A Tribute.

So in the midst of all this reminiscing, (and the fact that I built this entire project around the idea of emotional memory recollection and revisiting some events/moments that have shaped the current state of my life) I've decided to post the original images I decided to use for my stencils. Because of the big move across the country from good ol' sunny California, I was pretty torn on what to bring with me over here, and I have to admit, a lot of personal and sentimental belongings were (regrettably) left behind.


That being said, I did manage to scrounge up a few (and email my mom for some) childhood photographs that I feel have a lot to say about what I was like as a kid.

My mom's favorite photograph of my as a kid (I'm about 3 years old):

And the other (from my senior year of college in '07):

Notice anything different?

So that's that! My piece is complete (for now, anyway), and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. I did give up the idea of putting lighting elements inside, especially since it was created to have translucent areas, but when I assembled the final parts of it, decided that I liked the surface and texture for what it already was, and feel like it does enough on it's own without all the effects and distractions of other elements.

Oh, Ben Tour.

I finally found the link that I'd lost a few weeks ago, when I meant to post about Canadian (born 1977) artist Ben Tour! 


Initially reeled in by his design for a new independent short film called "At Lunchtime: A Love Story," I looked up more works by this artist and discovered a quality in his paintings that gave his works visual weight in his use of vibrant colors, and organic lines and shapes, that hoped would translate in my own use of color and lines (especially in the scratches for my translucent image).

Portrait of Jade Buffalo . 2009

Mixed media on paper.

10 x 15.

Cold 2 . 2009

Ink on paper.

23 x 15.

Cited:

- Thetourshow. Web. 7 May 2011. <http://www.thetourshow.com/>

Back to the '80s.

Conceptually, when I was looking at the ideas I had collected for this piece, I remembered "stumbling upon" Brazilian photographer Irina Werning's works titled "Back to the Future" (a series of photos she has continued in 2011), in which she recreates old photographs with the present-day versions of each individual.


In my hopes to create this piece around memories (including ones from childhood), I thought of the wonderfully captivating contrast, and almost eerie similarities between old and new photos in Wernings works:

Nico in 1986 & 2010.

Buenos Aires

Lali in 1978 & 2010.

Buenos Aires

And though, I'm not hoping to in any near future jump back into my 1980's clothes from my childhood, and do a vivid recreation of my childhood, I'm hoping to engage some emotional memories that'll hopefully lend something else to the piece I'm working on.

Cited:
- Irina Werning - Photographer. Web. 1 May 2011. <http://irinawerning.com/>.

A bit of a setback.

So in the whirlwind of moving forward on this piece for the term, I have run into a few minor setbacks in the process:
- Oh, that Plexi-sheeting? The stuff I was ever-so-excited to use once again on my new work for the term? It doesn't want to adhere to anything. I've tried every glue in my possession. My next step will be attempting to drill into the acrylic support rods and using epoxy with my hardware to keep everything in place.
- Spray paint + acetone = amazing effects, and big gooey mess. The dry time has been a bit of a drag in wanting to move at a steady pace, so I've had to split up my work times on this project with plenty of dry time before touching it again, for fear of ruining the textures.
- Choosing 1/4" scrap pieces of plywood and luan for my framing was a bit of a mistake. Since I wanted the screw heads visible, it was difficult to glue and attach each piece without tearing through the back of the frame. My solution: grinding off the tips once the glue had dried and the pieces were completely fastened.


All in all, it's coming together. Slowly, but surely.