Professional Practices (ART 399)

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Karen Colorado Art399 Portfolio

Karen Colorado

In my work I strive to communicate my relationship with my ethnicity and the role that Latine people are playing in our current social and political climate. Most of my art thus far has dealt with different themes and hardships that come with being Hispanic/Latino in America.

The current body of work that I’m developing talks primarily about how people move from one place to another, with a focus on the US-Mexico border crisis. The pieces often portray the landscapes people move through, the things they take with them for survival, and what the homes of these bodies look like before and after relocating. A common symbol in my current work is the plastic milk jug. I work with this symbol because loved ones of those crossing will leave jugs full of water in the desert for them to survive the harsh climate. I’m very attracted to the idea of taking a common household item everyone recognizes and taking it completely out of context to fit the narrative I’m trying to create. In recontextualizing common items the viewer is able to approach my art more easily even if they don’t know much about immigration. Portraying such a difficult topic with a heavy presence in our current political climate can be difficult and I hope that accessibility leads to interest in my artwork.

My work is heavily influenced by my own experiences and testimonies from millions of other immigrants. I constantly read stories online and attempt to highlight the differences in where these people are from and where they’re going next. A lot of my work is influenced by Mexican-American artist J. Leigh Garcia. Garcia’s work deals with the ‘residual racial discord’ of major historical events between the U.S and Mexico, particularly Texas. Her work is closely related to mine in subject matter and shared symbolisms and I'm inspired by her use of color and eye for composition.
John Gee Art399 Portfolio

John Gee

My art practice is grounded in photography, specifically fashion photography. I shoot digital mostly and sometimes shoot film to get the natural colors that aren’t achievable through digital without post processing. I have grown to love portraiture because working with people, capturing their current state, and styling them in ways that are appealing is what I have found the most joy in since starting photography. I’m a very detail-oriented person and perfectionism is a trait that has carried over to my photography. Styling my subject, picking out interesting color combinations and color palettes not just in the outfit but in the environment, and matching a look with the perfect scene to make something that is visually stimulating and appealing to look at is what I look forward to when shooting. I think backgrounds are just as important as the subject in portraiture so I find it important to put just as much thought into both aspects.

I’m inspired by the intimacy and style that Nan Goldin is able to capture in her work. Her “point-and-shoot” style is something I work into my photography as much as possible. I often use harsh flash creating stark shadows combined with rich colors to exude a nostalgic feeling for the 90s and 2000s that appears frozen in time. This feeling of sentimentality is something that I hold on to in my personal life and this carries over into projects. I intend to create visually appealing fashion portraits but sometimes also delve deeper. Photos are a great way to tell stories, whether they are my own or others. Some of my work has dealt with emotions, relationships, and identity of myself and my subjects. Overall, I want my photographs to be something enjoyable to look at in as many ways possible through color, composition, etc.
Kathryn Huttunen Art399 Portfolio

Kathryn Huttunen

Kate Huttunen

Artist Statement.

The overall themes and concepts of my work are my personal self-reflection and memories of black and white culture as an adopted woman of color as well as how society views me and how I view society. When I just began pursuing art I started with using digital media such as video and digital photography. Recently switching to spending more time painting I feel I can portray certain emotions better with that medium than with digital. With digital media, I’m focused on showing the failures, triumphs, and struggles that come with adoption as compared to painting I show more inclusive problems and themes such as the constant struggle black woman face with mass media and how they are portrayed through it. Many question’s I relive and ask myself are “Am I black enough to question this?” “Am I valid, are my opinions valid?” “Do I really sound or look like that?” “If I date someone will they like me for me and not for an exotic kink?”. My photography is more straightforward compared to my paintings in which many of them use surreal imagery and convey loss, yearning, and confusion. I like to make different textures with paint, thick mark making clashing with more smooth and thin mark-making as if two different worlds are coming together and trying to make unity out of all the chaos. A few artists from online media and shows have inspired me and have influenced my use of color, light, and shadow. I’ve looked at Rashid Johnson, Jenny Saville, Mickalene Thomas, and Francis Bacon for influence as well as Yinka Shonibare. Yink Shonibare is a big influence for me when I’m painting for texture and color and light and shadow as well as composition planning. I hope my thoughts, stories, and struggles show well through my artwork so people like me know that it’s okay to feel lost in a world that tells you to be in one group. Doing these personal themes in artwork is like a coping mechanism and a diary where I can put my energy onto the canvas and hope some can relate to these struggles and start a conversation about it so they can feel like they belong to a group or community.
Macy Kendall Art 399 Portfolio

Macy Kendall

Since a young age, I was interested in art; I remember drawing with my older cousin and being inspired by her because I thought her simple doodles were amazing, while she was drawing nothing more than doodles, I saw something that looked like hyper realism to me. Furthermore, my free time as a child was spent either drawing or coloring and I was obsessed with cartoons and movies, which led me to know more movies and reference these same movies to which others haven’t even heard of by the time I was in high school. Consequently, the saying, Practice makes perfect,” came into play for me and I vividly remember being in fourth grade drawing three-dimensional block letters on my poster about photosynthesis while others would come up and ask in amazement, “Woah! How’d you do that?” The simple answer was, I saw a drawing my cousin did and replicated what I saw. It was in the same year I that I drew Uranus which I mixed my colored pencils to create a certain color and started drawing shooting stars. By the next year, I was invited to be a part of art club in which I created a “Man in the Moon” that surprised even my art teacher.

