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Experimentation in the studio has led to a re-sparked interest in portrait work. I have also become more confident in my photography in the studio. This confidence came from learning technical skills like lighting ratios, and inverse square law.

Experimenting with still-life photography has also helped me approach the studio space differently. I find I have a lot more patients when setting up scenes as well as freedom in constructing the scene to my exact vision. Still-life photography has opened a door to understanding how I approach photography in and out of the studio.

I find myself focused on playing with lighting situations as well as manipulating light a lot more now since I now understand the technical elements of it more.

I felt inspired by my peers a lot more than by other artists that are working outside of a school setting. Due to this, I don't have as many resources of specific professional artists that have been an inspiration to my work recently.

For my Artist talk I decided to talk with Keanna about her practice and where she sees her self after graduation.

One artist that has continued to inspire me to experiment with issues in society that I am passionate about has been Alejandro Cartagena.

One of his more popular series is in its 4th continuation of the series. Carpoolers touches on social issues regarding laborers in Mexico. He photographs the commute these workers make from the lower-end side of Monterrey to the more wealthy and more development-focused side where labor work is in demand.

Another Series that has inspired my work is "Lost Rivers". This series shows rivers around Mexico that have been destroyed or are in the process of being destroyed to do the rapid expansion and urbanization of suburban areas.

A lot of the rivers have either been dammed or forgotten and left to dry out and fill with trash now.

This series stands as a reminder of what rapid urbanization can cause as well as a way to reclaim these areas.

Another artist that has inspired me a lot this term has been Ben Jossinet. Working with him as well as learning from him has been an amazing experience.

Ben and I work a lot in the studio this term. The constant flow of photo work Ben produces has helped to inspire me while experiencing dips in creativity and motivation over the term. Also diving into the studio space with him made it a lot less daunting.

Learning alongside Ben created a space where we could both expand while also having someone to bounce ideas or questions off of.

The 3rd artist that I would like to talk about is Keanna Lee. It has always been a major help to be able to bounce ideas off her as well as get her input on current and future projects

She mainly focuses on illustration and character design. Since our main art mediums are different from each other she brings input and critiques that are extremely helpful. These generally tend to be ideas or questions I don't initially think of which makes me think about other details in my work past initial concepts or goals.

Seeing her expand on her art practive over the years has been extremly helpful. She is the main person I bounce my ideas off of and work with the most.

Final Project Research

My goal asethetically is to create a joiner photo that gives the viewer a expanded feeling of the space. This will go along side with highlighting the subject being the mosquito alarm.

A inspiration for the idea of the joiner image as a way of showing this came from research on David Hockney. His "Photographic Collages" stuck out to me and since I wanted to play with different ways I could display this work I wanted to see if it would work.

Looking into the company behind these alarms was shocking. They heavily stress how it is harmless and then go on to say it works by exploiting a medical condition know as presbycusis or more comonly nown as age related hearing loss.

Cartagena, Alejandro. “Alejandro Cartagena's Photo Work.” Alejandro Cartagena, https://alejandrocartagena.com/?slug=carretera-nacional-2021.

Hockney, David. “Photographic Collages : Photos : Works.” David Hockney, https://www.hockney.com/works/photos/photographic-collages.

Jossinet, Ben. “Gallery: Benjoss.” VSCO®, Vsco, https://vsco.co/benjoss/gallery.

Lee, Keanna. “Instagram, Keanna L (@Kikiartco) .” Instagram, Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/kikiartco/.

“Mosquito the Anti-Loitering & Teenager Repellent.” Mosquito, https://mosquitoloiteringsolutions.com/.

Wikipedia. “The Mosquito.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 5 Nov. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mosquito.

Question 1.
What is a technical skill you have developed within your art practice most recently?

"Learning to paint environments and using that to create more depth in my artwork."

Question 2.
Do you have any large projects that you are working on currently?

"I am working towards creating a webtoon and then expanding that into a graphic novel in the future."

Question 3.
What has been your biggest challenge during your studies at Emily Carr?

"Staying motivated to complete assigned projects that I didn't feel as patinate about."

Question 4.
What art medium do you enjoy the most and what art medium do you tend to avoid?

"I definitely enjoy 'pen and paper' for illustration the most. I try to avoid performance art as I don't find as much inspiration in it but I think it is beautiful."

Question 5.
Where do you see yourself with your art practice 5 years from now and what is your current goal upon graduation?

"In 5 years I see my art practice being more nomadic and freeing to be able to work from home or travel.
I would like to be a freelance illustrator and work on publishing a book after graduating."