"Shorten or Lengthen Here" Process
How does your work fit into the Quality, Concentration, and/or Breadth section of your portfolio?
This piece is a lot different than my other pieces and in a good way. It's different not only in media, but in aesthetic as well because it's much more traditional and older looking. However, I still feel that it fits well and coherently with my other pieces because of concept and the continuation of the red theme.The concept behind this piece started at judgment surrounding women wearing too short of shirts or girls showing their shoulders in spaghetti straps. Women are expected to be modest yet this concept is constantly contradicted by what we see in the media and in how high society values sex. This is why the 10 is emphasized, to introduce the element of rating women and comparing them to one another, it is all according to men and objectifying women so that they are tailored to fit the males in society.
Which are the most successful aspects of your work?
I am very glad I went back to studio work for this piece, it took me to the start of my concentration when I decided I wanted to focus on women because drawing/painting/etc women was something I really enjoyed (i.e. Stanford piece). I think the fact that I went back to the studio is something that will show a well rounded approach throughout my concentration pieces because I definitely focused on photography a lot for awhile. What I love is that I didn't do just one thing, I incorporated so many different studio techniques which I feel fit together seamlessly. I used collage with the templates and even sanded down the faces of the girls I used to show a loss of identity when there is such a heavy focus on women's bodies even at that young of an age. I then layered the semi transparent template over top and used watercolor to create the legs. The stitching just made sense because they were sewing and textile templates and it added another texture to the piece as well.
What was your inspiration for creating this artwork?
What inspired me was the many encounters I had with the lady that you got sent to for being dress coded in middle school. I was told a number of different things but one day that will always stick with me was a day I was wearing a green pencil skirt, one I wore until I was a sophomore and I grew out of the style. I got called in while playing kickball during lunch recess. She called me in and I remember it being not the first time because we knew each other well, I was exhausted with being sent down, feeling like all of my teachers were constantly watching me and judging what I was wearing. Middle school is already a time when everyone is insecure about themselves. I was a tall girl, taller than everyone else. If I tried to wear shorts that passed my fingertips I would be wearing capris! I was insecure about how much bigger I was than other people and the fact that I developed way quicker than all of my friends. When I got sent down that day, the teacher said to me, "When is this going to stop?" and I was confused... when would I stop wearing my clothes??? "I know what you do it for. You like the attention. Admit you do it for the boys. Anyone could guess it" and that's when I started crying. That's a day that will always stick with me. A woman, one that's supposed to mentor young children and girls who are uncomfortable enough already, accused me of being boy crazy and of seeking their attention through my body. As a seventh grader. This piece delves into societies urge to sexualize young girls and paint them as the culprits of their peers uncontrollable urges. When we dress code seventh graders because their shoulders are "a distraction to class" we say, you need to hide yourself because that's all your body is for, sex, but you're too young for that yet, so cover up your thighs too while you're at it.
This piece is a lot different than my other pieces and in a good way. It's different not only in media, but in aesthetic as well because it's much more traditional and older looking. However, I still feel that it fits well and coherently with my other pieces because of concept and the continuation of the red theme.The concept behind this piece started at judgment surrounding women wearing too short of shirts or girls showing their shoulders in spaghetti straps. Women are expected to be modest yet this concept is constantly contradicted by what we see in the media and in how high society values sex. This is why the 10 is emphasized, to introduce the element of rating women and comparing them to one another, it is all according to men and objectifying women so that they are tailored to fit the males in society.
Which are the most successful aspects of your work?
I am very glad I went back to studio work for this piece, it took me to the start of my concentration when I decided I wanted to focus on women because drawing/painting/etc women was something I really enjoyed (i.e. Stanford piece). I think the fact that I went back to the studio is something that will show a well rounded approach throughout my concentration pieces because I definitely focused on photography a lot for awhile. What I love is that I didn't do just one thing, I incorporated so many different studio techniques which I feel fit together seamlessly. I used collage with the templates and even sanded down the faces of the girls I used to show a loss of identity when there is such a heavy focus on women's bodies even at that young of an age. I then layered the semi transparent template over top and used watercolor to create the legs. The stitching just made sense because they were sewing and textile templates and it added another texture to the piece as well.
What was your inspiration for creating this artwork?