Throughout my life, art has given me a push and a pull. Sometimes art has unmotivated me and made me feel like a terrible artist when I thought I was being an amazing one, even leading me to consider quitting art, while other times, it has given me so much hope I could explode from the inside out. Through these ups and downs, my subject matter usually differentiates, sometimes being as random as anything I could think of and others having a deep meaning behind them, as a result, describing all my artwork to someone often becomes very difficult. In fact, while I usually draw and paint, I also work and have worked with a lot of different mediums as well like sculpture and ceramics, printmaking, and jewelry and metalsmithing. I find myself very fascinated by the ability

There are two contemporary artists who influence me to be an artist in general: Georgia O’Keeffe and Jesse Lane. Other than the fact that Georgia O’Keeffe lived to be 99 years old, the way that Georgia O’Keeffe painted flowers and her use of color astonishes me, altogether she has become an inspiration to me since I was in middle school. I could go on and on about how amazed I am at how she manages to paint her flowers so beautifully and delicately. Moreover, the artist, Jesse Lane is a very talented artist that draws hyper realistic color pencil drawings. The amount of detail and attention to detail that Jesse puts into his drawings is eye-catching to me. I also find it interesting how someone can be so talented they are able to trick the mind into seeing something three-dimensional on a two-dimensional surface. Additionally, while I do in fact have artistic influences, I do not copy them, instead I might like the way they did something and use their technique in my own way.

While I have learned a lot about art and the different ways it has changed throughout time, I am more than aware there is more for me to learn, not to mention, my skills can be perfected more as no one is never exactly a true master with something. I hope that my artistic skills can be more perfected than they are in today’s time, and I want to one day be able to draw or paint hyper realistically. Other than this, I would like to someday be able to accurately as well as easily be able to convey feelings and a story through my art.
Kendra Lobb Art399 Portfolio

Kendra Lobb

My work is about control and freedom brought on by options. Growing up in a broken home, I felt like all the decisions were made for me. The little freedoms I had through choices were limited, and many of them seemed trivial. The feeling of being trapped in situations that I did not choose pushed me to make a place to vent. The process of creating art allowed me to make a world that had order and power. I could go into autopilot, becoming absorbed in the process and forget reality. I got to make the rules and decided what to do, and reveal them to people. While I keep myself in control over myself, I don’t want to have that power over other people. I want to give others the freedom I felt I was denied by creating works that give the audience choices.

My work currently consists of large-scale linear wood sculptures and geometric handheld metal objects. Each piece relies heavily on the process and the difficulty of completing a piece. Putting on the display of control and compulsive in the way I work. The large difference in scale and medium gives separation to my work. My large-scale wood sculptures reflect the internal struggle that I have, while my metalwork is created with the intent of the audience interacting with them. Putting the audience in the decision-making chair, as they are the ones that get to decide on a works use. Furthering the idea of giving viewers choices I use geometric shapes. They allow for an open interpretation of its purpose because are fewer perceived conceptions associated with the forms. They bring comfort because of the set rules and predictability that are assigned to them.

The artists that I’m currently looking to are Brendan Jamison, Jill Townsley, and Giampaolo Babetto. I feel like I relate to Jamison’s work in the sense that I also find myself using repetitive processes. I relate to Townsley’s method, but unlike her, I still want that end product to be tangible for viewer interaction. The process is equally as crucial to the end product. Babetto uses geometric shapes in his work because he finds the forms pure. While I don’t see them as pure, I believe they are comforting because of their set rules.
Keleigh Mabry ART 399 Portfolio

Keleigh Mabry

I have always wondered what it’s like in other people’s minds. Sonder - the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own. The comfort I find in realizing everyone’s lives are as terrible and beautiful as my own has been an inspiration for my artwork. I began journaling in 2019 and taking psychology courses my Sophomore year. I've learned that these things naturally go together for me.

Our beautiful and complex lives can also be laced with mental health issues. Depicting mental health in visually intriguing images drives my current body of work. I first took my printmaking class in 2018, and once I discovered silkscreen, I found a home. In my art, I specifically alter identity with human figures, except the figure’s head is often replaced with something: a goldfish, a pair of scissors, a mushroom cap, leaves, etc. The idea of amalgamating things together that don’t belong is accompanied by free, organic flowing lines that are unrestrained and reminiscent of a blind contour. These objects as the head are often items that I think of fondly and find many meanings to. I first became interested in psychology around 2018. I have always struggled with my mental health and creating these surreal artworks allows me to talk about that.

Screenprint is a medium that allows me to create fine lines and color combinations that enhance my surreal narratives. In addition to the formal qualities the ability to produce multiples allows me to make work that I can promote, distribute, and keep for my portfolio. Accessibility to art has always felt pertinent to me. I’ve always wanted multiple people with my artworks in their homes, a sight they see daily.
Kirsten Moore Art 399 Portfolio

Kirsten Moore

My work questions our perceptions of space and time. I am interested in the way my personal experiences and choices are both shaped by time and are constantly changing. This ranges from broader struggles with health and identity to everyday decisions about fashion or conversations with friends. Our perceptions of our individual lives change over time, and past versions of ourselves can intermix and influence our present selves. There is nothing more intriguing to me than blending multiple dimensions by overlapping realistic figures with a two-dimensional pattern and allowing them to merge into a single landscape. This transports the viewer into a different version of reality and allows them to be open to new ideas or ways of thinking. I also incorporate non-naturalistic colors, which can change the meaning of a piece, allowing there to be questions about whether the piece is set in the same reality as ours or not.

Recently, I have been drawn to my personal perfection of Christianity and how I, along with fellow Christians and non-Christians, view it. I challenge what the world and other Christians define as “Christian” or “Christ-like.” I find unique and often challenging ways to introduce the God I share my heart and soul with, while also still taking into consideration the views of others. Through this exploration of the world's view of Christ and Christianity is a fairly new one, I know that these paintings encourage people to view a religion that I hold very near and dear to my heart in a new light; one that may challenge the preconceived notions God and the Church for both Christians and non-Christians alike.

