Thirteen Nights of Dreaming: Edit

After the feedback in crit today I decided to change the colors and placement of the title for this piece. I still enjoy the sepia of the earlier piece but a lot of people felt it was reading as dirt or underground and not dream-like patterning. I do enjoy the blue of the cups in the new edit--it has a cooler feel to it.

Thirteen Nights of Dreaming

Here's a piece I did for my Illustrated Maps class--we did a map inspired by "a place we feel we belong." The projects are being submitted to make-maps.blogspot.com , a blog started by artist Adam Hayes that features maps drawn by various artists. He will take a look at our class's maps and post some of them on his blog. We are supposed to submit a short description along with our personal map. Here's mine:

My nightstand is covered in glasses filled with varying levels of water. I always need a glass of water next to my bed when I am going to sleep, and many of my dreams involve being submerged underwater or take place near large bodies of water. I chose to map a collection of my water-themed dreams because I feel a sense of identity and belonging in these surreal spaces. I think my affinity for water may have something to do with growing up in the Great Lakes State, but it is also connected to my interest in the concealing and revealing of reality, motion within structure, and the nature of the subconscious.

Sea of Frozen Words

A fantasy art assignment to create an image based on a brief description of an imaginary place. I did a book cover (title would wrap around under center circle) for the description of a sea that froze all sound during the winter and released it during the thaw. The imagery is based upon the description's mention of a battle between two different tribes within the world.

New Semester, New Thesis

This semester I'm switching gears in my Illustration thesis, playing more to my strengths and interests. I am working on more fine art/editorial work inspired by the environmental disaster in Picher, Oklahoma. I'm interested in the play between internal and external anatomy in man and land. Here is an uncolored drawing of my first piece. More sinkholes, chat piles, and acid mine water to follow!