︎
INFO     

Professor Ford

A space to celebrate the work of all the talented and inspirational students I have been lucky to guide throughout the years.


WHERE TO FIND SOME OF MY STUDENTS NOW

IB Diploma Visual Arts

CARMEL SCHOOL
Assignments 
Course Description

Germinate by Winona Tong, Inset, Pencil and Graphite Powder on Arches Hot Press, 10 x 15 Germinate consists of small intimate graphite drawings that depict a human coming into existence. The figure moves from an ambiguous identity to a bodily form (from left to right), exploring stages of growth and time as an underlying theme of metamorphosis. Each frame zooms out from the deformed figure transforming into a conscious state. The artwork was inspired by We are all Flesh, Berlinde De Bruyckere. - Winona Tong Memories by Steffi Zhang, Rorschach Cyanotype Contact Prints, Installation, 100 x 40 This piece is a timeline documenting the journey of my mother’s sudden need for a liver transplant. Each photograph is framed in the shape of a Rorschach test, symbolic of the idea that these events are of psychological importance, memories etched into my mind and embedded in psyche. Like the supposed purpose of an inkblot test, I am attempting to find meaning and connection in these events. - Steffi Zhang Memories by Steffi Zhang, Rorschach Cyanotype Contact Prints, Installation, 100 x 40 This piece is a timeline documenting the journey of my mother’s sudden need for a liver transplant. Each photograph is framed in the shape of a Rorschach test, symbolic of the idea that these events are of psychological importance, memories etched into my mind and embedded in psyche. Like the supposed purpose of an inkblot test, I am attempting to find meaning and connection in these events. - Steffi Zhang Spineline by Emily Nagar, Photo on White Glazed Molding Clay, 4 x 10 Photos of the Holocaust: peace, hatred, starvation, execution, and survival. The spine represents life and the form of the human body. To me it is a symbol of life and death. The spine is our only body part that keeps us standing; it holds us together. - Emily Nagar Untitled by Sarah Davidson, Torn Keffiyeh Scarfs, Fabric, Tassels, and Soil from Israel, Installation, 86 x 39 x 48 This artwork portrays the nature of the Arab-Israeli conflict, abandoning the prospect of integration, instead emphasizing, tension, complexity and destruction instead. The gradual release of soil is symbolic for land and its role as a source of tension in the conflict. Therefore, as the soil is released, so does the tension. The tangling of fabric juxtaposes this idea, emphasizing the complexity of the conflict rather than a simple one based on soil. The use of tangling fabric in order to portray complexity was inspired by Eva Hesse. - Sarah Davidson Woman in Closet (After Picasso) by Jessica Jay, Archival Pigment Print, 30 x 20 The figure standing in a staged yet displaced setting referencing a closet alludes to the conceptual and formal elements present in Picasso’s ‘Women of Avignon’. Spotlighting centres the composition, lending a melancholic tone as the figure stoically stares at the audience. Cluttered clothing surrounds her, challenging viewers to look beyond the figure and explore the nuanced nature of identity; revealing how one person can simultaneously be multiple people. - Jessica Jay Woman in Bathroom (After Botticelli) by Jessica Jay, Archival Pigment Print, 20 x 30 Referential to Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, the figure stands dominant yet sullen; mirroring the uncertainty of oneself. Hints of emotion are silenced by the chaotically staged props. Stillness contrasts being 'out of place' in the setting and the figure’s internal dialogue. Referential to Zephyr, the hairdryer’s double entendre reflects society’s pressure on young women. Unblended makeup powders the figure’s face as she stands mute within the chaotic world revolving around her. - Jessica Jay Facades by Jessica Jay, Dual Face Mounted Laser Cut Plexi Panels, Mounted in a Cascade, 80 x 36 Inspired by Francis Bacon, branches of identities scream in terror, mimicking the burst of a facade. The frightening presence is muted by the ambiguous setting; representing society’s power over an individual. Floating faces layer atop one another, forming disfigurations to mimic the loss of one’s humanity evaporating and lingering in the air. Confusion, anger and fear spiral within the figure’s internal dialogue; representing a remorse retrospective when entering womanhood. - Jessica Jay Facades by Jessica Jay, Inset, Dual Face Mounted Laser Cut Panel, 8 x 10, Inset Inspired by Francis Bacon, branches of identities scream in terror, mimicking the burst of a facade. The frightening presence is muted by the ambiguous setting; representing society’s power over an individual. Floating faces layer atop one another, forming disfigurations to mimic the loss of one’s humanity evaporating and lingering in the air. Confusion, anger and fear spiral within the figure’s internal dialogue; representing a remorse retrospective when entering womanhood. - Jessica Jay Germinate by Winona Tong, Pencil and Graphite Powder on Arches Hot Press Germinate consists of small intimate graphite drawings that depict a human coming into existence. The figure moves from an ambiguous identity to a bodily form (from left to right), exploring stages of growth and time as an underlying theme of metamorphosis. Each frame zooms out from the deformed figure transforming into a conscious state. The artwork was inspired by We are all Flesh, Berlinde De Bruyckere. - Winona Tong Germinate by Winona Tong, Inset, Pencil and Graphite Powder on Arches Hot Press, 10 x 15 Germinate consists of small intimate graphite drawings that depict a human coming into existence. The figure moves from an ambiguous identity to a bodily form (from left to right), exploring stages of growth and time as an underlying theme of metamorphosis. Each frame zooms out from the deformed figure transforming into a conscious state. The artwork was inspired by We are all Flesh, Berlinde De Bruyckere. - Winona Tong Lotuses Will Blossom by Jinho Laborde, Sumi Ink, Posca Marker, Graphite, Pen, Acrylic, Hard Pastel on 300gsm Watercolor Paper, 30 x 20 This piece is a self-portrait of my mind, inspired by Rorschach tests and Balinese adaptations of Sanskrit epics. The layers of black on black symbolize the fear I have of the unknowns in my past, particularly the relationship of my mother and my biological father. The lotus pattern symbolizes enlightenment and cosmic renewal in Hinduism, as it is a flower that is born from the mud and blooms towards the sky. This piece reflects my coming to terms with my own history. The Void by Ian Lyons, Shot on large format film with a handmade lens board, Series of 3 Archival Pigment Prints, 28 x 25 The Void is inspired by Otto Piene’s fire paintings, where he was attempting to portray recovery from a world destroyed by WWII. Similarly, I was attempting to portray my recovery from the world of grief that I was living in. Each image in the series is overexposed around the edges, scarring the image with a void. The simplicity of the images are trying to evoke calmness, portraying a world peaceful after the negation expressed in the void. A Living Room by Bradley Selevan, Multi Exposure Panoramic Pigment Print, 54 x 16 Inspired by Gregory Crewdson, A Living Room is a panoramic photograph that transforms a space of comfort and intimacy into a space of underlying tension. The audience is invited to read the image like a narrative, traveling along the wide aspect ratio, as they are introduced to a storyline foreshadowing the fall of man. Lighting played a role in composing the models and to emphasize the great distance between mankind. - Bradley Selevan

