Art Portfolio: Researching Myself

 During this week's Art Portfolio class, we completed a task where we had to research ourselves and look deeper into our life and what shaped us to the people we are today.

Task: In this task, we were assigned to consider who we are today- if we are the way we are because of the life we lived. We were assigned to look deeply into our life, out early years, our teenage years, our personality and the people that influence us. Then, we were assigned to document all the significant events that happened in our life. Where we lived, who did we live with, what do we remember, what colour did we see and what we felt were all part of the things we could include. 

A large piece of A3 was used to design an outline of a body where it would be filled with our memories and our history. 

Why? We completed this task as an example of how proper research should be carried out. When we look at various artist, we should look at their history from a really young age to see how they became they person they are today. Looking deeper into someone's life will allow you to explore their work in greater depth and perhaps find reasoning behind whatever they created. It is easier to make links and approach the artist's work with more background information. 

How I created my diagram:

Why did I choose images with description? I wanted to include as many things as possible and utilise this opportunity to look back at all my achievements or important events. I am more of a visual person, therefore, adding small icons also resembles how I like to work and create my notes using diagrams and icons. I also wanted to add some text next to each icon as a means of creating context and making the viewer more aware of what the icon means. I also added all the icons inside the body as I wanted to symbolise that all these events are a part of me and made me who I am today. Additionally, the colours throughout the diagram change because I wanted to represent what I was feeling in each stage with a corresponding colour. 

Flow of my design:

The body is placed on a ground that is made up of a beach and grass. As I was born and raised in Cyprus, I was always surrounded by nature and the beach was a vital part in my childhood. I grew up to love both the beach and the nature around me and I learned how to appreciate it. 

I decided to add all my life events using a chronological order. As you move upwards in the diagram, the older I get. However, I also added all the icons inside with a chronological order as a means of guiding the viewer through my life events with the correct order.

I used the feet as my young years as they were the stance and beginning of my life. In my early years I started to learn how to walk, therefore, I thought that it was the suitable placement for my early years. The colour of the feet is green as it symbolises nature, growth and rebirth which was related with my early years. I was born in Cyprus, raised in a house with my sister and my parents. As a kid, I was very happy and energetic and loved to bake and draw in my free time. I enjoyed walks in the park and cycling around the neighbourhood with my friends. I was also introduced to tennis and loved travelling to different countries. Additionally, I had to go to the hospital twice to get stitches on my head as I was very clumsy. All of this information is written and displayed on the body using icons. 

Moving upwards, my teenage years, 13-16 years old occurred. When I was 13, we moved houses and also got a dog. My love for animals started growing as I got very attached to my dog. I started using social media and was introduced to boxing. I also passed my entry exams for my private high school and enrolled in many debate clubs and formula 1 in schools competition. I enrolled in an Erasmus+ program where I had the opportunity to travel to Portugal and host someone. That experience made me more sociable and challenged me to get out of my comfort zone which is why I made so many friends there. I started scuba diving, guitar, hiking, football and fell in love with physics. I also started intense formal art lessons. Additionally, my team ended up in the top three national champions of Cyprus in formula 1 in schools. Lastly, I got diagnosed with a disease called Crohns (mild condition) and it was a pivotal point in my life. I learned how to life with something and not let it affect you and get even stronger from that. Thankfully, my condition is the mildest form and I can control it, which I am very happy and grateful for. These years were the ones that determined the person I am today as I enrolled in so many clubs and activities and tried to explore many things. I experienced multiple things within those years and they will forever remain unforgettable. The colour of the body is orange as it is associated with warmth, joy, enthusiasm, change, happiness and encouragement which is exactly what I felt during those years. 

The following stage included the years between 16-18. These years took a very unexpected turn in my life. I started studying physics, maths, design& technology and maths for my a levels. However, I ended up dropping out of high school a year before my graduation to move to the UK. This was very unexpected and I was not planning on doing so, however, I got an offer from my dream university; therefore, I took the opportunity and left. I ended up moving in an apartment by myself which was very scary at first, however, it taught me how to be independent. I made a lot of new friends and ended up really liking the new lifestyle as I did not have a lot of trouble adjusting to a new environment. The colour of this section is purple as it represents friendship, wisdom, stability, creativity, independence which suit this stage in my life. 

The next step includes some elements of my personality. I am very energetic, creative, patient and like to smile and think positively. However, there are times where I am sad or get angry easily, can be very stubborn, can be very lazy and unmotivated. I put off things sometimes because I get lazy and I am extremely clumsy. I trip over everything and anything which is why I have so many scars and bruises. Another bad quality of mine is that I tend to overthink and overcomplicate some situations and it creates unnecessary stress. This section is very colourful as it represents many things. I added yellow as it represents energy, optimism and joy. Then, I added orange which represents creativity, change and balance. I added red to represent anger that I feel sometimes. Then, I added blue to represent the sadness and wisdom. Lastly, I added green for health and tranquillity. I added a spectrum of colours to represent the various emotions.

In the next section I added the people that I value a lot. Some of these include my family and friends. This section is located on the shoulders as these people have been my shoulder to cry on and rely. They have always been supportive of all my decisions and have taught me a lot. Especially my parents and grandparents have taught me everything I know. They were there throughout the years to build on my knowledge and ensure that I have the best years of my life. Valuable lifetime lessons have been taught by these people which I value and appreciate the most. The colour of this sector is purple as it represents peace, passion, fulfilment.

The last stage is what shaped me into the person I am today. This is located on the head as it symbolises the basics of how I was shaped and how those are the most important parts of myself. The disease I was diagnosed with made me stronger and made me get out of my comfort zone and be more daring. Travelling to different countries allowed me to explore cultures and be more open-minded to things. Art allowed me to approach things from a different perspective and look at the deeper meaning in life. It enhanced my problem solving skills and made me think outside the box with every problem I encountered. Design& Technology was also a very important role in my life as it influenced my progression route. Both the subject and the teachers were valuable additions in my life that pushed me in this direction and made me fall in love with this field. The formula 1 in schools competition made me very determined and focused on the tasks I complete. Moving to the UK taught me how to be independent and how to rely on yourself to make everyday tasks. It pushed me to be more active. Lastly and more importantly, my family and friends have shaped me into the person I am today. It is in the colour yellow as it represents happiness, positivity. 

Was it beneficial? I found this exercise very beneficial and fun as we had the opportunity to look back at all the years and learn how valuable it is to look at an artists history. Many of my projects were inspired by things in my young years, therefore, exploring artists in greater depth will allow me to look at things from their perspective.