Background

Lindsey Neal Photography & Fine Art

Intricate Design in the Mundane;
Landscapes Part 1
Lindsey Hoinowski
02-07-2018

"There are no forms in nature. Nature is a vast, chaotic collection of shapes. You as an artist create configurations out of chaos. You make a formal statement where there was none to begin with. All art is a combination of an external event and an internal event... I make a photograph to give you the equivalent of what I felt." -Ansel Adams

Winter field and tree landscapes accented with moments of industrial objects; Finding simplistic and intricate beauty on a mundane, winter morning drive home from dropping my son off at school today. This time of day has breath-taking lighting piercing the trees during this route. I've always been fascinating with trees in their still yet organic movement. It's a cold winter day in Indiana, yet there's subtle intricacy in God's design. It's both haunting and beautiful in irony... just like life.

Background

"You don't make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all of the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved."
-Ansel Adams

Fine Art is creative art, especially visual art whose products are to be appreciated primarily or solely for their imaginative, aesthetic, or intellectual content.

In the beginning.... Having a diverse background in the field, photography and fine art have always been my passion. As a child i was always creating something out of nothing, I remember my interested really sparked at age 10 when i asked to go to summer art camp. I took a variety of art classes throughout high school. My first dark room photography course was taken as a sophomore… This is when I got my first film SLR, a Canon A-1. In 11th grade I was presented the Homestead High-school Student Art Award. After practically living in the art department through all four years of high school and taking a live figure drawing course/receiving scholarship at The University of St. Francis (Ft. Wayne) as a senior, I decided to apply to the BSU School of Art.

BSU.... I majored in fine art photography and hold a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Ball State School of Art (2002-06). Though digital art and imaging was utilized, Digital SLRs didn't become film quality until after i graduated, all film was developed and printed in the dark room. Kids these days missed out on how tedious and time consuming film is! Though digital photography is much more efficient, the art of composition and exposure development is best learned traditionally. Some of my courses ranged from traditional black and white film photography, color film photography, studio photography, advanced fine art photography, art criticism and theory, art history, visual communication, digital art, advanced drawing, painting, advanced sculpture, video art, theater, 2/d foundations and wood-working, printmaking, metals,, art education, psychology, philosophy, sociology, health and wellness, religion, and creative writing. Some of my memorable experiences include studying sculpture and design in the UK abroad throughout England, Scotland and Amsterdam. I did an assistantship with Muncie Civic Center of the Arts and a Chicago photography internship working for an independent commercial photographer where I gained a lot of great editing experience. I had the exciting opportunity of studying abroad exploring several museums and landmarks through-out the United Kingdom including The Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden in St. Ives, The British National Gallery in London, The British Museum of London, Stone-hedge, The Glasgow School of Art and Manchester Art Gallery. The Ball State school of Art is accredited by the National Association of School of Art and Design and educates artists, designers, scholars and teachers. It's Bachelor of Fine Arts degree has concentrations in animation, ceramics, drawing, glass, metals, painting, photography and intermedia art, printmaking, sculpture, and visual communication/graphic design. The School of Art promotes craft, advanced technical skills, and mature scholarship with a strong foundation for teaching studio art in a wide range of artistic specializations that offer a challenging and rewarding experience working with traditional and contemporary art forms. Ball State's art major with a focus on photography is centered on the production of adroit, mature, experimental, and idea-driven fine art. The diverse and collaborative experience focuses on the innovative use of digital and analog photography, alternative processes, video, performance, and installation with the skills, intellect, drive, maturity, and portfolios necessary for a life of creative production and exhibition. A variety of methods and strategies are developed for achieving artistic careers. Formal and technical mastery is emphasized alongside critical inquiry and conceptual approaches. The development of personal voice and vision is central to the curriculum while articulating ideas in writing to develop them into fully realized and exhibited artworks.

