Self-Portrait Without the Self

 Here you are, and here we go: self-portrait without the self.


Lizzy-------------

It’s a little dumb, but this is what I do with my time now. It was only a game I played to pass time, but it has turned into somewhat of a job. From 10am -8pm I sit her on the game and computer and let around 2k people come to my island. It hard to explain unless you play the game. It has become a big part of my life.

 This photo is old, but it has a lot to do about me. This is what I had on my wall at work before the whole pandemic. I was an elementary after school instructor. This is one of the first crafts I did with them. We drew ourselves and wrote what subject we liked and our favorite food. Now that school has been closed, I really miss those days. That is why I made it in black & white. This import part of me is gone for now.

 his is Khaleesi my cat. She is my first cat but anyone who know me knows I’m obsessed with this cat. I’m a crazy cat lady over her. She's my animal best friends and there is not a single conversation I have that Khaleesi is not brought up in.

My backpack to show I’m a student. School has been in my life since I was 5 so it’s kind of a big deal.

 Like Khaleesi I’m not myself without Midna my dog. Wherever I go she goes. She’s not the smartest dog and is a little awkward but I mean, she’s just like her owner.

 Obviously, I’m not Lizzy without my art supplies. It the thing everyone thinks of when they think on “what should I get Lizzy?”. 

 Carnations are my flower. I’ve painted so many carnations it become kind of a joke in the family. When I bring up my art it’s the first art piece they think of.

 I have a legit addiction to theses Lays Hot Chips.. I am never caught anywhere without them!

My rings are a huge part of myself, it shows my engagement to the love of my life and best friend.

Since my name is Lizzy, a lot of my close friends call me Lizard. I’ve been called lizard since I was really young so I’ve just kind of associated myself with lizards. Whenever I see a lizard, I think of me.

I don’t like taking photos of myself so I could only tolerate taking a picture of half my face awkwardly.  Even when I take pictures of me I still like close weird angles.



Juan------------------------

 My dog and Aaron Rodgers, This picture really shows two things that i love in this world #1 my dog and #2 Aaron Rodgers and The Green bay Packers.

 A beer can. A lot of great stories during my adolescent life began with a beer so it describes me not because I'm an alcoholic but because a cold one won't ever let you down.

 Collection of hoodies. It all started in middle school when i started to collect hoodies of different universities. I have quite the collection now.

 Supreme. It's my favorite brand and it describes me because I talk about it a lot. Unfortunately I don't own a lot of items but I do have a few. Most important you have to wear the logo, don't let the logo wear you.

Tools at my job. The gator I spend so much time with the neighbors are surprised when they see me without it.

 Shoe boxes. Sneakers are a big deal and they have become a big part of who I am. My only rule with them is if you like them wear them.

 Backwards Hat. Usually when I wear a hat I flip it backwards, so putting it backwards on the light made sense.

 PS4 controller. I play a lot of video games. I consider myself to be a big fan of them and I consider myself to be pretty good at Madden.

 Neon Sign. My girls, girls, girls sign is a big deal to me and it describes because, well, it's self explanatory.

Horseshoe. Horses... I kinda have a love hate relationship with them but I have been around them for such a long time I couldn't leave them out.






Maria-----------------------------

For generations in my family the dinner table is the center of meetings, work, study, etc., and at home there are no exceptions. In this series the shawl represents me It is a garment with which I am in love because in addition to covering, it embraces. My children know it and when I use the shawl they sit next to me and feel that hug, that cuddle. Why black and white?  The series that came to my mind due to this coronavirus quarantine, suddenly, at least for me, I changed everything to chiaroscuro.
The dinner table is where I sit with my children to do homework, and their science practices. We sit next to each other and play board games. They also like to sit closed to me to play their instruments. These instruments represent trips to their concerts: Thursdays for elementary, Friday middle school and Saturday high school. Now my trips are only through memories captured in the photos and in my mind, having a hot drink, and enjoying a fresh made cake. This table is my worktable to prepare meals and to work with my artwork as drawings, and paintings, even sometimes ceramics.



Savannah--------------------

 I know Val, “gosh another dandelion,” but wait -  okay, so when I was a kid like most kids dandelions were my favorite and still are but when things weren’t going so well or the day was just rough I knew I couldn’t take the day back but I could wish for a better tomorrow which is why the dandelion. The fox… many people tell me I’m like one… idk, maybe the red hair but they are sneaky, quiet creatures that are ever so watchful which is why the camera is there: when you are silent you can capture the best pictures. The tree - now I know, Val, you hate sunset pictures and I Quote “god, another sunset,” but I can’t get enough. They are my absolute favorite part of the day, especially watching them on top of my car. When there’s so much chaos the most relaxing place to be is in my car watching the sky. Coffee - two cups a day keeps the Grinch away 😹 Coffee and lists- well my favorite photo of all and definitely my daily.

 

Shania________________

Rose(Nothing lasts forever) this photo is important to me because when people say that nothing lasts forever most the time it's the truth. Not in this case though this rose is covered in gold so that it will never die, it'll stay in it's beautiful state and just stay still in time. I think this is representation of a love that never dies.

This photo is important to me because despite everything else in the photo, the camera is upside down. What this means to me is that there's no such thing as perfect. We all have our flaws, and it's up to us to see past the flaws and cherish what exactly we have in front of us.

This photo is important to me because I started off with the camera in the left and discovered that I really enjoyed taking photos. I decided I wanted to work with a different type of pictures so I got a polaroid camera. I have always found so much value in anything that's old fashioned. 

