Togetherness - Bond of Love - Gibran

“Let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together, yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.”

― Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

Exactly how I feel, but I didn't know how to say it. I am in love...deeply, but not too head-over-heels because we are still born alone when we arrive in this world. And we choose to share ourselves, our emotions, our journeys with another, but the truth is that you are man and I am woman. We walk next to each other, not in each other.

It's not a guarded, uneasy position...its a position of understanding that some day we shall pass from this earth and we can only go alone as well. And in life, everything is a choice, it might be a hard choice, or one with layers of consequences or sequences of "predictable" events attached, but in the end - the motivation is a choice. I choose you, my love, to share my life journey with. And if you are say no more to this and go your way, I am shall only be understanding, humble, and acknowledge that you are a separate entity. If we are truly one - one could not leave without the other.

But I still love strongly. I still love passionately. I love....and I am happy to love with one another.

Choas

Choas (2013) 

 

This mixed-media creation "Choas" is a representation of our present-day degradation within the American public school system.

I used techniques similar to Max Ernst's Decalcomania and used "chance" painting like Jean Arp. Since most of the Fantastical artists, both indenpendent and attached to groups, commentated on their present-day conditions, and mostly sought to enter a "dream-like" world, the use of color and action were my key focuses.

 I used acrylic and watercolor paints. I created texture by crumbling tissue paper of assorted colors and bleeding them into the paint. I used broken glass and broken-up cottonballs for various levels of texture and experimentation. 

I wanted progression and for the viewer's eye to travel from left to right. 

The use of the misspelled word of chaos to "Choas" is symbolic of a chaotic educational system with fake remedies for success. The child-like colors juxtaposed with unsettling textures and harsh edges gives the viewer a sense of unease. The smiley and frowning faces on notebook paper makes the painting eerie. And the dark, purple figure outstretched with a blood red head provokes fear. 

Ambiguity Begone

The "Introduction" assignment has led me into a deep thought regarding who I am, the artist and the human being. And I must admit that I have been in a state of ambiguity for a long time.....and I'm breaking out. 

I have studied Fine Arts academically since the seventh grade, therefore for twelve years, and I continue daily in this field. With so many years of dedication, one would assume that I want to be an artist, but I don't. I adore the practice and study of the arts, but I've wavered with the practicality possibilities with the field. And for years I have come up short-handed wanting to be creative in my work positions, but acknowledge the obligation to support myself and family. Simply, I was afraid to assist in the change of the world by being a Fine Arts educator because of the enormity of the task and my insecurities in my talent. 

I'm placing all of that aside and going for it! I had layers upon layers of "things" holding me back, but no longer will I let those things block my positive desires for change in the educational system through the study of Fine Arts. 

I used mixed-media for this piece that was constructed on a slab of wood. Oil pastels and acrylic paint are the primary media sources used. I wanted to create a painterly image. Since my image discusses "layers" and focuses on actively moving through the piece, I wanted a gesture-like medium (such as oil pastels) to reiterate my theme. The artwork is 5" x 15"  wooden panel found in my closet. At first I mapped an array of perspectives (a woman walking horizontally across the base, or her walking towards the audience), but I settled on this perspective because it was different and further urges the audience to understand that "I'm walking away" from ambiguity and clutter. The juxtapose patterns of color at the bottom of the image symbolizes clutter and represent my articles of clothing. Clothing is an interesting theory that's based on individual desire. "Maybe this shirt, with those pants, with that hat..." We dress ourselves. I dress myself in my own concerns, worries, stresses, and especially, insecurities. At any point in time, I can free myself (remove my clothes) and be a primitive being capable without my "clothes." 

I created this piece for encouragement and to make a personal stance for no more insecurities and worries. I'm going to set myself free from the bondage in which I enthrall myself. 

PSA - Final Draft

PSA

This PSA is titled "Stop It - It AINT Cute." It plays on images and words. The image is a display of ignorance as well as the use of "aint" within the title. The image of three males, of different ages (or stages in life) are all wearing their pants in the same fashion. At first, it reacts humor and then empathy. The viewer identifies with the creator's sentiments on the direction of our youth's fashion today. Its use of "pathos" is suppose to evoke from the viewer opinions such as "I dislike that too" or "gosh, your right, that style is not cute." 

Since I am heavily using pathos and aiming for "identification," ultimately the viewer's understanding of the situation in their own personal lives resembles "ethos." The viewer can state from their everyday credibility of experiencing young men dressed in this way as annoying, symbolic of a deprecating culture, and ignorant. 

Personally, I think kids (or teens and young men...and even women) are trying to be cool. So, they mimic the fashion sense displayed in media. However, its a sad observation of how "low" our young teens are willing to showcase "their butts" or undergarments for social gratification.