My artwork often takes into consideration my interests, experiences, and emotions, such as my PTSD, insomnia, childhood memories, religion, and individual choices about fashion or sexuality. When looking at my pieces, we can see a common visual theme of using patterns. In my piece “CHANGES,” there is a pattern of repeating exclamation points on one part of the diptych and repeating question marks on the other half. Within my pieces “Fashion: In Squares,” “Tip Toe,” and “Checkmate”, you can see a repeating pattern of black and white squares, reminiscent of a chessboard. There is also a pattern of stylistic, minimalist eyes in my “Insomnia” works, spreading across painting, ceramics, and digital media. Finally, you can see the pattern in my “Sisters” piece, with X’s and O’s filling the background, reminiscent of a tic-tac-toe game. All of these patterns, the same repeated images, are meant to show patterns in life--simple, repeated cycles, and habits we form over time. These patterns and habits can change our worldview, how we simply see and interact with others, time, and even ourselves. These cyclical patterns merge with our perceptions of reality, fading in and out of memory, overlapping our conscious and subconscious, creating a new mind space.

I am drawn to artists who make us question reality in some way. Ideas imagined by renowned surrealists intrigue me, much like Devan Shimoyama and his use of blending two dimensions of reality or consciousness. Though he isn’t a traditional surrealist, the way he uses patterns to flatten out the design of his figures and their environment creates such a surrealist atmosphere; an atmosphere where reality and other planes of dimensions merge into one space. Dawn Mellor creates a very similar space of diverting from a pure sense of reality by placing bold, eccentric patterns over the faces of her figures, distorting their features and their place in that world. This manipulation allows you to question why they are in that space, if they are the only ones like that, or if everyone shares that similar style and look. This mimics the color choice of my “Nonchalant” and “Sisters” piece, making you wonder if they are the only ones with such color in the realm they exist in. Yayoi Kusama’s use of repetitive circles in two-toned environments influences how I decide to implement color and pattern. For Kusama, the repetition of consistent circles playing throughout each of her pieces provokes me to dive deeper into the realm of repetition throughout my pieces. This allows for the same pattern to be seen throughout each of my pieces that carries the same concept, like the stylistic eyes in my insomnia-related work. I want my work to open new ways of thinking for my viewers, either about their own life or the lives of others. For my religious pieces, though these atmospheres do not directly mimic the style of this artist, I look to Chris Woods as a role model in the arch of modern Christian art. The way he puts Christ in very modern and public social settings is fascinating, and it makes you wonder what His role is in this earth today versus when He was alive and how relevant, close or distanced we are to Christ as a society today.

I hope to make room for more content from our internal conversations with ourselves to make their way into our daily external conversations with others. Hopefully, in this way, my work can open a gateway to a new and more open reality.
Kerrie Pullen ART 399 Digital Commons

Kerrie Pullen

Paper is a material that is all around us and has been telling stories for centuries, blurring the line between dimensional planes. I began using paper for its obvious function – to draw upon and express thoughts and ideas. Communicating is a vital part of the art process, and the more I drew the more the images and ideas created took on a new function, a new language. I’ve come to realize that drawing is a highly fluid process that resists categorization. I cut and layer paper, drawings, mixed media materials, and 3D elements within my large-scale works, maneuvering multiple drawing techniques and approaches to discover parts of my identity.

When thinking about my identity, I realized an aspect of myself I never felt allowed to be connected with was my Filipino heritage. I am bicultural, being half white and half Filipino. Initially I was disinterested in making work about my culture as I felt like I was participating in the exotification of the Philippines, especially as someone who has no experiences being there. However, it now has become important for me to make work about being Filipino-American because I never knew how to define it and I thought the best way to do so was through creating images I could relate to. The questions of, “Am I Filipino enough to be this? Who am I to know anything about what it means to be Filipino?” constantly arises. Therefore, I’m currently exploring Filipino culture through researching and speaking to those within my family and out who are born Filipino American. Through this, I am able to begin to understand my own identity. I do not want to seem like I am trying to speak for all Filipinos and say, ‘This is what it means to be Filipino!’ I’m only speaking from my experiences and drawing out personal and Philippines/Fil Am history that I find interesting when thinking about bicultural identities. With my drawings and installations I want to both validate who I am to myself, while also creating a form of representation for other FilAms who have trouble with molding into one strict category.

I incorporate references to details and symbols familiar to Filipinos such as food, fashion, family, and folklore. I incorporate aspects like textiles, assemblage, real food, and using found objects to further push the conceptual ideas in my body of work. Depending on the conceptual idea behind a piece, I use colors to represent specific ideas or historical and cultural aspects. For instance, in one of my recent pieces I reference the border from a manuscript called Boxer Codex that was made by the Spanish in the late sixteenth century in the Philippines. This manuscript was made during the late eighteenth century when the Spanish colonized the Philippines, so I reference the flat, bright colors they used in combination with the way I draw and collage contemporarily to give back that power to the Filipina posed within. When it comes to composition, I try to arrange objects and forms in a way that is complex but still accessible to the viewer; so, if I include real food for the viewer to consume or an object to physically take from the work, I position it in a way that they have to get closer to what I want emphasized or they have to look up to a figure while they bend down to pick something up. I also arrange figures and elements so my work has visual movement and a lot of details to look for, as if the viewers must follow along to a map of Filipino culture and discover it as I am doing at the same time. I use a lot of implied lines with where figures I incorporate gaze towards, or with the direct lines and paint marks I apply for the viewer to follow along to. I gravitate to creating large-scale drawings and I do this to focus on the effect that line, color, and negative space have on an idea and how this can be manipulated and directed to successfully relate to the figurative subject matter.

The figures I draw are representational and often include members of my family or myself who pose and interact narratively. I have begun to use myself as a main “Filipina American” character, and ended up developing a bit of a mythology around who the Filipina American is. I’m interested in the idea of including different womanly bodies who personify my American side and my Filipino side, and referencing old photographs to flesh out new meanings. I also use my mother often presented as a woman with a carabao (water-buffalo) head, who represents the positive characteristics of Filipinos as hardworking, strong, and graceful. Additionally I investigate my ancestry through my assemblage drawings and have this belief that the more work I make about family members I never met, the more I can piece together the kind of person they might’ve been. Being aware of my relationships or lack of, with certain family members, definitely impacts the way I view my identity as someone who holds responsibility towards sustaining culture and tradition.

