Inspiration
Most of my inspiration came from the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, lately I have been noticing there has been a decrease in teenagers going to my church and religious activities. I wanted to showcase how teenagers have begone to lose faith and doubt their religion. Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of the main focuses in the catholic religion, and as a catholic, I thought it would be best to make her the center of the art work.
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Planning
This was the first sketch I did, with La Santa Muerte (Holy Death) After looking at it the overall meaning I was trying to give was lost. The patches on the skull did not seem to showcase the concept correctly. This is when I decided not to include La Santa Muerte in the final sketch
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This sketch was one of my least favorite, simply because of how I decided to combine the geometric forms in Our Lady of Guadalupe. The church background was something I was very pleased with and did want to incorporate in the final sketch.
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With this sketch I personally think It was too simple and basic. I had a drawing of Our Lady of Guadalupe and a giant crack in the center with geometric detailing in it. This did seem too basic for my preference and wanted something more.
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This was one of my favorite sketches because I did like how everything was centered around Our Lady. The church background went along with the meaning as well as the patches or cracks in the random spots.
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Final Sketch
I chose this as my final sketch because it depicted the overall meaning. By having the church background and Our Lady in the center, with patches gone throughout, it showed how church involvement is disappearing. Within the patches there are geometric forms, this is to symbolize the youth. I was very pleased with the final sketch, but there would be some details that would need to be changed. By having both, the church background and Our Lady Of Guadalupe in the center it helped show I was talking about religion and faith. Each geometric form was to represent one teenager that had lost or doubted in one's religion
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Process
When deciding on my final sketch I decided I would separate the sketch into 4 sections. The first would be Our Lady of Guadalupe, the second is the church background, the third is the patches, and the last one is the shaded corners. I did this in order for me to focus on one thing at a time and so would not get confused.
I first began on the face, I started the face on the practice sheet, because I believed it was the hardest thing about my art piece, especially since it was the area with the smallest line work.
When working on the background, I had difficulties getting the lines straight, and/or perfectly curved. For this I tried different methods of holding the tool, but then I did end up getting a ruler and using it as my support system. I did like how straight the lines came out.
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I first started off with a practice plastic sheet. I wanted to get a feel of the etching tool before I started on the actual piece. This would help me know my limitations and strengths with the tool. I first did scratches too see how deep I should scratch. Then I wanted to see the difficulty of doing curved lines
Once finishing the basic outlines of everything, I wanted to include some shadows, for this I would need to crosshatch. I started off with the practice sheet, after getting a better feel of it, I began on using shadow in the patches.
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Expirementation
After finishing scratching on the plastic, I wanted to see where I would need more shading and get an idea of how the inking process would be. In the artifact of Our Lady of Guadalupe there was a bit of wearing out, I wanted to include that same detail, in order to do that I would not mind if there were small smudges in the final print. I did notice throughout the process, the print came out dark, mainly, in the center of Our Lady, because of this the detail was lost. This happened because I did not remove enough ink. In the second print, I removed more ink and it did come out lighter. Overall I wanted certain sections lighter than others for example, I wanted Our Lady to be lighter, and in the middle of the patched lighter, as well, but the area around the patches I wanted darker. This meant I needed to remover more ink in those sections and leave ink in others.
Reflection
Overall I am pleased with how the final work turned out. I truly think it is able to show the meaning behind it. One thing I did struggle in was how to ink the final piece, mainly because there was a struggle in knowing how much ink to take off in the process and where to leave some more ink. After a while I was able to have the final product have small smudges in certain areas, to give a worn out look. I do think I could have gone more in detail with the back ground and shading, I do not think the shading was done to the best of my abilities, and if I had time I would re do all of the shading and add more details to the church as well to the face of Our Lady. One thing I did not keep in mind was the way Our lady is facing. In the shrine she is looking to the left corner and in my piece she is looking to the right corner. This does not have a huge impact on my piece, but it is something I did not keep in mind to be aware of.
After all my research was done I was able to look into the shrine more in-depth. For example, when She had appeared to Juan Diego, She had told Juan Diego to go to the bishop and ask to build a temple on the hill. Juan Diego went and as a signal, he picked up roses and carried it in his robe. When dropping his robe in front of the bishop the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared. I was able to learn the image on the robe of Juan Diego was actually floating on top of the cloth. For many years, hundreds of people believed it was painted on the cloth, after researchers conducting experiments, they figured out the image was floating on top of the cloth. By the end of my research I was able to learn new theories and further understand stories of my catholic faith
After all my research was done I was able to look into the shrine more in-depth. For example, when She had appeared to Juan Diego, She had told Juan Diego to go to the bishop and ask to build a temple on the hill. Juan Diego went and as a signal, he picked up roses and carried it in his robe. When dropping his robe in front of the bishop the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared. I was able to learn the image on the robe of Juan Diego was actually floating on top of the cloth. For many years, hundreds of people believed it was painted on the cloth, after researchers conducting experiments, they figured out the image was floating on top of the cloth. By the end of my research I was able to learn new theories and further understand stories of my catholic faith
Similarities And Differences to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe
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ACT Responses
1. Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your work.
In the shrine Our Lady Of Guadalupe, she is the main focus showcasing how she represents the catholic faith, in the dry point, the main focus is her (Our Lady of Guadalupe).
2. What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The maker of the shrine wanted to honor Our Lady, with a beautiful art piece, to show her story and her importance to many.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusion have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while your researched your inspiration?
When researching Our Lady of Guadalupe I came across her story, with Juan Diego, and how many have done research on her and were able to realize in the eyes of Our Lady of Guadalupe, you are able to see Juan Diego kneeling before her.
4.What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central Idea was showing how there has been a decrease in youth presence in the church.
5. What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
There is scientific evidence supporting the theories of Our Lady of Guadalupe, for example the microscopic eyes, showing Juan Diego kneeling
In the shrine Our Lady Of Guadalupe, she is the main focus showcasing how she represents the catholic faith, in the dry point, the main focus is her (Our Lady of Guadalupe).
2. What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The maker of the shrine wanted to honor Our Lady, with a beautiful art piece, to show her story and her importance to many.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusion have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while your researched your inspiration?
When researching Our Lady of Guadalupe I came across her story, with Juan Diego, and how many have done research on her and were able to realize in the eyes of Our Lady of Guadalupe, you are able to see Juan Diego kneeling before her.
4.What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central Idea was showing how there has been a decrease in youth presence in the church.
5. What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
There is scientific evidence supporting the theories of Our Lady of Guadalupe, for example the microscopic eyes, showing Juan Diego kneeling
Bibliography
Michael. “Our Lady of Guadalupe.” Catholicism.org, 10 June 2004, https://catholicism.org/brmichael-guadalupe.html.