This body of work is the result of a school year considering the concept behind “hurting.” The essential question of my concentration is how do we make the hurt worth the suffering? Out of this question comes the notion that an individual begins to grow in character and as a person with tough, gut-wrenching experiences to shape that growth and ultimately form the person into who they eventually will be. And maybe that hurt is for the better… maybe it happened for a reason, to teach us a lesson, to show us something we didn’t see before that will ultimately benefit in the long run. So “we have to make the pain worth it.”

I attempted to seemingly split my portfolio of pieces into two parts, one part representing the hurt and the other representing the growth. Most of my pieces’ composition include mixed media along with a variety of medias to encompass the chaotic sense of suffering, yet the warmth of growth.

The title of my concentration, “Behind The Hurt” emphasizes the importance of what happens behind the pain and suffering. Working with mixed media and new medias has caused me to step out of my comfort zone and take risks with pieces throughout the year.