Introduction: Hi, I'm Jia Gao, also called Migagao from China, studied Visual Communication at SJTU in Shanghai 2015. After I was graduated, I came to Maryland Institute College of Art to study Illustration. I am a visual artist who loves movie, nature, craft art and fashion. This idea book is a work collection of my first year growth in ILP at the Msryland Institute College of Art so far. It showed how I started my every project to the end which was really meaningful to me. I enjoy every step I was taking during the first year in MICA. ins:miga_gao e-mail:migagao.art@gmail.com
1.Image Harvest 2.Sketch Project 3.Words on Wheels 4.Letterpress 5.Comic zines
1.Laser Cut 2.Art Market-Earrings 3.Sewing 4.Stop Motion 5.Pattern
1.Bookbinding 2.Paper Engineering 3.Art Market-book 4.Self-direction 5.Handlettering
The first part of this idea book is about some small and relax projects of illustrations and sketches during the first year in MICA.It was eye- and heart-opening projects for me to listen to other people's voices.
IMAGE HARVEST My first project experience in MICA
1&2 Inspirations
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I am the kind of person who would like to observe even the smallest things and to experience the feeling of others. I am interested in exploring humanity and the emotions of people. The images in this collection from September are named Gastric Perception. It’s very surprising to discover that the human’s gastrointestinal has a strong sense of perception on emotion and feeling. Gastrointestinal is quite spiritual, and very loyal to you. When I am angry, I experience shortness of breath, high blood pressure, and your gastrointestinal honestly shrinks and suppresses the desire to eat. This will protect me from physical disorders occur in all aspects.
Images on the show
Sketches
Process
Feeling: Terror
Feeling: comfortable
Feeling: confident
Image Harvest was the first project for the students in ILP. In this show, I continued my interest on how the stomach reflects the true feelings of people. I used innocent children as the objects and paints several illustrations for the theme. I shared her idea that people should try to listen to their body signals and be brave to face their true and natural emotions.Only in this way can people know themselves in an authentic view.
image harvest
SKETCHBOOK PROJECT The most relax project during the 1st semester
Theme: 10 years past
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1 Theme:Right here, right now 2 Theme:Diary 3 Theme:Monster 4 Theme:In 10 minutes
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1 Theme:Memory 2 Theme:Make mine a double 3 Theme:Pizza 4 Theme:Dancing
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1 Theme:Hark! Angels 2 Theme:Diary
Sketchbook PJ
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WORDS ON WHEELS
A meaningful project cooperated with children's poems
The Dark Side of the Moon
by Ariel Stevenson, Grade 5
The moon shines like a silver clock by my bed. Its glow is a natural night light, A security guard for my mind. But the light fades away, swallowed by a cloud. It gets dark. My mind is blank, and I can’t move. My friend, the moon, has hidden herself. Faint rays peek out, looking for me. Come out of the shadows, they whisper. But I’m afraid, I’m stopped, I’m staring into darkness. I’m stuck on the dark side of the moon. Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle Teacher: Jeniqua Moran
Define It
by Davon Womack, Grade 6 I am not smart. Smart kids see words, sentences, paragraphs, pages, chapters, and books I see letters that tumble over that transport that transform and at times, vanish. But I’m confused. I can analyze, interpret, create, and think. I can remember and see things differently. So what is smart? Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle Teacher: Jamie Cassermere
Sketches
Side e Dark
Th
of th
Grade 5 le ry/Midd Stevens, lementa by Ariel gers E hn Rod odore Jo oran Comm iqua M n Je r: Teache
The moon shines like a silver clock by my bed. Its glow is a natural night light, A security guard for my mind. But the light fades away, swallowed by a cloud. It gets dark. My mind is blank, and I can’t move. My friend, the moon, has hidden herself. Faint rays peek out, looking for me. Come out of the shadows, they whisper. But I’m afraid, I’m stopped, I’m staring into darkness. I’m stuck on the dark side of the moon.