Interaction with the viewer is imperative, as, especially when thinking about my audience where I live in rural America, I want others who are unfamiliar with this culture to feel a connection as well. An artist that influences my work is Leonard Suryajaya who creates installations and large scale scenes that he records and takes photos of. He often puts himself in these pieces as he is also Asian American. I take inspiration from how he sets up his installations to have multiple symbols that relate to both his cultural dichotomy and his sexuality. Another artist I take inspiration from is Maia Cruz Palileo. She is a Filipina American artist who makes large scale interactive installations and paintings. Her installations are often scenes from her childhood or scenes based on stories she heard from her family about migration, and viewers can sit and experience the memories she illustrates. These artists both push me to think about making drawings that incorporate more 3D elements in a way that is accessible to my audience, which I am experimenting with now.
The Lens of Suicide

Chad Reeder

I have been shaped by loss. My art is deeply personal and is directly informed by the effects of suicide. I make art as a way to confront the reality of losing many loved ones and as a way to reconnect to the world by seeking friendships through conversations about suicide. Through photography and video my work challenges the stigma of suicide in order to save lives. I do this formally through different perspectives of light, pattern, shape and form. Additionally I print on larger format so that the viewer is overwhelmed as I have been with dealing with so much loss. My work uses symbolic representation through fire, doors and light fixtures to cast a different light onto suicide. I am interested on representing moments/scenes that can be interpreted as rebirth or the moment of death. For if suicide is not constantly talked about society will continue to lose beloved souls to their own unseen struggles.
Gretchen Ruth Art399 Portfolio

Gretchen Ruth

My work comes from a place of tension between trying to understand the world and being understood. My current focus is making work that has more centralized and serious concepts. Despite some naturalistic elements that are often seen throughout my works,

I intentionally combine these elements along with imagery that brings the viewer to a made-up or dream-like reality . One of the most important aspects to these types of works, especially more recently, is my use of color. Throughout a lot of my work, I utilize form and proportion as well as color to emphasize the ambience of the scene or object. This comes from the idea of art itself being a visual language and being able to have a silent, one way conversation with the image or object you are viewing. However, a lot of my artistic process is pushed by improvisation.

During my artistic process, I write down thoughts I have as much as possible throughout the day. I used to spend time figuring out exactly what I wanted a piece to say. However, I have discovered that it becomes mentally draining to try to plan out every intricacy of a piece, so recently I have started projects without a clear end goal. I like to experiment and see how processes and elements work afterwards. Some examples of this method are evident in most of my metalsmithing works ( Image 1&3). If I am not satisfied with the results of his intuitive process, I keep reworking and problem solving a piece until it works. It can be a mental rollercoaster, but I enjoy that aspect of it so I try to keep challenging myself to make something different and more interesting than the last piece I made. The steps taken to develop a piece usually lead me to discover new conceptual ideas throughout the process. For example, my final piece could have no meaning when I start out but during the process of making that piece I come to a realization of what I am wanting to convey and how to articulate that. Recently, I’ve been interested in exploring the dynamics of interpersonal relationships, especially the maternal relationship between my mother and I (Image 2). Although I’ve never put much thought into what family is and how it affects me personally, I’m now realizing that my family is one of my biggest influences.

Everyone in my household is creative either artistically or musically, so there was always something being made or played. Remembering this fact, it seems quite natural for me to have started making drawings as a form of expression and communication because that was always my main purpose. However, it was more difficult to find contemporary artists that I can relate to and be truly influenced by until I discovered Dan Miller. He is an active member at the Creative Growth Art Center in Oakland,California. His work focuses on understanding and processing the world and communicating with it (Image 4). His message really resonated with me because I’m finding that's also what I want to convey in my own work.

(Image 1: Gretchen Ruth; Image 2: Gretchen Ruth; Image 3: Gretchen Ruth; Image 4 : Dan Miller)
Kaley Shackelford ART 399 Portfolio

Kaley Shackelford

Ideas are like fish. You don't make the fish. You catch the fish. You have to convince them to come to you. You can catch ideas from daydreaming, or you can catch ideas from places. ~ David Lynch

We all participate in escapism in some form, and ever since I was a child, my vice was starring off into nothingness, dreaming of romanticized scenes, often landscapes loosely based on the familiar curving fields and dense, luxuriant woods of rural West Tennessee. This pastime has been a prime source for the ideas explored within my paintings, particularly the human relationship with our natural environment and both the positive and negative aspects of that interaction.

The stories told by the work are often autobiographical in some regard, unwilling — and perhaps unable — to disconnect my experiences, body, and feelings from the paint. Artists such as Elly Smallwood and Jennifer Presant who center around subjects such as the female form and elements of the natural world have influenced the paintings immensely. The works sometimes bend the traditional representation of space, rather using varying degrees of detail and paint thickness to draw emphasis to specific parts. These areas of thickness are sometimes built up with experimental materials, such as hair, dried paint scraps, and salt. The juxtaposition of these textured, sometimes grimy areas and the vibrant, rendered wilderness reinforce the strange, daydream-like quality of the work.

The paintings are always asking the viewer to insert themselves, to envision their dreams or reflect on their experiences within the landscape. There is often a quiet action in the midst of taking place – perhaps a flower being lain down or a dance amongst the trees – but the paint captures only one second in time, one still glance. Yet, you finish the action, you watch hands move and wind whistle through trees as the rest unfolds in your own imagination. A stark contrast presents itself between pure, blooming pieces of Nature and the filth or dull sterility both so accurately associated with modernity. These cold corners of reality come flooding in, if only as a reminder that, for now, this is where we are, and the rest is just paint.
Daisy Slucher Art399 Portfolio

Daisy Slucher

I am primarily a painter but use other mediums, such as videography, to further explore themes and flesh out my ideas. I make work about the over-sexualization of the female body that asks, “how can I give power back to the woman?” I defy the notion that women are sexual objects by portraying female figures in my paintings holding a confident gaze with the viewer almost challenging them to keep looking. Most of the figures are partially undressed to communicate the idea that a naked woman does not mean she is performing a sexual act or wanting to. I use bold, cautionary colors meant to catch attention and force the viewer to draw closer to the subject matter. Discarded clothes are a common piece of imagery that comes up across mediums and serves as a representation of this small boundary between a woman's body and the outside world. In my work, these objects are often placed on the ground to question whether the disposal of it is cause for alarm or part of sexual courtship. Part of my practice is community-based, through conversations about the female experience. These conversations inform my work and give me the courage to explore subject matter that can feel daunting to address.

