| Artist's Statement | 
| Art Gallery |
Ani Avanian
University of Toledo
Subject Listing - Studio Art
Advisor: Ms. Diana Attie
Thursday, Visual Art Session 2, Presentation 3, Highsmith Gallery
BURDENS
The main premise of the project was to find an effective use of Prismacolor pencils responsive to a surface that would allow unlimited layering, as well as to select a technique that would express content best paralleling the media. Incorporating dry pastel, watercolor washes, as well as various forms of cosmetic powders have expanded my methods; the powder and paint undertones along with the subtractive erasure of layered color, add depth, liveliness and textural transition to the composition. Many types of paper were tested, such as bristle board, vellum, rag paper, acid free, and a variety of Rives BFK; it was soon apparent that the smoother and less textured surfaces preserved the integrity of the multi-layered crosshatch marks, resulting in directional clarity and luminosity.
The development and expression of ideas inspired directly by life experiences not only enhances the creative process by making it more meaningful, but also serves as a therapeutic method; therefore I tend to examine my own life as a resource. Often finding myself s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d between daily tasks, deadlines, and critical decisions I feel simultaneously pulled and pressured in multiple directions. Therefore the theme of encumbrance, tension, stress, turmoil, density, and spatial volume is the predominant focus in my work. The body of work created using the newly discovered techniques presents a sense of struggle against an opposing force. Oftentimes solid, rigid, or tightly pulled elements contrast with organic, non-specific spatial volumes, which are, in many ways suggestive of the human anatomy, creating drama and tension, which allow for individual interpretation.
Advisor: Ms. Diana Attie, Drawing Professor, Center for the Visual Arts, Drawing, Unviersity of Toledo, Toledo, Oh