Peter Pan (Jan. 2014)Redmond Middle School performed 'Peter Pan' and this is the artistic display (8 x 4 ft) I created to go along with the play. Through this piece I mainly wanted to convey the idea that Peter Pan is dragging Wendy and the others out of their idea of reality and into his own world of fantasy where "dreams are born and time is never planned". I tried to fade the two worlds together to show how dreams and reality often coincide to create someone's perception of the world. However, I also made sure to show a distinction between the dark night in London vs. the bright and free flowing Neverland. The position of Peter pan portrays him as the transition between reality and the dream world and that is essentially what his role in the story is. Also note that the children are flying even though it seems they have not entered what I painted to be Neverland yet. This is to further emphasize the combination of dreams within reality and portray the idea that you can make your dreams a reality.
Relay For Life Panel (Nov. 2013)For the Redmond Teen Center, I painted this 8 x 4 ft panel which portrayed something I am passionate about and that is Relay For Life (Visit my RELAY FOR LIFE page on this site for more info). This painting is based off of a picture my friend took during the survivor lap of Relay for Life of 2013. The theme for the painting was Celebration and discovery and I chose to paint a scene of Relay for Life because Relay is exactly that. The biggest challenge I faced would probably be maintaining detail on such a large piece. This includes details like facial features which were really difficult because first of all I've never painted faces before and second of all with a large scale painting it's easy to get caught up in the overall blocking that you forget about the details. Through this project I learned that I can create whatever I set my mind to even if it seems difficult. At first, the reference photograph I used (taken by one of my friends during the event) seemed very intimidating at first. But I learned that if I break things down and work piece by piece, the painting will eventually work itself together in the end.
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Set Design for Seussical jr. (Dec. 2012 - Jan 2013)
Redmond Middle School did a production of Seussical Jr. in January of 2013 and I had the wonderful privilege of creating and designing the set! The process took about a month and I couldn't have done it without all the wonderful helping hands that assisted me in applying paint to the giant backdrop over winter break. The production overall turned out amazing and I am grateful that I got to be a part of it. In designing this, I tried to incorporate many different styles and elements from the Dr. Seuss books. The book "Horton Hears a Who" by Dr. Seuss inspired me to create 'Whoville' with that particular style and color scheme. The curvy roads, twisting staircase, and bubbly houses were all inspired by the illustrations I observed in his book. I also made sure to include brightly colored bushes in 'Whoville' to connect it to the backdrop and give the set an overall wholeness. For the backdrop, I basically wanted it to look like a kids coloring book. Solid colors and black outlines consumed the backdrop and gave the set a childhood aura. Moreover, in regards to the giant Dr. Seuss themed book I created, the director of the play Kelly Willis had the idea of placing a giant book center stage and having it open up revealing the cast coming forwards, thus bringing the story literally off the pages. I thought this idea was brilliant and went with it. The cover of the book is inspired by 'The Cat in the Hat' and the inside of the book consists of a page directly from 'The Cat in the Hat' and one from 'Horton Hears a Who'. I'd like to thank Kelly Willis for this amazing opportunity to bring such an iconic childhood series to life!
Just Another Day in Wonderland: The Story of Alice (Spring 2012)This was the display board I created for Norman Rockwell Elementary's production of this play and it was the first 'large' painting I ever did. It was a stretch but I am very proud of this piece. This piece kick-started my love for creating artistic displays. This was also the first time my art was really recognized by the public. I remember I was doing touch ups after the display was already mounted on the wall and I was painting the eyes of the Cheshire Cat when a little girl and her mom walked by and I heard her mom say, "Look, sweetie, the artist is at work". I remember thinking "the artist", hey that's me! This experience allowed me to see myself as an artist and begin to work with the idea that that is what I am.
My goal for this piece was to display the wild curious side of Alice and I did that through the wild bushes, trees, mushrooms, and flowers. I also incorporated the playing cards in which the pictures of the actors were mounted on. The pictures were also positioned to look scattered just as if you were playing a game of cards. The Cheshire cat in the middle was used as a mysterious element to the painting also emphasizing curiosity. |
Arabian Nights (Spring 2011)Norman Rockwell Elementary did a production of 'Arabian Nights' and I created this display board for it. Nothing too extravagant about it but the process of creating this taught me about spacing and layout on large pieces such as this one. No painting was done on this but it was the very first experience I had creating an artistic display and opened the door to many more.
The goal of this piece was to emphasize the 'Night' in 'Arabian Nights' by creating silhouettes which were only visible because they were back-lit by a florescent moon. I incorporated characters from the story in the silhouette as well as building structures to get a feel of the place this story takes place in. |