Adolescent Journey Artist Statement: Door Themes

Adolescent Journey Artist Statement

The adolescent journey began with a watercolor background. I chose vibrant watercolors to render my journey, as people often tell me that I have a zest for life.  Sentimental objects were placed on top of the painting. Lastly, I digitized the work and added a meaningful song lyric to the piece. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s I heard the bells on Christmas day has a rich history and personal significance to me.

The work is divided between East and West it shows my journey from the West to the East. The backdrop of my life has the traditional European double cross door, our family heritage is historically European. 

The hibiscus was from a trip to Haiti. The vacation to Haiti was my first experience of international travel. My father is a member of the Gideons International and always has bibles to give away. The Haitian people realized that my dad had bibles; they left their market stalls and swarmed him begging for bibles. I realized that Americans take our heritage and freedom for granted. I want to be able to offer people in the third world an opportunity that we often take for granted.

The brushes stand for my love of painting and Art. The charm is from my high school graduation; the rings are from my 16^th birthday and undergraduate graduation. The red Chinese door 

opens to welcome me from the West to the East; the pearls symbolize the connection of people and cultures through language. The pearls are important as I actually learned much of my Mandarin Chinese from pearl shopping. The Chinese clouds in the image symbolize heaven and are reminiscent of the beautiful Temple of Heaven in Beijing. 

The Eastern side of the piece shows a traditional door from Kerala, India and symbolizes traditional family values of Kerala, my husband’s native home.  The book is Arabic and is a symbol of my father-in-law’s career that placed his family in Saudi Arabia for twenty years. Saudi Arabia is pivotal, as it is the place where his family embraced Christ.  The book also represents education, which was the link that brought my husband Victor from East to West.  The eastern door opens to the traditional Kerala style cross oil lamp; this lamp was used at our wedding in India. The dowry necklace surrounds the lamp and shows love and acceptance of our parents. 

The wedding rings center on the cross as Christ binds us in love. The fire was lit at our Indian wedding to join two families. The Spanish tile signifies a step up in my career. Teaching Spanish helped me to gain a full time job that enabled me to teach Art.  The Spanish tile charm was an art and cultural advocacy piece that my classes created last year and it shows my love for language and cultures.

The element that most typifies my character is water. My path of life is a winding blue river of water. The river flows past areas of growth and blessings symbolized by flowering plants on the banks. The grey area is a major theme in life; we really never know where life will lead us. Uncertainty is often imposing but the creator will always remain in the front and center of my life career as an artist and teacher.