Taking Ownership

I must admit that the hardest aspect of this project was not spending hours holed up with my laptop and drawing tablet, meticulously sketching, planning, and finalizing each piece of work. No, that was the fun part, the exploratory journey. Instead, the most difficult part of the process was creating this profile and publically attaching my name to my work. Indeed, I did consider signing everything as anonymous and leaving the 'Artist' section vague and non-specific, if I decided to keep the section open at all.

 

But, that would be unfair. I would effectively rob audiences of context, contradicting the very point of this project. What was I afraid of? Invasion of privacy? Stalkers? Internet trolls and harsh criticism? Or worse yet, complete disinterest and apathy? The real reasons for insecurity are a combination of all the above. Afterall, there is great safety and comfort with invisibility. 

 

However, partly because this is a graded assignment and partly because I do realize how much time and care I invested in this project, I am compelled to take ownership of my thoughts, creations, and voice. Even if I stutter. Even if I don't have fully formed thoughts. Even if my peers seem to have far wiser things to say. I truly wish to share some insight from my lived experiences, rather than bottling it all up to live and die with alone. So, for this project I dissolved many self-constructed barriers with the hope of giving my thoughts full visibility, form, reach, and hopefully reflexivity.