What inspired me was the many encounters I had with the lady that you got sent to for being dress coded in middle school. I was told a number of different things but one day that will always stick with me was a day I was wearing a green pencil skirt, one I wore until I was a sophomore and I grew out of the style. I got called in while playing kickball during lunch recess. She called me in and I remember it being not the first time because we knew each other well, I was exhausted with being sent down, feeling like all of my teachers were constantly watching me and judging what I was wearing. Middle school is already a time when everyone is insecure about themselves. I was a tall girl, taller than everyone else. If I tried to wear shorts that passed my fingertips I would be wearing capris! I was insecure about how much bigger I was than other people and the fact that I developed way quicker than all of my friends. When I got sent down that day, the teacher said to me, "When is this going to stop?" and I was confused... when would I stop wearing my clothes??? "I know what you do it for. You like the attention. Admit you do it for the boys. Anyone could guess it" and that's when I started crying. That's a day that will always stick with me. A woman, one that's supposed to mentor young children and girls who are uncomfortable enough already, accused me of being boy crazy and of seeking their attention through my body. As a seventh grader. This piece delves into societies urge to sexualize young girls and paint them as the culprits of their peers uncontrollable urges. When we dress code seventh graders because their shoulders are "a distraction to class" we say, you need to hide yourself because that's all your body is for, sex, but you're too young for that yet, so cover up your thighs too while you're at it.
"Who Are We" Process
"Who Are We" Tryptic 17x45" Photography
This series was very different than anything I had ever done, in visual quality especially. I usually focus on using red and undersaturation and more sexy auras in my pieces. These, still have a color scheme, but this time it's blue and purple. And although theres a butt, the piece isn't about women and sex or in relation to men, it's about women in competition with each other, trying to better themselves superficially, which is what society tells women to value over anything else. I tried, through this series no matter how successful, to be less literal in my approach and to also try and branch out with my concepts some more. This was a huge leap for me, I'm not sure how well the pieces show my growth in terms of craft because I did fall short in that I think, however, my concept and my outlook is obviously altering as seen in these photos. I had a really tough time making all of the different photos fit together in visual quality. I still don't think they're fully how I would like them, I am considering taking out at least one of the photos, some individually may be strong enough to stand alone. I guess I need someone else to look at them. The pieces I chose to present as the finals are my favorite, whether they are coherent amongst each other or not. I really like the vibrancy of the colors in 2 and 3 but I could also see 1 and 2 together because of the dullness and rawness of them both. I feel like the middle photo is the base and the other two are very different but each fit in with 2 somehow.
"Hostage By Our Sins" Process
"Hostage By Our Sins" 12x27'' Digital
What was your inspiration for creating this artwork?
I began this project awhile ago on a whim and set it aside because lost inspiration and creativity to complete it. A few weeks later in Race Class and Gender, we began our femininity unit and started to watch the documentary "Killing Us Softly 4" which is about women in media and how that portrayal of females is damaging to our society. She uses many visual examples of magazine clippings that are almost too outlandish and sexist you wouldn't even think they're real. We had an assignment to find some advertisements as such to bring into class and that when I began starting this project again. Both the documentary and my own findings while gathering clippings were very eye opening and I viewed the medias influence in a very different light. I hope this is portrayed through my piece as well.
How did you purposefully use the elements and principles of design in your artwork?
There is an obvious use of repetition of women's bodies and skin throughout the piece to the point where it's almost exhausted and that's the point. I used repetition to portray the countless ads out there that exploit women and objectify their bodies. The repetition of the color red also adds to the work as it is symbolically a very seductive color, however, it could double as representing strength in women and their power. The red is also a unifying element not only among the clippings in the art but it helps to resemble other pieces within my portfolio.
Did your work involve research? What kinds of investigations and discoveries were involved?
It involved a lot of searching for advertisement to fit the theme I wasn't sure I was trying to convey yet. I found, looking through a lot of magazines, that the Rolling Stones from the early 2000's had not only the best photographs of women but also the most shocking interview questions and questionable ads. Maybe that's just Rolling Stone because I didn't have any magazines that were new from them so I'd be interesting to see if they still present women in the same way as they did over 10 years ago. Many teen girl magazines had great text talking about how to look better for men and how to make him ask you out. I ended up not using most of the text that I gathered and a lot of it I thought was extremely powerful but it would've taken away from the work I think.
I began this project awhile ago on a whim and set it aside because lost inspiration and creativity to complete it. A few weeks later in Race Class and Gender, we began our femininity unit and started to watch the documentary "Killing Us Softly 4" which is about women in media and how that portrayal of females is damaging to our society. She uses many visual examples of magazine clippings that are almost too outlandish and sexist you wouldn't even think they're real. We had an assignment to find some advertisements as such to bring into class and that when I began starting this project again. Both the documentary and my own findings while gathering clippings were very eye opening and I viewed the medias influence in a very different light. I hope this is portrayed through my piece as well.
