Kate Weathersby 3D Materials & Concepts

                In this sculpture, I chose to show the reality of male depression and mental illness in society. Especially in the past, men have been asked to "silence" their struggles and "take it like a man". I sculpted a thin male (not the 'typical beauty standard' in America) and put a 'thank you' shopping back over his head to illustrate how their emotions are covered up to make others more comfortable. Men are always expected to be the "stronger sex", even now, and must suppress their big feelings. The shopping bag acts as the man's response to society's expectation to shut up and take it. He says "okay I will try, thank you for the suggestion!" 

  In Progress: Originally "Child Obesity"     In this piece, I chose to sculpt what Anxiety can feel like. It is not exactly a representation of anxiety, but as I have been struggling with this kind of stress recently, it only felt right to sculpt how it feels within. I chose to wrap a little piece of fabric around the throat to show the little character choking and grasping for release. There are four different kinds of pills in his tummy and two behind him stuck on toothpicks. This shows how desperate and reliant our society is on suppressing these feelings with medication and how they can build up and build up, always a new "solution" in the distance (the toothpicks behind the character). I chose a thin, square wooden base with age lines that radiate towards the figure, almost like he is being swept away or perhaps they are radiating away from him like the noise of screams. 

  In Progress:      While reading The Metamorphosis  by Franz Kafka, I imagined the character Gregor to be a small, delicate Ladybug. Everyone around him treats him horrifically (understandably), and because of this, he is made to feel small, worthless, and a burden. I created his bed in a way that would allow it to engulf Gregor and sink in towards the middle, almost like his safe space in the hectic situation he finds himself in. I gave him a small pillow that mimics the lady bug pattern but the colors are inverted, so the pillow itself is black and the dots are white. While it mimics a lady bug's pattern, it also creates a cohesiveness with the bed and Gregor. For my other objects, I create a black rug made of crinkled paper, a small writing table, and a small chair. Not pictured was a small lamp. 

 

Wavy Holey Stringy Day at the Pool No tension in the Retention

  "Don't Mind the Pain" Acrylic on canvas 6"x6" "In the sand-swept sprawl of the panoramic film Lawrence of Arabia a scene of quintessential machismo stands out: T. E. Lawrence holding his hand over a candle flame until the flesh starts to sizzle. When his companion tries the same thing, he recoils in pain, crying “Doesn’t that hurt you?” as he nurses his burned hand. “Yes,” Lawrence replies coolly. “Then what is the trick?” the companion asks. “The trick,” Lawrence answers, “is not to mind.” ( Natural History of The Senses,  Ackerman, page 101) This piece is acrylic on a 6x6 canvas. I painted a hand hovering over a flame and I found this quote to be particularly interesting because it feels like a metaphor for either love or life. Love is gentle love is kind, but most of the time, love hurts. If it is good love, it hurts for the right reasons and that is a love worth fighting for. If it is a bad hurt, such as when a relationship becomes toxic and abusive (