Recently my art class went to the North Carolina Museum of Art to participate in a program called Teens Inspired. We were given three topics of art to choose from: Identity, Place, and Story telling. I chose to do identity. We were then told to go throughout the museum and find pictures that would inspire us. I chose this picture:
I don't really remember what it was called or who made it. It inspired me because it reminded me what I felt like when I got diagnosed with Graves' Disease (a form of hyperthyroidism). The dark colors remind me of how sick and isolated I felt. That's when I decided to base my piece off of my disease. At first I only had a basic concept of what I wanted to do.
I wanted to have a person with a blue butterfly on their neck. The butterfly stands for the thyroid because that's what it's shaped like. The blue is because those awareness ribbons have certain colors for certain things, and Graves' disease happens to be light blue. The person was to be the only thing not in color. After I had a more solid idea of what I wanted to do I drew out a few thumbnails for the position of the person.
I went with the last thumbnail. Then I started to work on the actual project.
And then finally, the completed project: