Criterion D- Process

Using the digital image that I chose in IT class, I started to trace the image using pencil and a huge piece of paper in IT class (approximately 15 Sep) . We had 2 stations to trace in the IT lab, but because it took too much time, many people (including me) didn't have the opportunity to trace. The next two days in art class, we did the same thing, but I still did not get the opportunity to trace. So, we were given another opportunity to trace in the IT class of the next week, but we had too much things to do in IT class, so, I had to trace the image in lunch on my own time, and I was able to finish it just in time. So in art class, I started to work on the art piece. I first decided the layout and the materials that I was going to use (these materials will be mentioned as I go through different parts of the artwork.) For my hair, I used a thin octopus ink brush to give texture for my hair, and it worked perfectly. Then, I painted the hair over with a very dilute black acrylic paint to give the color of my hair and it was just a prodigious work, done with perfection. Then, I used black sesame seeds and pasted them on the boundary of my hair (my right head) using super glue and it was able to give a clear boundary to my hair. Then, I stuck parts of articles of a magazine in Korean to symbolize my liking for reading. Then using dilute brown acrylic paint, I painted my face brown. Then, I painted my glasses, lips and teeth of my right head white using thick white acrylic paint. Then, I painted my clothes (of right head) white using the same material. Then, I painted the background light blue using dilute acrylic blue paint and using thick light green acrylic paint, I drew the map of the world, not considering the proper layout of the map. However, after receiving criticism from Ms. Sudra that the continents didn't look like themselves because they were in the wrong format, I had to take the artwork home, borrow blue, green, black, and white acrylic paint with brush and a palette. Then at my house, I repainted my background using thick sky-blue acrylic paint to cover my continents and then using a sketching pencil, I drew the layout of the continents to proper layout and painted it with thick dark green acrylic paint. Then, I painted my left head (the skin and the hair) using the same method I used for my right head. Then, I used the black acrylic paint to cover my glasses, lips, teeth and clothes of my left head. Then, I stuck rice on the hair boundaries of my left head because of a suggestion from Ms. Sudra that the two faces can create a balance like Ying and Yang. Working upon the suggestion, instead of doing it a Ying and Yang, I created a double balance. Each head has its balance within because the white parts balance with the black parts. Then, the two heads are complimentary except the skin and the hair, creating another balance. Then, I stuck images of food from magazines on my left to symbolize gluttony.
I couldn’t use many techniques for my artwork, especially techniques concerning brush and paint. However, I did try some. Using the octopus ink, I tried to demonstrate the technique of thick and thin strokes to give texture. It didn’t work out perfectly, but it demonstrated the effect that I wanted. Using dilute acrylic paint, I tried to create a slight shadow just on my face. My right head’s shadow worked, the neck part being a bit darker than the face, but my left head didn’t work out.
Here are all the materials that I used: rice, black sesame, acrylic paint, parts of an article, pictures of food, and octopus ink. The rice and black sesame beans represent my Asian aspect of me, while they also represent the balance (since they are white and black, respectively) within me. The acrylic paint symbolized the strong impression of me that I try to leave to everyone. Since acrylic paint is very thick and rich, I thought that it would suit to my “symbolism” of the impression people have on me. So that is why I used dilute acrylic paint instead of water colors throughout the art. The bits and pieces of articles represent my interest of reading, while the images of various foods represent my gluttony.
The meanings that I tried to insert was that I like to read and eat food. I also tried to symbolize the Asian aspect. I also triedto symbolize that I am a global person who lived and met with various people from various cultures. I also tried to represent the strong impression that I leave on people. I allso tried to symbolizer that I like myself very much. I also tried to symbolize the balance that I try to achieve everyday.
This whole piece took me an accumulative time of about 20 hours. We spent 5 hours approximately each week to work on this in both IT class and art class. We worked on it for about 2 to 3 weeks. Then, I took the piece home and worked on it for about 4 to 5 hours, so the accumulative sum comes out as 20 hours.
I really like my piece of art that I created. I think it clearly represents who I am. I also spent a lot of effort and time on this, and I think the product portrays it, so I am very satisfied. I also think that, in my opinion, my work of art stands out from everyone else’s because of its unique traits.
There were both hard and easy parts in this project. The easy part was painting as I planned, because I just had to follow the directions I gave myself. The hard part was coming up with ideas and materials for the art. Since this project was, in my opinion, creating a work of art from nothing but your own imagination, I found it difficult.
Ms. Sudra helped me with my artwork in various ways. Ms. Sudra gave me suggestions to improve my work, such as the map layout and the Ying and Yang idea, and I think that through those suggestions, my artwork improved. She also gave the class various explanations of various materials, which helped me a lot deciding the materials for the artwork. Her PowerPoint presentation of various portraits of mixed media artists also helped me to come up with few ideas.
In my artwork, I made a few changes. For example, instead of having a part where there are everyone’s signatures on there, I painted my clothes black and white for the purpose of creating the balance. I also could not do Paper Mache for the world map because the material would be heavy and once hung on the wall, it would fall off. I also did not use bread crumbs because they would rot.
To a person who didn’t see my artwork, I would explain it like this: There are two faces of “me” facing each other from the right side and the left side. My left head’s skin is brown and my hair is black, with a hair boundary of rice. Then on my skin, there are various images of food. My teeth, clothes, glasses, and my lips are all black. My right head’s skin and hair is the same as my left heads. However, the hair boundary is made by black sesame seeds. This time, my clothes, lips, teeth, and glasses are pure white. The faces cover 70% of the whole art. In the background, there is a world map of blue and green.
I wasn’t inspired by a particular artist. However, I did use the concept of sticking articles from Mrs. Wilson to symbolize the hobby of reading.