Q. Nice to meet you, Christine. Can you briefly introduce yourself and your art pieces as a whole?
A. Hello, my name is Christine Chun and I’m in 11th Grade. In Term 2, we did independent series, so we created our own artwork. I created three artworks in total and my theme was based on galaxy and space. For my first art piece, I made a painting on a canvas (“Galaxy in Hand”), for the second art piece I also drew the galaxy but with a different material (“The Galaxy Behind the Shadow”), and for my third piece I created a 3D model of my imaginary character and the galaxy (“On The Planet”).
Q. Your art pieces seem to reflect your interest in galaxy. What prompted your interest?
A. I always liked the look of the galaxy. I think it’s really pretty and I absolutely like the color. The background is usually dark but the stars are very bright, making them pop out. I like how the galaxy includes pretty colors, like pink, bright blue, and purple. Those are my favorite colors. I always wanted to try painting galaxy and I thought this was a great opportunity for me to actually paint galaxy as my own artwork.
Q. All of your works are beautiful, but I think there is one that stands out to you. Can you explain which one it is and why?
A. The one that stands out the most to me is my third art piece, which is the 3D model, because I could actually create my own imaginary character. The character is in all three of my pieces but two of them were 2D, while my last one was 3D. I think this makes the last one special. I created my character using clay. 3D artworks always look nicer than 2D because you can see them in different angles. I never tried making 3D model and it was really fun, yet difficult at the same time.
Q. “The Galaxy Behind the Shadow ” is composed of several sticks. Where did you get the inspiration of using such materials from?
A. The sticks are actually popsicle sticks. For my first work, I used canvas and I wanted to use a material that was different from canvas. The popsicles popped up in my head. I just thought of popsicles as the background of my art piece.
Q. All three art works feature the same girl. What is the significance of the girl?
A. Many people say that my art pieces remind them of the story of “The Little Prince.” I really like the characters that don’t look realistic because I think they are really cute. So, I wanted to create my own imaginary character, and every time I drew a character I always drew characters that looked like the character I created in my art pieces. I think it was a great chance for me to actually make my own 3D character. Also, one of my classmates mentioned this during the critique in art class: when I switched around the order of my first and second art pieces, he pointed out that the girl starts with being portrayed as the shadow, and in the second one her actual appearance appears, and in the third one she comes out of the canvas and she looks real. I thought it was cool, because I didn’t think of it.
Q. During the process of creating your work, what difficulties did you have?
A. This was my first time to paint galaxy, so I didn’t know how to do it. Ms. Pantano taught me how to draw galaxy. At first, I thought it required just the normal way of painting things, like dipping the brush in the water and just painting on the canvas. But Ms. Pantano taught me that I had to use dry brush instead of brush that was dipped into water. So, I had to practice in order to paint galaxy that looked realistic and doesn’t look fake. I had my second difficulty when creating the third art piece. I was the 3D model and it was difficult to create a character that looked real just by using clay, because I had to make it with my own hands. Ms. Pantano also taught me in making realistic characters. I was able to make her look realistic at the end, but I had many troubles in the process of making her.
Q. Would you like to give final words to the audience?
A. Yes! I spent a lot of time and put a lot of effort in painting my galaxy art pieces. So, I really want you to check out my works. I also want you to check out my classmates’ art pieces because they put a lot of effort in them as well. If you have time, please check out the gallery!
-Grace Lee