I am deeply inspired by the painters Jenna Gribbon and Scott Avett. Jenna Gribbon is also depicting female forms that confront the male gaze and normalize the female nude to be something more than just sexual. The way she intentionally chooses to highly render some parts of the painting, like the subject’s butt to acknowledge that she knows you’re looking at it, to the way that she is able to simplify and suggest other parts in just a few strokes to better carry out her narrative is an inspiring technique to me. Scott Avett shows relationship dynamics and how vulnerable they are in the way he organizes his paintings. He plays with composition and scale in an interesting way that combines different settings and creates his own world, something I’ve tried doing in my own work. His subject matter is often mundane, but it draws you in because there seems to be a level of relatability. His brushwork is loose and he exaggerates colors to the point where the imagery feels slightly fantastical. I think brightly saturated subject matter paired with monotony is a common theme in my own work and something I would like to keep pushing.
Makayla Tapp ART399 Portfolio

Makayla Tapp

My artwork is spurred from past experiences and memories, ocean life, and family, often combining several different influences into one work. I am drawn to concepts such as childhood/nostalgia, memories, misplacement, and the unknown, in both my own works and others’. I have a deep connection to the ocean and like to incorporate it into my work as well. My process usually includes looking at other peoples’ work in order to spur my thinking. This means looking at their processes and techniques, which often gives me ideas and encourages my own thinking for a piece. I then begin looking at various reference images to get an exact idea for how I want my composition to look, and finally sketch. I generally want my art to evoke curiosity in the viewer. I want the viewer to question what it is exactly that they’re looking at or why it’s something I decided to focus on. I don’t always want my chosen concept to be clear.

At this point in time I don’t have a specific subject that I want to focus on in my work. There isn’t one single concept that speaks to me more than the others, and I am enjoying making art about what I like or am interested in at that moment in time. I usually enjoy working with drawing, painting, and most recently printmaking. I am currently interested in many different mediums. I tend to make work in a more stylized fashion, leaning away from realism most often. I enjoy a stylized approach more in my own artwork because I don’t like feeling the specific constraints of making a work that is naturalistic. Instead of having to focus on making a piece look recognizable, I can focus on my own processes and make it look how I believe it should. I find that the more realistic I try to make a work, the less enjoyable it becomes. The work begins to lose meaning because I focus too much on trying to perfect it. My work often takes on a more cartoon-like effect, with bolder outlines and playful qualities.

I don’t draw inspiration from very many outside artists, as I’m still trying to figure out what I want to create art about. However, one artist that I draw influence from is Margaret Wertheim, who creates crocheted coral reefs. Although her medium is far different from my own, I draw inspiration from her concepts as her work has a deep connection to the ocean. Another artist I look to is Cindy Sherman, or more particularly her series of self portraits where she portrays herself as various family members. This concept is interesting to me because I enjoy making art about my own family as well.
Autumn Brown Art399 Portfolio

Autumn Brown

It is easier to approach a difficult topic if it isn’t immediately posed as threatening or sacred. The viewer’s ability to enjoy my pieces, regardless of their prior experience with the subject matter, is my priority. My primary means of creating my work is through drawing, with the end products taking the form of animations and zines. Sequential art provides a unique opportunity to form a relationship with the viewer during the short time they interact with the piece, which many drawings can’t accomplish in the same way. Zines and animations are highly shareable and exist as an experience as much as they do a “piece.”

I was raised in a community that was socialized to not empathize with LGBTQ+ people or the subsequent mental health issues that can come with that experience. As a member of both communities, it was natural to be hyper-aware of my differences growing up and thus spent a lot of time thinking about identity and how people perceive one another. As an artist, the subject matter I am drawn to is the result of that introspection; especially surrounding gender and sexuality, and the way that this inevitably ties in with mental health. I find power in making these themes relatable to people that wouldn’t typically share, or even resent, my experiences. By doing this I hope to remove some of the stigma associated with “otherness.”
Healing

Hsuan Hsiu Cheng

I am from Taiwan, and I transferred from Ming Dao University (MDU) in Taiwan. When I was in Taiwan, most of my artworks were metalworking. After I came to Murray State, my artworks are mostly ceramics and sculpture. For my ceramics, I’m attracted to do hand-building, casting, and molding.

Some of my artworks ideas are influenced by my Christian faith. For example, one of my sculptures is an ocean wave. I used the movement of waves to represent God’s power. Also, there is a series of bottles I made; I used that series to describe my life with different stages in how the Lord has changed me. Some of my artwork ideas also are influenced by my emotional feelings, like depression, struggles, peace, and joy. I want the viewer to feel touched when they see my work. When people see artwork, they might comment on how it looks at first, but I care more about the meanings and ideas behind the art pieces.

I like abstract art styles, and I want to combine my three dimensional art pieces with abstract style. For example, I am interested in Hunter Stamps’ abstract ceramic vase because his vase is not just a vase standing there; its abstract style gives you inspiration and different feelings.

I like emotion-provoking and dynamic movement pieces. For example, I am interested in Canova’s sculptures. His sculptures have many different movements on it, and the sculpture looks like it is really moving. Also, you can see the emotions in his pieces. Especially the emotion in his pieces, they give me ideas for my artwork.