Teaching: A few months after graduating College and interning in Chicago, I drove my red allero packed with all of my stuff and my cat- Zoolander- to southwest Florida for a high school teaching position. I taught art courses for three years including digital photography and photoshop, Art History and Art in other Cultures, Painting, Two-dimensional Art and 3-D Sculptural Art to grades 9 through 12. In 2006 I began additional education courses including curriculum development and instruction, classroom management and effective strategies, primary/secondary art ed, codes and ethics in education, writing objectives in core art standards, integrative studies and methods in the visual arts, implementing policies and procedures, and differentiated learning instruction. I obtained my Professional Educator Certification License from the University of Phoenix for the Visual Arts levels K-12 in 2009 (2006-09). I sincerely enjoyed teaching and connecting to students through the vehicle of art. Giving students a creative and positive outlet was a priceless experience. I taught six unique courses with around 165 students from a range of backgrounds (whom I wasn't much older than); subsequently challenging and very rewarding, it required a lot of resilience and grace. The experience I had immersed in the culture and community was irreplaceable (the spectrum of demographics and diversity ranging from gifted high ability learners, first and second generation immigrants, and students with emotional trauma/homelessness/poverty). Fifty percent of our students were of Latin origin/ESL and required differentiated instruction, including Cuba, the DR, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Jamaica, Trinidad, Haiti, Mexico, and more. Teaching Art in other Cultures was a fun class as my students had an opportunity to showcase their culture, which they loved. The position was so much more than a teaching position, it was forever life-transforming and monumental for me. Differentiated instruction and differentiated learning, or differentiation, is a framework and philosophy for effective teaching that involves providing all students within their diverse classroom community of learners a range of different avenues for understanding new information (often in the same classroom) in terms of: acquiring content; processing, constructing, or making sense of ideas; and developing teaching materials and assessment measures so that all students within a classroom can learn effectively, regardless of differences in their ability. When language is the factor for differention, teachers differentiate instruction to English Language Learners (ELLs) who have a range of learning ability and skill levels - Beginning, intermediate and advanced. Here, differentiated instruction will mean adapting a whole new instructional strategy that a teacher of a typical classroom of native speakers of English would not have a need to. Differentiated classrooms respond to student variety in readiness levels, interests, and learning profiles. It is a classroom that includes and allows all students to be successful. To do this, a teacher sets different expectations for task completion for students, specifically based upon their individual needs, how they learn, learning preferences, and individual interests and abilities. Differentiation is an organized, yet flexible way of proactively adjusting teaching and learning methods to accommodate each child's learning to achieve maximum growth as a learner. The goal is to develop engaging tasks that challenge and enhance learning for each student. Instructional activities are flexible and based on content, process, product, resources, and learning environment. Often in urban, underfunded and multicultural public and charter schools resources for the arts are limited and classes are overcrowded, making behavior management a top priority. Innovative, creative, engaging and adaptive instructional planning is necessary for a safe and productive learning environment, but safe.

Visual Arts
1. Two-dimensional or Pictorial
- Drawing and Painting
- Collage Making
- Printing
- Photography
- Computer graphics
2. Three-dimensional
- Clay modelling and pottery
- Carving and sculpture
- Construction

Two-dimensional or Pictorial Activities:
• Study of visual resources and means of creative expression.
- Study of lines, strokes, colours, shades, tones, textures, etc. while organizing two dimensional space with two dimensional and three dimensional shapes and forms.
- Sketching from nature and surrounding.
- Creative use of colours to show space, atmosphere, subjective moods.
- Creative use of perspective in spatial relationship.
- Study of calligraphic strokes of Devnagari and Roman alphabet (Scripts).
- Use of contrast as an expressive element of art.
- Study and use of various media and techniques to the extent of their availability.
- Pencil, charcoal, water colour, crayon, oil colours, poster colour and gouache, acrylic colour and other unconventional sources of colours such as vermillion, yellow and red earth, rice flour, and tools like painting brushes for water colours and oil colours, Painting surfaces such as papers of various kinds and quality, like smooth, rough, thick, thin, etc., canvas, hardboard, simple marking cloth pasted on paper, etc.
- Collage and mosaic work with a variety of coloured papers and coloured printed pictures/photographs from magazines and newspapers.
- Printing : Mono printing, Printing with wood-cut blocks, lino-cut and metal foil : serigraphy (silk screen), self-made stencil, etc.
- Basic knowledge of computer graphics.

