Hello everyone and welcome back to the first blog post of the year! In January? I know. Weird. Anyways, this project has probably been one of my least favourites that I’ve ever done and that is simply because I’m not a creative person. Other then the creativity required in this project, I enjoyed reading and learning about the Handmaids Tale, a book more relevant than ever right now. Throughout this post, I will talk you on the twists and turns and the ups and downs of this project.

To start off this project, we read a piece of dystopian literature. The book I read was the Handmaids Tale. Throughout indulging in this writing, I took semi-detailed notes. This was the weakest part of my project. While I thoroughly  enjoyed the book, I didn’t budget my time properly, ultimately leading a less in depth notes taking then I had previously demonstrated. I’m still proud of the work that I created as I had lots of connections to previous knowledge and I took notes that would end up being the inspiration for my final product. From reading this book, I learned a more then I thought I would about the power dynamics that can come in society and how quickly things can change if we’re not paying attention. The characters in The Handmaid’s Tale really opened my eyes to the complexities of women’s rights and autonomy—it’s heartbreaking yet eye-opening to see how easily those can be stripped away. This is especially relevant with the recent political happenings down south. I found myself rooting for the protagonist, Offred, and her struggles made me reflect on the importance of resistance and the human spirit’s resilience. It’s wild to think that what Atwood described could happen in real life, and it made me more aware of current events and the importance of standing up for what’s right. Plus, I was reminded that literature doesn’t just entertain; it can also serve as a warning. So, yeah, while my notes might not have been as intricate as I wanted them to be, I still walked away with some important lessons I applied to my concept art.

During this section of the project, I was given the opportunity to revise, however I made the personal choice not to. In Careers, at the beginning of the year, we made VMV’s (learning plans). In this, one of my goals was not taking on more then I could handle as I know it negatively affects my mental health. This meant making the sacrifice to lower my grade so that I wasn’t trying to do too many things overwhelm myself. This is why I chose to not revise my notes but I’m still happy with them. You can see my notes below ⬇️ 

Next up, it was time to apply my learning to my concept art. This. Was. Terrible. Every time I got to class I wanted to leave because it felt like all of my classmates were somehow able to see these crazy visions of abstract ideas magically connecting to their books. I felt left behind in the dust because I couldn’t bring into existence my thoughts. The pressure mounted as I watched my peers unleash their artistic skills, creating beautiful pieces that perfectly represented the themes of their dystopian novels. Meanwhile, I found myself staring at a blank ProCreate page, feeling like a fish out of water, drowning in a sea of creativity. It was frustrating to feel so disconnected from the artistic process when I knew that I had valid ideas that I wanted to express.

In my attempts to bring The Handmaid’s Tale into an artistic interpretation, I was stuck in a loop of self-doubt, convinced that I was missing the mark entirely. “How do you visualize loss of self identity?” I kept asking myself. And from that, I found my answer, another question. A question to drive my project forward. This question that I kept at the back of my mind while creating my art piece was “How do we reclaim a sense of self in a world that tries to define us?”. By using a question to guide my concept art, I was able to successfully start. I had a few ideas but eventually I landed on an obstructed mirror interpretation. See my blueprint ⬇️ 

After that, it was time to substantiate my work through an annotated bibliography—finally, something I could confidently do. Honestly, the hardest part about this part of the project was finding relevant sources that connected with my topic. Eventually though, I found enough sources and got to work writing. In the end, I decided to the the amount required (5 sources) because I’ve been working on doing quality work over quantity work. Overall, I’m very happy with the way it came out and I think it complemented my art piece beautifully. Learning how to do an annotated bibliography properly seemed tedious at the time, but I’ve already seen the benefit of learning how to do this. In my current Economics class, we’ve been assigned to do an annotated bibliography and I’m now fine tuning and perfecting my analysis skills as I already have the foundation for it. You can check ou my annotated bibliography ⬇️ 

Next, it was time to start crafting my master piece. For art, I needed a mirror. So I went to a local furniture, refurbishing store and picked out a old medicine cabinet that had a mirror attached to it. This turned out to be better than I had expected because I was able to use the entire thing as my project. The medicine cabinet part turned out to be the metaphor for my entire concept art. While painting my medicine cabinet, I learned the very important life skill of having to colour match black paint with black spray paint. It was a hassle but I’m glad I went to the effort because it put the finishing touch on my project. For my project, I created a metaphor for what comes between us and our own identity. To do this, I used different symbols of things that tell us the way that we should be. For example:

• Money – showing how we’re so controlled by making money that we forget who we are
• Phone – getting lost in social media
• Giant price tags – consumerism, showing how we all become squashed under big companies
• Printer labels stuck to the mirror with different words about gender – how our identity can become labeled
• Watches – we get caught up in time and so we loose ourselves 
• Scraps of fabric – social norms regarding in clothing
• Makeup – how women are expected to hide their faces behind makeup
• Cut out of a fitness magazine- body image can come between yourself and identity

As well, I wrote an artistic statement to explain the point of my project, connection to my dystopian novel, and answer to my projects personal driving question. You can read that below:

“How do we reclaim a sense of self in a world that tries to define us?” ‘Obstructed Identity’ highlights the themes of self-identity and control, taking inspiration from Margret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.” In the novel, women’s individualistic rights are stripped from them and handmaids are dehumanized to the point where they have zero identity or control. Because of this oppression, it erases all of their senses of individuality, connecting to my art work. My art symbolizes external forces that distort and manipulate identity. In having two mirrors, one with symbols of what restricts us in society and one that let’s viewers see themselves uninterrupted, I force the viewers to look at what comes between them and their own identity—whether that be consumerism, social media, society’s expectations, etc. You can check out a picture of my final product ⬇️ 

Finally, this project was over. I wasn’t able to make it to the exhibition to present my work, but I was there in spirit. Now, looking back at this project, I realize how important it is to go through projects that I’m not as good at so that I can learn to over come obstacles as they get hurled in my direction. At the end of the day, I’ve gained a much bigger appreciation for concept art as a media, even if I don’t totally understand it. As well, I’ve learned so much about the intricate connections between art and literature, especially in the context of social issues and personal identity. This project has challenged me to think beyond the surface, to dig deep into the meanings behind both the text and my artistic choices.

Best wishes,

Dana