Artist Statement:
Leah Rouse
"Reflection"
My series is a representatin of the body and the self. In this piece I portray three different aspects of self reflection; body, mind and spirit. I created these pieces as a hybrid of linoleum prints and drawings in hopes of captivating an organic and soft feel to compliment the beauty of one's self. I chose to relate the self to nature in a comment on the circle of life and how everything was created and all is connected.
In the first piece, the body, I have reflected the concept of the growth of the person to the growth of a plant or tree. At the bottom of this image there is a seed like form that is also representative of the human heart. The seed is connected to roots, or viens, which lead up to the tree, or in this case the body. I have also printed three words on this image; Live, Learn,Grow. I chose these words as a comment on life lessons. the tree needs a seed to grow and we need a heart to live. Both forms of life have a path of which to follow and we must not forget the lessons learned in order to reach our full potential.
The second piece, the mind, is a slightly less organic form but is important none the less. I chose to portray the mind as a looking glass, in this case it is shown as if the viewer is looking through an eye and into the mind's eye. I chose to represent the mind as a more mechanical organism using the imagery of gears. In contrast I chose to comment on the fact that the mind is in charge of all thought and emotion that one experiences. To caaomplish this I printed three words with in the mechanics of the gears in order to reiterate the idea that all is connected. The words I chose are; Think,Feel, Dream.
Finally, the third piece is spirit, which is represented on three very basic fundamentals of creation; water, earth, and sky. Within this slighly chaotic appearing print you will see a fish, a bird, and some plants which are all compliemented but a single word, Breathe. I chose to portray this on a more complex scale because the soul is underfinable and only the self can describe what their spirit is. By printing the word breath, I wanted to comment on how people should not just breathe but how they should breath in life and become a part of their surroundings. I wanted to comment on the idea of enjoying life and to live freely and full spirited.