All in all, I like to do ceramics and sculptures. Three dimensional, it makes me feel happy. I'm interested in abstract styles and emotion-provoking pieces. My artworks are usually influenced by my Christian faith, emotional feelings, people’s struggle, and the story of my life.
Kiley Cox ART 399 Digital Commons

Kiley Cox

My artwork uses the organic forms found in nature as metaphors to express human emotions. The incorporation of nature is used as a tool to evoke a sense of community as it is something that we all appreciate collectively. My drawings are made to be relatable in that way so that different viewers can have different interpretations. For some people, they can evoke a sense of happiness or nostalgia, while for others it can create a feeling of sadness or being overwhelmed.

My drawing process is improvisational in nature. I discover the emotion that I want to explore through the observation of people around me, whether that be people close to me or complete strangers. I then create iconographic images from the flora or fauna to portray that emotion. Inspirations come from directly observing my environment, including the behavior of those around me. For example, by paying attention to the music people listen to, the things they are passionate about, and their expressions and body language, I can often discover the emotion I’m looking for to explore in my work. I approach these emotions in my work through a range of linework in charcoal and pen that draw attention through intensity and boldness.

Christina Mrozik is my biggest role model and influence. Her work is often accompanied by a poem or monologue themed around the internal battles we all share. These struggles are then represented in her drawings which consist often of a hybrid of both organic and inorganic forms. She is able to accomplish manipulating these hybrids into something that looks like it could be anatomically correct, which is something I’ve tried adopting within my work. Her work is what got me to start developing myself as an artist and the kind of art I wanted to make. Ali Norman is a printmaker who has influenced my art more recently. A lot of her art relies heavily on linework, which is something I’ve been improving on lately.Another artist who has been a great influence is Erica Williams, an illustrator who specializes in flora and fauna. Her use of composition is what influences me the most, as she uses her entire space and will even go off the page creating an overwhelming and all-consuming atmosphere within her work.
Fife, Malcolm Art 399 Portfolio

Malcolm Fife and Malcolm Fife

My life would make a perfect decadent novel. Nothing happens, but it happens with style. The time we live in now is an exceedingly decadent one, and I am interested in making connections and comparisons to periods of historical decadence. Aesthetically and thematically I am interested in the art and literature of the 1890s and 1920s, especially the Aesthetic, Decadent, and Art Nouveau movements. Art that is ornate and intricate attracts me. Superfluous ornament is something that makes life more bearable. One way this shows up is a consistent use of historical settings in my work. The people in my art are usually dressed in the fashion of one hundred years ago or earlier.

My painting style draws on Sir William Orpen, John Singer Sargent, and Anders Zorn (for instance, I painted two self portraits inspired by self portraits painted by Orpen) and my drawings and prints are influenced by the style of Aubrey Beardsley, Harry Clarke, and Edward Gorey. I am frequently inspired by decadent authors and literature, especially the Welsh author Arthur Machen. Machen has inspired me so much that I am working on a series of illustrations for his novel the Three Impostors. Films, especially the silent films of Louis Feuillade and Fritz Lang, inform the architecture and settings in which I place the people I draw as well as the clothes they wear.

My art should look as if it had been created in the late nineteenth or early twentieth centuries. Viewers ought to feel transported to an earlier era. The content of the art should be able to speak for itself and the message should be relatively easy for the viewer to interpret instead of being highly ambiguous and cryptic. I want my art to work on multiple levels. The visual aspect should be aesthetically pleasing even if the viewer is not contemplating the message.

The media I work in the most are drawing, printmaking, and painting. For different media, I use different styles. I think the medium should call attention to itself and should not be self-effacing. My pen and ink drawings and prints are very linear; the mark making is very precise and controlled. I use little to no smooth shading (i.e. graphite or charcoal) in my drawings. If I do employ shading, I use stippling to render more three dimensional forms with light and shadow. Usually, I fill in darker areas using a series of parallel diagonal or horizontal lines that extend the entire length of the interior of the form. This is a highly artificial style of drawing and thus very decadent, for the Decadent movement was preoccupied with artifice. In general, I try to use a similar style to that of my drawings in my prints; however, the only form of my printmaking with a very different style from my drawings is mezzotint. My style for mezzotint is necessarily much more naturalistic and I focus on depicting the play of light. When I paint, I also use a much more naturalistic, albeit more looser and painterly, style. And as with my mezzotints, something important to the feel of my paintings is the depiction of light.

Since the start of the pandemic I have become interested in comparing historic diseases and pandemics, such as the plague and the 1918 flu, with what is happening today. For example, I have done a mezzotint of plague bacteria and I am working on several paintings that deal with the Great Plague of 1665 in London. Viewing today’s problems through the lens of similar historic events can add interesting insights. Because of these historical interests, research and reading about historical images and texts is an important part of my artistic process.
Art 399 Portfolio

Christopher Gill

Moving to Kentucky from a small Central American country has definitely shaken a lot about what I thought I knew of the world and painting is a sort of way to express what things are ‘shaking’ currently for me and how it continuously shakes me. My artwork reveals certain key points in a childhood experience unique to Belize. Imagery used and settings are strongly influenced by local art styles from the country. Strong themes of discrimination, marginalization, inner and outer dialogues about interpersonal ideas and society’s violently inflicted and delicately or sloppily treated wounds, all these ideas are set in tropical, real life day to day scenes of the Caribbean region are to speak on them from a native’s queer point of view.

Oil & Acrylic on wood panels and canvas are preferred materials for my personal process. A digital collection of references that may not include figures, patterns, textures and prints as well as Belizean history books and records inspire a lot of my art as I can draw a lot from more relatable experiences of my own life and translate it into a universally recognizable moment. As reference and inspiration artists like Francois Boucher from the Rococo period influence my pieces heavily. The themes of Freedom, love and opulence call me to bathe Belizean queers in the love and attention they deserve with my art. More contemporary artists such as Milt Koboyashi, Cheyenne Jackson, and Kehinde Wiley are artists who have certain skills and styles that my work aligns with and can learn from theirs.

