(completed final)
- Day one of working on the visual metaphor project: burning plastic pit balls with hot glue guns and painting my canvas, then using strings to tie it like a ladder.
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- the ladder represents how stable I feel from the outside, physical features, to emotions engraved deep down.
- Day 2-3: sowing on all the fabrics and foam board to make the fabrics stick out (note: the fabric looks overdone and overcut, might switch to a light purple tulle fabric to still show the base colors on the canvas; dont want it to be too concealed [too many fabrics might make it look bad])
- I took off the fabric and replaced it with a light purple and dark purple tulle.
My metaphorical portrait relates to social fabric, which is how members in a community interact with each other. All the individual members are considered to be “threads” in the fabric. By having “tighter weaves” (stronger fabric), members of the community have more positive interactions going on. In contrast, “looser weaves” (weaker fabric) represents conflict, and negative relationships within a community, eventually leading to suffering and tear. This social fabric relates to me back then I was in high school, especially 10th grade, where I tried to fit into different social groups and cliques as much as I had difficulty adapting and trying to like the environment and community I was in during that time. Under the fabric, there is interaction involved where when one lifts up the fabric, the actual piece and canvas can be seen more clearly. The canvas represents stages of feelings that are seen by other people; at the top of the “ladder of feelings” (represented by plastic pit balls), there are decorated ornaments. As the eye gazes lower on the canvas, the plastic pit balls appear more damaged. At the bottom of the “ladder”, there is plastic fabric that is holding the jumble of destroyed pit balls. This represents how other people see me as when I am approached. Most people do not know how I genuinely feel unless they are very close to me or know a lot about me. The deeper the ladder is, the more destroyed and jumbled I feel. However, in the end, I learned to not limit myself to fit in, but to expand and learn about my environment; to not alienate myself and be open to opportunities, and ultimately, to learn how to be free.