Three-dimensional or sculptural activities
• Study of basic forms in clay
- Study of various materials such as clay, plaster of paris, soft-stone, wood (blocks, twigs and branches, roots, etc.), metal scraps, plastic sheets, wire thread, papers and cardboards, vegetables and other throw-away available materials.
- Study of natural and man-made forms, human figures, birds, animals, vegetation and other objects like household items, buildings or as desired by the students.
- Objects of day-to-day use in groups and in different settings and arrangements.

NAEA Goals For Art Education:

All elementary and secondary schools shall require students to complete a sequential program of art instruction that integrates the study of aesthetics, art criticism, art history, and art production.

1.1 art instruction shall be conducted by teacher certified in art;

1.2 visual arts courses shall be required in elementary, middle, junior, and senior high schools, and should not be scheduled to conflict with other required courses.
For graduation from high school, every student shall be required to complete at least one year of credit in one of the fine arts.

2.1 an acceptable course in visual arts shall include in-depth study in the techniques of at least one art medium; practice in several media; and studies in art history, aesthetics and criticism.
For admission to a college or university, every student shall be required to have at least one year of credit in visual arts. (See 2.1 above)
For graduation from a college or university, every student shall be required to have at least one course in one of the fine arts.
Every state and school system shall have a supervisor or administrator to coordinate and direct the visual arts program.

5.1 an acceptable supervisor or administrator is certified in the teaching and supervision of visual arts education.

Objectives

Produce creative works that demonstrate innovation in concepts, formal language and/or materials
Describe, analyze and interpret created artwork
Recognize elements of design in works of art
Analyze, interpret and evaluate the form and content of works of art

Arts Integration in Education: Arts integration is an approach to teaching in which students construct and demonstrate understanding through an art form. Students engage in a creative process which connects an art form and another subject and meets evolving objectives in both. The goal of arts integration is to increase knowledge of a general subject area while concurrently fostering a greater understanding and appreciation of the fine and performing arts. Research on the effects of arts education on children’s learning and development show significant positive outcomes on children exposed to arts programs with teacher supervision compared to children not exposed to arts education. Research also shows that children exposed to arts do better in school, develop greater social, cognitive and emotional skills and are more likely to earn higher degrees of education later in life. In more recent years, Art has been incorporated into the STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) learning curriculum. With people changing jobs and even jumping careers more frequently than in past generations, a truly well-rounded educational background is essential. Whether pursuing college or entering the workforce right away upon graduation, students will need the baseline skills to adapt to whatever their academic or professional careers require of them. “Incorporating the A in STEAM—art—brings in personal expression, empathy, meaning-making and the purpose of what you’re learning,” The STEAM framework brings the five disciplines together to create an inclusive learning environment that encourages all students to participate and contribute. This holistic approach encourages students to exercise both the left and right sides of their brains simultaneously. Research has shown the importance of the arts in appealing to a broader and diverse group of learners, and STEAM promotes organic problem-solving of real and complex problems. This all-inclusive method helps equip today’s students with the skills they need to join tomorrow’s workforce.

Anew Light Creatives

The Photo Business... [Anew Light Photo] After teaching in sw Florida I moved back to the midwest and continued work in the photography field. I worked for a photo company for three years where I learned more about digital photography and various SLR's, lenses, and lighting equipment. It was exciting being able to experiment and practice with any and all levels/brands of professional equipment. Since I was able to buy products at cost, this is where I started my little arsenal of bodies and lenses. I first photographed a friend's wedding in 2007 when I bought my first digital SLR which consequently expanded by word of mouth and I'm now doing photo-journalistic style weddings and sessions with recognition for "Best of Weddings by The Knot." Thanks to the very helpful mentoring and advice from my dad who has a background in business management and finance, I was able to make fruitful investments and business strategies. I apply appreciation for creativity, personality, emotion, sound aesthetics and detail into my work. I've been shooting weddings over the last decade and enjoy working with clients by capturing authentic and timeless moments. Forever being a part of a couple's wedding day and milestones is an honor that I truly appreciate. I continue to push my digital photography skills with online courses and tutorials and I invest a lot of time working in Lightroom and Photoshop. Ive been studying photography for over 20 years, and shooting professionally for 10-15.

