Picasso’s Guernica had a great impact on me. The rawness and emotion of the piece was overwhelming. Initially, I was very uncomfortable with the idea of exploring my own emotions through art. However, I determined that I could only improve as an artist if I was willing to do so. Many of my pieces were difficult for me to create. It forced me to focus on an event which caused me tremendous pain and sadness. I wanted the pieces in this show to take the observer on their own emotional journey, inspired by my personal experiences. I wanted the viewer to begin in a dark place, and as the pieces proceeded, to find themselves in a final joyful moment. The theme of the show is rebuilding. I wanted to convey these emotions through the use of color and subject matter. I began the show with a black and white self-portrait with only a pop of red. I wanted to express the pain and hurt I was feeling by using black and white, like Picasso did with Guernica, and also use red to make the crying eyes the focus of the painting. The show starts and ends with a self portrait to illustrate an overall transformation. For each piece, I added an additional color. I emphasized this by using painted canvases to help frame my work . As I added an additional color to a piece, I used that color on the canvases. I used the heart in my second piece, Knowing, because it is the strongest symbol of human emotion. My third piece, Break, used it’s three dimensional form, as well as physical symbols of pain, glass and blood, to strongly express feelings of pain and suffering. My fourth piece, titled, Smoked, depicted desperation through the woman’s pose and her inability to breath because of smoke. The 5th piece was the turning point in my show, titled Resuscitate. I chose to use a lot of color in the lungs to represent breath, and most importantly, life. The next piece, Open, again allowed me to use 3 dimensions for impact and further explored the idea of allowing yourself to be vulnerable by literally opening up, or exposing the most vulnerable part of the body. I chose to focus on the human body to make the pieces very personal and relatable for the viewer and to better emphasize emotion through the physical. The second to last piece, First, show nudity in a much different way then Smoked, through the use of vibrant colors and a softer pose, further expressing the idea of a transition. The final self portrait, Repaired, uses all the joyful colors introduced in my pieces, in contrast to the original, completing the journey for the viewer and taking them full circle. An eight piece show allowed me to use mediums I had some experience with, as well as the opportunity to experiment and challenge myself with new ones. I was fairly comfortable with charcoal and acrylic paint previously, but, pastels, spray paint, paper mache and plaster were new to me. When designing my exhibit for my show I wanted to keep it simple. I did not want the viewer to be able to see the cinder block walls at school. I use pieces of black fabric on the walls and the sides of my exhibit to create almost a room dedicated to my artwork. I really wanted the color of the pieces to stand out and the black fabric contrasted well. I added additional lighting to spotlight my pieces. Preparing for this show challenged me both technically and emotionally, and I believe I am a stronger, better artist for it.