2D Media: Mixed Media

I have been struggling these last few days due to a very bad cold that has been a mix of headaches, a fever, and an insistent exhaustion that sleep cannot conquer. Through this cold I have not been able to do much artwork along with any other homework. Because of the positive feedback I had from my frog life cycle, I am creating a human life cycle including the fetus, infant, child, teenager, adult, and elder as the distinct stages. Each stage will have an appropriate drawing to accompany the silhouette. This is my current progress thanks to my horrible cold:

2D Media: Mixed Media

I think the Pour, Pool, Puddle Challenge was somewhat successful. I think most people liked that I was finally showing my point of view and that the piece itself was very personal due to using my own dad's obituary. I wanted to add another note that makes it more personal and use it also as to explain why I chose the suit colors I did. It is simply that my dad wore a dark blue suit with a red tie for the visitation and funeral service. I was upset that the idea of embalming was not clearly recognizable and that was a suggestion that was raise, to make it easier to understand, but I'm not sure how I'm going to do that. The actual process of embalming is injecting the chemicals into the veins but I thought trying to convey that would have been even harder to understand. Either way, I am happy with how it turned out and I was happy to be able to represent my view and I think I want to keep exploring it. I'm just not sure how. I know I believe in science and what that information tells us. I do not believe in heaven, hell, reincarnation, spirit worlds, or any sort of afterlife. I simply believe we have a organs that have to function for us to survive and if something stops working so do we. It just stops, we end, we stop being conscious, we stop living, and that's it.

2D Media: Mixed Media

Our current challenge is: Pour, Pool, and Puddle. So far, I've liked working and experimenting with acrylic paint and water which requires me to either pour it or use my brush to add have heavy pools of color. For the challenge I took on my own point of view of what happens after we die. The idea is simply that we cease to exist. I do not believe in heaven, hell, judgement, reincarnation, or any sort of afterlife. I purely believe that at one point we are alive and at some point something causes us to stop functioning. That's it. I'm currently exploring that idea through the process through which a body is prepared for a funeral service. One of these first steps is the embalming process. I include in this post some images for reference and some links to websites and a video that aided me.

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rc_QSyWl-GA

Websites:
http://www.memorialpages.co.uk/articles/decomposition.php
http://forensicoutreach.com/library/4-terrifying-things-your-body-does-when-it-decomposes/
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/toledoblade/obituary.aspx?n=edward-a-williams&pid=142561607

2D Media: Mixed Media

So, I finished up my two other womb paintings....sort of. I used acrylic paint, gouache, and colored pencil throughout each piece. For the black and white ultrasound, I wanted to add the word 'hamburger' on it because that's what my ultrasound said. I guess my parents thought that was more amusing than putting 'it's a girl'. Now I am not so sure I want to add it. I'm happy with how it turned out and I don't want to NOT like it if I add the text. My rainbow twin womb got some extra detail with white colored pencil. I thought using that was nicer than any other color because that was really the only color I didn't use. I also included an image of my Ancient Egypt judgement comic which I didn't realize I hadn't taken a picture of until after turning it in for the mid-term.

2D Media: Mixed Media Update

If I haven't already stated it enough I'll say it again, I am not used to taking pictures of my work and especially ones that are in progress updates. I am trying to do better with it though. I did another piece regarding heaven, Earth, and hell that is similar to the one I already created. With this one I spent more time thinking about HOW I was going to demonstrate my take on something that has been done time and time again. I'm sure I have mentioned it before that I wanted to be more abstract with my work but I think I still have to put time into thinking HOW I want to go about it. Below are images of completed work, works in progress, and some reference images.

Reference Materials for 2D Methods: Mixed Media Work

Approaching the mid-point of the semester, I am providing the reference images I used to inspire me in making the works I have created for my art class. Every critique we have had has exposed me to questions that make me think so much more about my creative process. When I went into this class I wanted to explore the more abstract or active art. I didn't want to scrutinize and pre-plan every move I made. But, I think I need to put that type of art-making-process for a later time. I think I need to understand why I do certain things other than "I wanted to cover my mistake up" or that "I just felt like putting that there". Once I have focused on why I do the things I do, I can move to more abstract work.