How did you purposefully use the elements and principles of design in your artwork?
There is an obvious use of repetition of women's bodies and skin throughout the piece to the point where it's almost exhausted and that's the point. I used repetition to portray the countless ads out there that exploit women and objectify their bodies. The repetition of the color red also adds to the work as it is symbolically a very seductive color, however, it could double as representing strength in women and their power. The red is also a unifying element not only among the clippings in the art but it helps to resemble other pieces within my portfolio.
Did your work involve research? What kinds of investigations and discoveries were involved?
It involved a lot of searching for advertisement to fit the theme I wasn't sure I was trying to convey yet. I found, looking through a lot of magazines, that the Rolling Stones from the early 2000's had not only the best photographs of women but also the most shocking interview questions and questionable ads. Maybe that's just Rolling Stone because I didn't have any magazines that were new from them so I'd be interesting to see if they still present women in the same way as they did over 10 years ago. Many teen girl magazines had great text talking about how to look better for men and how to make him ask you out. I ended up not using most of the text that I gathered and a lot of it I thought was extremely powerful but it would've taken away from the work I think.
"Sweet Talk" Process
"Sweet Talk" (varying sizes) Sculpture
How does your work fit into the Quality, Concentration, and/or Breadth section of your portfolio?
These sculptures were complementary to four photography pieces I shot with just the original hearts which were concentration pieces. Although AP is 2D design, these hearts are still in line with my sustained investigation surrounding women's rights. They are visually coherent with my other concentration pieces through the continuation of the color red as well as the use of glitter and sparkles.
What do you intend for audiences to see, experience, and think about when viewing your work?
I wanted to make these pieces visually interesting enough for someone to want to come up to the work because it caught their eye from afar. When they do this they will then read the words and know to flip the anatomical hearts over where they will be able to read a plethora of statistics pertaining to the overall topic presented in glitter on the above heart. The candy conversation heart at the top is meant to represent sugar coating the inequalities that many are already aware of. The anatomical hearts and the statistics written on them represent getting "to the heart" of things, the messy and gory realities in our society. I want the art to sort of wake people up, to make them think about the injustices of norms and feel somewhat angry about them.
Did your work involve research? What kinds of investigations and discoveries were involved?
I had to search for statistics that fit under each encompassing theme of all the hearts. Many of which were surprising to me. For the women's empowerment heart I research women in STEM statistics and found many facts about college women and which degrees they concentrate in. For no means no, which was the easiest heart to find statistics on, I found many statistics about rape in America. The hardest heart to find anything for was the 0 for men one which centered around abortion. I could've done facts about Planned Parenthood but i couldn't find nearly enough to fill the back of the heart so I decided to write down a quote that I stumbled upon while researching which I felt added some variation and developed the concept well.
These sculptures were complementary to four photography pieces I shot with just the original hearts which were concentration pieces. Although AP is 2D design, these hearts are still in line with my sustained investigation surrounding women's rights. They are visually coherent with my other concentration pieces through the continuation of the color red as well as the use of glitter and sparkles.
What do you intend for audiences to see, experience, and think about when viewing your work?
I wanted to make these pieces visually interesting enough for someone to want to come up to the work because it caught their eye from afar. When they do this they will then read the words and know to flip the anatomical hearts over where they will be able to read a plethora of statistics pertaining to the overall topic presented in glitter on the above heart. The candy conversation heart at the top is meant to represent sugar coating the inequalities that many are already aware of. The anatomical hearts and the statistics written on them represent getting "to the heart" of things, the messy and gory realities in our society. I want the art to sort of wake people up, to make them think about the injustices of norms and feel somewhat angry about them.
Did your work involve research? What kinds of investigations and discoveries were involved?
I had to search for statistics that fit under each encompassing theme of all the hearts. Many of which were surprising to me. For the women's empowerment heart I research women in STEM statistics and found many facts about college women and which degrees they concentrate in. For no means no, which was the easiest heart to find statistics on, I found many statistics about rape in America. The hardest heart to find anything for was the 0 for men one which centered around abortion. I could've done facts about Planned Parenthood but i couldn't find nearly enough to fill the back of the heart so I decided to write down a quote that I stumbled upon while researching which I felt added some variation and developed the concept well.
"Welcome Home" Process
"Welcome Home" 17h x 45"w (triptych) Photography
How does your work fit into the Quality, Concentration, and/or Breadth section of your portfolio?