This photo is important to me because when I look at this eagle it brings me back to my high school memories. My mascot was Belen eagles and I would say that high school was really what drove me to be the person I am today. If it weren't for high school I would have never been introduced to tennis, or I would have never been involved in choir and had the opportunity to expand my knowledge on music. I would have never known of all the hidden talents that I had.

This photo is important to me because dolphins are my favorite animals. I admire how sweet and intelligent they are. I would hope that this would be my spirit animal because I am super sweet just like them. I also used to collect rocks when I was younger and the dolphin is attached to rocks so I think this photo describes who I am.

This photo is important to me because it represents apart of who I am. I'm an October baby so I would say that "spooky season" connects with my birth month. I believe that our birth months really do define us as a person.

This photo is important to me because I think that the focus is brought down to the book. I like when we can make the eye travel just about anywhere if we lead the viewer with our direction that is emphasized. For example in this photo because I was looking down it leads the viewer to travel down also.

This photo is important to me because I believe that one picture is worth a million words. Just one little glimpse at a photo can bring back so many memories. I love pictures so much because even when we have forgot about a certain day when the photo is brought up it brings back unforgettable memories.

This photo is important to me because I really love nature. Nature definitely is meditating for me. God has created so much artwork on this planet and we are blessed to even be able to witness any of it. Artwork really is everywhere, and one thing that I have learned since I've taken your class is it is even in places when we are not looking. Sometimes the most beautiful artwork and pictures are the ones that aren't appreciated enough.

This photo is important to me because I really care about all of our species and thankfully my brother has a turtle. The reason I'm excited that he specifically has a turtle is because nearly all species of sea turtles are classified as endangered. It breaks my heart because we are partially at blame for this.

This photo is important to me because I think that the focus is brought down to the book. I like when we can make the eye travel just about anywhere if we lead the viewer with our direction that is emphasized. For example in this photo because I was looking down it leads the viewer to travel down also.



Marissa--------------------

I chose this picture for this assignment because it represents where I am from. I know there are many Zia symbols throughout New Mexico but this one was special. For the past few years I’ve passed by this gate so many times and I hope to one day have a gate like this. I’m not exactly sure why but I’ve always dreamed of having a Spanish style house with an entrance like this and that is why this represents me, where I am from and what I dream my future home to look like.

  This next picture I took was of my crocs. I chose this picture because I was thinking when people think of me what is the thing they think about? I asked my pharmacist what they thought when they think about me, she told me my shoes, specifically my crocs. I customize them and I wear them everywhere. The shoes of a person can tell many stories and my crocs have been through many adventures. My crocs have been from Texas to California. Champaine and I took a day trip to El Paso to buy more of these crocs. We drove 3.5 hours to go to the croc store and get some new kicks. I would say this picture represents me because its something unique that I customize to have some of my personality represented in my everyday life.

 

This picture is an arrangement of my everyday makeup set up. This is a part of me because I do my makeup almost every day. I really enjoy doing makeup because it’s like I have a moment in my day to be creative. I have other points in my day that can be creative but some days if I want my eye shadow to be pink, I have the choice to do pink or whatever color I chose. This is also a picture I thought would fit because growing up being a cheerleader we would always have a time before our competitions, and we would all get ready together and it was really a team bonding time. My team and I would have our ups and downs but when we would get ready for camp it was always so fun. I take that with me every day that doing makeup is a time to be creative and a time to just sit and take in the moments.

  This might seem a little bit different, but I chose this picture because growing up I would ranch a lot with my dad. My family owns three ranches just a little way past Mountainair. This picture represents me because not many people know that I go help my dad at the ranch quite often. Like some of the past pictures I had some help. I asked my dad what he thinks about when he thinks of me. My dad gave me the idea to find a cowboy because I’m a rancher at heart and he knows that. This also resembles my dad a lot and we look very similar. This represents the rancher that I carry with me, even if you can’t tell when you look at me at first glance.

This picture represents me because it is my car, and just like shoes your car shows a lot about you. I really take pride in my Jeep because I worked very hard to get it. I got my car my first car my junior year and it was beat. I have been dreaming of the Jeep since I could remember. I can’t tell you many adventures with it yet because its new but I can tell you there will be many adventures made in the future.

This relates back to my other picture of the cowboy. This is one of the windmills that we have at our ranch. This shows the rancher side of me as well. Growing up we always climbed in the tank or had to fix the windmill. The fence shown at the bottom also has meaning because when I was thirteen I  drove a four wheeler right through that fence and almost died. I broke my arm and have a scar from getting surgery and shattering my growth plate ( PS: one of my arms is smaller than the other). So this photo has a lot of backstory about me and my childhood.

This is a self-portrait without the self because also for the past few years I would go to this place during the summer and just hangout.

 Next, this (along with my grandma's handwriting tattoo) is the most meaningful tattoo that I have. This is my grandpa’s birthday. It is special to me because my grandpa would teach me a lot. He taught me how to fish and to never stop following your dreams. I got this when he had passed away and I believe that all tattoos have a meaning behind them and represent you one way or another.

This is a picture I took of Champaine and me. When people see her, they always think of me and all our memories together.

Basically it’s my grandmas door. This is meaningful to me because they put our last name on everything. This represents me because it’s my last name and when people in the area that we live see “3V” or just the last name they know it’s one of us. This is a self without the self because I am associated with my last name and what I do affects not only me personally but my whole family. Anything with my name on it is a piece of me in one way or another; my assignments, my work name tag, or even a door knocker.

I saved the best photo for last. Thank you, Val, for pushing me to be more creative with my pictures and to take them not only with meaning but to add my own flare to them. This is one of my favorite pictures. This is my actual self-portrait. I love to ride bikes especially down by UNM in Albuquerque. I always ride bikes with Champaine and we always have the best time.