ADRIANNA MCEWEN

Forest Spirit (2022-23)
Adrianna McEwen, 15, Waterloo Collegiate Institute
(Mixed Media)


I took inspiration from things I've read about or seen in fantasy movies/shows and books. It's mainly inspired by forest spirits. I did two designs and then realized I liked them both. I combined my favorite parts of them into a separate design and loved it. The designs helped me stay on track with how I built the structure of the mask, as well as some of the flower placement. I used stylized the most mainly because the mask is based on an interest of mine. I focused on this characteristic most because it gave me freedom to be really creative. Some elements of design I used are form: it’s 3-D and color: I used a mainly warm color scheme with the flowers but added a few cool colors so that it wasn't an overload of yellow. Some principles of design I used are contrast: the yellow and orange of the flowers does stand out and work nicely with the skin tone I chose and balance: the flower placement is asymmetrical, as well as the gold dots on the face and ears. I used a warmer color scheme because my design is heavily inspired by forest spirits and in books forest spirits are normally very warm and welcoming. The ears turned out how I had planned both with sculpting and painting. I think I found success there because I took my time on the ears and was really careful while making them. I struggled with the planning, because Inormally like doing things without a plan and seeing what happens, but I also loved my designs and couldn't pick just one to work with. Overall I learned that making things with plaster is a difficult but fun process.