Student 28

My sister has always told me that I am like an open book. She tells me that she can read my emotions and thoughts just like an open book. So I decided to do my self-portrait as a book.

The book represents stages of life. There are leafs which contain information and emotions. The pages can be flipped back and forth. If life gets too difficult a page can be turned, and life will be moving along again. The pages are fragile which represents the soft side of me. But if I defend myself or get angry the books closes and the cover is hard. I can adapt to any surface. The book can be placed upright, horizontal, or half laying.

Then I have painted some colors, shapes, and lines on the leafs of the book to represent my personality and thoughts. I used some of the Yoruba chromatics to convey some feelings and emotions. The first page is white, totally blank. That represents that if someone sees me they don't think anything of me. Then is the cross that represents the crossroads or the beginning of my personality and traits. On one page I just used happy, warm and passionate colors. I did that to show that I am a positive, passionate, and warm person. The second traits are the same colors. But this time I have made the colors form into curvy lines of shape. That is to represent my passionate side.

My third image is to show my aloof side. That is dominated by a soft blue color that has horizontal brush strokes to symbolize that I can be passive. In the middle is a red square. The red square is a contradiction. The square represents my realism and down to earth personality but it is red to show that I still am a emotional and passionate person. That is a good way to portrait me cause I do have mixing traits which are scrambled in random order. Another page has a big circle with warm Yoruba colors to show that I am centered and focused but the circle is broken, the page torn to show that a circle can be entered. It is not closed in just because someone can see through it. One page has blue colors mixed with darker blue staccato all over it. The show cool feelings I have when feel empty. The big white circle is to show my emptiness that can occur from time to time. The red page with the red squiggly lines show that I am a loving person. The little black squiggle in the middle is the inevitable stroke of jealousy that happens to everyone that loves someone.

Some pages are torn off to show that mishaps and unplanned events can occur in life. A few pages later everything is back to normal and life is on the move again. It can also represent that my personality is broken and jagged sometimes but it gets better a few pages later. There is a carved hole trough a number of pages as well. That shows also my emptiness and loss I have experienced. The emptiness is there for some time and then it heals and I can move on. Then there is a section where the pages are glued together. That is for no one to see or is it? I have painted warm fuzzy colors on the outside with a big black key on. The key is maybe symbolizing that this area is closed. No one can read this part of me. That is the complexity and my deep emotions. Or maybe can somebody read that part if they have the key? Who knows, and I like to keep it that way. Another page has diagonal warm colors to show that I am active and exciting. There is also a clad of dark color to show that I am not too hot headed but have a cool approach to things even though I am always on the go.

I have tried to show the complexity of my personality through this self-portrait. I have many aspects and many sides. But to be honest so could this book have many more traits and self-expression of me. I just feel that I have scratched the surface so I can just say this is a part of me. I am much more colorful and deep. I guess no one can truly describe themselves in just 5 min of presentation. I feel it is undone but then I wouldn't want to talk hours about myself to a bunch of classmates. This will do for now. My book.

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