These pieces are my creative solutions to assignments in Drawing I.
(Elinore Hollinshead, Experimental & Foundation Studies at RISD, Fall 2017)
Pod World
Charcoal on paper, 54 x 24”, 2017
For the first assignment of the semester, objects from the Nature Lab were to be drawn in a considered composition. My intention was to depict a surreal environment. The dramatic shift in scale of the lotus pods creates a sense of space and imbues these small pieces with monumentality.
Race in the Desert
Charcoal on paper, 36 x 24”, 2017
After a trip to the local zoo, students were directed to draw animals in a way that depicted movement. I chose to create a narrative and setting for my piece. The profiles of the racing camels are blurred and the frame is warped, as if the animals are racing past the viewer’s line of sight.
Room 213
Charcoal on paper, 36 x 48”, 2017
Equipped with proficiency in linear perspective, students were required to draw space in such a way as to evoke an emotion. In my piece, with an emphatically vertical composition and a single light source, the onlooker is made uneasy and placed in a state of suspense. The vanishing point is located in a cracked mirror to show my reflection in reference to the Arnolfini Portrait by Jan Van Eyck.
Glass Mirror
Charcoal on paper, 36 x 48”, 2017
For our final assignment, the class drew chiaroscuro self-portraits. As my only mirror had been completely shattered, I decided to draw my self-portrait using the reflection from my dorm room window. The interior of my room is blended with the view of the outside, representing my identity as a RISD student with origins in the local community of Providence. The portrait of myself is doubled and transparent representing the duality of my interests in the arts and in traditional academic fields.
