DistraughtSize : 10 x 17 in
Medium : Mixed Media Completion Date : October 2021 Distraught entails the idea of following ones heart before listening to the rational thoughts within their brain. The chaotic web of ideas demonstrates a lack of self restraint when conquering a journey without a second thought. The mâché board is inspired by Emma Ferreira who is a multi medium artist. She mostly takes photographs yet occasionally does collages through the use of paper and resin.
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Artist Inspiration
Emma Ferreira is a mixed media artist who went to school for photography. It is there where she learned how to capture the human body in its most vulnerable and reserved form in a bold manner. She plays with the lighting of each piece, focusing on the chest areas or in her epoxy pieces, the center. When she is not photographing she is cutting paper and coloring it before pouring epoxy over the panels. This instills a cracked and deconstructed look that would soon become her theme.
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However, within each spacing of paper there is a possibility of an image appearing. In her Instinct to Love a handful of squares can be seen with a tiger face or body. The warm tone of the piece causes the images to blend within from afar, yet upon closer examination the distinction of the subjects is relatively clear. This was the intention of the artist as she strives to make society look deeply into their actions and be able to connect their personal lives to one another. Harmony is a key component in Ferrerira's works and it's the intent of how she wishes society to be.
Planning
Going into this project I already knew the medium I was going to use. This would be paper mâché and pen, colored blue red and black. With these in mind I started to form ideas of the direction the art piece would go. The subject was the easiest as I knew I wanted to make a anatomical heart. Once that was created with the pens it would be transferred over to the bare canvas. From here I tried to plan out how the canvas would look. I want to keep the common theme of eruption in correlation to enrapture. How the two contrast each other in balance. This could be done by ripping the canvas within the middle and areas where the heart would fit to cause the effect of it popping outward. Colored pages would be pasted around in a vintage tone. To do this I would either drip the paints in a dark brown substance or burnt edges of the papers. Afterwards I could use either mod podge or epoxy like Ferreira did. The addition of swatches of the pens helped determine the quality of the colors.
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Despite knowing what I wanted to create I was still open to different concepts as I researched an inspiration. The few artists that fit the mixed media criteria had designs that were either too optimistic or bright for the idea of my project. However, after looking at a handful of artists I came upon the conclusion that I could do photography and use the pictures as the backgrounds with the continued idea of deconstructing them. Once that was established, I proposed new sketches that could carry the same meaning throughout the process. Bouquet of Chaos was an idea of keep the same background but the center piece would be hand made roses from thin paper. In the midst of it there would be playing cards which would have messages on them. The next concept was Claw of Distress which featured a a claw mark that would rip the canvas. Spewing outward from the marks would be the same idea as the previous, with flowers and playing cards.
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Both Distraught and Bouquet of Chaos were the main sketches that correlated to the artist inspirations. From the pasted paper and vulnerable message to the obscure images in the background. I planned to experiment with the photographs that I would take in order to create the background. From black and white, images with low contrast and vibrant ones. The bright pictures would be scattered or focused in a certain area of interest once the heart was drawn. The pop of color would add contrast to the piece while also sticking to the theme. It would also be interesting to cut the canvas in half with a vertical line and do different images in the background, one side black and white the other colored. |
Experimentation and Process
As the glue was drying, I sketched the outline and details of a human heart. This was more of an anatomical drawing rather than a realistic or impressionistic work. Once the sketch was done I started to experiment with different colors to see which ones would compliment each other and blend well. This was done by using a separate page and rough sketching three different hearts. From this point I created a palette with all the readily available colors and found that there were both warm and cool colors. These were divided and used individually to recognize the relationship between the colors. After realizing that the colors seemed dull I tried to mix them and found that to be the best option.
Going back to the original sketch with a dark red pen and doing the shadowing along the bottom to the top allowed for a paced coloring. A red pen was followed along the edges and were broaden outward towards the middle yet it didn't allow for highlights, as it became the base color. I decided to use pink for the highlights, which was used for the middle and top portions of the heart. After a majority of the heart was colored in, it looked a bit bland. To fix this I added black outlines and colored the veins both light and dark blue. The tubes of the heart were decorated in a loop pattern that instilled the idea that it was round and not 2-D. |
Before I started the drawing of the heart, I laid out the images I would use for the background. I chose to use both colored and black and white to add contrast to the piece. These were photographs from Wonder and Reflecting Upon Holy. Trimming the white edges allowed the papers to be more clean cut and I shifted them in place where the colored ones would be visible despite the heart being in the middle. From there I glued them onto the paper and afterwards went over each section and overlapping crease with mod podge. This made the piece glossier in order to take further inspiration from Emma Ferreira's art works.
