Module 13/14 Project 4 reflection blog

For this project I went down a simple format. My first step of course was to read all of the project guidelines and requirements. After that everything was up to me. So I sat and created a list of steps and organized my thoughts out for this project. The first thing I did was think, think for a little about what inspires, draws me in, moves me and what I could bring to this project. That week I was particularly wishing for home, wishing for the warmth of the summertime, my friends gathering for parties, the beach near my house… Suddenly I became saddened by the thought of the beach, Hurricane Sandy has destroyed it. I was a bit overwhelmed at the moment so I took a break. Breaks are often needed in the creative process and without them one cannot expect to accomplish anything other than a rushed piece of work. The next time I went back to the project I knew what I wanted to do. The ocean holds a special place in the fondest of my memories and is secured in my heart everlasting. But as with many things we sometimes can feel overpowered and frightened by something, even if it excites us. So it was blatantly clear to me that the project would focus on oceans, beaches and mainly overwhelming waves and tides. So I got to work, googling and searching through sites to find painting and artistic photographs of overwhelming oceans. Initially the task was complex and agitating and I was becoming increasingly discouraged by the lack of artwork I was finding. Regardless of the first day I kept beating on and lo and behold I finally found a plethora of pieces. Many of the works are similar in that the waves are massive and are caught in the moment just before the crash onto the shore. I unintentionally created this and I am completely satisfied with the outcome. A couple of works are going in at a different angle however; the colors are far more different than the rest. This was completely intentional. I aimed to show the viewers that color does not mean that it is any less of an ocean, color in and of it can in fact overwhelm and it was an effective way (or so I believe) to express this theory. Overall the project was somewhat laboring and a tad tedious. I didn’t expect to get so into it however I am glad that I did.