When I first started my art classes in college I came in with this notion stuck in my head that I had to already have everything figured out when it came to what I wanted to say through my art. I honestly had no idea what I wanted to say and I spent a very long time all over the map thinking I was a collage artist to working with installation, paint, sculpture and mixed media. To say the least I was very stressed and confused but something that always kept me inspired and head held high was a lesson about play that my Visual Thinking 1 professor had taught us.
For adults to play is a very difficult thing because at a certain point you stop mindlessly doing it and start to over think and over analyze things. A child has the ability to just go up to a blank piece of paper with a box of crayons and create without a second thought. They just do it. An adult tends to try and come up with a concept, an idea of what exactly they are going to draw before they even draw it and it is no longer about playing but working.
I wanted to create a beauty story inspired by the idea of play using nothing but construction paper as the makeup and a little bit of ingenuity. I wanted to tap into that inner child that makes silly faces, that cuts haphazardly, that draws with their heart and never erases. I thankfully got my incredible makeup artist friend Kayla Carcone to join in and go crazy with some pure unadulterated child-like play. I am so pleased with the results considering that we were stuck with having to shoot these photos in my dorm room with natural light.
To end this I wanted to leave you all with a quote from one of my favorite childhood books and one of the main inspirations behind this story, Where The Wild Things Are.
"There should be a place where only the things you want to happen, happen."
Remember, adults are filtered with worries and stress and anxieties and made up fears.
Create the future you want, that you dreamed of at 8 years old when the world was no bigger than your backyard and never ever stop playing.
Remember, adults are filtered with worries and stress and anxieties and made up fears.
Create the future you want, that you dreamed of at 8 years old when the world was no bigger than your backyard and never ever stop playing.
