Here's a little bit art that I promised you! These are all Intaglio prints from copper plates.
“That’s All, Zoe!”
Bugs bunny was always a character that held a significant role in my childhood. Growing up, my dad and I had a mutual love for bugs bunny. Birthday cards, silly lines shared over a phone conversation. My dad passed away when I was about 9 1/2. Needless to say, this project meant a lot to me.
I used hard ground with a pen to get thicker lines and a more cartoon-esque look to it. The patterns within the circles were just designs that I felt were perfect for the Bugs Bunny theme. The patterns were also designs I drew a lot as a child and because I was making a piece based on childhood memories, I felt the patterns would compliment the sentiment. Aquatint was used in the background as well as behind Bugs Bunnys’ head— I wanted the circles, patterns and Bugs Bunny to be in the forefront. The orange paint was used to bring back the colors of the “That’s all, Folks!” quote in Looney Toon Cartoon.
“Elevation.”
There is a relative invisibility of women’s masturbation and in turn, the way they think about, talk about, and act out masturbation is hindered. In secondary school, there is hardly any discussion of maturation when it pertains to teenage girls—this sometimes follows into adulthood. There might also be a lack of discussion of masturbation within the household. Thus, creating a lack of knowledge and most of the time a sense of shame post-orgasm. I am looking to change this. I am looking to shed light on the positive aspects that masturbation/the discussion of it has on women’s lives, particularly in relation to sexual satisfaction, personal confidence and knowledge of self. Studies have shown that masturbation improves moods (Escajadillo-Vargas et al., 2011), reduces menopausal symptoms (Avis et al., 2009), heightens emotional intelligence (Burri, Cherkas, & Spector, 2009) and provides women with a better understanding of genital self-image (Herbenick, Schick, et al., 2011).
I wanted to print a drawing of a woman mid orgasm to represent the positive, safe, and euphoric feelings that should come with masturbating. I used aquatint and sugar lift to place her into a calm, sensual space—hence, the purple ink. White ground and spite bite were used inside of the moon that she is transcending through. The moon can be seen as another realm that comes with an orgasm. It is a place you cannot really describe what your experience was like and how it felt while there. The sparkles within the moon are there to represent the euphoria that comes along with being at the height of an orgasm. Especially one created by you; considering that you know yourself best. The three soft ground, female figures are there to represent how powerful you feel as one during an orgasm; as well as the feeling of elevation that comes with a powerful orgasm. The piece as a whole is to remind people that women do masturbate, it should not come with a feeling of shame, hatred or embarrassment but with a sense of empowerment, self love, safety, relaxation and satisfaction.
“Tides”
There has always been this lingering wonder for the ocean; to know all about the ocean. There has been a constant desire to wade out as far as possible in the ocean. Just the idea of the ocean being endless, provides me with a sense of unfulfilling questions and thoughts. although, I harbor a fascination with the ocean, there is also this fear—this intimidation when thinking of how powerful it is in comparison to the human body. I find it ironic that something you love, something you have a passion for can also take you under.
I chose to print a swelling wave, crashing down into smaller waves to represent how forceful the ocean is in one wave alone. I wanted to create detail to emphasize the unique way in which multiple layers of smaller waves create such a forceful entity. I chose the variations of blues to represent the vibration of color that illuminates off of the ocean waves—especially on a sunny day. The blue also represents the mood that comes with sitting on beach, looking out into the ocean and just pondering on whatever it is that comes to mind. The closeness and size of the wave represents how intimidating a wave looks while it is crashing down; now matter how close or far one is to the wave, there is always this sense of smallness while watching a wave crash into another or into a rock. The dark crosshatching that is under the swell of the wave represents the unknown that is within the ocean. There is only so much that can be seen when a wave is crashing down. You think of questions like, “How deep is the ocean in this particular area?” or, “I wonder what is being tossed around within that wave…”
“Something in The Wind”
Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas has always been an usual beauty. She is someone who had a mysterious yet alluring vibe; someone who made you think twice about the meaning of what it is to be beautiful. To be a doll who is only staying put together by thread, she never gave up—always sewed herself right back up and carried on with life. She is not your typical, well-put together princess from a bright world. This always spoke to me personally. To see the trials and tribulations she faces in the dark halloween town and how she never gives up on herself or the things she cares about.
Due to the fact that Sally was such an inspirational female character while growing up, I wanted to print her in a portrait-like manner. She comes off as such a strong figure that I did not want to take away from her as a woman. I also used soft-ground to draw in Sally to give he r a softer look; as well as sticking to my design of having Sally look more painterly. Printing Sally in a portrait-like manner also contributed to the idea of her picture giving off a shrine-like treasure—something that you would have on your wall or in a frame on your shelf. I incorporated leaves and branches to feed into the dark-nature that I described about sally. I also printed Sally during fall in October so, it seemed fitting to place her into a setting that matched the season, holiday and darkness of the movie in which she originates form.