1. Comparative Study (Form, Theme and Context Analysis)
2. Process Portfolio (Artist’s Journal)
3. Aesthetically and Conceptually Cohesive Exhibition 
4. Exhibition Texts
Over the course of two years, students learn the process of being an artist in an interdisciplinary context. From research, to media exploration, to skills development, refinement and critical analysis and investigation students develop creative practice and personal vision. Throughout the course, students work towards mounting a conceptually and aesthetically cohesive exhibition, learn critical analysis and investigation through peer critics, artist talks, gallery tours and comparative and analytical essays. 

4 Semester Course / 5 hours per week

Time-based Media




Rut-in and Neurons by Eden Shem Tov, Projection and Mixed Media, 100 x 42 (2/2) Media: Makeup Cloth from Performance Video, Golden Thread, Gesso



PHOT 314 Architectural Photography:
Human-altered Landscapes
SCAD Lacoste 
 Assignments 
Course Description

Assignment: Re-photographic, Reinterpretation // Sarah Rocco Assignment: Re-photographic, Reinterpretation // Sarah Rocco Assignment: Lines and Light // Kate Lamb Assignment: HABS // Katie Georgas Assignment: Lines and Light // Erin Pustarfi Assignment: Lines and Light // Sarah Rocco Assignment: Lines and Light // Sarah Rocco Assignment: HABS // Erin Pustarfi Assignment: HABS // TJ Snider
1. Lines and Light
2. Re-photographic Survey (HABS)
3. Re-photographic, Reinterpretation
4. Final Portfolio
This course explores the unique aesthetic and technical challenges of photographing the human-altered landscape for personal expression and historical documentation. Slide lecture topics explore the history of landscape and architectural photography and the documentation standards of the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS). Assignments focus on exploring the techniques of architectural photography using the surrounding evironment and the historically preserved site of Maison Basse. Students may work in color and/or black and white and may use large-, medium- or small-format cameras.

10 Weeks  (non-majors, PHOT 113 Pre-requisite)

Inside the Classroom