Inclusion Design

This is my submission for the Maine Developmental Disabilities Council 2018 Creative Expression Contest. The prompt was "Develop an original work of art that represents or symbolizes: Full Community inclusion for everyone, including individuals with developmental disabilities (language, mobility, mental, etc.)" I drew four people of different ethnicities painting hands which spell the word "join" in American sign language. Colored pencil was my chosen medium.

To create this piece I first sketched the outlines of all of the the people and the hands that they are painting. I then went over everything in colored pencil, choosing colors as I went. I used reference images from the internet for the people, hands, and easels. Color is probably the most important element of this piece, which I enjoy because I don't often make color such an important aspect in my work. For the composition I wanted it to feel as organic as possible so I tried to mix up which hand each person was painting with and which side of the canvas they stood on. My idea evolved in that originally I was only focused on having one of my people in a wheelchair to represent inclusion of people with disabilities. But as I thought more about it, I realized I could show even more diversity within the community by giving each person a different ethnicity, and letting that be represented in their painted hands.

I chose to draw different people painting sign language hands because it represents many different diversities and inclusions. There are both men and women, each person has a different skin tone, and all of their clothing styles are slightly different, along with their easels. One woman is in a wheelchair to represent the inclusion of people with disabilities. The piece depicts all of these people working individually, but collaboratively creating the word "join" spelled in sign language, as an acknowledgement of the inclusion of people with other disabilities such as hearing. The word join is short but powerful and represents all of the people of the community coming together despite their differences. This project relates to my life in that I support the inclusion of all people and firmly believe that everyone, regardless of their background, can have a place in a community. I think this piece could be stronger if I had done something more creative with the background. I kept it simple so as not to distract from the people, but I feel that it could be stronger if it connected to the foreground more somehow. The most challenging part of this project was drawing all the people's different forms and blending for their skin tones. I am most proud of the idea itself as well as the overall execution. I think this piece responds to the prompt well and is also strong in and of itself. This piece illustrates my strength as an artist in my ability to respond to a very specific prompt creatively and while applying strong techniques and skills. It shows weakness in neglecting to utilize the background to its full potential.