The Almond Blossom

This piece of artwork is a graphite drawing done with seven different grades of graphite. It is on a 9”x 12” piece of poster board and depicts an almond tree branch, which consists of several blossoms, some full in bloom and others not. There is certain emphasis on gradation and value contrast. The shading is smooth but the technique of the drawing consists greatly of cross-hatching which gives it a sharp, rough texture. The base of the branch stems from the bottom, right corner as the rest of the branch stretches diagonally across to the top, left of the paper. The focal point of this piece is the full bloomed blossom located nearly in the center; however, movement is greatly advocated by the various branches and blossoms that surround it. The light source is directly in front of the plant giving it depth with the lighter blossoms in front and much darker blossoms located towards the back. The shapes and lines are entirely organic without any precise, geometric elements to them. It is realistic upon first glance, and expressive upon second due to the unrealistic hatching technique, which adds much emotional depth.

This piece has great meaning to me. The almond tree is my favorite tree because of its symbolic and personal significance. It is known for its breath-taking blossoms, which are white with a vibrant splash of color in the center that could be described as a blend of fuchsia and crimson red. The tree is the very first tree to bloom in the spring and is known to represent a time of awakening or rebirth. It is referred to in the scripture verses in the first chapter of Jeremiah. In this verse the Lord speaks to Jeremiah and asks him what he sees. Jeremiah then replies, “I see a branch from an almond tree” (1:11b). The Lord confirms what he saw and explains that it “means that I am watching, and I will certainly carry out all my plans” (1:12). The Hebrew word for “watching” sounds very similar to the word for “almond tree.” The Lord uses the almond tree to symbolize that a new season was coming for Jeremiah and strategically used the play on words as well. I love this story because it shows the how the Lord uses imagery of nature and symbolism to creatively show Jeremiah His provision. I am awed by the almond tree and how its effervescent blossoms defy all the dead of winter just like the provision of the Lord defies

The Dentist

This specific work has a very dark, gothic-like quality. It is the scene of a patient at a dentist’s office and is a 9”x 12” piece done in ink pen. At the base of the page one can see the form of a face with a dentist standing before it, gripping a tool of some sort. There is a light in the top left corner. The dentist is wearing protective goggles that reflect a light and hide his eyes, which gives him anonymity conducive to his symbolic character. The focal point of this piece is the face because it is the largest mass of negative space and is located in the most foreground level. The area surrounding the scene fades into a dark vignette. The texture is roughened with cross hatching and the value is overall very dark leaving key highlights in the light, face, and shirt of the dentist.

This piece displays a darker, more gothic quality unusual to my preferred style. However, it was very intentional. The work depicts the scene of a patient at a dentist office, which usually brings very negative feelings to the mind as it infers thoughts of discomfort, drilling, picking, odd chemical smells, cold temperatures, and bitter tastes of latex gloves and Listerine. I had to go see my dentist a few weeks ago and while I was laying in the chair, being prodded and pried, I got some inspiration. The dentist in this piece represents anything in one’s life that they feel causes an invasive discomfort. Most people have either known someone or gone through an experience that made them feel as if there mouth, representative of themselves as a whole, was being pried open with large hands and metal tools forcefully making their way down it. However, the discomfort that comes with vulnerability can often time result in positive benefits. As terrible as one may feel while being examined and operated on at the appointment, the effect is most often a fresh, clean feeling. We all have cavities, or imperfections in our lives, the dentist’s light is what illuminates them and allows the “dentist” to fix them. The light symbolizes whatever element brings that flaw to exposure but also advocates whatever element is fixing it. Sometimes we can be our own dentists and other times it can be an outside friend or circumstance, nonetheless, we all know cavities don’t fix themselves, but rather get worse when ignored.

The Way I Know

Words flow from your mouth swirling circles through the air.
Indescribable is the way my skin knows every texture of your hands
And the way they travel through my hair.

My eyes sing of every fiber beneath your skin,
every form of beauty within.

I breathe, deeply appalled at that which I’m yet to understand.
How I long for
The wind with its wonders and travels,
Your skin, your hands.

