Identity Collage

     Boy, oh boy, I can say that doing this collage was a lot of fun. Getting started, I drew blanks. Only because Mrs. Kiick told us we had to make it personal, I wasn't sure how to go about doing so. I even brought in a few meaningful things to inspire me. I ended up not even using any of those materials though. I put those materials back into safe-keeping, and reached for other inspirations. I painted a girl in gray-ish tones, not to resemble me completely, simply because I felt like doing so. I made sure her collarbone was noticeable, I have this thing for collarbones. Odd, I guess.. I just find them to be beautiful. I used modeling paste to add some texture into her hair and to some areas of the surface. I wanted to add a lot of color in the background, shades of color blended into each other. Different colors and textures to add depth, a little mystery, and wonder. So I did just that, and I really started to love it. What became a favorite part of my collage was the Koi Fish. I actually drew that onto my hand and wanted to incorporate it into my collage. I find Koi fishes to be beautiful, serene creatures. They can symbolize a lot of things, like good fortune, luck, family, peace, determination, courage, etc. I just took a large piece of tape, rubbed it onto my hand, then peeled it off. The ink on my hand transferred onto the tape perfectly, and I stuck it onto my collage. I love the transparency of it, kind of like the Koi fish is driftting in a sort of galaxy. I added little cut-out letters to spell "Dreamer", because that is exactly what I am. A dreamer. I felt like everything fit wonderfully together. My collage doesn't easily give away my identity, but it really does reveal a part of me.

Decorative Medal Panel

     Honestly, when Mrs. Kiick told us that we'd be working with metal, I wanted to give up on the spot.  I've never worked with metal before in my career as an artist, and I wasn't too happy about starting. So we had to create a design on paper before actually touching metal. I was frustrated at first because I couldn't come up with a decent design.  After cutting a bunch of shapes out, and shifting them around, I came upon a complex design! Mrs. Kiick cut the pieces of metal out for me, and then I traced each piece onto the corresponding metal. I started cutting into the metal today, it was not so easy... D: Khaelyss actually had to help me get started. It took me awhile, but I started to get the hang of things. I broke 3-4 saw-blades in the process. I also succeeded in my first turn today, I was thrilled! I'm only on my first piece of metal, this is going to take me awhile. 

Self-Portraits!

          

     I was a bit iffy about doing this, at first. When Mrs. Kiick told us that we'd be doing self-portraits, I got nervous. Back when I was in Studio Arts with Mrs. Hargrove, I struggled greatly with self-portraits. I never thought I was any good after that, so I never bothered to try again. However, it's been years since, so I thought I'd give it another try. I've only known Mrs. Kiick for a short amount of time, and by now I found that she likes to add a little twist to things. This was no ordinary self-portrait, but a little challenge never hurt anybody. Drawing myself surprisingly came at ease for me this time, and tracing it over with a Sharpie was no biggie either. Now, it was time to start painting (I dreaded painting). It's not that I thought painting was a pain... I just thought that I was horrible at it. Well, it turns out that I'm not so bad. After mixtures of paints, I found the right color. I was really pleased with the outcome of my portrait painted, but it was time to take it to the next level...inking. I love the outcome of my portrait inked, I thought it made it look much more intriguing. After letting the ink dry, it was onto rinsing. I was afraid to put my portrait directly under the faucet, so instead, I held it off to the side and brought the water over to it. I wanted to highlight some features of my face by rubbing the specific area with my fingers. While doing so, I was unaware of what was happening at the bottom of my portrait.  This accident resulted in a great success, and in my opinion, actually made my portrait that much better, it became the main focus point of my portrait. I can now say that I throughly enjoyed the process of it all.

     

René Magritte

René Magritte is such an interesting man. His artwork portays depth and mystery, things you'd only see in dreams. Each piece he has done reveals a message, maybe not clear at first, but hidden deep somewhere within. His way of viewing things were very creative and obscure. I enjoy staring confusingly at his artwork, turning my head various angles to understand his creations. I just really like that his paintings are thought-provoking, and gives me a sort of challenge. That is what makes him so unique, and his artwork so attractive.

René Magritte was born in Lessines, in the province of Hainaut, in 1898, the eldest son of Leopold Magritte, who was a tailor and textile merchant, and Regina, a milliner until her marriage. Little is known about Magritte's early life. He began lessons in drawing in 1910. On 12 March 1912, his mother committed suicide by drowning herself in the River Sambre. This was not her first attempt; she had made many over a number of years, driving her husband Leopold to lock her into her bedroom. One day she escaped, and was missing for days. She was later discovered a mile or so down the nearby river, dead. According to a legend, 13-year-old Magritte was present when her body was retrieved from the water, but recent research has discredited this story, which may have originated with the family nurse. Supposedly, when his mother was found, her dress was covering her face, an image that has been suggested as the source of several oil paintings Magritte painted in 1927-1928 of people with cloth obscuring their faces, including Les Amants.



The False Mirror - 1928
This particular piece happens to be one of my favorites done by him. I kind of have this fetish for the human eye, so I was attracted to this piece right away. What really caught my attention was the pupil and how it's made of blue sky and white clouds. Also while observing, I noticed that the eye was bare and lash-less. Strange, but intriguing. The contrast and sharpness of the pupil sought my attention instantly as well.


The Empire of Lights - 1954

When I first came upon this piece, I took a number of glances. I looked from top to bottom, and vice versa. Then I looked at it as a whole,  I felt a sort of trickery critiquing this one. I absolutely love the idea of the top portion portraying daylight and the bottom portraying night time. I was confused for a bit, but after realizing, I chuckled at myself. I did further researching and discovered that he had done quite a few of these "Empire of Light" paintings. Besides the illusion, I love how realistic the water looks. The reflection of the house, and even the house itself looks well defined.