The theme of my show is family. My family has played a huge role in my life - guiding me, teaching me, and letting me understand who I am. The people in my family are my greatest inspiration because they have influenced my life so profoundly. Both my grandmothers have taught me so much about baking and sewing, two of my strongest interests. My parents, grandparents and cousins have pushed me in my education, while my brother and dad have encouraged me in my athletic pursuits. Each member of my family has had a personal affect on who I am, and I wanted to demonstrate who they were, and what I love about them. 

I studied photographs, and then explored various media to capture important aspects of family members and express my feelings for them. I began with charcoal and pencil, in the image Evamouse. I liked the control that charcoal gave me and the ability to create many different values. Next I worked with prismacolors, on The Matriarchs Attend their Niece’s Summer Wedding, Bufkingdom, and The Fam. Prismacolor gave me the same element of control that charcoal had, but allowed me to blend colors. Since my first images were based on family photos, and I enjoyed creating different textures and faces, I wanted to continue working with images of people that I had strong relationships with. There weren’t any significant moments that made this media stand out, but the gradual learning of skill. For Bonita I chose to create a fabric quilt, because my grandmother taught me so much about sewing and it was something that she was passionate about. I selected my works Bufkingdom and The Fam, to demonstrate my growth in prismacolor. In working with prismacolor I was able to explore color schemes that I had observed in my comparative study, such as those of Richard Diebenkorn, in The Matriarchs Attend their Niece’s Summer Wedding. Additionally I included two prints as well as an acrylic painting so I could show variation in my skills. 

In almost every piece, I have chosen to exclude the background, because I wanted to show the importance of the individual rather than what was happening around them. I wanted the people to be prominent. The lack of background results in only one possible emphasis in the work, signifying how each family member is unique. 

I began my exhibition with a self portrait, and ended it on Bonita and Nan because they are the matriarchs of the two sides of my family. I wanted my work in natural light and placed my work in an area of school that receives it. I also wanted to the show to follow a linear path to create a story. The hallway where I hung my work will direct viewers to walk past the works in order, instead of wandering, watching the evolution of my story.

Family is one of the most important things in life, not only because of their love and support, but also because of how they shape you into who you are. Family has been so influential in my life and I wanted to convey that significance with these artworks, demonstrating who they are and were, and how I hope to become carry aspects of each of them in me during my lifetime.