Artist Statement |
From a young age, I have always enjoyed using art as a form of creative expression. Rather than solely being a factual representation of the world, art allows me to showcase my unique perspective. This creative medium enables me to highlight parts of life that often go unnoticed. With my work, I aim to capture the overlooked beauty of everyday moments and objects. In this way, every piece of my art tells a story. As people often say, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” If this is true, then a piece of artwork is worth so many more.
My experience in the Oliver Ames art room has exceeded my greatest expectations, and I will forever be grateful for all that I have learned. Art has driven me to become a more determined, independent, and creative individual. When I first entered Art 1, I never expected the class to have such a positive impact on my life. Now looking back, I realize that becoming an art student was one of the best choices of my high school career. The artwork and memories make the countless hours that I have spent in the art room worthwhile, and I have had the honor of receiving a gold medal in the Congressional Art Competition. Though I will not be pursuing a career in the art field, I am certain that I will be able to apply the skills that I have learned wherever my future takes me. I would like to thank Ms. Shea and the Art 4 students for always pushing me to my fullest potential and helping me discover all that I am capable of.
My experience in the Oliver Ames art room has exceeded my greatest expectations, and I will forever be grateful for all that I have learned. Art has driven me to become a more determined, independent, and creative individual. When I first entered Art 1, I never expected the class to have such a positive impact on my life. Now looking back, I realize that becoming an art student was one of the best choices of my high school career. The artwork and memories make the countless hours that I have spent in the art room worthwhile, and I have had the honor of receiving a gold medal in the Congressional Art Competition. Though I will not be pursuing a career in the art field, I am certain that I will be able to apply the skills that I have learned wherever my future takes me. I would like to thank Ms. Shea and the Art 4 students for always pushing me to my fullest potential and helping me discover all that I am capable of.
Reflecting Joy
The piece entitled, “Reflecting Joy,” depicts a young girl playing with her reflection in a mirror. Although this work is a self-portrait and holds a personal meaning to me, the emotion behind this scene can be understood by a wide audience. The composition consists entirely of ten words: playful, joyful, happy, merry, delighted, curious, thrilled, elated, whimsical, and cheerful. By writing the same words over and over in pen, I used the technique of micrography to build value. These words were deliberately chosen with the intent of evoking the pure bliss of childhood joy. Though creating this piece was a time-consuming and repetitive process, I believe that I was able to convey a sense of happiness. I hope that the viewer is reminded of joyful times in their own childhood by looking at my piece.
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Captivated
My self portrait entitled, “Captivated,” is an accurate representation of my personality. It features me gazing intently with a slightly serious expression, clearly mesmerized by what I am looking at. As an introvert, I love watching the world around me and can often be found quietly observing. Charcoal is one of my favorite materials to work with and I love the way that it blends. This piece was one of my most difficult to create, due to the high levels of contrast, as well as the inherent detail required in capturing facial features. Precision was essential, which was especially difficult to achieve with charcoal. With this piece, I aim to inspire the audience to look at the world through my perspective and become captivated by their surroundings.
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Chrysanthemum
“Chrysanthemum” is a scientifically-inspired drawing done in pen. I love spending time in nature, so I was excited for the opportunity to explore a flower on such an intricate level. It was amazing to look at all the details and attempt to capture them in a precise manner. However, I found it challenging to develop the organic textures of the flower while solely using a pen. I hope that the viewer is able to gain an appreciation of the fleeting beauty of nature from my drawing.
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Fragile
The composition entitled, “Fragile,” is more than simply a piece of artwork; I designed it as social activism. The issue that I am calling to light is the corruption of the earth by modern society. Despite the relative enormity of our planet, the earth is extremely fragile. In my piece, I compare the earth to an eggshell, emphasizing its fragility and tendency to crack under pressure. I attempted to depict the earth as realistically as possible in order to draw attention to the urgency and importance of this problem. Furthermore, I created contrast between the earth and hand with an intentional use of color. By portraying the planet in vivid hues and leaving the human hand in black and white, I aimed to insinuate the idea that people are having a negative effect on their environment. The planet looks vibrant and beautiful, while the hand appears as a catalyst of darkness and corruption. The hand is representative of the entire human population, both present and in the future. In this way, the fate of the earth is symbolically in our hands. Humans possess the power to either improve or damage the earth, and I hope to encourage people to recognize their impact on the world around them with my piece.
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