From left, clockwise: Fusa, the Urchin; Lex, the Twin; Xaiona, the Black Widow; Lufu, the Thief; Rozalin, the Harlot; and Simone, the Acolyte.
I am really excited about this one. I've done like, 5 different sketches and none of them have turned out the way I wanted them to... until this one! Let's just hope that paint won't mess it up! I really fell in love with the storyline in this contest. There are many other characters, but these are just the girlies. Basically, the main girl (front), Simone, is an acolyte in the Church. She is wrongfully excommunicated, but the Church strikes a deal with her to identify and bring in certain notorious criminals in exchange for her return to her beloved nunnery. [drama ensues!]Yesterday I had quite the enjoyable lunch. As I sat at Barnes and Noble with coffee and art magazine in hand (which is one of my favourite things to do), I thought a lot about my grad school portfolio and sketched a bunch of stuff. I am often truly inspired even by art that doesn't make a lick of sense to me. Yesterday I leafed through a magazine on Pop Culture Asian Influence, which featured work of painted ears and yarn hanging from bare walls, among other things. As I tried to make sense of it, I realized that I have a very distinct way of viewing and understanding work. I always ask, "What is it about?" Sometimes art does not "depict" something in the conventional sense. I paged back through my sketchbook and found these words of wisdom: "Art is highly intellectual, even when it appears to be nonsense and mean nothing."
Of course, I completely resonate with this. In my own personal work, I strive to create a sense of mystery. This is difficult in straightforward/commissioned/contest pieces such as the one I posted above, but when I create work for my portfolio or myself, intellectual value - communicating a message - is something that is a main priority for me. But I realize I am extremely limited in how I convey this message. As I looked at art yesterday that seemed completely "whacked-out", I wrote this observation: "I have a hard time breaking my own molds. Why can't I just put something right there? What stops me? What is my filter? Myself?"
It is frustrating but also immensely freeing to meet your own self-imposed walls head-on.
So this post makes you sound like such a college educated person:) at least i think so.
ReplyDeletealso--you really inspire me and also I envy you and wish I had followed such creative, artistic motives when I was younger, it is hard feeling like if i wanted to go back in that direction, I have so much to do to get caught up. I don't even know completely what i'm talking about, but maybe we can discuss it sometime? I'd like that.
Kori,
ReplyDeleteHahah, I suppose Messiah College owes me that much... to sound educated, at least. haha
Thanks so much for the kind words <3333 I know you've gone to AZ, but maybe if you come back and visit sometime we can watch Spirited Away and talk about art/life <333