The pieces within my concentration fit within a theme or realm of women’s equality and stigmas present in society surrounding women. This series is statement about a woman’s place, rather a wife's place in her home and in her family. Historically, it was common for women to take on the domestic tasks of raising the children, cleaning house and cooking food. The phrase “Go back to the kitchen” inspired this work. The piece is meant to challenge these expired standards and expectations for women through a rather dark narrative. The woman is supposed to be depicted as the perfect, household wife. She wears her homey apron, flat irons her hair and has perfect french tips. One day, while her husband is at work, she takes a stance against her role within the household and through defiance. She cunningly bakes a pie as her husband would expect, cherry, bitter and sweet. The pie reads “Eat Me” which is a play on words, it takes inspiration from Alice in Wonderland when she eats the cookie affect her size. This could imply possible poisoning. It also is a snap of a remark. The “bloody” knife and hands, covered in cherry juice, is symbolic of a murder. It an extreme statement and solution to a rather misogynistic view of women.
Is there anything about your work that you would’ve done differently? Is so, please explain what and why.
Originally, I planned on this just being a diptych and a possibly triptych with three very different photographs unlike the three more similar pieces I have now. While I was still planning on taking the photos at home, I planned on the first photograph being a shot of all of the ingredients to make a pie. I have great stage lighting that would’ve made the piece of good quality. Then I was going to stage a photo of the wife holding the fully baked pie, very close to what I have now. And the last was going to be of the pie being cut with a very sharp knife, which I also have now. I think having the photos be of very different times of the pies creation would’ve been more powerful than the three very similar photos that I have now. I couldn’t take the photos that I wanted like the ingredients because I was happened to have to take the photos in someone else's house which didn’t have the lighting that I wanted for the shot.
Which media, techniques, and work processes did you use, and why did you make those choices?
Because this piece was photography, there was no studio work or materials involved. I did, however, edit all of the photos in photoshop. Each one was a little different but they all had the same blending layer used on them which was multiply, just each photo on top of itself to make it more dark and ominous. I also added another 2 blending layers to each photograph, using the brush tool and one layer green in the background and one of black in the corner areas to make the photos eerie and seem like a horror film scene. I used the mask soft light to integrate and blend the colors within the photographs. For the frontal pie photo, I did the same thing but with white to make the pie pop more because it was a very flat photograph originally. I also sharpened the “blood” on her hands to make it stand out. On the photo where the pie is being cut, I tried out doing the same thing with white to the knife because I felt like it was too hidden. I ended up liking the little bit of definition that it gave the cherry guts when I used multiply. And for the last photo, I used the sharpen tool to bring out the parts of the knife closest in the forefront to add detail and definition as it is the focal point.
The pieces within my concentration fit within a theme or realm of women’s equality and stigmas present in society surrounding women. This series is statement about a woman’s place, rather a wife's place in her home and in her family. Historically, it was common for women to take on the domestic tasks of raising the children, cleaning house and cooking food. The phrase “Go back to the kitchen” inspired this work. The piece is meant to challenge these expired standards and expectations for women through a rather dark narrative. The woman is supposed to be depicted as the perfect, household wife. She wears her homey apron, flat irons her hair and has perfect french tips. One day, while her husband is at work, she takes a stance against her role within the household and through defiance. She cunningly bakes a pie as her husband would expect, cherry, bitter and sweet. The pie reads “Eat Me” which is a play on words, it takes inspiration from Alice in Wonderland when she eats the cookie affect her size. This could imply possible poisoning. It also is a snap of a remark. The “bloody” knife and hands, covered in cherry juice, is symbolic of a murder. It an extreme statement and solution to a rather misogynistic view of women.
Is there anything about your work that you would’ve done differently? Is so, please explain what and why.
Originally, I planned on this just being a diptych and a possibly triptych with three very different photographs unlike the three more similar pieces I have now. While I was still planning on taking the photos at home, I planned on the first photograph being a shot of all of the ingredients to make a pie. I have great stage lighting that would’ve made the piece of good quality. Then I was going to stage a photo of the wife holding the fully baked pie, very close to what I have now. And the last was going to be of the pie being cut with a very sharp knife, which I also have now. I think having the photos be of very different times of the pies creation would’ve been more powerful than the three very similar photos that I have now. I couldn’t take the photos that I wanted like the ingredients because I was happened to have to take the photos in someone else's house which didn’t have the lighting that I wanted for the shot.
