Fragile Things: A Visual and Written Narrative Exploring the Artist’s Mind

The following creative thesis includes a printed book of visual and written artwork accompanied by an academic treatise explaining the creative process and references. The book is bound in an 8” by 8” yellow soft cover and contains 8 poems and 26 art pieces covering different media including oil paintings, handmade paper, intaglio prints, and gouache paintings. The content is carefully arranged so as to create a dialogue between text and visuals—each starting as an independent piece that achieves a greater depth of meaning through conversation with adjacent works. Everything from cover to final page is handwritten in replacement of type font, evoking the feel of an artist journal. The treatise written in response to the book explores the scope of the project from initial ideas to final printing while referencing several artists and writers that provided inspiration for content. The title, fragile things, eludes to the delicate nature of both the physical materials in the artworks and the ideas of a childhood lost and reclaimed.