Hiding

ahhhh mixed media.

Isn't it lovely?

I just love going through my bins of ephemera and collected objects in hopes of finding the perfect combination of items to create a piece of art.

In this case, I am creating a piece of art to swap with a student in one of the clubs that I sponsor at school. The club is a Manga club, and while I'm not passionate about Manga, the girls in the club are very funky and love making art in their own sketchbooks.

One of the girls shared her latest works with me, and I asked if she'd like to swap art with me. I explained to her about how each artist has their own style that makes their art unique, and that to swap art with another artist would mean bringing something different into her realm. 

(I also didn't want her to think that I was going to create a Manga character for her!)

With this student in mind, I created this piece.

 I thought a lot about how it must feel to be a unique entity,
an artist in a school over almost 2000 other teenagers who tend to dress alike, do their hair in the same style, and speak the same way. 

Sometimes hiding is a much better deal. 

I used two canvasses for this piece. The small one has been glued to the large one, beside which sits a small square glass mirror. These two layers, the puzzle piece, the mirror, and the paper-doll dress (without the doll) are all very symbolic of the feelings that I sense from some of the teens in my classes.

I think that teens are much worse off today than when I was in high school with the constant stimulation of technology and more-abundant-than-ever presence of enticing and influential advertising. I could go into more detail, but I think I'll save these thoughts for another day.

In the meantime, what do you think of this piece?

Your comments are loved and deeply valued. Thanks for taking the time to look at my art.