Project 3
Project 3 Exercises:
Project 3 Final Drawing:
Project 3 Artists Response:
The characteristic I chose for my drawing was my animal-loving side. On my birthday last month, my friends and I went to Sea Cider in Saanich. I was sitting and enjoying my drink when my sister suddenly yelled, āErin, you have a frog on your head!ā I looked in the reflection of my phone, and sure enough, there it was. I was so excited because in my free time, I often spend hours looking for snakes, frogs, and lizards to catch and release, but this time, I didnāt have to do anything to find one. I gently picked him up, and he sat with us for quite a while before hopping away. It felt like the universe knew it was my birthday and sent me a little frog friend as a gift. Before he left, my sister snapped a photo of me giving him a little kiss, and I decided that photo would be perfect for my portrait since my love for animals is one of my favorite characteristics about myself.
One of the most challenging parts of this project was stopping myself from getting too frustrated when I couldnāt get every detail of my face perfect, especially my nose. I reminded myself that my real face isnāt perfect (nobodyās is) and that it was okay if my drawing wasnāt either. I also found it difficult to work on such a large scale, especially with shading. I donāt have much patience for shading because I want it to look good right away, but through my rough draft I realized itās something that needs to be built up slowly. On a bigger portrait, it took even more patience.
Something I did feel really proud of was my eyes. I have a unique eye shape, and theyāre a little different from each other. Theyāre also hooded, but not in the same way most peopleās are. I think I did a great job showing the shape and creases of my eyes, and that part of the drawing felt like a real success.
What I appreciate most about both Anita Taylor and Wangechi Mutuās is their feminist perspective on self-portraits. Wangechi Mutuās Intersectional approach made me reflect on my own identity as a white woman living on stolen Indigenous lands. It reminded me of the privilege I carry and the responsibility that comes with it, to acknowledge the history of the land Iām on, to question the systems that benefit me, and to be mindful of how I represent myself and others in my work. What I like about Anita Taylor is how she talks about her work being about ālookingā and ānot lookingā at oneself, oneās place in time, oneās history, and oneās present, and thinking about it in a collective context. For me, that idea really helped in my drawing. It took away some of the pressure to copy my face exactly, because I could also draw from the perspective of when I wasnāt looking and how I see myself in moments when Iām not focused on my reflection.
Project 4
Project 4 Exercises:
Project 4 Final Drawing:
Project 4 Artists Response:
For my final project, I wanted to bring together a bunch of different ideas that I personally find beauty in while other would not. My idea generation method was to word vomit all my thoughts onto as page. At first, I was thinking about how society decides what is ugly and what is beautiful. I remembered a study that showed babies arenāt naturally afraid of snakes and that itās actually a learned fear. That made me think about how much of what we label as āuglyā or “scary” comes from what weāre taught. From there, my thoughts went to the beauty standards women are held to and how restrictive they are. I also thought about death, and the influence religion has, and how people will sometimes view it as ugly or frightening, but to me I think it can also be very beautiful. That led me to think of Lilith, who is said to be Adamās first wife in the Garden of Eden. When Adam wanted her to be subservient, she refused, and was cast out of Eden. From there she became Satans wife. I believe that Lilithās beauty has been demonized because itās untamed, self-defined, raw, and powerful and it doesnāt exist to please men. All of that led me to the idea of bringing these connections together with symbols. A goat skull for Satan, a snake for Lilith, and a black widow spider to represent powerful women.
My intention with this piece was to mix all of my chaotic thoughts into one and show beauty in things that are often feared or misunderstood. I believe that “beauty” and “ugliness” are also things people fear and misunderstand. At first, I was frustrated because I tried too hard to copy my reference photos exactly, especially the snake. Eventually I let go of trying to make it perfect and instead focused on the emotion and meaning behind what I was drawing. My lines are messy, and my snake in the background might not be very obvious, but I know she’s there, I know what she represents, and I know the thoughts and emotion I put into it. Because of that, I do feel like I reached my goal. My piece might look messy, chaotic, and imperfect, but thatās exactly what makes it beautiful to me. It reflects my thoughts and intentions more than just technical skill.
For this drawing, some of my inspiration actually came from some photographs I had taken for a photography assignment. In a previous class, I photographed my pet black widow on a goat skull, and I also had photos of my pet snake that helped me create this piece. I was also inspired by the artist Diane Victor, because of how much I loved the dark, haunting quality in her work created with smoke. I tried to capture that same haunting feeling by using more charcoal. I rubbed my fingers over the darkest parts of my piece and used it almost like finger paint to spread shadows and create texture throughout the drawing.
This course has definitely helped me grow as an artist and the way i think about beauty and art. At first, I thought my drawings needed to look realistic or perfect in order to be considered good. Now, especially after this final project, I realize that beauty doesnāt have to come from neatness or clarity. For me, it comes from the process itself and from the ideas and emotions built into the work. Iāve realized that what makes my art meaningful is that it reflects my messy and chaotic thoughts, and to me thereās something beautiful in that.
Over this course Iāve grown by learning how to let go of perfection and allow my art to be raw and emotional. At the beginning, I put a lot of pressure on myself to make my drawings exact, but now I feel more confident letting them be “messy.” My art feels more personal now, and I donāt worry as much about whether other people will understand it or think itās āgood.ā I see my drawing style as chaotic, but Iāve realized thatās part of what makes it unique and mine. I think differently about drawing now because I see it less as copying something perfectly and more as expressing my own thoughts and emotions through art.