The self-generated subject project reversed the usual
approach to drawing because it involved the application of our imagination to a
greater extent right off the bat. Instead of simply drawing what we see, we
took a step back and created and made our subject, thus rendering a work that
is uniquely personal.
When molding my creature, I had originally wanted it to look
like a fox. I drew inspiration from my dog, whom my sister and I often say
looks like a mix between a fox and a weasel. Of this initial concept, only one
thing made it through the trial and error phase of molding: the ears. The
creature’s ears are about the size of its head, a trait it shares with my dog.
When trying to make the body, I was applying my high school Ceramics I
knowledge. I used a cognac cup as a mold in order to get the rounded shape and
I liked how the bottom of the creature seemed to flow off like cloth, so I
decided to make it a ghost. . I knew I wanted something to ooze out of the
ghost’s eyes, and in the end I decided to make flowers grow out of the holes
and out from under it. The concept behind this decision was the resilience of
nature in that it ultimately defeats the test of times and is able to grow,
adapting to its surroundings along the way, in this case, growing around and
finding a way out. In a sense, I see my ghost as a defender of nature. 
One of the artists whose work I looked at closely for this
project was Allison Schulnik. After having seen her videos in class, I was
moved by her claymations because the creatures she makes are not particularly
“cute” or “pretty”, but they have a strong presence to the point that the
viewer can sympathize as they melt into nothing. I was mostly inspired by her
ability to give each creature a personality despite the simplicity of its form.
I have attached a link to one of her videos. The creature in the picture is one of
her creations. As you can see, it looks like it’s up to something, almost
mischievous, and yet it looks like it is surprised to be seen.
For the drawing, I decided to work with soft pastels because
they would allow me to get the range of value and color that I wanted. I
typically work very rigidly with pastels, blending to the point of no return, that
is, muddiness. However, recently I have had this new found appreciation and
fascination for chaos and messiness (I have my room to prove it). So, I used a
combination of blending and overlapping of color. A closer look at the drawing
will show that most of the image is made by a blend of different colored
scribbles, which give the 2D image a sense of movement. The background was
achieved by a more decisive mark making, in which the lines were made with both
hands and involved a full body motion to make. It was the most liberating
section and the one in which I had less control. The foreground, mainly the
table was colored by using the run off, the dust that had collected on the ground
below me. 
Overall, this project pushed my concept of drawing to a new
level where I have to think about the drawing even before I know what my
subject will be. It is definitely something that I will continue to explore in
the future.
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