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Description
This is the finished version of an assignment for my Drawing for Illustration class. I used Micron ink pens and Prismacolor markers on a multimedia pad.

The assignment was to create a tattoo design based on Day of the Dead imagery. I'm not totally comfortable with that, since I don't celebrate the holiday, but I was thinking about why people celebrate it and how they do it to remember their deceased loved ones. Usually, Day of the Dead motifs involve skulls. To me, a skull symbolizes an end, something decayed, but my Christian faith reminds me that death isn't an end. For everyone who believes in Jesus, it's a new beginning, and ultimately death will meet it's end in resurrection. Which got me thinking about phoenixes, since the phoenix is a symbol of resurrection, dying in the fire only to rise again from the ashes.

And so I found my inspiration.

This piece was especially meaningful for me as this past month marked the anniversary of my best friend's death. We were very close, and I was devastated when I got the news she had been in a crash. My whole world just kind crumpled in on itself and I felt like I was drifting for several months. But I kept going on hope, the hope that I will see her again, that death isn't an end, and that because of the faith we share, our friendship will live forever. Coincidentally, the colors I used in the drawing match this cross she gave me, which is one of my most cherished possessions.

In other news, Highline just set up a student work art gallery, and one of my professors is especially keen on having this piece on display. Which feels amazing. I think. Logically, I know it's amazing, it's just that sometimes ASD makes it hard for me to interpret my own feelings. But whatever, it should feel exciting! Because it is!

Description
This is the finished version of an assignment for my Drawing for Illustration class. I used Micron ink pens and Prismacolor markers on a multimedia pad.

The assignment was to create a tattoo design based on Day of the Dead imagery. I'm not totally comfortable with that, since I don't celebrate the holiday, but I was thinking about why people celebrate it and how they do it to remember their deceased loved ones. Usually, Day of the Dead motifs involve skulls. To me, a skull symbolizes an end, something decayed, but my Christian faith reminds me that death isn't an end. For everyone who believes in Jesus, it's a new beginning, and ultimately death will meet it's end in resurrection. Which got me thinking about phoenixes, since the phoenix is a symbol of resurrection, dying in the fire only to rise again from the ashes.

And so I found my inspiration.

This piece was especially meaningful for me as this past month marked the anniversary of my best friend's death. We were very close, and I was devastated when I got the news she had been in a crash. My whole world just kind crumpled in on itself and I felt like I was drifting for several months. But I kept going on hope, the hope that I will see her again, that death isn't an end, and that because of the faith we share, our friendship will live forever. Coincidentally, the colors I used in the drawing match this cross she gave me, which is one of my most cherished possessions.

In other news, Highline just set up a student work art gallery, and one of my professors is especially keen on having this piece on display. Which feels amazing. I think. Logically, I know it's amazing, it's just that sometimes ASD makes it hard for me to interpret my own feelings. But whatever, it should feel exciting! Because it is!