A Joint Project of: Public Charter School Baltimore Montessori
Baltimore School of the Arts Baltimore Montessori Public Charter School Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle Fallstaff Elementary/Middle Holabird Academy Maryland Institute College of Art John Rodgers Elementary/Middle Midtown Academy KIPP Ujima Village Academy Maryland Institute College of Art The Mount Washington School Roland Park Elementary/Middle School The Midtown Academy The Stadium School
KIPP: Uiima Village Academy Holabird Academy
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Davon Womack, Grade 6 Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle Teacher: Jamie Cassermere
ILLUSTRATION & DESIGN: JIA GAO / MICA ILP ’17
I am I N Sm not s E art m IT kid art. s I se wo see e le rds tter , se nte tha s nce t s, p tha tumb ara t tra le o gra tha v n phs e s t tra por r , pa But and t nsf ges I o a ’ m r t tim m , ch I ca c o apt I ca n anal nfuse es, va ers d. nis n re yze , an h. db me , int erp ook mb er a ret, s c nd r e ate see So thin , and wh gs at i diff think. ss ere ma ntly rt? .
ILLUSTRATION & DESIGN: YOUR NAME / MICA MFA IN ILLUSTRATION PRACTICE ’17
DE
n e Moo
ILLUSTRATION & DESIGN: YOUR NAME / MICA MFA IN ILLUSTRATION PRACTICE ’17 ILLUSTRATION & DESIGN: JIA GAO / MICA MFA IN ILLUSTRATION PRACTICE ’17
1 The dark side of the moon 2 Define it
A Joint Project of: Public Charter School Baltimore Montessori
Baltimore School of the Arts Baltimore Montessori Public Charter School Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle
KIPP: Uiima Village Academy Fallstaff Elementary/Middle
Holabird Academy Holabird Academy
Maryland Institute College of Art John Rodgers Elementary/Middle Midtown Academy KIPP Ujima Village Academy
Maryland Institute College of Art The Mount Washington School
Roland Park Elementary/Middle School The Midtown Academy The Stadium School
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LETTERPRESS An experience with lots of fun
Although letterpress workshop is very short, but it was a wonderful experience for me to see the craft of making letters on paper. It's a really good way to make some effects on namecard or book cover.I really like it.
Imgaes
Process
Letterpress
COMIC ZINES
Funny stories about the dessert
Zines show
Process
This project has lots of fun. We can image and design the characters and content by ourselves with the topic of "Giant, small,tall,little,tiny and round". All of us had lots of space and imagination for it. I picked up several objects from the dessert. They are cookies,crumbs,wa fers,ladyfingers,macaroons and strudels.Three different funny stories happend among them.
A story of crumbs and a giant strudel
A story of lady fingers and macaroons
A story of cookies and wafers
COMIC ZINES
BOOKBINDING
a reaction book about story imagine
Bookbinding is always my excited and passionate about. I made a reaction book about imaging the story. People can make up a story by themselves though seeing the different characters in this book.
Book Cover
Characters
Bookbinding
PAPER ENGINEERING I made a pop-up toy made of paper in this project. The concept of this toy is a wish doll. It has both good wishes and bad wishes sides. I think this project has lots of fun. I enjoyed the handmade work.
Paper engineering
ART MARKET - BOOK a collection of sad stories in daily life
Art Market Breif Pitch: An illustrated book with creative way of binding shows eight stories about the different weepers in the life. Concept: My project is to do a book with creative way of binding shows eight stories with different illustrations, the book is about different people who is crying in different moment in the life . I record them to arouses the reader's feelings of pity, sorrow, or compassion for the moment. Target audience: Teenagers(12 ~18) What to do: >I collect eight representative moments which will make people cry in the life. >They are:sensation, loneness, farewell, miss, heart-broken, lost, upset, confine. >Let the teenagers face,know and understand the situations. The product: An illustration book with creative bookbinding
"Eva has just been waving good-bye to her best friend at the station. Her friend is very reluctant to leave."
"Today, John's cat died in the process of eating. The death of the little cat preyed on him very much."
"Cindy packed her traps and went on shore. But she didn't know where to go. She is so upset."
"Lily is cring because she missed her family so much when she is alone in a strange city."
Illustrations
Art Market
SELF DIRECTION A Girl is looking for her hometown
I pushed myself so hard in this project. This is also my farorite project and the most satisfied one. I painted the book about a girl who is always looking for her hometown. THE illustrations were done in mixed media( pencil, gouache, color crayon, collage and some were assembled or touched up digitally.)
Sketches
Moodboard
"Perhaps she felt that she didn’t have meaningful memories for her hometown, so she has been looking for a place to make her feel a sense of belonging. She never stopped searching. She decided to never look back and keep looking for a tribe of her own."
"She got up the nerve to tear up all the things she was reluctant to face."
"She decided to return to her past memories to have a look, to deeply understand herself."
