Getting aHead

I know that I am a painter at heart, but sometimes the stress of school just becomes overwhelming. The reasons why I majored in painting begin to blur as the stress of upper level classes and the the end of the semester increases. One of the best things I have found in the BFA program is that I can escape from my concentration without escaping art and creativity.

Aside from painting, Fibers is my next favorite class and medium. There are so many crafty things that can be done with fibers, but there are also endless opportunities in the fine arts realm. I have been working on dolls dealing with body image issues in my surface design class. These dolls led me to the giant heads I am working on in painting. I was getting so frustrated with my paintings and then this came to me. Canvas is just another fabric. We just so happen to paint on it. In the traditional sense, the painter would stretch their canvas over wood, prime it, and paint. Instead of stretching my canvas, I sewed and stuffed it. Remnant of strange, giant, creepy heads in my last painting, I am tearing them off the page and bringing them to life.

Another lesson I have learned from fibers is the value of intimacy with a work of art. This thought led me to the different evaluations we have of a work from far away compared to up-close. I want to create things that may seem welcoming and pleasant (like a pillow) until you take a second glance and realize that first impressions are not always correct. That pillow is staring at you with unsettling eyes. Something you once found comforting is turning on you. How much can we really rely on those first impressions? I am still working out the kinks in my execution of these paintings, but I hope that in the end they will have the impact I plan for.