Sustained Investigation #1

Artist Statement:

For this project, I chose an inquiry question to do a series of works of: "How can I emphasize the unique features of different mythological creatures?" I chose to do the Akashita, a monster of Japanese legend. It is a creature that is shrouded in clouds except for its face and claws. Akashita means red tongue, so I tried to emphasize that in relation to my inquiry question. I also tried to emphasize the fur by doing an ombre and leaving the center of the face and palms stark white. I was really interested in this creature because it has many different takes on how it's face looks. What I wanted to do was create a face that I liked for the creature so I felt like it was more of my own creation.

For this project I used bristol board, fine point markers, and patterned paper.

I started out by researching about the Akashita and what it looked like. Then I drew out a sketch onto a piece of paper. I decided that I wanted an interesting background of layered pattern paper, so I colored in/traced the sketches and cut them out. I arranged the background, glued it down, and then stuck on the pieces that I cut out with foam stickers so the pieces popped out a little. My project evolved because I decided something was missing, so I went back in and added some more color. I did the ombre effect of the fur leaving the face and palms white. Some of my next steps could be to add more clouds.