Snowy-Roo

In my 3-Dimensional design class we had to create a mask combining two different animals that described our personalities. Then we had to go as a whole class in our animal customs to the coffee shop and order a drink. My final mask is actually not a mask at all but rather two significant features of the kangaroo and snowy owl designed so that I could become these creatures.

On the outside I am a happy and bouncing kangaroo. I’m always jumping around in excitement about life and loving my family and friends. 

On the inside I am an introspective owl who is always watching and observing human nature. I wrestle with the flaws of mankind and it pains me to see the suffering of others. I’m in a constant battle with trying to combat the world’s corruption. I survey life and try to understand the human mind and heart. I burrow myself in my thoughts as the snowy owl rests in the snow. 

My head is always full of ideas, projects, and tangents of philosophy that it can be hard to sleep at night. Similar to the snowy owl I rarely sleep and hunt during the day and hours of the night observing and contemplating life's anomalies.  The main food source of the snowy owl is lemmings, which are creatures that metaphorically symbolize followers. I’ve always been at war with the media and refuse to conform to its ways of “normality.”

Waxed in Withering Wealth

When I was young I believed that if someone had a chandelier in their home they were wealthy and important.  I felt that if I could have a chandelier then I could also be someone of meaning and prosperity. 

Now when I observe chandeliers I still perceive them as a sign of wealth, but not a matter of significance and happiness. Wealth is not the answer to happiness, which is something I struggle with in desiring to be financially stable. 

My chandelier is a portrayal of the decaying nature of wealth. A mansion in its day appears flawless, but will eventually corrode, collect spider webs, and loose the shine of spectacle. The items of luxury will wither away.

A Fortress from Fear

The piece is a representation of the comfort I find immersed within the ocean. I used to be afraid of being sucked under by the waves when I was young but overcame the fear when I realized that I would always pop back up. The ocean is a murky and unclear body of water.  

When I am ocean swimming it is almost like a dark chasm that I must pull through to finish the race. Boats on the sea are protected and guided by the lighthouse in order for the boats to return home safely. Ones journey through life can seem perilous and frightening because the future is unknown. However, in life God is my lighthouse who I must rely on to make it through every day. 

He gives light to the confusion and stress. He relieves my burdens and calms my fears. The lighthouse in my piece is a portrayal of God’s presence in my life when the waters seem murky and I am filled with anxiety. 

When I trust in Him the water is no longer foreboding and the fear vanishes. I am at peace as I release my control and allow the waves to take me.

Feather of Lead

The piece is designed to arise a playful tension. The concept deals with the humor of oxymoron. The anvil is such a strong and masculine object and feathers are feminine and delicate. 

These two combined create a mix of materials and references that cause the audience to puzzle over the contrast. I chose to use black feathers in order for the anvil to appear at first glance as a hard iron steel but as the viewers get closer the feathers are visible and the lightness of the piece is experienced. 

Cinderella's Skeleton

The shoe is a skeleton of Cinderella’s glass slipper. I wanted to capture simple elegance. A beauty that is cold to the touch. The shoe represents an ancient love story frozen in a moment of time. 

Their Transparency

This piece is a representation of my strange, disturbing, and bizarre dumpster find. Each totem pole has a name of a relative or family found in the letters. They are impaled because of my own personal confusion and belief that this whole family is covered in blood shed. 

Is Matthew alive? I don’t know. Why are his and some of Audrie's belonging in the trash? I haven’t a clue. 

The items from their trash are the test tubes, the pipes, the creepy Buddha pages were torn from Audrie's book, the coiled air pump, the large glass bottle, and the totem poles, which were previously structured on a basket. 

The overall concept speaks of how addictions can break and distort a family. The drugs that Audrie and Matthew began to consume tore apart their marriages leaving them hopeless and broken. 

The dysfunctionality of their family appears to be hidden, but is clearly transparent. 

The Evil Eye

This piece represents “The Evil Eye” of society. In western theology the peacock is a symbol of bad luck and evil. In Greek Mythology the peacock is thought to be a devious monster with a million eyes trapped into the form the exotic bird. 

Everyone feels the stare of a million eyes upon their being; the eyes of performance, social standards, wealth, occupation, and social status. You feel as though you are always being watched and judged by others. We all struggle with the need for acceptance and the desire to be appreciated. This mobile is a representation of the Evil Eye that we all face. 

The falling teardrops are a sign of the pain and grief that I personally face from my own Evil Eye of perfection and the struggle to accept myself. The gold thread and stand covey the universal turmoil of wealth and prosperity. We are judged by what we wear, our income, and occupation. 

The Pink Bow

This design is a representation of the history and progression of bows. The beginning ten bows symbolize who originally designed bows, being men. The next ten bows portray the Victorian Era, where woman began to where extravagant head pieces and transformed the male bow from use to a sense of style. 

The third set of ten captures the Hippie Era where green and floral bows were worn to express the freedom and natural sense of life that woman were experiencing. The last 20 bows covey the complete transformation of bows from worn by males to now young girls. 

The bow in the middle symbolizes the iconic "pink boy,” being the defining feature of young girls. A small infant will wear a pink boy around her head to define that she is a baby girl. In child cartoons the girl character will usually wear a bow and it is normally illustrated in the color pink.