Emily's AP Studio Art

AP has been a roller coaster ride for me over these 9 months. Although we had some assigned projects, I really liked the freedom to explore what I really wanted to capture in my pictures. Taking art this year helped me grow as an artist and kept my stress level low.

My concentration focuses on a teenage girl who is suffering with depression. My goal was to show her story and battle with self-harm with each picture. The project gave me the opportunity to match a face to a reoccurring problem that many teens face.

My concentration is a PSA to raise awareness about self-harm and that what you say to people could leave a damaging effect. With the help of my subject, I showed the physical effects caused by hurtful words said out of ignorance. Even though she is in the process of healing, she is still shy to tell her story and feels alone. She is not only scarred physically, she is scarred mentally. I tried the pictures in color, black and white, and sepia. I felt that color did not fully capture the emotions I wanted to portray. The black and white edits made the subject look nonhuman, or monster-like. The sepia edit captured the emotions and still kept the human quality. This project is a journey throughout perception…from pencil sharpener to a resource…from clean to scarred…from how you see a person to how they in fact see themselves.