Twenty Two Days

Morgan Hendriks

My name is Morgan Hendriks. I’m 18 years old, in grade 12 and I’ve taken visual art all four years of high school. I’ve always liked art because it’s a class where I’m free to be creative and different and it truly lets me express myself in my own unique way. I find that this quadmester class in particular has really allowed me to unlock my potential and experiment with new mediums and styles of art that I may not have gravitated towards in the past. For as long as I can remember, I have loved the beach and the water and everything about it. My family has a boat and we love to spend every minute of our spare time on the water. As long as I have been doing art I have always loved incorporating my passion for the beach into pieces that I create.

This quadmester, I decided to incorporate my love for the ocean into my theme. After I did some research, I became fascinated with how the water seems to affect how a person feels and how it can tamper with their emotions. I settled on the theme of Oceans Emotions, where I would explore different ways I can visually express how the ocean can make someone feel. I really like the idea of combining the science and psychological aspects of this theme into some really interesting pieces of art. Through this whole process I feel that I have truly dug deeper into my theme and explored and unlocked more potential for my artistic side.

When I’m older, I want to attend Guelph University to become a veterinarian. Working with animals has always been a dream of mine and it’s my hope that I can spend my future helping pets in need. Along with this occupation I hope that my future consists of lots of travelling. For the last 4 years my family has travelled to Cuba every winter and I absolutely love everything about vacationing, especially being at the ocean and the beach. As an adult I plan to travel to lots of different places and explore the many beautiful places of our planet earth.

Pacific

Acrylic on canvas

4' x 3'

My piece Pacific aims to portray the feeling of fear. My goal with this painting was to put into perspective how small we really are compared to the sea. I wanted to create something that didn’t tell one particular story and allowed the viewer to use their own imagination rather than being told what to see and what to feel when looking at it.

Arctic Adventure

Mixed media

28" x 28" + glass bottle

My focus for Arctic Adventure was on the concept of curiosity and how it ties into the ocean. By definition, curiosity is “a strong desire to know or learn something,” therefore, I wanted to incorporate the concept of curiosity whereby the audience can interact with the bottle and the map in an adventurous way.

Serenity

Acrylics on wood

12" Diameter

Serenity focuses on the idea of calm and peaceful emotions connected to the ocean. It is believed that the ocean can reduce cortisol levels in the body due to the sound of the waves. The beautiful blue colour of the water also contributes to the calm feelings we experience by changing our brain wave frequencies and putting us into a meditative state. Finally, the native symbol for calm is on the top layer to really reiterate the concept. I created this piece with the intention that my viewers will look at it and feel calm and peaceful. I want them to walk away from it simply feeling at ease.

The Art of Happiness

Mixed media mobile

50" x 33" x 30"

The Art of Happiness is based on the theme of happiness. Rather than looking at a broad, general happiness, I decided to focus on all things that make me happy on a personal level. I used sea shells and beach wood that my family collected to create a beautiful hanging piece. I incorporated pictures of moments in my life that make me the happiest by image transferring onto the backs of the shells. My goal for this piece was to look specifically into my own sense of happiness rather than the viewers.

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