I shoot Nikon!:) What's in my bag?....
D750
35mm 1.8 fx G2 vc
24-70mm 2.8 fx G2 vc
85mm 1.4 fx/dx
Sb5000
D300s
70-200mm 2.8 IS
17-50 2.8 vc-1
D7100
17-50 2.8 vc-2
35mm 1.8 IS
Sb600, Pm7500
D90-1, 2

Early Childhood education:

“It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.” –Albert Einstein. Children not only have different learning styles based on brain functioning,, but also learn differently at different developmental stages. Being a parent and guiding my children through the educational process has probably provided me with more experience and knowledge in child-development, brain development, and differentiated and child specific learning strategies and technique than anything else. My mother introduced me to early childhood education (being a preschool director for 30 years and having a background is in early childhood education and development). Ive always enjoyed the early developmental years, and my experience in the classroom began early on when i would work in her school. Both of my children went through NPCP parent cooperative preschool from 2015-2020.

NPCP philosophy: “We are a “success-oriented” school, striving to help children and their parents form positive self-concepts and good feelings of self-worth. We value the uniqueness of each child and adult involved.” Nature’s Pointe is a nature centered play based cooperative preschool. A co-op preschool is owned and maintained by the parents of the children enrolled on a non-profit basis. Parents assist a lead teacher in the classroom. Being involved in my children's early developmental years was crucial and im grateful to be apart of it. Nature's Pointe is a developmentally appropriate program with a cooperative philosophy, providing a learning environment for both parents and children. The length and frequency of school days is in line with the recommendations of early childhood educators as appropriate for the age of the children. Teacher-led group time is balanced with plenty of self-directed, hands-on experiences. The latter have been shown to allow the natural learning processes of children to occur. In a pre-planned “learning through play” environment children learn how to interact, problem-solve, and make decisions together. The school utilizes their outside space frequently to allow learning through play with nature. In the cooperative preschool, a focus is placed on developmentally appropriate learning through play strategies with an emphasis on cooperative play (as age appropriate) where two or more children learn how to interact, problem-solve, and make decisions together. Children in cooperatively structure, learning through play environments exhibit higher levels of pro-social behavior (sharing, dramatic play, cooperation, positive interactions) than children in traditional-structured classrooms. Npcp focuses on the outdoor learning environment. Language skills are developed as children discuss issues of play with each other or discuss their drawing, paintings, craft projects, or experiments with adults and each other. Math skills are practiced in the play “store”, “restaurant”, or “office” and through games, projects, blocks and other manipulatives. Science is learned through natural curiosity and experiments with snow, dirt, sand, water, etc. in the sensory table or leaves, nest, insects, magnets, magnifying glasses, etc and picture books strategically placed on the science table and discussed through out the day.” At NPCP, Parents are required to take early childhood and parenting classes each year while meeting the required volunteer hours and participation. Each parent is assigned a different job to maintain the school. During our time at NPCP, I enjoyed teaching enrichment classes on process art.

Process art is an artistic movement where the end product of art and craft, the object is not the principal focus; the process of its making is one of the most relevant aspects if not the most important one: the gathering, sorting, collating, associating, patterning, and moreover the initiation of actions and proceedings. Process artists saw art as pure human expression. Process art defends the idea that the process of creating the work of art can be an art piece itself. Process art has been entitled as a creative movement in the US and Europe in the mid-1960s. It has roots in Performance Art, the dada movement, and more traditionally, the drip paintings of Jackson Pollock. Process Art in Early Childhood is focused more on the act of making, experimenting, and discovering, rather than the art product itself. Children use exploration to discover new materials, techniques, and tools in an open-ended way that encourages critical thinking, problem-solving, and creative learning. Process art can be a great tool to integrate Art into the STEAM learning environment.

A Child-centered approach to learning is an educational approach that places the child at the center of the learning process in which they are active participants. Teachers give children choices of learning activities with the teacher acting as facilitator of learning. The child-centred approach looks at the child's holistic development. It will enable the child to make decisions and solve problems. It allows the child to develop confidently and independently. It contributes to self-esteem so the child can feel comfortable with who they are. The Montessori method of education is a system of education for young children that seeks to develop natural interests and activities rather than use formal teaching methods.

