Contradictions and Juxtapositions

1. Contradictions and Juxtapositions By Mackenzie Ellsworth

2. Candidate Statement When I entered IB art I had a basic idea of what art was to me. It was simply a sculpture, painting, or drawing. I strived to be the artist that could do everything, sculpt, paint and draw. I explored different medias such as acrylics, oils, clay, canvas, wood, and anything else I could think to use. I learned to use found objects and incorporate them into projects. I learned to let the ideas come to me and not force inspiration. As time went on I slowly realized I did not have to be good at everything and instead I should explore the areas of art I am most comfortable with. Eventually I moved back toward making jewelry. It is definitely the area of art I enjoy most. I struggle to express purpose and meaning within my jewelry but this weakness gives me more to strive for in the future. I have found it fascinating to study other cultures and how they are able to express so much using jewelry. In addition to the different meanings behind jewelry I have learned to explore the materials used to make it. I try to get out of my comfort zone as much as possible and constantly learn new techniques. Mostly recently I have been displaying my jewelry in different ways, such as photographing jewelry in unexpected places and turning it into a completely different type of art using Photoshop. This is a great opportunity to combine the art I am most comfortable with and something new and unfamiliar. I have found I have a difficult time planning my art before creating it. Just as a sculptor may begin working with clay with no intention of what it will become, I watch the wire and beads transform into something unidentifiable before fully understanding what it will become. However, as I overcame this bad habit I began planning my art pieces with more meaning causing diversity within my art. The most appropriate theme to explain the diversity in my artwork is contradictions and juxtapositions. This theme keeps me inspired and leaves room for intense contrast in my works of art.

3. IWB Pages 8/2011 Acrylic Collage

4. The Beautiful Sunset 7/2011 Acrylic & thread 12 x 24

5. IWB Pages Albert Bierstadt & Pollution

6. Inspiration • Albert Bierstadt • Gained popularity with environmentalist movement • Natural and artificial aerosols make redder sunsets • Forest fires • Mineral dust • Sea spray • Volcanic eruptions • Original piece was too similar to Bierstadt’s work • Added the thread to make more visually appealing and to tamper with your view of the sunset • Beautiful sunsets is no longer natural Albert Bierstadt Environmental Movement Improvements

7. You Are Beautiful 8/2011 Acrylic & Sharpie

8. Inspiration • Can rearrange tiles to make new art piece • Can create contradictions with words • Georgia O’Keefe • Environment was her main inspiration • Work is up close You are the light of my life You lead me out of the darkness and into the sun I feel I have been freed You are more beautiful than a rose Just open your eyes, I am hoping you see You are my love and always will be… Georgia O’Keefe “You are beautiful”

9. Clean Slate 7/2011 A wooden frame, acrylic, glue, & metal rings 14 ½ x 17 ½

10. IWB Pages Danny Dries

11. Inspiration • Danny Dries • Painter, sculptor, and photographer • Combines all THREE in ONE piece of art • “I don’t think, don’t plan, just paint” • Clean Slate • A canvas can always be painted on top of, you can always start over Danny Dries Clean Slate

12. Natural Art 10/2011 Photograph 8 x 10

13. Inspiration • Ansel Adams • Photographer • Primarily nature oriented photographs • Some of his works displayed beings represented by natural objects • Enhanced in photoshop • Originally was going to be combined with jewelry Ansel Adams

14. Untitled 11/2011 Photograph of peyote stitched seed beads on a tree stump 10 x 8

15. IWB Pages Peyote Stitch

16. Inspiration • Peyote Stitch • Used among North American tribes • Original beads were all natural materials • Shells, rocks, etc • The necklace is displayed in nature • Present day jewelry is not so directly connected with nature • Andy Goldsworthy • Representation of nature Peyote Stitch Andy Goldsworthy

17. True Elegance 4/2011 Glass pearls, Swarovski crystals, & seed beads

18. IWB Pages Gothic Architecture & Art

19. Inspiration • Gothic Architecture • The rose window • Let in both light and air • Found above the west entrance of churches • Similar pattern to the circular shapes in the bracelet • Juanita Carlos “Jaycee” • Born and raised in South Africa • Bracelet inspired by Zulu jewelry (a tribe in South Africa) Gothic Architecture Juanita Carlos

20. Once upon a Bee 11/2011 Amber beads, glass beads, metal leaves, wire, & chain (in a shadow box)

21. Inspiration • Wired flowers together • Displayed in a shadow box just as plants and insect species are displayed in museums • Contradictory because not an actual living being

22. Untitled 11/2011 Black canvas, sharpie & a gear 12 x 24

23. IWB Pages Juxtaposition & Henna flowers

24. Inspiration • Juxtaposition • “The fact of two things being seen or placed together with contrasting effect” • Natural • Flower • Henna is a natural material • Unnatural • A manmade bicycle gear • “There is no difference between the natural and the unnatural because you cannot have one without the other” Natural vs Unnatural

25. Chained Religion 1/2012 Crystal, gold chain, & religious charms

26. Inspiration • Separation from heaven and earth • Charms: • Representation of the church • Chains: • Physical separation between the sky and earth • Crystal: • The “glittering sky” • Heaven • “Spread out above them was a surface like the sky, glittering like crystal.” • Ezekiel 1:22 Heaven & Earth Ezekiel 1:22

27. Future Project (needs improvements) 1/2012 Glass pearls, Chinese crystals & lamp work beads

28. Future Project Sand Harbor

29. Future Project Sand Harbor