Portfolio
"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." - Pablo Picasso
Independent Study
The Independent Study class was a great opportunity to explore and experiment with my art projects. It also provided me the time to create work for my local community. Each of the projects below was part of an art initiative in my town.
The first is a window installation I worked on alongside my fabulous art teacher and a team of 3 other female art students (girl power!) The town partnered with Open Art Society to organize a series of installations in local shops and businesses. This was our team's second installation for their "Love Series". Our installation was based off of the story between J.D. Ballentine (the founder of the town) and his star-crossed lover, Varina. Everything was cut from construction foam to make the characters lightweight and easily displayable. We were going for a very "illustrative" look to the couple to give the piece a storybook-ish feel. Each letter was hand water colored by myself and my amazing best friend. The letters had romantic prompts on them such as "When did you know that your partner was 'the one'?" It was an interactive installation that allowed the community to respond and be apart of the story. The large letter displayed in the window contains actual history of their story and journey together.
The chair project was done for The Professional Women's Leadership Association's annual chair auction called "The Chair Affair". My chair's theme was "nature and the organic world". I discovered the chair at a Habitat for Humanity store and utilized disregarded elements to bring new life to the chair. I wanted it to be a message of simplicity and of how we are provided all the elements we truly require. All proceeds from the auction went to a scholarship fund for girls at the local high school.
The third project was once again for another community initiative called "Bengals on Parade". I worked on this with the same group of talented artists from the window installation. Since I have such a deep love for nature I got the opportunity to paint all of the sunflowers, tobacco leaves and corn on the bengal. I also worked on a couple other portions such as the general store and cross. The tiger was in memory of Buck Adcock, whose family has been an integral part of our community. It was amazing to get to work with his family and be able to create a tribute to him and his life.
Each of these projects opened my eyes to the countless opportunities to share my artwork with the community. It can seem difficult to get your art out there sometimes, but through my town's growing arts community I have been able to see that it isn't so impossible to be an artist after all. I owe so much to my art teachers for giving me these amazing experiences.
The first is a window installation I worked on alongside my fabulous art teacher and a team of 3 other female art students (girl power!) The town partnered with Open Art Society to organize a series of installations in local shops and businesses. This was our team's second installation for their "Love Series". Our installation was based off of the story between J.D. Ballentine (the founder of the town) and his star-crossed lover, Varina. Everything was cut from construction foam to make the characters lightweight and easily displayable. We were going for a very "illustrative" look to the couple to give the piece a storybook-ish feel. Each letter was hand water colored by myself and my amazing best friend. The letters had romantic prompts on them such as "When did you know that your partner was 'the one'?" It was an interactive installation that allowed the community to respond and be apart of the story. The large letter displayed in the window contains actual history of their story and journey together.
The chair project was done for The Professional Women's Leadership Association's annual chair auction called "The Chair Affair". My chair's theme was "nature and the organic world". I discovered the chair at a Habitat for Humanity store and utilized disregarded elements to bring new life to the chair. I wanted it to be a message of simplicity and of how we are provided all the elements we truly require. All proceeds from the auction went to a scholarship fund for girls at the local high school.
The third project was once again for another community initiative called "Bengals on Parade". I worked on this with the same group of talented artists from the window installation. Since I have such a deep love for nature I got the opportunity to paint all of the sunflowers, tobacco leaves and corn on the bengal. I also worked on a couple other portions such as the general store and cross. The tiger was in memory of Buck Adcock, whose family has been an integral part of our community. It was amazing to get to work with his family and be able to create a tribute to him and his life.
Each of these projects opened my eyes to the countless opportunities to share my artwork with the community. It can seem difficult to get your art out there sometimes, but through my town's growing arts community I have been able to see that it isn't so impossible to be an artist after all. I owe so much to my art teachers for giving me these amazing experiences.
Sculpture & Ceramics
I had never played much with the three-dimensional side of art until taking sculpture and ceramics courses at my high school. These classes opened up a whole new facet of art where I found I could express myself.
Sculpture is so much about form. It has a life and a personality through its dimension that isn't always achieved with two-dimensional work. It is is bringing life to a physical material such as clay or wood or wire and that has been a pretty fascinating experience for me. You can take a big, gray, rectangular block of clay and from it produce a face or a creature. I love the interaction of my hands with the material, the way they can discover a form. It is hard to explain but I love the way Michelangelo said it, "I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free." It is discovering and setting free those forms which is a really beautiful concept.
Though clearly I have not had much experience with sculpture it is an area I hope to explore more. Each project in class has been so unique from clay to altered books to wire torsos. The last piece is especially special to me. My teacher had an old wire dress form she had found and I just felt it calling my name. I felt a connection to it's deformity as I have a bone "condition" (or whatever you call it) named, Scoliosis. I twisted the form to match my own and opened up the center. It reminded me of a cage and I thought that was sort of the way we treat our bodies and ourselves. We are our own prisons. We try to patch and stitch ourselves up, but what we need is release. This piece is titled "Open." because it the opening of oneself, of myself in particular. It is revealing all those things we often try to bottle up inside - insecurity, negativity, fear, anxiety, regret. I wanted to the body and the soul from those things. To find beauty in them. Each cardinal is labeled with one of those previously listed issues that I have struggled with. It is simple in construction, yet contains great depth.
Sculpture is so much about form. It has a life and a personality through its dimension that isn't always achieved with two-dimensional work. It is is bringing life to a physical material such as clay or wood or wire and that has been a pretty fascinating experience for me. You can take a big, gray, rectangular block of clay and from it produce a face or a creature. I love the interaction of my hands with the material, the way they can discover a form. It is hard to explain but I love the way Michelangelo said it, "I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free." It is discovering and setting free those forms which is a really beautiful concept.
