Time Capsules

Artist Statement

The instructions for Time Capsule drawings were simple: draw a self portrait, a corner of the room, and a still life. Even so, the choices I made while making these drawings certainly added to the outcome. For example, in my still life, I chose to add the wooden texture, which I found added balance to the piece because when it was just white in the background, it looked too 'front heavy.' This also helped because when just the towel was dark, the contrast was just too big between the door and the towel. Also, in my portrait, I added the swirls to the mask, because I wanted to show who I am, even though you couldn’t see half my face. This felt really important to me, because I feel as though it has been harder to let to know people when I can't see what they look like. I really enjoyed making these time capsules because they helped show me where I am as far as what parts of art are my strengths and what are my weaknesses.

The materials I used for my three “time capsules” are graphite pencil and a smudger. The Graphite Pencil was the easiest because I could erase it with no problem, which I had to do a lot. With shading, the smudger worked really well. It helped me the most in my life. I liked how I was able to make some of the shadows on the towel darker and some lighter. It made it easier to show depth. For my portrait, I used the smudger a lot with the hair and the eyes, and with my “corner” drawing, I used it to try and show perspective.

The first thing I did when making all of these, was draw the outside of the object. With my face, I drew the silhouette, and then I went in and drew one line in the middle vertically, and then one horizontally. I then cut it in half again horizontally. Even though my portrait is wearing a mask, this helped me locate where the nose and mouth would be. I started the still life by outlining the towel and door and then drawing lines to show where the major creases were. I then added more Graphite to these to make the shadows deeper. My next steps could be adding more definite lines for my “corner” drawing. I would want to go back in and finalize some of the sketch lines of my closet doors, and the window. For my still life I would want to blend the shadows on the door more, and maybe add more to the scene. By this, I mean to use more of the paper to create a background for this. Finally, for my self-portrait, I would want to spend more time with the glasses, and also with making the eyes on the same line. Also, adding the creases of my forehead would be interesting.