iImage

"That which does not kill us makes us stronger." A simple statement, and very true. It is one of the ideas incorporated into my iImage. At the base is a tragedy mask, and rising from it is a flower. Simple.

The image actually came to me as I was drifting to sleep last night. Why? I dunno. I had been trying to create an image that was compelling. Yes, David, I said, "Compelling." After being in Plymouth for two summers, and knowing a lot of what was out there, I knew that I wouldn't find the "right" shot in the time given. I also wanted to try my hand at creating images with Adobe Illustrator (mentally stick in all the trademark stuff yourselves). But what image did I want to create? I had played around with a bunch of stuff. I had created a cool visual using the 3D generator, but it needed text to illuminate my message. *The 3D generator in Illustrator is cool, but not without it's bugs.* Yes, the text helped me figure out what I wanted to say, but it was the wrong image. I wanted the image to speak on it's own. I had a thought, but the image wasn't forming. Then as I drifted to sleep the image you see here came to me and I settled into a quite slumber.

What does it say? It's art. It says something different to everyone. If not, how can you call it art? For me it is another step in processing my experiences this year, hopefully bringing me closer to catharsis. Metaphorically, it's a release, an admission, a hope, and perhaps a small prayer. Most of all, it's a reminder.

I wanted the design to be simple enough that even I could create it. I also wanted as little as possible to distract the audience from the message. Could I strip the message down to as few lines as possible? What pieces were necessary? What embellishments may still be required? The focus had to be the flower. It had to be the brightest piece of the puzzle. Um, yellow and red. The blue in the mask serves two purposes. One, it's not as bright as the flower. Two, it,s metaphorical. This is a preliminary image. I will continue to work on it for a bit. I'll see what happens.