Mixed Media

Artist Statement: As an artist, I view art as a key part of recovery. This piece in particular addresses a problem that isn’t necessarily subject matter in every day art pieces: self harm and body image. Where the throat is slit and the blood is pouring out, words are carved into the pastel repeating particular phrases that have been pointed at me directly: “fat” “chubby” “you’d be prettier if you were skinnier” and the absolute worse “you’re going to have to learn to deal with your problems like a regular person”. All of these words had affected me my first three years of high school to the point of unhealthy habits. However, visible at the bottom of the piece are flowers. Contrasted with the rough pastel work, these watercolor flowers are bordered with words of praise and encouragement I have also heard, words that have built me up and made me feel important. Words such as “talented” “don’t stop being you” and things to look forward to in life: “Arizona!” “Broadway” and most importantly “love”. All of these words within the flowers are reasons to keep on living. Not matter what life has thrown at me this art piece reminds me that nothing can drag me down, the words within the blood don’t affect me anymore and that there is so much in this world worth living for.

Artist Statement: The song that these lyrics are from is “Robbers” by The 1975. I decided to use these specific lyrics because of what the song is about. Two people are falling in love but being destructive at the same time. Toxic Love if you will. She’s less innocent than she looks, and their love is less innocent than it appears to be. I also like the way the dirtiness of the newspaper and paint drips look against the magazine letter words, making it appear dirty and disorganized, like toxic love.

Artist Statement: This piece was created to express my perception of death. It is a clay mask created by pushing clay into a plaster mold of my face and then sculpted to achieve the finer details. When I die, my soul will pass on but my physical body will remain a part of the earth. My flesh will become the dirt beneath us, symbolized by the clay by which it is made. The antlers represent the animals that will benefit from my death as well as the flowers who will absorb nutrients from my decomposing body. through death, I will become one with mother earth.

Artist Statement: “A Sticky Mess” is a portrayal of one opinion of the viscid catastrophe occurring in the Middle East. Even though the wars are not fought on American soil, their aftermath affects us all.

When people initially see my project, their first reaction is always “That’s so gross!” When I tell them about the symbolism behind the piece, they say, “It’s still disgusting”. What’s disgusting? The chewed gum? War is disgusting. Afghanistan. Pakistan. Libya. Yemen. Iraq. Syria. People are dying. The death toll is rising and people are horrified by gum.

Artist Statement: Painted Ladies
I came across the concept of creating paintings with photographs while studying artist Alexa Meade and decided to do my own rendition of the idea. This photo is both a work of painting and photographic art. I spent time analyzing the model’s unique features and deciding which to emphasize and which to hide. With a base coat of purple, I began to build over top of her skin an entirely new form.Even though I gave my model a new appearance, she remained the same entity in a different shell. At first glance, my first impression is not “purple”, it is “beautiful”. Both beautiful and alien, to me, she represents the social construct of race and how our society segregates humans into categories based on their appearance and color.