Advanced Studio

“Arthur the Autism Giraffe” 

18.5 x 4.5, plush and acrylic yarn, crochet hook, yarn needle, stitch marker, 2023

My idea comes from mental illnesses specifically Autism. My theme for this portfolio is mental illnesses/ disorders represented as crochet plushies. I have my own small business for my crochet and found out that I could do it for advanced studio and I jumped at the chance. I choose to represent autism as a Giraffe because they are very awkward-looking, they are not quite horses or donkeys, and they have very long necks and legs. Kinda like how an autistic person doesn't quite fit in with society. I also chose it because I could make the spots puzzle pieces because it is the main recognized symbol for autism. To start I first crocheted all of the giraffe pieces, then I sewed them together, and finally, I crocheted the minor details. I wanted to make this piece as an awareness piece for autism. I wanted it to be quirky and fun but also not normal because that's how it feels like to be autistic. I want my audience to know that people who are autistic should be able to show their true colors and not hide behind a mask. The most difficult part of this project for me was the color change. Every two rows I switched a color which can get very repetitive at times. This was hard for me because it made me not enjoy the project as much and so I would procrastinate a lot through it. I love the colors I chose for the piece, they are random and fun not in a specific order which I think helps represent the autistic mind even further. 

“We Will Never Forget ALS” 

6.1 x 5.6, Plush, acrylic yarn, crochet hook, stuffing, 2023 

Originally my idea was to create plushes based on ALS, but my mom thought my idea could expand into just general awareness ribbon plushies. ALS stands for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis it is a progressive nervous system disease and destroys nerve cells. The disease breaks down the nerve cells which reduces functionality in the muscles. This disease has no cure, but medications can help slow the progression. My grandma had ALS, she battled with it for 10 years before she died. At the end of her life, she was in a wheelchair and could not eat by herself. I wanted to give my mom a Christmas gift that would be meaningful to her. To get the idea of an elephant I originally asked my mom what my grandma's favorite animal was but none of her siblings had a definite idea. One of them said to use an elephant because “we will never forget ALS” just like how elephants never forget. I started crocheting the body then the head, and I sewed everything together. Then I crocheted the details. Which is the blue cornflower on its head. Cornflowers are a symbol of ALS and the blue ribbon. The most difficult part of this project for me was getting all the legs the same length. I don't know if it was my tension or if I just didnt count the rows right but I could not for the life of me get them to be the same size. If I were to change anything about it, I would probably try to figure out a way to make the ribbon stripped. I love how simple it is but how much meaning it carries. 

“APVD Bunny” 

7 x 7.1, Plush, acrylic yarn, crochet hook, stuffing, 2023 

This idea follows my original theme of mental health conditions as plushies. One of my friends has AVPD and I wanted to create this for her. AVPD stands for Avoidant personality disorder, it is a mental health condition that involves chronic feelings of inadequacy and extreme sensitivity to criticism. It is often hard to interact with others due to their intense fear of rejection. I am going to give this to her as a Christmas gift. I got the idea of a bunny because bunnies are cute but also my friend felt as though it made sense for her. The cloud is supposed to represent that rejection and want to interact but that they just can't. And the green ribbon on its butt is the AVPD awareness ribbon. First I crocheted the body, then the head, and then the arms. Then I did the details. The part that was the most difficult for me was the cloud the bunny is holding, originally it was supposed to go on its head but it was too big, and it was hard to shape and get just right. If I was to do it again I would probably change the cloud, I may do something like sewing clouds to the bunny instead of making a cloud plush. I love its simple face, I also think the colors are perfect. 

“Collect Moments Not Things” 

9 x 12, Magazine clippings, colored pencils, sharpie, scissors, exacto-knife, mod podge, 2024

My idea evolved from the Banksy painting titled “Show Me the Monet.” I chose to do “Show Me the Monet” for my Art Criticism paper, and I was really proud of my bridge and shopping cart. I really liked the idea behind Banksy’s painting, essentially the message is that because of our consumer culture, the enviorment is being polluted and is being destroyed. I decided to take the main focus of the “Show Me the Monet” and make the background a collage. I cut out nature and products that are typically fastly consumed, like plastic or junky art supplies. The goal was to make it so that the materials were taking over the environment. I also found words about the environment in the magazine and cut them out. To begin I cut out magazine clippings and glued the nature ones down first. Then in the white spaces I took clippings of material goods and I glued down the drawing I made. Finally, I went back through with a black Sharpie and some magazine clippings and found any white spots I missed.  The most difficult thing for me was the patience, cutting out that many magazines takes so long. If I was to change anything I would probably try to cut out the parts where I had to use black Sharpie, so then absolutely no space would be shone. I love how everywhere you look it's a different thing, I also just love the message and how I was able to include one of my favorite artists in it but it still has my style. Because I used colored pencils instead of paint and I collaged the background. 

“Spoon Number 3” 

2024

Reflection: One of the biggest strengths I have is that I finally realized that my art does not have to be perfect. As long as I am happy with my work it is perfect. I also think I have gotten better at shading and blending. One other thing I have learned is to layer my lighter color on the bottom followed by my darker colors. This way it doesn't take even more blending and shading. I am still working on getting my colors perfect. I also am still wanting to get better at painting. I always don't have enough patience to work on paintings, but recently I used paint for my art criticism sketch and I learned that it is kinda of fun.