1. Define which techniques you tried and mastered? Struggled? 2. How did you draw inspiration from other artists techniques or aesthetics in your work? In what ways did you derive meaning or gain historical perspectives from their work? Why these artists? 3. Describe the evolution of your piece. Decisions made. Compositional elements. 4. If you could consider doing something over, explain why you would do this and what you would do next time? 5. Elaborate on how this piece links with your other pieces? What is the common thread?
1. A new technique that I had tried with this composition is blending block paint. This was my first time working with printmaking, and this was an incredibly valuable experience. I was able to master many aspects within printmaking and one of them had been the blending of colors. Throughout my compositions I had wanted incorporate aspects of red, and highlight the roses. Thus, I needed to incorporated various paints and colors. I was able to recognize that while rolling the paint I should keep my plate split in half between the two colors I wanted to incorporate. 2. For this composition I had drawn inspiration from a drawing I had seen by an anonymous artist that depicted a skeleton in a lion body. I found that this piece was able to portray a very invigorating and powerful message. Thus, I wanted to do a similar piece but I also wanted to personalize this piece for myself (and changed the animal into an elephant). For myself I felt that the piece had highlighted the concept of "spirit animals" in a very unique fashion and wanted to do so for my own work. After sketching my drawing I was inspired by the idea of tattoos, in general, and decided create this piece through printmaking. 3. My piece had originally, had the elephant and skeleton only. However, after the inspiration I had drawn from my memories of tattoos I decided to reconsider the composition of piece. While drafting this piece I had found a new love for roses and wanted to incorporate them into my drawings. However, the roses were so nicely drawn and distracted the audience from skeleton. In order to fix this issue I incorporated line and direction. 4. If I had the opportunity to do this piece again I would have made the border, which was supposed to be skeleton bones, to be thicker and slightly more defined. This would allow the topic about skeletons to run throughout the whole composition more. 5. This piece links to my theme of identity in that it is a depiction of my own identity and the concept of spirit animals, through the skeleton and elephant. Spirit animals are usually defined as the animal that we personally relate to the most. Additionally, this piece glorifies the human and their identity more. At the same time the progression in saltiness within this three part series depicts the glorification and sense of surety in one's identity that they may gain as through grow and change.