Sophia Henninger
Sexuality & Society
For the second quarter project, we had to demonstrate a theme of the Scarlet Letter creatively. I chose to do this by using color symbolism. My project consists of five drawings, each is an eye that the irises of are colored to represent certain aspects of the person’s personality and condition. Each eye is meant to be a different person; each being viewed differently in society. I wanted to show how people are not only what the majority labels them as. All people have a side that is not known by the public and aspects of themselves that not everyone can see.
Actually creating the project was a good experience because it was very independent. I enjoyed being able to do almost anything I wanted. My process involved more brainstorming then I had initially anticipated. So much so, that I went through about 4 different mostly formed ideas before deciding on the eye series. I chose to do this because I have always loved drawing eyes and when I realized how well it would fit into the project, it was simply settled. When beginning to sketch each eye, I tried to build a character in my head that may not be completely understood by others. After I had drawn out the basic shape of each eye, I tried to imagine their personalities so I could color their eyes appropriately. Every color has a certain meaning behind it and I attempted to use that, along with other physical characteristics of the eyes, to form a complete story for each person.
Overall, I am very proud of the ending result even though I do think it could be improved upon in a few ways. I think that the drawings alone are too simple. Without the explanations, they are only cute little doodles. If I were to do this project again, I would change a few things. I would have made the eyes themselves larger. It was difficult to fit all the colors I wanted in some of the irises. If I had made them larger it would have been much easier to get a point across. I also would have stuck to one medium. For most of the project I used pencil, graphite and colored, but in a few pieces marker was used and it only makes the drawings look sloppy, in my opinion. But I am truly proud of the detail I was able to achieve on these pieces despite the size. I think with the explanations it is very easy to picture these people. At the end of the project, I am happy with my result and look forward to more opportunities to use creativity in class.
This eye is meant to show a man who is visibly agitated, shown by the exaggerated blood vessels.
Red - intensity/passion
Pink - love
Beige - shame/sadness
Men are sometimes depicted as emotionless beings, but this eye is meant to show that this man is actually suffering from his struggle to express love.
“Living Child”
This eye is meant to belong to a child who is in every way, a free spirit. The large eye and freckles show youth.
Green - life
Light Green - liveliness
Yellow - energy
Purple - independence
Sometimes children can viewed as naive and simple-minded but there is a certain understanding that comes with their youth.
This eye depicts a woman crying, shown by the tear and irritated blood vessels.
Brown - stability/endurance
Bright Red - anger/power
Navy Blue - strength
In society women are often shown as vulnerable and emotional. While this woman is externally expressing feelings, it is hidden that within her she feels powerful.
“Old Secrets”
This eye is meant to belong to an older person. The heavy wrinkles both above and below the eye show this.
Lavender - nostalgia
Beige - shame/sadness
Burgundy - maturity
Gray - timeless
Older people are often shown as wise and all-knowing. But as with all people, they have regrets and their perception of the world has changed because of them.
“Her Own World”
This eye is meant to be the eye of someone who is on drugs. The dilated pupil and exaggerated veins are meant to show their intoxication.
Fuchsia - excitement
Orange - vibrance
Light Green - liveliness
Red - intensity
Though many people look down on others that use drugs, users often say they feel enlightened when under the influence.
From the beginning, I had plans to shoot a short movie, which I may or may not still do. I had a concept since day one, and I had ideas shooting through my head like gatling guns. So, I put together a small, little script, got a monologue together, and even had a few shots done right off the bat. It felt like I was on a roll. But then I got lazy. I underestimated the amount of time I had left, and when I did eventually get around to recording the rest, it was all tragically lost due to software issues.
So, with time already gone, and me being too lazy and frustrated to do it all again, I decided to do the one thing I knew I could do best: I wrote a short story. But again, I ended up botching it all up. Because my priorities were terribly out of line, and because I had a truckload of other work waiting for me, I constantly either put off the story for a later date, or forgot about it entirely. It was not a pretty picture. It was a mess through and through.
But then I did eventually find time to write, and write I did. My theme was focused around loss and inner self-destruction, which I feel I (hopefully) represented well, given the story’s actual length. The tone itself was actually pretty experimental. It was one of the few times I’ve actually written a story in a first-person narrative, and the very first time I wrote it using that sort of time. I feel it gave the story as a whole a sort of darkly humorous tone to it, with the narrator being a wreck of man with little left to lose.
Another thing that I really enjoyed was the initial brainstorming. Whenever I write a story, I always spend what could end up being sixty minutes just rambling to myself about what my characters will be, how the plot will progress, things like that. By the time I even sit at my laptop to write, I’d already have over half the story written out in my head. That definitely made writer this even easier.
Now for the not so good parts of this project. Where do I even begin with this one? Like I already said, I completely mishandled what time I had and ended up cobbling something together at the last minute. I mishandled my initial idea of shooting a movie by waiting until the last minute to try recording it. Even after I switched over to making a story, I ended up messing up. I rushed through it and ended up making something more along the lines of an excerpt as opposed to an actual story, which is still bugging me.
Not only that, but I can’t help but feel I lost sight of what I was originally trying to do. What I mean is that I may have lost sight of what I wanted to represent in the story; I was more focused on getting something in rather than focusing on keeping the project relevant to what I was supposed to do. Again, it was just a giant cluster of a mess from beginning to end.
I really hate myself for not treating this project a bit more responsibly, because I know for a fact that if I did, I would have had way more fun whether of not I decided to write a story or shoot a movie. So, I guess if I learned anything, it’s don’t procrastinate. A good lesson to learn, I suppose.