Which media, techniques, and work processes did you use, and why did you make those choices?
Because this piece was photography, there was no studio work or materials involved. I did, however, edit all of the photos in photoshop. Each one was a little different but they all had the same blending layer used on them which was multiply, just each photo on top of itself to make it more dark and ominous. I also added another 2 blending layers to each photograph, using the brush tool and one layer green in the background and one of black in the corner areas to make the photos eerie and seem like a horror film scene. I used the mask soft light to integrate and blend the colors within the photographs. For the frontal pie photo, I did the same thing but with white to make the pie pop more because it was a very flat photograph originally. I also sharpened the “blood” on her hands to make it stand out. On the photo where the pie is being cut, I tried out doing the same thing with white to the knife because I felt like it was too hidden. I ended up liking the little bit of definition that it gave the cherry guts when I used multiply. And for the last photo, I used the sharpen tool to bring out the parts of the knife closest in the forefront to add detail and definition as it is the focal point.
Portrait Project Process
"Marin" 20' x 24' Acrylic
What are the most successful aspects of your work?
Having already went through the project a year before, I felt fairly advantages as well as excited because I knew what was coming. On top of that, I knew what aspects of the art that I struggled with before and made a point to correct them this time around. I believe, maybe because it's an up close photograph, that the facial features are much more realistic than last years. The eyes and nose are my favorite parts because the shadows were so off, hey were pretty difficult to replicate but I feel I was successful in doing so. I also knew that I struggled with proportions last year so I tried to make them as lose to the original as possible early on because before I struggled greatly when it was too late to fix.
What are some decisions you faced in creating your artwork?
One huge decision I had to make was how to address the background. I knew I was going to do it before finishing the hair which I already had mapped out and blocked in. I searched on Pinterest "Silence" and one photo of clouds and another of a forest really caught my eye. They were both in grey scale so I knew white and black were the colors I'd use. I mostly used the clouds as an inspiration starting off. I painted the whole background in streaky white and then went in with the dark shade at the top. I started with cloud-like figures but then organically, I sent streaks down the page and loved the way it looked. As I got closer to the hair, I ended up loving the way that the highlights of the hair I blocked out with white looked with the background. So, I decided to keep those chunks of white and grey within the hair and added more white to cover up all of the red oxide.
Did you encounter any difficulties when creating your artwork?
For awhile, I completely avoided the mouth covered by the shadow as if the shadow was harsh enough to completely block it out. I knew it was going to be the most difficult part so I had to force myself to do it. I started out by making a pink/red color for the lips and made another one darker than the first for the part covered by the shadow. When I formed the shape of the lips with simply the darker color of red, it did not look realistic at all. Only after mixing a bunch of colors and experimenting did I fit the darker color but it wasn't until I really played with shadows until it looked how I wanted it to.
Having already went through the project a year before, I felt fairly advantages as well as excited because I knew what was coming. On top of that, I knew what aspects of the art that I struggled with before and made a point to correct them this time around. I believe, maybe because it's an up close photograph, that the facial features are much more realistic than last years. The eyes and nose are my favorite parts because the shadows were so off, hey were pretty difficult to replicate but I feel I was successful in doing so. I also knew that I struggled with proportions last year so I tried to make them as lose to the original as possible early on because before I struggled greatly when it was too late to fix.
What are some decisions you faced in creating your artwork?
One huge decision I had to make was how to address the background. I knew I was going to do it before finishing the hair which I already had mapped out and blocked in. I searched on Pinterest "Silence" and one photo of clouds and another of a forest really caught my eye. They were both in grey scale so I knew white and black were the colors I'd use. I mostly used the clouds as an inspiration starting off. I painted the whole background in streaky white and then went in with the dark shade at the top. I started with cloud-like figures but then organically, I sent streaks down the page and loved the way it looked. As I got closer to the hair, I ended up loving the way that the highlights of the hair I blocked out with white looked with the background. So, I decided to keep those chunks of white and grey within the hair and added more white to cover up all of the red oxide.
Did you encounter any difficulties when creating your artwork?
For awhile, I completely avoided the mouth covered by the shadow as if the shadow was harsh enough to completely block it out. I knew it was going to be the most difficult part so I had to force myself to do it. I started out by making a pink/red color for the lips and made another one darker than the first for the part covered by the shadow. When I formed the shape of the lips with simply the darker color of red, it did not look realistic at all. Only after mixing a bunch of colors and experimenting did I fit the darker color but it wasn't until I really played with shadows until it looked how I wanted it to.