What inspired this sculpture?
I was super stressed-out about applying to colleges at the time. That anxious state inspired me to explore my inner self. I was trying to have a conversation with myself, so that’s how I came up with the idea. My sculpture has a head that stretches from one end and looks into faces on the other side. I feel like I have many social personas when I’m around different groups, and those are represented by the small faces.
What was your working process?
I used aluminum wires to build the structure inside. Then I put newspapers around the wires and wrapped the sculpture with lightweight stone clay. I spray-painted the base color, and I used acrylics to paint details. The faces are based on pictures I took of myself making all kinds of expressions.
What was the biggest challenge you faced?
It’s the first sculpture I’d ever done in my life. It was challenging for me to build the internal structure. There were a lot of concerns in terms of how to hold the pieces together, especially the head stretching around. I had to put a wooden stick underneath the head to keep it in place, and then I removed it after it dried.
What advice do you have for aspiring artists like yourself?
I know a lot of us only work with one or two materials that we’re familiar with. For me, those are oil paints and watercolors. But the idea of creating art as a process is very similar with all materials. It’s important to put yourself out there and try materials that you’ve never touched or that other people wouldn’t think about.