Halloween
Avila J.
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My piece is a vessel inspired by Pandora’s Box. This was a project introduced by my ceramics teacher Mx. Landowski during the end of September 2022. They took the negative idea of Pandora’s Box and asked us to find a positive response to it. They asked us to choose 10 words or phrases of positivity that we connect. I will admit, at first I had trouble with this. I couldn’t find any words or phrases that I really connected with. Then I started to think of things I love and words surrounding that. I immediately thought of fall and Halloween. My box is inspired by the word Halloween. Halloween is the one day a year everyone can be absolutely anyone they want without judgment. Without the feeling of embarrassment or insecurity. On each side, I explored characters we see on Halloween that are reminiscent of us in our childhood. Some of these characters spark joy and my feelings about Halloween. Making this box was definitely an emotional roller coaster. I am a perfectionist. Learning that my art will never be perfect in everyone's eyes was hard, but I kept going despite how many mistakes I perceived. I learned to confront my mistakes and embrace them as they appear. Each side of my box is a different vignette for the viewer to relate to their own experience of Halloween. I really wanted to not only connect to the word I chose but my box as well. I tried to add as many details as I could and I really personalized it to the best of my abilities. The struggle for me really began when I started glazing and the uncertainty of what the box would look like in the end. It was my first time glazing something with smaller details so it was hard to not make a mess. But after I finally finished and fired it a second time it came together. It's not perfect, it's not the neatest, but it expresses me and I love it. It also symbolizes us as people; we are not perfect. The box evokes the feeling of Fall and the Halloween spirit that I have experienced as a child and into my teenage years.
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Creativity allows me to explore and express myself. I utilize art to create visuals of emotions when words fail. Art is my gateway into exploring myself differently than I ever had the opportunity to before. My artwork is a way to get to know me from a different perspective.
