This week held a new unit, called "Artists Take a Stand." The assignment required a topic about something important, as well as something we are passionate about. I had a difficult time picking a topic, because I immediately thought of a few subjects I would be interested in creating a collage about. I decided what I wanted to do after thinking about something my friend said a few days ago. This particular friend has thick, shoulder length hair, and was walking around with his hair parted into two french braids. He was excited about his hairstyle because he felt unique, fashionable, and comfortable with his hair out of his eyes (even if it was unusual for a boy to have french braids in his hair). My immediate thoughts were that he looked great, and I was happy he was so excited. It didn't cross my mind that it might be a fashion that he would picked on for because it was "girly" or "gay." Another person who's very close to me commented that he wished he was confident enough to wear his hair in a braid, because he loves the style, but is to afraid of the criticism and homophobic comments that would ultimately be said about his hair. It made me think about the restrictions people face in our society on how they choose to express themselves, what they wear, and how they are viewed. Although there's been progress in acceptance of an individual's choice of identity, there are still many prejudices about what's considered acceptable in self expression. For example: men's clothes are largely similar in color in style (so they can maintain a "masculine" look). It is frowned upon for men to wear makeup, skirts, long hairstyles, and even bright colors without being stereotypes as a feminine person or homosexual. The same goes for women in terms of choices of clothes, long or short hair, makeup or choosing not to wear it. I strongly believe that every person should be able to wear what makes them feel comfortable and beautiful, without being criticised. I chose a picture with makeup artist and recent Coverboy, James Charles, to represent my topic. I thought the image was powerful, and he looked beautiful and confident while wearing makeup. I edited the picture slightly, and added text that says "Everyone deserves to feel beautiful" to show my point. At this point I'm not positive where my art will be displayed, because I would be sad if it got vandalized in school because of the sensitive subject. It will more than likely be displayed in Mrs. Purtee's Art room, or online (possibly both!). I was really excited about this assignment and it made me happy to be able to represent what I'm passionate about.
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In this unit, we went over skills such as: clay, painting, drawing, and printmaking. It was sort of like a
-refresher/introductory/ make sure you don't clog the sinks with paint- type of unit which was a helpful way to start the class. Most of the things we went over I had heard of before, except for a few different techniques and printmaking as a whole. I really enjoyed creating my shirt using the printmaking, especially since I've never seen the process before (although it was a little tedious since the screen printing material refused to dry.) My favorite project has been the painting, since that is one of my favorite medium. I chose acrylic since I like the way it applies to the canvas much more than watercolor. I'm in the process of trying to be realistic with my painting, and realizing that there has to be many compromises in order to fit my style of painting and the little experience I have with it. (I also learned painting clouds is one of my favorite-but-most-difficult-thing-ever objects to paint.) Clouds may kill me. I also loved the drawing, since it's my second/tie with first place medium to use. I wasn't really sure how to properly use the different levels of graphite pencils, so that was helpful to learn. Realistic drawings are very difficult, but it's something I'd like to work on. Below you'll see examples of a clay tile (of a flower), printed shirt (of cats), and a realistic drawing (of my Buddha necklace.) The painting, which is acrylic on canvas, is still undergoing work, but by the end of that project I will hopefully have a landscape painting of one of my favorite spots in Germany. |
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