Michelle Schwartz

Painting and Sculpture: Polymer Clay - Lucky Cats

michelle — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 19:33:28 +0000

This summer I participated in the Underwear Affair in honor of my friend Kelley Penneycook. As a fund raising tool, I offered to sculpt custom Lucky Cats for anyone who donated. They were allowed to request any kind of cat they fancied. I raised $900, helping my team, Kelley’s Angels raise almost $32,000 for the North York General Hospital.

I sculpted the cats using Super Sculpey over aluminum foil and wire armatures, painted them with acrylics and sealed them with glossy varnish.

The Christopher Keller cat was made for my friend Mary, a big fan of the HBO show, OZ. Dream II was made for my friend Dana, a fan of the Sandman comics. Dream II replace Dream I, which was cruelly destroyed by Canada Post. The first Dream Kitty was happier, hanging out with his friend Matthew, the raven. Dream II is wearing his war helmet and is ready for battle. Finally, I made Frankenfurter and Eddie’s Teddy for my friend Laura.

“Christopher Keller Cat” September 26, 2010 View larger version.

“Dream II” September 26, 2010 View larger version.

“Frankenfurter and Eddie’s Teddy” September 26, 2010 View larger version.

Painting and Sculpture: Polymer Clay - Lucky Cats

michelle — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 18:59:56 +0000

This year I will be participating in the Underwear Affair in honor of my friend Kelley Penneycook. As a fund raising tool, I offered to sculpt custom Lucky Cats for anyone who donated. They were allowed to request any kind of cat they fancied.

I sculpted the cats using Super Sculpey over aluminum foil and wire armatures, painted them with acrylics and sealed them with glossy varnish. I shot the photos with a Canon Rebel and a 50mm lens. The Cupcake Cat was made for my friend Corinne Cupcake. My partner, Stark, made the shrunken head. The Borg Cat, known alternately as Ernest Borg Nine and Borgulus, was made for my friend Tricia, as per her request for a “Star Trek: The Next Generation” cat.

“Corinne Cupcake’s Cat” March 17, 2010View larger version.

“Ernest Borg Nine (Borgulus)” March 17, 2010View larger version.

Painting and Sculpture: Shoot the Freak - The Boardwalk

michelle — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 21:21:49 +0000

As part of my ongoing Shoot the Freak documentary project, I have begun painting the backgrounds for my planned cut out animation. I completed the main backdrop, which is the boardwalk at Coney Island. The Wonder Wheel, including the swinging cars, will be fully operational when animated. You can read more about the creation of this painting in the Production Diaries on my blog.

“The Boardwalk at Coney Island” August 6, 2009View larger version.

Painting and Sculpture: Polymer Clay - Kodos and Kang

michelle — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 21:05:24 +0000

Inspired by the work of my friend Corinne Cupcake, I have ventured into the world of Polymer Clay. My first effort was a sculpture of Kodos and Kang consuming Santa and his reindeer. I based my sculpture on a scene from one of The Simpsons’ “Treehouse of Horror” episodes. I then used the sculpture as the basis for the year’s holiday card.

I sculpted Kodos and Kang using Super Sculpey over aluminum foil and wire armatures, painted them with acrylics and sealed them with glossy varnish. I shot the photo with a Canon Rebel and a 50mm lens.

“Kodos and Kang Ruin Christmas” December 25, 2009View larger version.

“Kodos Christmas Card Background” December 25, 2009View larger version.

Painting and Sculpture: From the archives…

michelle — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 20:59:24 +0000

While a Freshman at New York University, I was given the opportunity to design and execute a mural for the 12th floor at Brittany Hall, a dormitory where I resided. I based my design on the logo for the movie 12 Monkeys. I sketched it out on graph paper than blew it up to stencil size. There was a stencil for the main section and then individual monkey stencils. I and another student painted the main section, then each of the other residents of the floor was allowed to use a monkey stencil to add to the chain of monkeys running down the hall along with their names. I recently found some very old digital photos of the project, of which I am still quite proud.

“The 12th Floor” September, 2000View larger version.

Graphic and Web Design: The LTO Best Practices

michelle — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 20:45:39 +0000

As the Online Resource Coordinator for the Learning and Teaching Office at Ryerson University, I am responsible for producing monthly issues of “The LTO Best Practices Series,” an education newsletter aimed at the faculty and teaching staff of Ryerson University. I designed the layout and graphics and research and write the material contained in each issue. January 2010 marked our inaugural issue.

The LTO Best Practices, January 2010View larger version.

Photography: Digital - Blue

michelle — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:28:35 +0000

These two photos were submitted to the Wired Photo Contest: Blue. Unfortunately, they didn’t win, but I love them anyway. The first was taken in the middle of a summer night in Crescent City, California. The second was taken in the middle of a cold winter day in Quebec City.

All photos were shot in RAW with a Canon Digital Rebel XT and processed using Photoshop.

“Crescent City” August 14, 2007View larger version.

“Quebec City” February 12, 2008 View larger version.

Graphic and Web Design: The Brownie Buttons

michelle — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 19:09:20 +0000

When I first began designing my website, I decided to build the look and structure of the website around one image, aiming to keep the pages uniform and simple. I also wanted an image that would be visually pleasing and reflect my interest in photography and design.

After going back through my image archives, I settled on a photo I had taken of my Kodak Brownie camera shortly after I had acquired it. I added my own text and used it to make an image map for my site’s splash page. I removed all the text and simplified the lines and colors in Photoshop, using the resized image as a template for the buttons on the site’s menus. I added a rollover effect on the buttons to create the impression of a shutter snapping.

“Kodak Brownie” June 26, 2008View larger version.

“Kodak Brownie Image Map” September 18, 2008View larger version.

“Kodak Brownie Button” September 18, 2008

Photography: Digital - Chicago

michelle — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:30:38 +0000

I spent the summer of 2007 on a road trip from New York to Vancouver with my friend, Gen. I had borrowed a telephoto lens and was excited to try it out. While we stopped for a few days in Jersey, I discovered the joys of using it to capture candid images of people.

Photos taken with a Digital Rebel XT.

“Riding the Loop” July 17, 2007

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“Millennium Park” July 17, 2007

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“Guarding Gehry” July 17, 2007

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Photography: Digital - Brickworks

michelle — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:36:13 +0000

Toronto is a city of ravines and valleys. Often, I will be walking along a major street and notice a dirt path obscured by some bushes. I’ll walk down a hill and find myself standing on a beautiful nature trail in the woods, as if five seconds earlier I wasn’t standing in the middle of a major downtown area. These photos were taken when I discovered the Don Valley Brick Works for the first time. For this set, I was really focused on texture.

Photos taken with a Digital Rebel XT.

“Drums” May 10, 2008

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“Light” May 10, 2008

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“Wall” May 10, 2008

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