Johnny Depp and the Desk Lamp

So classes have started and I have begun to die slowly! Ok yeah, thats a lie. Classes are actually really interesting and really relaxed compared to being in Iowa (theres not much exciting stuff going on in Iowa so lets be real).

I only have four classes a week, which is SWEET! Can't beat studing design in Rome and only having class for 13 hours a week! hahaha I win!

Anyway the classes I am taking are Italian Design, Studio, Italian Language, and Italian History. They are all very interesting and they just add to the magnificence of Rome. I am also taking an online Digital Photography class that should be interesting as well. My favorite class is Italian Language and Im actually pretty good at it. The rest of the classes I really enjoy, even Italian Art History.

History is going to kick my butt because I have a professor that is a cross between Johnny Depp who speaks in random thoughts that leaves the listener pondering what was just said, and your stereotypical college professor who knows way too much for the average brain to comprehend. Although I do love the history that we cover and his passion for the class, he tends to give a lecture at such a speed and with such an unorganized thought method that it tends to leave me in the dust. When listening to his lecture, I become transfixed by the amount of historical knowledge that one man can have stored away in memory alone. He uses no notes to give his lectures, only clifs and photographs. He is a genius of sorts, and overall I think this class could be the best and worst part of Rome!

Oh and I forgot to mention, my professor somewhat looks like Johnny Depp from Secret Window, but has the demeanor of Jack Sparrow. It makes for a bit of comical distraction at times on my part. haha I cant help it, I could find laughter in a dark ally, so what!

In Studio, the class that I spend most of my academic hours in, I am currently redrawing a light of my choice and giving a bit of artistic flare. I chose a light that would not be too hard to recreate on paper. I did this because I have a belief that when recreating something through drawing, a person should not pick a complicated piece and come up short in drawing it, that would only hinder the true beauty of the piece itself. Rather a designer or artist should pick something that is visually intriguing, but simple, that way when it is recreated it can be done with such precision that it will make both the original piece and the rendering extraordinary. Now having said that, I do not know if I have succeeded, but I do know that I picked a Lamp that suited my modern design style. It is called a Tizio lamp and it was designed by Richard Sapper for Artemide in 1972.

I am recreating this desk lamp on Gray Fabriano paper at a 1:1 scale using only graphite pencils and one color for intrigue. I am drawing two elevations and two detail drawings. I have not completed the rendering yet, but what I do have I like. When the drawing is completely finished I will show more but this is what I have for now...