Sharing - Mentoring

Klaudia is a wonderful student who continues to grow each week I see her. She always challenges herself to achieve something more than I ask of her which shows her true creative spirit at work. We utilize both traditional and digital mediums to create and develop ideas, quite often combining both together. Read more about Klaudia, her artwork and her many accomplishments.

2011 Fashion Designs by Klaudia

(Click on images to enlarge)

GINA:
Like all teenage girls Klaudia loves fashion. So one of our projects was to take her designs and get them laser printed on apparel. We created designs that could be applied to different types of clothing such as; T-shirts, tanks, hoodies & sweat pants. During this project I also taught Klaudia some handy business techniques! Designing art is great, but when you can earn some money by selling it, then it becomes alucrative profession and not simply a pastime or hobby. We created a binder with a pricing list for the fashion apparel that she would sell. She then learned about wholesale pricing vs retail. She created sales receipts and a tally of her earnings! Klaudia then started selling her apparel to friends and classmates at Schaumburg High School. Her friends all loved her designs! This summer2011 we are going to create some NEW designs to add to her apparel collection!!!

If you have a daughter or know someone who is interested in wearing one of Klaudia's designs please contact:
(630) 246-0595 Designs by Klaudia.

KLAUDIA:
Designing clothes has always been a dream of mine and thanks to Gina my dream is finally coming true! Ever since I was a little girl I wanted everyone to see my artwork everywhere and now I get to show it on clothes! For me this is beyond amazing, especially because I got to design the artwork for some of my high school's sports teams and the orchestra. My designs were printed on hoodies and T-shirts. Now more and more people will get to see what I can create!

How this all started was Gina and I began working on my own personal art that would later be applied to apparel. One of the very first designs I came up with was the "Heart of Mine" tank top design–I really like that one because it shows not just one of my designs but three put together! This is why working with the Photoshop and Illustrator programs are so great, you can combine and create as much artwork as you want. As Gina tells me, "The sky is the limit." and it's true! There are so many different kinds of designs you can create!

Once my artwork was applied I started wearing the clothes I designed to school and selling the T-shirts and hoodies to my friends. I was having fun creating new designs and making money for my work!! My gym teacher saw the designs on the clothing and thought they looked really good so she offered me a chance to design the Girl's Golf Team hoodies. When the design for the hoodies were finished everybody loved it! Many people started wearing them, and then the Cheerleading Coach asked me if I could design their t-shirts also. I was really excited about this because it's something I love doing and others were enjoying my work, so I couldn't wait to get started on the next design for the Cheerleading team. Then I designed the Orchestra t-shirts too! The orchestra t-shirt design also came out looking great! Now I'd like to make designs for other sports teams, like volleyball and a couple others I'm suppose to design for 2012. I can't wait to get started!

Klaudia designs for SCHAUMBURG HIGH SCHOOL -

Golf Teams Hoodie and Sweat Pants designs
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2011 FINE ART

GINA:
As an artist it is important for me to stay well rounded. As much as the world has gone digital I find that using my traditional skills to create fine art offers a sense of freedom and spontaneity when composing ideas using various mediums and surfaces to acheive a desired result. The computer on the other hand offers the ability to instantly reproduce imagery, add layering effects and quickly create multiple color shifts, which could otherwise take a lot of time. To me the magic combination is taking traditional art and combining it with digital design. Doing this helps you create art that is trendy and unique but still has a classic appeal.

These are methods that I teach Klaudia. She has learned the importance of knowing how to draw and paint while understanding good composition and coordinating color. She has learned how to work in the latest computer applications and how to combine her designs to make a cohesive statement with her artwork.

Klaudia is an amazing girl with a lot of talent! It is such a pleasure for me to teach and guide her with her art and watch her grow in her craft over the past 5 1/2 years! Klaudia will always be the daughter I never had! Below are photo's of Klaudia adding some finishing touches and displaying that she recently completed. This one she said is for herself.

Chicago Skyline 24 W x 11.5 Ht Acrylic on canvas
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Klaudia took on this complex subject matter because she was inspired by a photo she saw. She was able to simplify it's complexities and develop a metropolis impression that reads as a uniform city. Using a vibrant color-charged palette Klaudia created an almost dreamlike city scene of the Chicago skyline. Every work of art presents several challenges during the creation process that require the artist to solve problems or find solutions to resolve telling the story of their vision. To the viewer the beauty is the finished artwork. To the artist, there is an even greater beauty and appreciation beneath the layers of the finished arwork that remind them of the challenges that were presented, the solutions they used and the accomplishment of becoming better by the new things they've learned. Great job Klaudia!

Posting from 2009