Certain things are important for the work such as a strong reference to my country of origin (a personal fight against assimilation), as well as a representation of those not seen. I not only want to give voices to my fellow queer peers that I grew up with, but I also want to create an oppurtunity to talk about these things together at the middleground. Figures and bright, saturated colors, not only mimic the style of Belizean artists but as well fakes a dream-like internal surreal scenery that is to insinuate the conversation is happening somewhat within reality.
Ian Gresham ART 399 Portfolio

Ian Gresham

I am an artist who primarily, medium-wise, works digitally in Photoshop, using a Wacom Cintiq 16 so that I may draw directly on the screen - allowing me to be especially precise when creating my work. Working digitally is mess-free, and allows me more flexibility than traditional oils and acrylics - so that I can either get rid of mistakes hassle free, or experiment without having to worry about the paint drying or the experiment turning out to not work in the end. I also just find it plain fun to use, the software is always changing and being updated, and there are a variety of different brushes to find online and experiment with (some of which can’t even exist traditionally) so that I may improve my workflow. In addition, the ability to change colors on the fly, and use the eyedropper tool to select specific colors from you piece, makes mixing colors and finding new ones simple and easy. I make the work that I want to make, and a lot of times I want to make work that’s off-the-wall, a little humorous, and (at times) just a little erotic without it becoming pornographic. Growing up as a queer man in the heart of the bible belt meant that I had to supress my views and my own sense of self - and creating this work allows to finally be, in the purest sense of the word, myself. In addition, working at a place known for it’s problematic views on queer people (Chick-Fil-A) gave me a new set of ideas and new perspectives to pull from for my work - using the sort of hunger (both literal and mental) that food and the cult of personality created by certain brands of food have, I’ve made work about me personally, the restaurant itself, and the effects it’s had on me and others (mainly customers.) A large chunk of my inspiration comes from music - as I’ll listen to it while working, and it’ll inadvertently influence what the final piece ends up as. More often than not, this ends up being Tyler, The Creator - as his often outspoken, synth laden beats end up influencing how my pieces end up, when I listen to him. Artistically, I’ve found myself drawn more towards queer artists like Ali Franco and Hugh Steers - Franco’s more erotic work has served as a good point of inspiration for some of my work that involves more erotic subject matter (humorous as they may or may not be) while Steers’ more heartfelt, heart-wrenching pieces resonate with me as a queer man.
Jasmine Groves ART 399 Portfolio

Jasmine Groves

For most of us, the first space we identify ourselves with is the domestic sphere. This is where the objects and people that we have chosen (or had chosen for us) live, grow, and move about. We interact with everything differently in our domestic spaces, especially in private.

Both directly and indirectly, I have thought about this in my artwork, especially in my sculptural pieces. I am attracted to furniture, clothes, and jewelry that have been used or made to look used. I like to arrange these objects in a way that seems natural, or in a way that creates a narrative about personal space. This interest stems from a strong connection I have to my heritage.

In my 2018 installation Years Have Passed, I focus on the kinds of toys that a young boy might have. As these toys make contact with the wooden shelf, they begin to lose their color, signifying an ended childhood. Located within the installation was a small music box that was to be played during viewings, emphasizing a nostalgic quality. A more recent work is a small upright jewelry case that I produced this semester, also a domestic object. For this specifically, I avoided making the container a simple box, and went with a more organic pea-pod shape. I found that the unusual shape brought attention to how the object might stand in relation to other pieces.

My inspiration comes from artists Mickalene Thomas and Nick Cave. I first saw Thomas’ work in 2017 in an exhibition titled Mentors, Muses, and Celebrities. In the main room, there were four televisions playing videos of women singing Angelitos Negros, a song about the lack of brown-skinned angels in religious paintings. Centered in front of this was a large lounge area, complete with a multicolored 70s style rug, ottomans, small houseplants, and books written by black authors. This domestic space became a curated environment for the video installation to be considered in. Nick Cave, similarly, works with found objects and fabric. He is a fan of “bells and whistles” so to speak, but many of his works refer to or utilize household objects.The art objects, while not utilitarian, reference the duality between texture and sound. He also refers to African heritage and the black struggle in America through the use of Dutch wax fabric. Using specific African fabrics and domestic objects is something I would like to experiment with in the future. As an art history nerd, I often try to integrate well-known motifs or other elements from other artists. In my Psychological Self Portrait, I borrowed a pose from Alexandre Cabanel’s 1847 painting Fallen Angel. My passion for art history influences the themes that I choose to highlight in my work.

When I graduate, I would like to go to graduate school and pursue a degree in museum or curatorial studies. The practice and diligence I have acquired through being an artist will always help me in any career I may pursue.
Archie Hardesty Art 399 Portfolio

Archie Hardesty

The queer lifestyle fascinates me because of all the different facets that the queer community has within it. The ideas of love, intimacy, safety, feelings, confusion, pride, sex etc. are so pervasive within this community that all of it swirls into one big melting pot. My work reflects the confusion that is seen with the two juxtaposing sides of the queer community but also the stereotypes and lifestyle choices the straight community throws at me.

When thinking of my work the first word that comes to mind should be “gender binary.” Where do I fall into this binary as a male presenting person that holds feminine characteristics? How does the binary work in other relationships whether same sex or opposite sex? How is sex and gender perceived to me whether it be straight or queer? Through the use of photo, video, and other 2D works, inviting the viewer in for a closer look or even forcing them to look through either full frontal imagery or forcing them to listen and become emotional is what is important. It is important for people to question where they fall in the binary and what they can do to break it. Showing the viewer how the world is ran by masculine views and ideologies and how the artist and everyday person can break it is one of the goals. I want people to question how they present and is that the way they want to present or is it how the world wants them to present? Are we breaking free from these stereotypes or are we reinforcing them unknowingly?

The world is not a kind place for the queer community, and I am willing to show how, as a queer person, I view the world. Being abrasive is not a bad thing when it comes to presenting these ideas, but also creating this kind appreciative and loving environment is also possible in my work because this community does have these moments. By using photos and videos of real queer people, it enhances that these people exist.

