Notes
Anonymous Portrait Reflection
My inspiration for this piece was solely what was written on the paper. Most of my fun designs on the flowers came from the person's interest in Persian rugs, so I took some designs from what I was seeing to include it. I used color pencils and Sharpie, in hopes that I could layer the color pencil to get rich warm colors, and I used Sharpie to ensure what needed to be black popped. In the end, I was hoping that my anonymous person could recognize my art was about them when seen. One main decision I had to make was how to make the background. I was torn between using yarn and actually sewing into the paper so something would pop, but eventually decided against it because it was time consuming and not coming out how I planned. Instead, I decided to draw yarn and color with colored pencils. It does not have the same effect unfortunately, but I think the bold red flowers take away from the background. If I could do anything differently, I would layer paper for the flowers so that something is 3-dimensional and helps my piece stand out more. The only research I conducted was looking at different photos of microbes for the pollen of the flowers and taking inspiration from various groovy Persian rugs. I think the most successful park of my work is the leaves on the corners, I am very proud on how those came out. The green leaves a good contrast from the rest because nothing else is green, so I believe it is the most successful.
Midterm
- The names of my last three pieces include "Soul Ties", "Smile", and "Bug Eyes".
- My (new) SI statement : How can I show how I stand out from other people through different mediums?
- Questions that guide my investigation: How do people see my personality? What is the first people notice when they see me? What words would my close friends use to describe me? Who am I now and who do I want to become?
- How my pieces show evidence of practice, revision, and experience: My sketchbook is filled with practice for shading with different mediums, failed attempts, etc. They show experience through my previous knowledge of graphite techniques and layering colors with colored pencils. In "Smile", I tried alcohol markers for the first time, and in later pieces it will be less streaky as I have learned from this piece.
- How my SI expresses my unique experiences and ideas: My SI is all about me and how I am different from others. It is unique because I am not like anybody else, and I can come up with more original ideas because I know all there is to know about me. Throughout my art this year, I plan on making pieces that show my unique personality, life events, outlook on life through the mind etc.
- Does your work demonstrate a skillful synthesis of materials, processes and ideas? : Yes, as I use different styles of art and materials along with mediums I already have years of experience with to portray SI.
- Am I continuously developing and documenting new guiding questions for research and investigation: Yes, I want to find multiple ways to show how i stand out without anything repetitive. There is nothing worse than having an entire portfolio of repeated work.
- Biggest challenges in AP art? How can I overcome? : The biggest challenge in AP art so far for me is deciding what my pieces should be. I have so many different ideas in my sketchbook, but when it comes to execution I feel like giving up. There has definitely been a lot of doubt this semester. Ultimately, the main fix to this problem is most likely to sketch more in detail, that way when I start a final piece there is more direction and less questioning and doubt. I believe I made the right decision to change my SI midway through. Now I feel like I have a sense of direction, that wasn't very apparent before.
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Plans for the next three pieces:
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1) The first one will be about how my work ethic is different from others. I always feel the need to stay busy, either in the workplace or outside of school. Most kids my age put off working or yearn for lazy days, but personally that is unfulfilling for me.
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2) The second piece is going to be animals that people use to describe me. Many people compare me to phoenixes, bunnies, or deer, along with my famous "bug eyes".
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3) The third piece will be about my values. The people I care for most, what is important to me, my hobbies, and my outlook on life. Different people value different things, and I think it would be interesting to have a piece dedicated to what I believe in and what I go by.