Work 1
Mario, 2013

 

Digitally woven cotton

71 x 52 inches

Process: I started with an image of the video game character “Mario”, stretched and mirrored it in Photoshop then had the digital image woven into a blanket and hung it on a wall.

Concept: Cultural icons and stories create memories that become emblematic of particular times in our lives. In this piece I chose a character from my childhood and made something new with it, expanding my ability to reinterpret my story, my history and my identity.

Activity

Personal Writing:  Write a short paragraph answering the following questions:

1. Other than Mario, what are 3 cultural or video game characters you remember fondly from your childhood?

2. Choose one - What did this character mean to you and why did you find it appealing?

3. What was going on in your life when you interacted with this character and how did it relate to that? 

4. How about now?

Drawing Exercise: Supplies: drawing / writing tools, paper

1. Make a drawing of this character changing one thing about it like its physical characteristics, its color pattern, its environment, or what it is doing.

2. Do another drawing the same way but change something else.

3. For the last drawing, create a new character morphed from the previous 2 drawings and your personal writing, re-imagining the old and familiar into something new.

4. Write a page describing this new character in detail.