Girl, Shining By Norah Kratz

This was a piece I created at the beginning of the year, probably towards the first week of school. It was a shorter process than I’m used to simply because I was so intent on finishing it that I really just worked on it whenever I had the chance to. It’s something of a self-portrait though if I’m being honest I’m not sure it looks all that much like me. Thankfully, that’s really not what the point of the piece was. It’s more about being in a new environment, an environment that really encourages creativity. It was like stretching after sitting down for a long time. In the beginning, it was hard to think any of my ideas were good but slowly I started to hit my stride. That’s what the wings are supposed to represent, my imagination taking off, or at least trying to. The red color is a little bit disarming, I think, but it’s also necessary. The red is trying to convey the anxiety that I had about doing so. When you start to come up with ideas and conscripts, some of them are going to be bad. You will fail, and it’s not going to feel that great. The redness of the piece is all about fear, but taking off anyways. The stars are just a little thing I like to do, my way of signing the piece. 

That’s my take on it, but the great thing about art is that it can mean very different things to different people. So, think about it. 

What does this piece mean to you?