Drawing Challenges

 In exploring mark-making, I was intrigued by how I could manipulate light to create new forms and shapes on and through these objects. The two images below are the most successful ones in these explorations, as I experimented with colored glass and themes of quietly considering ordinary subjects in a novel way. I first approached this project with a perfectionistic lens, and wanted to produce a profound series of images. However, this proved to stunt my creativity, and I became quickly frustrated with the process as a barricade to the finished object I had in mind. Once I began to enjoy the process, I was able to more instinctually mark on glass and manipulate objects that conveyed themes that I was interested in. This project was most helpful in reminding me to consider the context of my art; the glasses were originally placed on a table in the center of a room, where not much light could reach them. Once they were moved to a pedestal in front of the window, the light was able to shine through the glass and amplify the shapes and colors that overlapped with one another. In the same way, the placement of the fish on the window created an additional meaning as they interacted with the outside world. Being aware of context holds the power to strengthen or weaken the impact of your artwork, and is a necessary tool for an artist working in four dimensions.

Rainbow Glasses -- watercolor and India ink on glass

 In this exploration, the objects cease to be perceived as singular vessels, and 

instead become joined as a whole. I looked through the glasses and painted the shapes

I saw through them onto the surface of each glass, then changed my viewpoint

and painted again.

Flying Fish -- colored vinyl on glass

The overlapping of vinyl created new shapes and colors that abstracted the fish,

changing the way that we perceive both the fish themselves and the view

out the window.