You invoke a cascade of all my depth;
It pours and pours with every breath,
Stolen by thieves made of whispers and stares
That nullify my worries- every single care.

And your kiss, your kiss is beyond these lines,
Beyond your thieves, more fragile, more fine.

It is the utter personification of every word of adoration.
It silences my attempts to explain this beautiful infatuation.

The Love that Tore the Curtain

One must wonder how you did bear their fleeting curses
That infallibly constructed a multitude of herses,
While thy brow of blood torn flesh over brood
Holy drops of sacrifice which broke on earth that stood
Many the accusers, who thought innocent their outstretched fingers.
For surely a throne they saw not come forth
Nor a victory of war and men and sword and horse.
They saw only a plain, homely surface
Of which drew spit from tongues like poison of serpents;
Spit composed of lead weighted missiles
To penetrate the fragmented frame of one righteously fragile.

One must wonder how you told the sun to set amidst this torture,
Or how you drew the tide to fall back upon the moon-lit shore
And caused all the earth to tremble and hell all the more.
For you defied an entire dominion of darkness.
You tore the curtain for the doubting, broken, heartless.
The worthless were defined and sight given to all blind;
Beauty to the meager bride and hope for everlasting life.

Simply by embodying the word we call love.
And the gift of your spirit that doth descend like a dove.

Inquiries of Eagerness

Like gravity you pull me to the East,
While Western sky continues on to tease
And taunt my lips with her pacific kiss.
Her outstretched pines sing of The Botanist,
Who spoke to be the purple majesties
And breathed to man the creativity,
Which did construct a golden gate of pride
That calls my name and calls me to subside;
To just forget the laws and weightlessly
Find peace among the pines and majesties.
But ever shall I know the wondered West,
Or just beneath my brazen beating breast?
Atlantic coast you are my mother wise
But questions left unanswered I despise.
Fairwell we bid 'til days you pull me back,
Once I have learned of things you surely lack.
Miunderstand me not; my love is yours
And every love must search from where love pours.
There is a reason for my discontent;
I can not tell until my feet have went
To somewhere they don't know, or even like.
Then life I'll find in things which were demise!

A Critique on FCUK's Fashion Ad

The French Connection UK, a French fashion retail chain, is accountable for releasing the advertisement that consists of an image of two women, one wearing a dress and the other wearing a bathing suit. It may sound like a very common fashion advertisement, but what strikes this one as unique is the action and message implied by their stance. The woman in the bathing suit has the other woman in a neck hold while her other hand is held high in a tense, fist-like position ready to strike the other woman’s face. Her demeanor is full of resentment and anger. The woman in the dress is bent backwards with an indifferent yet fearful look on her face. One of her arms is holding the arm that is gripped on her neck while her other arm is on her opposer’s waist. Their struggle is made very clear both by their pose and facial expressions. The image is accompanied by text that says, “fashion v Style.” While the word fashion is displayed in a common font, the word Style is both capitalized accentuated with a cursive-like font. The background is solid black which allows both the text and the women to be outstanding focal points for the ad.

One might assume that the woman wearing the dress, on the left, represents fashion while the other woman, on the right, in the bathing suit, represents style because they are positioned in the same order as the text and because the woman on the left is dressed formally and in a more fashionable manner. Their posture very obviously entails both violence and opposition and the fact that they are both beautiful women is provocative and adds a sensuality that attracts the male audience. Their gender, along with their position, adds a shock effect that grabs the viewer’s eye no matter what sex they are.
In a symbolic sense, the advertisement sends the message that the fashion industry may not always coincide with one’s personal preferences of style which is a legitimate message. This message, however, could easily be interpreted as a promotion and underestimation of violence in order to move people to endorse the company or its product. This ad could be found highly offensive to a wide range of onlookers such as an older or parental audience and could essentially be more harmful to the company than effective.
This advertisement all together could have been constructed in a more moderate fashion but may not have made much impact to the consumer’s eye against the other millions of ads. Although it is loud and borders offensiveness, the company wanted to make their statement and make it boldly.