Self-portait

My self-portrait was difficult to pursue. I didn’t know how to go about expressing myself on paper. I tried two different techniques but I did not execute them properly. So finally I got an idea while in the dark room walking jumping around like a crazy person. I decided on 5 words that describe me and then I would translate them into photographs. The five words that I chose were: giving, ditzy, misfit, clumsy, mousy.
To describe the word giving in a photo I put myself in a box and my intent was to look surprised at the person I am giving the gift to. Like when a child gets a puppy for Christmas. The second word I choose was ditzy. To describe ditzy I sat on a chair and tried to read a book upside down. My friends always call me ditzy because I never think about what I say. Words just sometimes come out. The third word I used was misfit, and to describe it I put a pumpkin costume on and I walked around a Christmas tree lot. I choose this word because it is how I feel in my temporary home. The four word was clumsy this word was chosen for me for obvious reason. In this photo I was trying to pull on a door that you can only push. And the last word that I chose was mousy. I chose mousy because it was a word that my parents used to describe me when I was a child. As a child I was very soft-spoken and very shy. I always thought that these actions were a product of being an only child. In this photo I put mouse ears on and drew whiskers on myself and I was in the corner of an empty room.
This project definitely made me think about my feelings and myself a lot. I don’t think I would have ever thought of myself this intense otherwise. I think that is why I was having so much trouble starting this project. I didn’t have a clear idea of my intent. I am glad that our last project was a self-portrait because it was definitely our toughest project.

-annette elizalde