Artist Statement

Olivia Simpson
11/21/2017



My idea for this project, was that it was viewing me from inside my head. What my life is like with my creativity and my crazy brain. What I didn't expect is that this project would take 20 hours to complete, but it was definitely worth it, because it turned out exactly how I wanted it to. My process starts with an idea, and from there I gather elements that I want to include in my piece. After those two steps, I work on composition and base work. This painting is in acrylic, and the stitching in the background is meant to represent that life is like a continuous patchwork blanket. If you don't like something, you remove it and replace it with something you want there instead. The focal point of my piece is the crocheted lady, which is meant to represent the other side of me. Not many people crochet under the age of 65, and its something that I enjoy doing. The embroidered embellishments are literally stitched onto the canvas with white thread matching the painted stitches. Making the edging was the hardest part for me, because it was complicated to figure out how to piece it together so that it wouldn't tangle. This is like Frida's work, because she had very intimate portraits, but unless you knew about her and her life they would seem normal. This is what I played off of in my piece because everything on it is important. I enjoyed this project, because it was unlike anything I have ever done before.