Finished

I finished the piece, it is titled "Mama's Little Boy". I let the steel sit in the etching solution for almost an entire day. It is a challenge to work with portraits on steel, because the metal curbs the organicness of the figure. Since I am working with etching solution, there is a sence of unpredictability. I actually enjoy this aspect because I am forced to conform to the piece rather than the other way around. Saying this, a viewer must accept that there will be flaws in my pieces and some might not be able to do that. My work is meant to be humble and simply tell a story. I am not a grandoise person, therefore my art will never be. They are simply observations from my point of view in life.

The trickiest thing about creating this particular piece was dealing with the black and white. The problem came when I was picking colors for the stain of the wood. At first I went with a "storm gray" but combined with the wood it almost seemed green to me. I did not want the frame to take any precedence over the piece, so choosing an accent color was out of the question. After much stress, I decided on a cool blue, which I am still unsure about. I figure the blue speaks appropriatly to a little boy, so that alone let me rest.

Process

First I determine what it is I walk to talk about in a piece. In this particular piece I have decided to discuss being a mother. An idea for a piece first starts with a photograph. Sometimes I go out and take a roll of film with the intention of collaborating the images in a design to create new work. I had this photo of my son from over the summer, and I just think it is such a perfect capture of him. He is communicating with me through his eyes and he is so very happy. Of course I had a good deal of negative space to deal with once I place him at the very left side of the composition. I needed an element that was appropriate for the feeling the piece encompassed, but also it needed to be something that would float the eye around. I chose the bubbles for exactly this purpose. The piece is simple and hopefully speaks for itself. It is about childhood and innocence. After I created this design I laid it out on steel and it is etching as we speak. I think I am going to keep the final product black and white, because for one I have not done a black and white piece, but for two I believe its subtleties will preserve the elegance I wish to resonate. We'll see..