Week 4

    Although I wanted to focus equally on both fabric art and art that I painted onto my face, I'm glad that I shifted the lens of my project to focus more on cosmetic art. My reasoning behind my contentment with this switch was that it allowed me to grow more as an artist. I am already skilled with painting to a point where I don't have to spend time developing the more mundane skills involved in the craft, but rather I get time to branch out and explore more contemporary elements of the art of painting. With fabric art, there was a monumental learning curve that I had to overcome, and I feel as though that would have hindered my ability to actually grow as an artist. I would have ended up spending what I deem to be too much of my time simply polishing and rehearsing the basics and not enough time exploring. I am confident that this project allowed me to practice several new stylistic variations of cosmetic art, including experimenting with texture and line density through brushwork, which accounts for my first goal. I most definitely completed my second goal which pushed me to explore the warmer side of the color wheel. I now feel more comfortable using blending and building techniques I learned through this project to create artwork that embraces warm color tones as much as cool. As I mentioned earlier, I veered away from creating art with fabric, and as a result, I didn't spend a great deal of my time sewing. Regardless of this, I'm content with the growth this project fostered for me, even without the addition of honing my sewing skills.

    I would absolutely recommend this senior project to anyone enamored with creating art. Of course, artist's block can make things hard at times, and you have to be strict about blocking out time to create art, but the end result is a fantastic project designed to help you grow and expand your skills as an artist. I learned more about myself in terms of my artistic abilities through this project than I would have any other way. being independent, and cultivating a "curriculum" where it's just you and the art you create is the most fantastic experience I could have ever imagined.

In honor of pride, I wanted one of my last pieces to encompass the traditional pride flag colors, not just warmer tones. This piece was a fantastic opportunity for me to practice blending and gradients especially with a new medium; water-activated pigments.