After the heart was complete I cut it out and left the inside portion to keep the contrast between the drawing and the background. The piece was then pasted with mod podge in order to be consistent with the glossy look that the whole board had. From there, I did a line art connecting to the heart in order to eliminate the open space above it. Within the line work, there is a shadow of a person, flowers and a fish. These are all implied through the use of black, red and blue sharpie with the addition of a white paint marker. Once I realized this lightens the colors yet still keeps it transparent, I added more white lines and highlights throughout the drawing.
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Reflection
This project was a learning process that I enjoyed partaking in. Before this, I didn't know that mod podge can be both a sealant and a catalyst for producing a glossy look. I felt this was the main tool that I used throughout the whole project and it really made the images more vibrant, opposed to their previous state of being matte. However, I would like to use solely mod podge when gluing the images as I used Elmer glue to originally paste the images, and as a result, there are areas that didn't take too well to the sharpie. Despite the little mishap, I am proud of the final product. Although there are things I would do differently if I were to do this again.
Next time I would like to try out different mod podges or sealants to play with both the glossy and matte finishes. In addition, it would be interesting to use newspaper that is colored in order to turn this piece into a social injustice installation. This would allow more freedom with the images and wouldn't feel so restrictive to only squared and rectangle photographs. Following along the lines of creative freedom, I would like to be more abstract than I was with this current project. With another piece, it would be nice to cover 75% of the board with line art or images like the heart.
Next time I would like to try out different mod podges or sealants to play with both the glossy and matte finishes. In addition, it would be interesting to use newspaper that is colored in order to turn this piece into a social injustice installation. This would allow more freedom with the images and wouldn't feel so restrictive to only squared and rectangle photographs. Following along the lines of creative freedom, I would like to be more abstract than I was with this current project. With another piece, it would be nice to cover 75% of the board with line art or images like the heart.
Compare and Contrast
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ACT Responses
1. Clearly explain and describe how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
Emma Ferreira overlaps her images when pasting them upon a canvas. This is the same technique I used when gluing the photographs on a board and was able to replicate the shiny look she often has within her artworks.
2. What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Ferreira is passionate about vulnerability and the ability to be expressive of it. She is supportive of the complexity of emotions and that is the main focus of my art work.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
While I researched for an inspiration I realized that art is very abstract and trying to conform it to only 2D or 3D is only restrictive. This is what Emma has advocated as she continuously switches her art styles and mediums. She finds that limiting oneself to a singular art style will only limit the artist's skills.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea around my inspirational research was anything with collages or mixed media. Having done a previous project titled, Wonder, with photographs inspired by Alfred Stieglitz, I knew I wanted to make another project stemming from it. In addition, I wanted to find artists that were open to vulnerability to further connect to the other project.
5. What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
I have come upon the conclusion that art is more than just a general attraction when viewing it. Taking a chance to look in depth allows for a greater understanding. Seeing how the artist incorporates their stories or passions into their work enables viewers to have empathy and I find that interesting.
Emma Ferreira overlaps her images when pasting them upon a canvas. This is the same technique I used when gluing the photographs on a board and was able to replicate the shiny look she often has within her artworks.
2. What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Ferreira is passionate about vulnerability and the ability to be expressive of it. She is supportive of the complexity of emotions and that is the main focus of my art work.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
While I researched for an inspiration I realized that art is very abstract and trying to conform it to only 2D or 3D is only restrictive. This is what Emma has advocated as she continuously switches her art styles and mediums. She finds that limiting oneself to a singular art style will only limit the artist's skills.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea around my inspirational research was anything with collages or mixed media. Having done a previous project titled, Wonder, with photographs inspired by Alfred Stieglitz, I knew I wanted to make another project stemming from it. In addition, I wanted to find artists that were open to vulnerability to further connect to the other project.
5. What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
I have come upon the conclusion that art is more than just a general attraction when viewing it. Taking a chance to look in depth allows for a greater understanding. Seeing how the artist incorporates their stories or passions into their work enables viewers to have empathy and I find that interesting.
Bibliography
https://www.devorzongallery.com/artists/emmaferreira
http://www.frankpicturesgallery.com/artists/emmaferreira/index.html
http://www.frankpicturesgallery.com/artists/emmaferreira/index.html