And the Roads Begin to Multiply

Allison h -

Hello there and welcome back to my blog! 

This first week was a week full of decision-making and shifting. Even something as simple as choosing the size for my canvas took a lot of consideration.

Through a discussion with my mentor, I was guided to two paths I could take to specify my research for this project: a focus on self-harm or a focus on art therapy. Although I will still be researching both topics, I have decided to focus more on adolescent self-harm, as that is the topic I hope to accurately depict in my painting.

I also had the opportunity to talk with my mentor about her perspective on self-harm. I learned that there are multiple varied functions of self-harm beyond the one function I discussed in my previous post: an expression of overwhelming emotions. Some individuals may self-harm for the opposite reason, they feel a numbness and the physical pain allows them to feel something. Others may self-harm to gain a sense of control or communicate their pain to others. I realized I needed to rethink my painting and decide which functions I hope to communicate in my final product. Back to the drawing board!

Instead of creating one large painting as I planned earlier, I now hope to create 2-4 smaller paintings (depending on how fast I paint) showing how self-harm can differ between individuals. I have decided to work on 8×10 inch canvases, as they are big enough to add details and small enough to be feasible within my time frame.

Next week I hope to have some rough sketches of my paintings done so stay tuned!

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Comments:

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    meggiles
    Hi, Allison! I love that your mentor is helping to refine your ideas/curiosity. I would always love to see photos . . . do you have the materials for your paintings ready yet? MG
    cason_t
    Hey Allison, it's great to hear that you have a new idea for your final product! I think that contrast in reasoning helps me imagine what the paintings may look like. Are there any other considerations your mentor brought up about self-harm? I'm excited to see your sketches!
    danielle_l
    Heya, Allison! I'm impressed by the way that you navigated how to rethink your project; it's super smart and will present an even larger impact than you already intended. I never considered some of those reasons for self-harm before, and it's super eye-opening that you included and are exploring these. Will you be working on the different canvases simultaneously or go at it one painting at a time? I can't wait to see your creative vision for this project!
    nick_a
    Hello Allison, I'm glad you and your mentor discussed the varied functions of self-harm. Hopefully that will add on to your original vision of your paintings. Do you know how you want to explore the different functions of self-harm (i.e through others' experiences or by researching online articles)? Can't wait to see the results!
    katherine_v
    Hello Allison! I think your new idea of having many paintings instead of just one sounds amazing. Do you have a general style of art in mind for your painting (like abstractionism or realism)? I can't wait to see how you will progress in the next week!
    allison_h
    Hi Ms. Giles! I definitely plan on having pictures next week showing my sketches. Because I just decided on changing my canvas size, I currently don't have any 8x10 inch canvases, but I will be getting them this weekend. I do have my paint brushes and paint ready!
    allison_h
    Hello Cason! Yes, my mentor has provided me with a lot of information that wouldn't all fit in one blog post. Another interesting consideration she brought up is for the therapy side, it's important to think of living with emotions safely, not controlling them. She told me to think of how Joy was trying to control Sadness in Inside Out which I found extremely helpful!
    allison_h
    Hey Danielle! I'm thinking of working on the sketches for the paintings simultaneously, but working on the actual painting part one at a time. Simultaneously painting two different canvases usually loses my flow of thought haha.
    allison_h
    Hi Nick! I will mainly be reading online articles, however some articles have case examples which provides more specifics on individual experiences!
    allison_h
    Hello Kathy! Based on the ideas I currently have in mind, the paintings will be a mixture of both abstractionism and realism. The actual depiction of emotions will be more abstract, while I do have some objects in my paintings that will be realistic. It should make more sense once I have my sketches next week!

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