The ball is rolling...

This past week I undertook a series of tasks. First, I finished my "Codex" piece from last week. Here are the final two images:

I'm not so pleased with the last one, which was supposed to be a rendering of fabric. I used the Venus sculpture in the lobby of Shwayder as my reference, but soon realized drawing fabric in sculptural form is a challenge. I made a mental note that I would like to practice drawing/painting fabric more from observation.

Next, I made a mixed media piece illustrating the Aztec mythological figure of Coyolxauhqui, goddess of the moon. I am currently in a Latina/o Communication class this quarter, and it is helping me learn about my heritage from a historical context. I read an article for class about the history of the goddess, and I became intrigued by the visual description of this ethereal being. This is my interpretation:

As suggested by Caleb, I would like to illustrate the other central figures in the legend of Coyolxauhqui, which would help me further explore rendering the male figure as well as expand upon the imagery. I am interested in the translation of historical accounts into stylistic images that are very "contemporary" for the subject matter. I am looking at real examples of Aztec costume, facial features, and glyphs as part of my research.

I also had the opportunity to edit some images I took of my beautiful friend (and professional model) Katie. I styled her in one of my sculptures that I made last quarter, added a bit of fabric, and came up with some shots I'm rather pleased with:

Although photography is not my main interest, I like to experiment with the medium and use it in ways I couldn't do with traditional media. This photoshoot allowed me to create a living, breathing "goddess", as opposed to the two-dimensional ones I draw/paint on paper. I would like to continue doing more fashion photography this quarter as well; I love the idea of producing editorials from the things I make myself.

As a side note, I have a finalized side-project, a chest-piece tattoo for a good friend of mine:

This was a fun piece to make; I referenced work of a few of my favorite tattoo artists, and had the opportunity to paint something in black and white which I usually do not do (I almost always paint in color).

Finally, I finished reading John Berger's Ways of Seeing. The most important points I took from the book were:

1. "Hair is associated with sexual power, with passion." (55)
2. "But all agree that it was a kind of momento mori: a play on the medieval idea of using a skull as a continual reminder of the presence of death." (91)
3. "The gestures of models (mannequins) and mythological figures; The poses taken up to denote stereotypes of women; The materials particularly used to indicate luxury" (138)

I found these quotes notable in respect to my work. They gave me new insight as to why I use some of the imagery that I do, and what conversations are created by repeating some of the same techniques or methods used by artists in the past.

I will be posting more in a few days... :)