Chest of Drawers

Objective: Concept, content, construction

Media: Mat Board, Tape, Acrylic Paint, Cardboard, Reeves Paper, and Watercolor Paper

Original Idea: (didn't go with)

Progress: 

 Final Piece:

This project was extremely difficult for me. Whether it was the push from our teacher to be non-representational or just the fact that their was so much possibilities that overwhelmed me, I will never know. I started off with a sketch of a modern, contemporary piece of furniture infusing with a traditional, antique piece, but that bored me. I didn't like the concept of repeating everyday objects that so many people see whether they were contemporary or traditional. 

So I final made a paper mock-up like I should have in the beginning. I like the design, but still something wasn't clicking. So after staring at dressers for a longtime, I came across an image that was a backyard with kids climbing up a treehouse. The steps looked like dresser drawers to me, and I wondered if I could change the tree to be more slim-lined or simplistic. Hence you get the 2 almost 90 degree angled branches and simple forms. 

On the Drawers, I wanted to go for circles and squares that had a rotating door, but I gave up on that Idea when making the track system for the rotating part was not working. I tend to have no patience, and when things aren't working out, I give up on things easily. Moving on, I started on the colors. I had the basic shapes...and let me tell you they are basic, and decided to go with fall since I truly love that season. The overall shape and color remind me of home, and with my recent death of my grandma and my family having issues, I guess it represented things falling apart and that only the basic shapes or values that I need where staying on the tree or in my life. 

My symbols were a bit odd, and yes, most of them were not made by me. Only the photos and the painted horse where made by me. The horse and its crazy, mess colors signified my uneasy feelings, being mess and unorganized, not finishing things completely, and trying to be different but having a recognizable shape, in life and in art. The meds and coffee kind of went a bit deep and depressing. Most of my projects this semester seemed to be dark and depressing. I probably should look into that. The coffee was for my late nights between school and work. The tums were for my stomach since I have always had issues with ulcers and stress since I was little. The advil and advil pms were for my insomnia issues that I have had since high school and the fact that I am the world's most clumsy person. The final symbol was a picture I had cut up of me and my family. I did this because each person and their pixels or  grain that create that image in a way is a piece of me. Whether its physical with genetics or its more emotional on the reaction and emotion that is displayed, both have created what I am today. 

No one can really truly say that they are their own person. We can have our own views, but in reality, they are influenced by others, events, or even visual aspects of the world that are overlooked. For me, its music, stories, and the many daydreams that are overly expressive and humorous. 

In the end, this project taught me more about myself and the way I deal with things. Sure, I am not so proud of the actual piece, but the process helped me figure out that I am short-tempered, un-organized, messy, not happy, and really confused on which direction I want to go in. This may sound horrible, but I feel like its a step forward in admitting my flaws and accepting that this world is extremely far and that I have a long winding road to go. And I know it will never end.