so, everyone on project knows this, but the few others who read my blog don't yet... i want to quit my job. after spending 5 weeks surrounded by a community of people in my age group, i realized i'm totally lacking that in my daily life-- which isn't good. I realize it even more now, coming home from project, that i don't really have a lot of friends here. The few i have are amazing-- don't get me wrong-- but i just really want to have a community of people here that i can hang out with and get to know and love. more than just 4 or 5. and i realized that one of the biggest inhibitors of this peer-community situation is my job. spending 2 weeks straight with a 7 and 11 year old is not conducive to my 21 year old soul. i need to be 21. not a 42 year old mom with 2 kids. i'm not there yet-- i'm sick of playing that role.
but then Mother Logic (literally, my mother) fights back with:
*you're not going to find a job that pays this well (true-- but i'm not even making a fair wage for what i'm doing for this job)
*you're not paying for rent or your own groceries right now-- don't you REALIZE how much that costs? (no, really?)
*you need to reevaluate your role to this family, and think about why God put you here. (...because i hadn't even considered that...?)
...i mean, really, does my mom think i'm retarded and i haven't thought of those things?? i'm not completely naive. my question, though, is-- how do other college students manage to work, go to school, have a healthy social life, and still pay their rent and utilities? i'm pretty sure it's possible... anyway. i don't know what to do about this right now. and thinking about it just stresses me out. so. yeah. prayer-- lots of it.
anyway... thought i'd share the two major art pieces i worked on while i was in New York (there were 5 total, but these were the two "assignments"). the whole theme of the exhibit was "reHumanize"... essentially, we were focusing on what it means to be human, what God intended humanity to look like, how we've become dehumanized and how to fix it, etc...
#1: "Looking for Love" mirror, acrylic paint, plaster castthis is my first piece in response to the theme. I wanted to zoom in on the aspect of physical touch-- i think it is a vital piece of being human, and is an important love language. however, society has warped it in such a way that negative touch is over used, and positive touch is lacking. this piece is intended to draw in the viewer, but as they lean over to look down at this girl who is reaching up, they are forced to look at themselves... however, it is an obstructed view of themselves, because from certain angles the viewer will see the girl blocking their reflection. in short 1. We are the same as those we look down upon, and 2. we're all longing for connection.
#2: "Undone," a collaboration piece by myself and Brian Dang. Acrylic on unstretched canvas. (9'x5')
Obviously, i live in New Orleans, and Brian has done a lot of volunteer relief work. We both agreed that the rebuilding of New Orleans has been a great example of rehumanizing-- not only the citizens of New Orleans, but the millions of volunteers who have helped, as well as people all over the nation and the world watching it happen. We tried to capture the drastic difference between the physical destruction of the storm and the emotional (and physical) renewal that has taken place since Katrina. We left it somewhat gestural and "unfinished," however, to reiterate the fact that the restoration of New Orleans is still a work in progress.
so yeah... those were the two pieces i had in the show. i only kept the hand part of the first piece, and the mural is rolled up in a box in the living room waiting to find a home somewhere in a New Orleans gallery, hopefully... eventually.
...eventually.
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