Multi-Sensory approaches provide opportunities for children to actively use their senses as they explore their world through ‘sensory play’ and is crucial to brain development – it helps to build nerve connections in the brain’s pathways. This leads to a child’s ability to complete more complex learning tasks and supports cognitive growth, language development, gross motor skills, social interaction and problem solving skills. Sensory play includes any activity that stimulates your young child’s senses: touch, smell, taste, movement, balance, sight and hearing. Sensory activities facilitate exploration and naturally encourage children to use scientific processes while they play, create. investigate and explore. The sensory activities allow children to refine their thresholds for different sensory information helping their brain to create stronger connections to process and respond to sensory information. (Multi-sensory approaches to education are extremely beneficial for students with dyslexia who use the OG Approach. The Orton-Gillingham approach is a multisensory phonics technique for remedial reading instruction developed in the early-20th century. It is practiced as a direct,explicit, cognitive, cumulative and multi-sensory approach. While it is most commonly associated with teaching individuals with dyslexia and neurodiverse learning styles, it is highly effective for all individuals learning to read, spell, and write and is beginning to be implemented in reading intervention and general education classrooms). Visuals are important for early learners with expressive and receptive language processing difficulties. Dyslexics, struggling readers and English Language learners find interactive, multimedia and multi-sensory strategies very helpful. Embracing diverse teaching methods to succeed with different types of brains is the future of education. Neurodiversity refers to variation in the human brain regarding sociability, learning, attention, mood and other mental functions in a non-pathological sense. There are strengths and challenges poorly understood in neurodevelopmental differences like ADHD, autism, and learning differences. Neurodiverse learners experience, interact with, and interpret the world in unique ways. Sensory Processing– or Integration as it is also known – is the effective registration (and accurate interpretation) of sensory input in the environment (including one's body). It is the way the brain receives, organises and responds to sensory input in order to behave in a meaningful & consistent manner.

many educators and parents still differenlearning and a time for play without seeing the vital connection between the
Expressive Arts:

Anew Light Ministries: In 2021 I received my therapeutic Arts Certification in Expressive Arts through which i combine two my greatest passions, faith and art! Through my passion of creating art, I discovered that the process can not only be very therapeutic, but can also deepen your spiritual connection. I began regular biblical studies around a decade ago, and My deepening relationship with Christ began to come to fruition following the birth of my second child. No one knows our pain like Jesus, and nothing can heal our pain like Jesus. All too often, psychology and spirituality are kept in separate boxes, lessening the power of each to work effective changes. Through the therapeutic art process of art making and art expression combined with Christ-centered healing, I know the spirit has the power to profoundly transform. Just as God transformed Jesus, God uses our struggles and pain for a greater purpose, through the process of therapeutic art we may see his design in “Anew Light,” where redemption lives and weakness is is made whole with him. Through my Art background and journey with Christ, my experiences have called me to not only share the Gospel through my art, but to help others heal brokenness and redeem fullness through embracing the transformative power of Christ! Therapeutic art can improves the mental health of adults and adolescents who are dealing with anxiety, depression, attention disorders, grief and loss, dementia, eating disorders, physical illness, PTSD, trauma, abuse, addiction, relationship issues and much more. Therapeutic Art Life coaches understand the psychology behind how to use therapeutic art to access the subconscious mind and change limiting patterns and beliefs. Art techniques are used to help manage emotions and increase self-awareness, self-expression and positive outlook. Processes used often include clay molding, abstract painting, mandalas, affirmation art, vision/dream boards, guided meditation, and scripture! Art is Spiritual, the process therapeutic, and Christ is the essence of Spiritual Transformation.

Artwork:

Anew Light Fine Art: One of my favorite things to do is paint and create. I follow the Indy Art scene and local exhibitions, and make commissioned artwork for client customized interest. Please visit my virtual Gallery!

Visual and Fine Art Prospects:

Vision... Pursuing different avenues of Art and plugging into creative outlets will always be a necessity. I have a deep appreciation for the poised and sound elegancy of organic forms that mimic other organic forms in nature and the authentic emotion of story telling in portraiture and photographic art. I appreciate the use of mixed media as a vehicle of emotional and conceptual expression. I'm equally drawn to usable and functional art in design with expressive imagery. I use forms of photography, sculpture, mixed media, and abstract painting to convey emotions and concepts. I hope to cultivate a body of mixed media work that is equally relatable and marketable.