The need for gender inclusivity and sex positivity is quite dire in this country and the main goal is to be inclusive and make sure every single side of the story is heard. Since the queer community’s voice is meek at the moment. Then I want my art to scream for them.
The Journey of Storytelling

Keimya Harris

Whenever we think of stories most of us can visualize what the setting and the characters look like. Within my work I strive to take storylines from my imagination and bring them to life. For my work I aspire to bring important aspects of stories to life by creating illustrations that deal with fantasy worlds that deal with creatures and people that inspire viewers to embrace their inner child or feel as if they're a part of the story. To achieve my goal of bringing different and unique storylines alive I use different mediums such as ink, marker, and colored pencil to help give life to these stories by capturing the viewer with vibrant or subtle colors and detailed line marking. The different medium contributes to my vision because it can give the characters and landscapes a stylized but life-like feel or make the audience feel as if they're in a storybook. Things that have helped me towards this journey are Bella Rachlin, Tony Jackson, Bobby Chiu, and many more. Each of the artists that are a big influence to me allow me to take a step back and see the worlds I visualize in ways I may never have considered. When I make each piece of work I always think of what kind of story I want to tell and what emotions that I want to make my audience feel. On this continuing journey I am taking as a storyteller I hope that I continue to bring out the child within my audience and make them want to use their imagination.
James Inmon Art399 Portfolio

James Inmon

My work has its roots in structures; the regularity of structural components feel right to me and serves as a counterpoint to the visual noise of the natural world. My most recent work has focused on houses and home structures. Most contemporary houses are only a slight variation on one another, and there doesn’t seem to be too many models to choose from. The suburbs are full of sameness which can become pattern. This observation sparked my interest, so with my latest pieces I’ve been exploring this idea of multiplicity in a suburban setting, whether it be with a watercolor painting or a wooden sculpture of a house.

I’m a person who likes puzzles; I’m in love with the process of finding a solution to a problem. Similarly I enjoy exploring the things around me to try and better understand their nature and how they exist and function. I treat my art as a practice of exploring and comprehending the world around me. This method of understanding is why I find woodworking so enjoyable; it is a medium filled with processes that require you intimately understand your material. It’s constantly checking your knowledge and testing you, and if you happen to make a mistake you’ll know immediately.

I’ve been looking at how Jerry Bedor Phillips utilizes the interaction of shadows to help emphasize the forms of his bookbinding covers and I have embraced this in my recent house sculptures as a way to maintain a simple but pronounced shape. These concepts of suburbia become apparent when looking at my work; for example in my most recent piece Who’s Helen Beck, you see the form of a house that you could see a hundred times driving through any american suburb. It’s painted a light pastel color reminiscent of pastries to imply this is a cookie cutter form that has been dressed up just enough to be pleasing to the eye. There is also a lighting element that allows the windows to emit a soft warm glow to further assist this idea of visual comfort. I am currently working on four more similar houses to bring the topic of multiplicity deeper into the conversation my art poses.
Emma Mitchell

Emma Mitchell

The purest form of pleasure is found in simplicity; holding something meant to be held, touching a surface meant to be touched. My sculptural ceramic work focuses on embracing the childlike desire to reach out and touch. The textures visible on the sculptures heighten the viewer’s inclination to feel what they are seeing. Just as mugs are created to meet the lips of the drinker, my sculptures are built to meet the contours of the holder’s hands. This mirrors the effect of holding a child or caressing a loved one.

Many of my sculptures begin as a flat surface, created to meet the ground or table in such a way that implies growth, flourishing into a form resembling a figure with an enormous amount of life and energy. Although the form doesn’t necessarily mirror the figure exactly, it mimics elements found in the figure; curves, bumps, concaving surfaces, etc.

My chosen medium is clay because clay is natural, found on this earth, manipulated by hand. Clay is a living organism, growing and collapsing with the elements. The clay has memory, it remembers how it was formed, built. It can embrace the hand of the potter, or choose to reject it. I find beauty in the fact that ceramic failures can be recycled into something greater. The majority of my early sculptural endeavors collapsed or cracked in relation to the speed at which I was building and, as a result, were recycled. Now, I embrace impurities, honesty.

As I continue learning, I experiment more with different surfaces as well as the meanings behind them. The cracks, glaze drips, streaks, and imperfect surfaces remind me of the human body and the many imperfections associated with it; birth marks, scars, stretch marks, etc. No one is without imperfections; flaws provide character, personality. My work is meant to empower those who interact with it and give them a sense of safety and security by encouraging them to embrace impurities and less-than-perfect.
UtariusArt399Portfolio

Murray State University

My art is a visual representation of my emotions and the things I cannot say through the use of portraits and flowers. When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, this flower will have a different meaning to every person who holds it. The living beings and things I am painting are my outward expression of my experiences and the people in my life, but they can be understood in infinite ways by viewers. Art to me is a free space; a place with no rules, no restrictions, and no wrong way of doing anything, which can be a space of growth. My art depicts my emotions. These emotions are scattered, but honest. The work is mostly inspired by the outward struggles and problems of my everyday life, but hidden in a more abstract viewpoint that results in a more vague narrative. My pieces are figurative and surreal, and mostly depict flowers and portraits of close friends and family. With these living subjects, even the slightest difference in brushwork or color can change the identity of that person or plant. I love the different emotions you can press into a piece with organic forms and facial expressions. I want my art to show not only emotion but a sequence of different viewpoints that inspire a vivid form of communication, given to them through the way I combine these viewpoints in my art. My medium of choice is something that I can't confirm because there are so many to choose from, but that's the fun part of expressing myself because I can choose so many to improve my form of outward expression. I can still use the styles learned to bring forth the deeper emotion and communication. Some of the artists whose work I am in conversation with are Kehinde Wiley, Kara Walker, and Faith Rinngold. These artists all have separate components that give influence to my work. Kehinde’s work gives me the aspiration to add more narrative to my work complete with vivid color styles, Kara for her use of form to project scenes with her work, and Faith because the deeper narrative presented in her art work.