Though clearly I have not had much experience with sculpture it is an area I hope to explore more. Each project in class has been so unique from clay to altered books to wire torsos. The last piece is especially special to me. My teacher had an old wire dress form she had found and I just felt it calling my name. I felt a connection to it's deformity as I have a bone "condition" (or whatever you call it) named, Scoliosis. I twisted the form to match my own and opened up the center. It reminded me of a cage and I thought that was sort of the way we treat our bodies and ourselves. We are our own prisons. We try to patch and stitch ourselves up, but what we need is release. This piece is titled "Open." because it the opening of oneself, of myself in particular. It is revealing all those things we often try to bottle up inside - insecurity, negativity, fear, anxiety, regret. I wanted to the body and the soul from those things. To find beauty in them. Each cardinal is labeled with one of those previously listed issues that I have struggled with. It is simple in construction, yet contains great depth.
Painting & Drawing
I have been drawing as far back as I can remember. My earliest memories are of sketching the faces from my mom's old hair magazines. As I have grown as an artist I have explored more with mixed media pieces and paint. There is not a medium in art i'm afraid of. It's just like my feelings on food - i'll try pretty much anything. I want to try everything, I want to have no limit to my art. Most recently I have began experimenting with oil paints which I discovered a serious love for. The way oils spread like butter across a canvas gives me butterflies.
Every piece below tells a story or has a personal connection to my life. For me, art is about making connections. It is my physical embodiment. Art should move you or what's the point? My most recent piece is entitled, "Soul". It is technically my second attempt a true self-portrait. It was a free choice project and I really wanted to do a portrait. Artists throughout history have always painted portraits in their unique styles. Portraits are a way to capture your soul in a way. It is a reflection and it requires you to confront yourself and accept yourself. Although I was unable to capture a true, realistic depiction of myself I do think that the likeness is there. Even though it is off, I still really like the overall outcome. When it comes to styles I struggle between realism and expressionism. So, I put a little of both in there. I was inspired by a Klimt print on my wall with all of his colors and shapes and so I just started painting what I felt. I mixed gold into the yellow and it became a representation of the ups and downs of life. There are dark times and there are wonderful, light times. It also showed my stress and the anxiety I felt with all of the protruding, random shapes. This painting was definitely a big stepping stone for me in discovering who I am as an artist.
Much of my artwork also confronts my Scoliosis. That is what "Blood Thread and Gold Bones" does. I love this project. This project presented a couple technical challenges for me because our task was to cohesively put a small picture within another larger picture. I came up with this sort of x-ray effect. When I am able to make a connection to my work it makes it so much more meaningful. Due to my Scoliosis I had to undergo the Spinal Fusion surgery where they put two titanium rods and countless screws into my spine to make it as straight as possible. This piece is a darker representation of my Scoliosis than what I normally do. It focuses more on the pain and the stress of the spine. Yet, it is also a representation of how there is beauty within. The muscles, though strained on the outside contain a glittering spine on the inside. I mixed gold paint with all of the colors I painted on the spine to make it shimmer. (This is also symbolic of the instrumentation in my back.) She is opening herself up to us and we can see that she is unafraid of this thing that seems to be overtaking her. It is simply a part of her now. I did a little bit of embroidery with the red thread on the piece to add some realism and texture.
These works are just the beginning of what is to come. Every work of art I complete helps me to piece together more of who I am as an artist.
Every piece below tells a story or has a personal connection to my life. For me, art is about making connections. It is my physical embodiment. Art should move you or what's the point? My most recent piece is entitled, "Soul". It is technically my second attempt a true self-portrait. It was a free choice project and I really wanted to do a portrait. Artists throughout history have always painted portraits in their unique styles. Portraits are a way to capture your soul in a way. It is a reflection and it requires you to confront yourself and accept yourself. Although I was unable to capture a true, realistic depiction of myself I do think that the likeness is there. Even though it is off, I still really like the overall outcome. When it comes to styles I struggle between realism and expressionism. So, I put a little of both in there. I was inspired by a Klimt print on my wall with all of his colors and shapes and so I just started painting what I felt. I mixed gold into the yellow and it became a representation of the ups and downs of life. There are dark times and there are wonderful, light times. It also showed my stress and the anxiety I felt with all of the protruding, random shapes. This painting was definitely a big stepping stone for me in discovering who I am as an artist.
Much of my artwork also confronts my Scoliosis. That is what "Blood Thread and Gold Bones" does. I love this project. This project presented a couple technical challenges for me because our task was to cohesively put a small picture within another larger picture. I came up with this sort of x-ray effect. When I am able to make a connection to my work it makes it so much more meaningful. Due to my Scoliosis I had to undergo the Spinal Fusion surgery where they put two titanium rods and countless screws into my spine to make it as straight as possible. This piece is a darker representation of my Scoliosis than what I normally do. It focuses more on the pain and the stress of the spine. Yet, it is also a representation of how there is beauty within. The muscles, though strained on the outside contain a glittering spine on the inside. I mixed gold paint with all of the colors I painted on the spine to make it shimmer. (This is also symbolic of the instrumentation in my back.) She is opening herself up to us and we can see that she is unafraid of this thing that seems to be overtaking her. It is simply a part of her now. I did a little bit of embroidery with the red thread on the piece to add some realism and texture.
These works are just the beginning of what is to come. Every work of art I complete helps me to piece together more of who I am as an artist.