What’s On My Mind Project

As the first year of this pandemic have passed, many of us wonder when things are going back to normal. To say that our current challenges have affected every aspect of our life is truly an understatement.

The bigger question here, especially as it pertains to our mental health is, what pre-occupies us in our thinking? What’s on our minds, especially when in isolation, when limited to who we can see and spend time with?

This project seeks to examine what are the things we think about to help us cope with isolation. Have we thought more about things like nature? Have we read more or consumed more content by way of the Internet, the movies or digital artifacts from our mobile devices?

Alexia E. – Train of Thought

When given the opportunity to display our thoughts during the pandemic, I wanted to take it in a different direction. I didn’t want to show my distractions and ways of escape through these challenging times, but rather show why I continue to wear a mask and stay home as much as possible. I love travelling, and obviously due to the pandemic, I haven’t been able to do that recently. I remember one of my family’s plans was to take a train through the Rockies. Although it is unfortunate that we can’t travel and see family this year, I know that if we all do our part to stop the spread, we will be able to go back to traveling and visiting our friends and family. I started with a couple sketches before arriving at my final design. I originally was going to create a Disney World piece as my family and I go to Disney almost every year. What I most like about my piece is the use of colours. I like how with the red it brings out all the elements within the profile outline. Also, having the train tracks as a warm colour draws the eye towards that area which is the focal point of the piece. I don’t think I would change anything with my design however, I would have liked to explore my other ideas for this project.

Matthew M.

My work is of a calm slightly cloudy night sky with a hint of sci-fi. In the center of the sky, I have made a UFO with a light shining down onto the grass below it. Placed across the piece are faces of aliens to add to the sci-fi theme. I recently was listening to a Joe Rogan podcast where he and his guest were talking about extraterrestrial life. I found the conversation very interesting and thought that a Sci-fi/extraterrestrial theme would fit this project perfectly. Personally, I really like the way the moon and stars tie the sky together. If given more time I think I would have improved the colour choice of the ground.

Marianne P.

My art is about what I do and think about in quarantine. I would draw a lot in order to cope during quarantine. When I first started the paper-cut I had no idea what to put in the profile, However, with a bit of thinking, I decided to put a sketchbook inside along with art supplies and a wooden surface, because I thought it would be interesting to turn that into a ‘paper-craft’. Within the piece my favourite part was the ‘paper’ art supplies, since the variety was fun to create, although if I had more time I would probably add more things to the sketchbook.

Abbey S.

My paper-cut artwork is based off a game that I have been playing for 5 years. I had taken a break from it but then became obsessed with it again in June while being at home. It made me feel a lot happier and allowed me to make friends that I continue to play with. I began by gathering important elements from the game and symbols that represent my experience with the game. I used symbols that reminded me of fun times I had while playing that game. I used complementary colour palette of orange and blue which are the main colours associated with the game. What I like most is the shattered glass behind the figure. I feel like it adds movement to the piece. If given more time I would possibly have found a better way to lay out all of the elements. Although I am happy with what I have done with it and it reminds me of happy moments in my life while playing that game.

Anastasia S.

Should art make sense to anyone or even the artist themselves? No. The work is  about me, my world, how I feel, possibly what I think, what I am at the moment, but, funny enough, I can and can’t explain it. I can not explain possibly exactly what I feel but I expressed it through my colours, through the objects I chose to show and quite interesting enough through where I place them in my world (me). The process of art-making is quite different for everyone since everyone has their own “muse”. I did not have a final idea of what I would like to see, in fact, I was curious what am I going to see? The result comes from the music that touches my feelings, the thoughts that grab my complete attention, what things represent to me, for example, space is a lonely and empty feeling for me, yet, not a bad one, somewhat peaceful and sort of enjoyable in a weird way. Nevertheless, the colour palette is what attracts me the most, however, if I had more time I would like to figure out my source of lighting and shading better and make it more clear and more believable.