Name: _Whitney Johnson__________

Artist Statement
1. Circle which prompt you chose for your 16x20 final: SCIENTIFIC or NARRATIVE
2. -If you did the SCIENTIFIC illustration, describe in detail your creatures specific
adaptations, and explain how those adaptations help him survive in an apocalyptic
world.
-If you did the NARRATIVE illustration, describe your story in detail (characters,
setting, plot, theme)
My creature is a fire-proof salamander. Over his eyes, he developed protective
screens. These might look delicate and decorative, but that is just a ploy to trick prey
into believing he is harmless. His eyelids act as shields to protect his eyes against
the deadly, white hot flames he must live in. A symbiotic relationship developed
between the salamander and a creature known as the roost-mite, which lives in
fluffy, homey mushroom growths on the salamanders slick back. The roost-mite
produces a fire-resistant slime, which coats and protects the salamanders otherwise
exposed skin. Running gracefully down his spine are oval-shaped, porous sensors,
which can detect the slightest vibrations in the air (which signal the impending
dangers of small asteroids, which are constantly raining down on Earth. His lengthy
tail, which emits a pinkish, warm glow, acts as a tempting lure for the scare prey that
he comes by, since the food chain collapsed. His extended toes help to keep him
skimming above lava flows, instead of sinking into their melting depths. The carbon
fiber webbing is strong enough to withstand the high temperatures, as well.
3. -If you did the SCIENTIFIC illustration, describe the environmental issue is your
creature trying to survive in (what causes it, how it affects those living on this planet,
what we can do to stop it/slow it down, what you learned about it that you didnt
know beforeetc).
-If you did the NARRATIVE illustration, describe what sources inspired you (certain
books, stories, movies, events that have happened to you in the pastetc).
If a large enough asteroid were to hit the Earth, the impact would cause, in order,
massive earthquakes, huge tidal waves and fires, and large amounts of dust and
soot would be thrown into the air to cause the sunlight to be blocked. This activity
would cause many fires, plants would die from the lack of sunlight, and then the
animals would have nothing to eat. I learned that when an asteroid or comet hits a
planet, it creates whats called a mascon, or a denser concentration of material
below the surface that actually increases gravitational pull in the area. I also learned
that a comet or asteroid doesnt have to be very large-only 20 km in diameter-to
wipe out all life forms (animals and plants) on the Earth.
4. Describe what media choice you used (collage, pencil, watercolor, penetc), and
explain why you chose it: does it help the message of your artwork? Was it
challenging? Were you already comfortable using that material?
I chose to use multiple media types to create a collaged animal. It is created from
watercolor, magazine images, colored pencil, graphite pencil, and oil pastel. Combining

Name: _Whitney Johnson__________

all of these mediums was not only fun, but it also conveys the pieced together
aesthetic of my modified creature. It is a fantasy, formed by me, not something that
could happen in nature. Thats why the pieced togetherness works well aesthetically- I
was making do with remnants left behind from a chaotic, apocalyptic world. The hardest
part of combining all of these medias was imagining the order of what piece I needed to
lay down first. To make this idea develop easier, I created a sketch of just the outline of
my salamander on a separate sheet of paper, and I would lay down my to-be-collaged
pieces on top to see where I needed to cut them out at without gluing them down first. I
was comfortable using watercolor already, but I think I am still just getting my feet wet in
collage.
5. If you could change one thing about the way you created your project, what would
you change, and why?
If I were to do the project over again, I would leave more space in the margins to
write my information. It is cropped too close to the edge, not leaving much room for
the words. It looks a little squished in there. I would also use rubber cement instead
of glue.
6. How did the sketches help develop your idea? Did your final project idea change
from the beginning of the project, or did it stay the same?
The sketch really helped me figure out what I wanted to do. It loosened me up to
not take the project too seriously. It freed me up to consider adding images I might
not have thought to in the first place (such as the mushrooms and the camera
lenses, found from magazines). My idea stayed similar, but each component got
more sophisticated and realized. For example, the mushroom changed from one
shape to another, and the mites actually developed into roost-mites, which is sillier
but also scarier at the same time. I was able to add more detail and cut out the
components that were not as important, such as the sockets.
7. How were you inspired by any of the artists we went over in class? How does your
final project relate to any of these artists? (Alexis Rockman, Toni DeTerlizzi, Arthur
Rackham, El Gato Chimney, John Selburg, Hayao Miyazaki, Albrect Durer)
Describe how they relate.
Even though my creature is based off of the Scientific fantasy assignment, I think
it still has elements of a story behind it. The story element relates to the artists who
rely on story more strongly, such as Toni DeTerlizzi, Arthur Rockman, and Hayao
Miyazaki. The way I was manipulating an animal relates to the way Alexis Rockman
manipulates animals. However, I think that Rockman was playing with ideas like
genetic manipulation, and I am using items such as lace and camera lenses to make
something more like a cyborg. The watercolor materials I used relate to the aesthetic
look of John Selburgs creatures.