"Press"
4in x 12in, acrylic on canvas

"[About touch receptors] the brain reads the firings and stop firings like Morse code and registers smooth, raspy, cold." (A Natural History of the Senses, Diane Ackerman, pg. 80)

Artist Statement: When the reading mentioned our brain recognizing textures, I thought about how our brains can also associate words with their physical form without needing a visual. I painted the words "rough" and "smooth" in morse code, and while someone might not know what the code says, they would be able to distinguish the two by touching the canvas and feeling the code for themselves. The code spelling out "rough" was painted on thick and globby while the word "smooth" was painted thinly and flat against the canvas. Just because we can't see something doesn't mean we can't describe it through our other senses, in this case that sense being touch. 

"Migraine"
6in x 6in, acrylic on canvas

"English, which can express the thoughts of Hamlet and the tragedy of Lear, has no words for the shiver and the headache...let a sufferer try to describe a pain in his head to a doctor and language at once runs dry." (A Natural History of the Senses, Diane Ackerman, pg. 104)

Artist Statement: I've had chronic migraines ever since I was little. I've never been able to get people to understand what it's like, and it's more than my head just hurting. When I have a migraine, I can barely function and it's awful when I have to be up and moving around. I tried to convey the feelings from a migraine in the paintings, but it still doesn't feel like enough. The crazy, scribbled lines are supposed to represent the fuzziness and "tv static" that takes over in my head when a migraine comes. The wavy lines are for the nausea, and those canvases are turned diagonally to make you as dizzy and uncomfortable as possible while looking at it. The strong black and white contrast represents my head (black) and the symptoms (white) and their sharp, intense effects they have on me. The strokes go from bold and solid to thin and broken up to show the ebb and flow that comes with the pain.

 Ai Weiwei

"Don't be quiet." Political/Social Activism and Community 

https://art21.org/watch/art-in-the-twenty-first-century/s6/ai-weiwei-in-change-segment/

Sunflower Seeds
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/ai-sunflower-seeds-t13408

    Form: the seeds are displayed in a way that gives the installation height, width, and depth, rather than being flat.

    Texture: (originally) the work was installed so that the audience could walk across the seeds, which would result in a texture change from the smoothness of the whole seeds to the sharpness of the crushed seeds. 

Colored Vases
https://publicdelivery.org/ai-weiwei-coloured-vases/

    Color: the colored industrial paint stands out against the dark, chalky appearance of the ancient vases. 

    Balance: the varying sizes of the vases gives the work an asymmetrical balance that allows the eye to move smoothly through the vases. 

Value Range
Kaylen Johnson, Student Work 

Value Range
Personal Photo

I Spy Book: I've always loved puzzles, and when I was little my mom and I would go and hang out together, pick out a new I Spy book, and go through them together. I'm still very close with my mom and these books hold some of my favorite memories with her. If you look closely at the magnifying glass, there's a ladybug, which is my mom's nickname for me.

Paint Brush: From day one I have been an "art kid." I had millions of coloring books, crayons, paints, basically any art supply I could get my hands on, I had. Art has always been important to me, and the fact that I'm in school for my BFA is crazy to me. Most people don't think art is worth going to school for, but thankfully I've got my family supporting me. 

Collection of Van Gogh Paintings: Van Gogh is my favorite artist. I've always loved his work and after learning more about him through the years I've come to realize we have some things in common. To me, he serves as a reminder that despite the hardships of life, I can create beautiful things and bring some light to the world.

"In spite of everything, I shall rise again; I will take up my pencil, which I have forsaken in my great discouragement, and I will go on with my drawing."

Pottery from Mexico: I'm Mexican, and so having art from my culture is important to me. I have several pieces, but this one was one of my first. The skull is hand painted and there isn't another like it. For the longest time I tried to hide this part of me because of how other people would react, but it's who I am and I'm proud of it.

Paper Crane: As cheesy as it is, in high school I was reading a book and paper cranes came up. The book told of a myth that when someone folded one-thousand paper cranes, they could make a wish and it would come true. That always stuck with me, and while I know it's not true, the myth, for me, has kind of turned into something that reminds me to hope and work for a good future for myself.

To Kill a Mockingbird: Since I read it in the eighth grade, this has been my favorite book. Atticus reminds me of someone very important in my life, and I've always related to Scout. The biggest part of the book for me was the theme of familial loyalty and doing the right thing despite what others say. Atticus and the kids have a bond not unlike the one I have with my family, and Atticus' sense of morality in the story is something I think people should take note of. 

Patterned Shirt and Necklace: My Grampa is my absolute best friend in the entire world. He's one of the most important people in my life and I know for a fact I would crash and burn without him. The shirt is my favorite one of his, and the necklace is a best friend necklace I've had since elementary school. The tiny charm of half a heart goes with the other half that's on a necklace that he has and wears. When put together, the charms read "partners in crime," and that's exactly what we are. It's been that way ever since I was born, and it's always going to be like that.