The contends
" Suddenly, many people flashed through her mind. Everything grew hazy and she hardly remembered what they look like."
The contends
"She kept looking for her own hometown, the place where she wanted to stay. Maybe she has found it in herself."
Self direction
HANDLETTERING
This project is about to choose a book from the invisible library online and design the book's cover. I chose the book calld The orange dress written by Shela Henry. I enjoyed this project a lot becuase I was always interested in designing book cover. I wanted to be as experimental as possible with creating a book cover. I used pencil and gouche to paint the cover.
"These books are a foundation for fantasy a definitive and all to excellent exmaple of the best kind of literature that can come out of society. Even more interesting is to look at these books and be able to recognize where Tolkien got some of his ideas in the past and what it has inspired in the future. " -JK "The Lord of the Rings is one of the best fictional works to date. Tolkien was a masterful story teller, one without equal. Whether you like fantasy or not, this book, along with The Fellowship of the Ring, " -New York Times
Handlettering
The end
LASER CUTTING Funny stories about the desert
Laser cutting workshop is a new skill for me. I was very glad to have the chance to study how to use laser cutting. My idea for this workshop is to design earrings from the inpiration of a song:"Tears in the rain". This project definitly brought me a lot of fun. Emily and Aditi as my models for the earrings when I was making a presentation. I also learned how to use RHINO which was very helpful.
Process
Laser cut
ART MARKET-EARRINGS CONCEPT /POEM Nothing is gonna change me I just want to be like me, such material. Some people say I’m cold; Some people can feel my heat. I am too clarity to care. Let me play alone. The dark never change me. Dark stoked me. They always feel sorry for themselves. So they slipped away stealthily(quietly). Not dare to tell me they had been (here). They left no trace, but I know. The light never change me. Even innumerable radiance through my body. They thought they can fill me. In the end they changed their own directions. I can’t see the light. I just wanna sleep. The pain never change me. I’ve been thinking about changing my position sometimes. Try their way, try their way to feel the world. Unfortunately, I don’t have that character. I’m standing still, even my shadow never left. Tomorrow never change me. I thought tomorrow would be able to change me. Tomorrow is all; Tomorrow is powerful. I wrote down the “tomorrow”, Arrive tomorrow, I never remember its name. I cracked, such easily. Into thousands of me who has not changed. They have not changed any of the world, the world never has changed them. I don’t know if I can say I have been. I cherish, all the time. Whether I am visible or invisible, tangible or intangible. I will never change. And nothing is gonna change me. Sketches
Sketches
Inspirations
The series of illustrations
The series of illustrations
The series of earrings design named "Unchangeable"
Art Market
SEWING WORKSHOP One of my farvorite handmade projects
Sewing workshop is one of my farvorite handmade projects this year. I was struggling with the idea at the beginning. However, things went well at the end. The crafting side of this is too not difficult for me. I really enjoyed the sewing craft in my daily life. So when I have some available time I will do some handmade work for fun. The idea of my sewing workshop is a series of hand-shaped pen box. Every finger could put in a pen.The hands of craftmen are important partner to them. The concept is "hand is our friend."
Different colors of handshaped pen boxes. Material: Felt
Sewing
STOP MOTION
A love story of a cute stone.
Me and Aditi as paterner in this workshop.This was an interesting project to work on. I like the parts that we could try a lot of different materials like oil painting, paper cutting, sand and drawing to show the ideas. I actually learned a lot in this workshop. Because I found different angles and possibilites to make a storytelling animation. Our story is about a little stone who was on its way to find love.
Process
Two sences of "Dodo loves me"
We combined the drawing and real object together which brought us lots of fun. What's more,we decided to use our own voices to make the sound, which is my farvoirte part. I am glad that the whole process of stop motion was full of new and interesting things. If I have some new ideas of stories, I will definitly try stop motion again.
Three sences of "Dodo loves me"
The End
Stop Motion
PATTERN
The spirital pattern for Hippies
I really enjoyed this pattern project in the second semester. I have always been interested in applying my illustrations and design on fashion or other products. Before I came to MICA, I had my first experience with pattern design. I cooperated with a fashion designer who graduated from UAL and we produced some clothes on website for sell. It went well. Hence, I was excited that there was a workshop about pattern design during this semeseter. The theme of my pattern design is about the spirits and characteristic of Hippies. I extracted the features of characters to express their spirits of freedom. The illustrations I created for the pattern like some symbols are used by pencil and gouche.
Pattern