Concept... [Abstract] Cultivate bodies of work with a stylized approach and cohesive background specific to personal experiences and to cultural and spiritual connections that unify and beautify humanity. I portray metaphorical concepts and human interpretation that simultaneously separate and connect people. I'm currently working on a visual storytelling photo series that is interactive and technological in nature.

Interconnection of mixed media including acrylic on canvas, black and white photographic series that is human and cultural in nature, interactive cross medium photographic series that is symbolic, cultural and sociological in nature. I seek to display photographic imagery in innovative ways by utilizing different mediums in both form and function.

Technique... I've more recently been using palette knives while combining palette carving and sculpting techniques with tools and medium to manipulate water-based paint as a means to achieve my goal of emotional expression. I use Acrylics in layers and consistencies, using contrasting brush strokes in conjunction with carving techniques that add demential value to the object. While at College, I invested time sketching life figure drawings and studying the "Anatomy of the Human Figure in Art." I like to incorporate figures into my work by conveying emotion through gestures of the human figure with forms of drawing including contouring and rendering in compositions. I integrate cubism characteristics while applying geometric and organic forms necessary to the overall aesthetics of the piece. I incorporate spirituality and symbolism into my paintings and photographic/video imagery.

Process... The art of conceptualizing a message, and photographing something intentional and seeing to completion is the best part of the creative process. I need to feel the synchrony of light, form and matter in the frame to focus more on the art of the experience rather than the processing. The process of painting is therapeutic while working swiftly with gestural movements and brush strokes. For a more cohesive series I prefer to first paint multiple canvases together then separate the pieces into equally unifying and distinctive designs. I value the exploration of the many ways of expressing and experiencing art through avenues such as video, music and movement. Combining vehicles of expression that evoke feeling and inspiration will transform the outcome of the piece. I believe it's equally about the therapeutic process of telling a story as it is about the visual outcome. The process is what drives the outcome.

Inspiration... Annie Leibovitz for her delivery of pure emotion and poised artistry. She doesn't apologize for her raw, authentic stance on portraiture and admits to not being a technical photographer, for her, it's about the moment not the equipment. I love that. I have a new found appreciation for Ansel Adams, his work is pure perfection and gives me butterflies. He's a master of literary transparency. The painter I likely appreciate most would be Picasso, which is why I'm drawn to cubism and often incorporate cubism into my work. He's an artistic pioneer to imagery and concepts and I admire the vulnerability and persistence he had inspite of societal norms.

Connection... I seek meaning and interconnections behind visual art while being more free to convey a concept equal in aesthetics and emotion. To me art is soul, it's a universal and symbolic language that has been connecting and transforming humanity since the beginning of time. I wish to grow, be challenged, and eventually pursue a profession where I can cultivate the younger generation of individuals with the same level of creative passion.

Background Credentials;

The American Bar Association Honorable Mention "Youth of Our Nation"
Homestead High School Student Art Award
University of Sant Francis Art Department Scholarship
Studied Fine Arts at Ball State School of Art and University of St. Francis
BFA Ball State University
Emphasis in Fine Art Black and White Photography
Walnut at the Crossing Art Gallery, Muncie, IN Gallery Exhibition
Ball State University Student Art Show and Atrium Gallery
BFA gallery exhibition, "Fallacy: Untitled Series"
Undergraduate Creative Arts Grant Committee funding; BFA Exhibition
Art in the UK Student Gallery Exhibition Ball State University, Mixed media painting
Art in the UK Study Abroad Program;
Studied sculpture & design throughout England and Scotland
Accepted into BSU Art Show for mixed media drawing, "Disease"
Accepted into BSU Art Show for photographic series, "Fallacy; Untitled"
Photography Internship with Kipling Photography, Chicago, Illinois
Visual Arts K-12 Professional Educator Certification
High School Art and Photography Teacher, Ft. Myers, Florida
Pottery studio, taught applied painting
"Humanity in Black and White" Sarasota Art Center, Sarasota, FL
Photographic series, "Teach!" gallery exhibition, Sarasota, Florida
Photographic Sales Associate
Awarded The Knot Best of Weddings
Taught Parent Education course on Process-Art in early childhood
Indianapolis Art Center ceramics course and volunteer work
Online digital photography courses and tutorials
Therapeutic Art Life Coach Certification 2021