Week 6- Design and Production - "Big Picture Stuff"

Starting to work on my Artist Statement, just some big picture stuff.

A. When do you first remember making art?
I don't remember the first time I started to make art, but I have drawn since I was a child. There really hasn't been a time when I wasn't making art.
- What were the experiences like?
Generally it was a past-time when I had nothing else to do, then I became more and more compelled to do it. I have never found "art" I couldn't make, so it was a constant challenge to keep making art.
- What compelled you to return to art throughout your life?
I have always been in an art program. Since I was a young child, art has been deeply rooted to my education. I have been compelled to stay with art because it is all I know and all I want to do.
- When did you first consider yourself an artist?
When I started at Carver Center for the Arts and Technology in High School. When I was accepted into the program and after my first year I decided this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

B. Experience with Specific Artwork
 There are so many different pieces that have influenced me, so I guess its cheating here but, what draws me to all of these is the same. It is the emotion that is gives, not the subject or color, it gives a feeling. There is this moment when you see a good piece of art that captures your attention. It makes your eye follow all its curves and makes you wonder about it. That is what draws me to it. I try to get this quality in my work. I want people to take the deeper look.

C. Influences
I have a few different influences. I love the work of Droog, Mio, Sally Mann, Lucian Freud and Rodin. My tastes vary due to different years in different programs throughout high school and the first two years in college. I think that my recent interests (Droog and Mio) have been really based off the idea of sustainability and the clean look they both have. They have made me want to create clean, modern, sustainable products yet at the same time be true to my own voice and my own ideas. I am  also often influenced by the social media artists that share their work on youtube. I think that artists like Juliana Daily who have taken there music to the mass market without a label are the future of the music industry.

D. How does your work relate to art that has been produced in the past?
I like some of the older motifs. I like the idea of the victorian elements simplified like in art nouveau or the arts and crafts movement. I think that some great work can be produced by looking back at what has been done and using it as an influence.
-How does it relate to art that you are seeing in your community, exhibitions, or in art publications? what is similar? what do you consider to be unique to you?
I have not really produced that much work recently. I have really spent most of my time feeling out what I wanted to do. My new work and my new ideas seem to be along some of the work see out there. It is similar in is simplicity and loosely nature based representations. It is different in the way it is shaped and the variations around the similar forms. I think the way I use the shapes and symbols is unique to me.