Commencement

And so it begins: my senior year. I've spent a lot of time thinking about this whole project, and i've come to the conclusion that i am not a conceptual thinker. Coming up with a single theme to carry throughout all my work is hard, but i also believe that i've come up with something personal that can span the multitude of facets that printmaking involves.

So for this post, i've decided to post my thesis statement/notes as of late:

'I want my work this semester to be able to tell stories of what happens in life, whether it be good or bad: things such as relationships, major turning points in, and other significant instances that are universal, by using a gear as a metaphor. The best part about using a gear is that the metaphor that it can imply could be attributed to anybody or anything: people, personalities, moments in time, relationships, etc. A gear by itself is a simple thing. When you combine multiple gears together, and add a power source, they form a machine. Gears come in many shapes and forms, but they all have similar qualities, each of which has the potential to be attributed to multiple significances. A gear by nature, has a central pivoting point, a set number of teeth, designed to a specific ratio, and an unfortunate habit of only interlocking with other gears of similar ratios. Gears can also imply themes that are synonymous with cohesion, time, cooperation, and unity, all of which are part of important parts of life.

I believe that I won’t truly grow up until you can live your days in complete control of what makes you happy. Despite being 2I, I’m still a kid. I’m in the midst of discovering whom I want to be when my goals are fully realized. I’m exploring adulthood through the medium of art. The gears of my life are still trying to arrange themselves together. I refuse to grow up and settle down until my machine works like a new watch. Until then, I’m going to keep exploring, traveling, making mistakes and hopefully learning from them.

The heart is a simple thing. It’s capable of deciding for itself very easily, and it’s basic enough to fit many roles. The mind is what turns simple occasions into complex issues. You’ve got to be able to match the two in order to be content.

Its hard to align your gears together, but every once in a while, someone comes along who can bridge the gap.'

During the beginning of the semester, i had a lot of personal fire burning, and imagemaking and idea conceiving was irritatingly abundant. In the past few weeks, however, my life has changed for the better. Since this change in mood, however, it has become more difficult to come up with imagery that is still personally meaningful, and yet broad enough to be able to transcend the gap between image and onlooker.

but, as the great Paul Rudd once said,

"When life gives you lemons, just say fuck the lemons and bail. Look, if you get bitten by a shark, you're not just gonna give up surfing, are you?"

"Yea... probably"