Designing Abstraction

In these two works, I tried to create a sense of depth, as well as spinning sensation, through the line widths and shapes I used. These pieces are more design-centered than revolutionarily meaningful, as I tried to create a design that could potentially be used as a artwork on clothing, or something similarly. As an artist, when I am told to focus on design, I struggle to create meaning while also fitting within the parameters of the project. While I did struggle, Valleys pulls from topographic maps of local mountains, such as Katahdin, Sugarloaf and Mount Washington. These images, combined with the sense of spinning, was intended to comment on the way public has been spinning out of the public's control, as the government has been regularly opening protected lands to corporations intending to harvest their natural resources. In hindsight, I realize this is rather ridiculous, as none of these mountains have been un-protected, and the piece would be more powerful if I used topographical maps from mountains that used to be protected, but are now open to mining, logging and oil companies.

To create these two sister pieces, I used Prismacolor marker and Fineliner colored pens. Without sketching, I just began to freehand topographical lines into boxes I drew with the Fineliners. Then, I used the smaller side of the marker to create a second, closer layer. Finally, I used the bigger, brush or chisel tip side of the marker to draw the lines in the foreground. I also used some fine black pen in Valleys after receiving feedback from the teacher.

The real process to create these to works was simple. I drew lines where I felt there needed to be lines. I got mad at myself when I drew lines in places that there shouldn't have been lines. I destroyed three prior works. Overall, I am happy with these two works, I just wish that I had used topographic maps from areas that used to be under federal protection that are now open to industry.