandez- Artist from Professor Stacy Slaten’s Drawing II class.
Toni Maschler – Artist from Professor Stacy Slaten’s Drawing II class.
Nasim Haque- Artist from Professor Stacy Slaten’s Drawing II class.
This project has been especially rewarding for our students, faculty, staff, and administration!
Our former Dean, Dr. McClellan explains, “Our collaboration over the past few years has enriched the learning experience for those at Xingtai and those at NOVA. In the midst of our current project, war has erupted and it has caused our governments to fear communication between us. I hope it will not affect our relationship permanently. Cross-cultural communication and collaboration are the building blocks of understanding. They can prevent wars. It is important that we continue. Wars are disruptive. They come and go. But each destroys and halts human progress. Teaching and learning are forces that advance civilization even as people are trying to destroy it.”
Jim McClellan, Ed.D (Hon.), Ph.D. College Dean, Liberal Arts , Campus Dean, Languages, Arts, and Social Sciences Division, Alexandria and Professor of History.
In the end, the project was not fully complete on the side of the Chinese institutions. They were not able to receive our files and data and thus were not able to make fully complete projects from our American landscape reference photos taken by the NOVA students.
Before losing communication with our Chinese colleagues, we were able to have a video meeting with the Chinese professors and administrators along with Prof. Slaten and Prof. Tan, IA Britt Conley, and Dean of LASS, Dr. McClellan. Since Xingtai has a 12-hour different between us, it was amazing we could do so! We ended our 8:00 PM meeting at 10:30 PM, which would be 10:30 AM in China. This was the last connection but were happy to be able to talk in this late-night meeting with the translation help of Prof. Dali Tan who served as the interpreter.
Thank you to all that participated in this unique project to forge communication and connection between different cultures and countries.