There Cannot Be a Sea

I wish this picture could be bigger but nothing else will fit. You get the general idea. Anyway, This poem "There Cannot Be a Sea" is by 2oth century Vietnamese poet Lam Thi My Da. It was written during the Vietnam war and translated for American audiences. I love the imagery in this poem and wanted to represent it true to Vietnamese tradition in art. The poem was intended to communicate the beauty of the Vietnamese people and culture and that's what I hope to achieve. I researched traditional Vietnamese art and found that they prefer to work off of dark canvases and that tapestries are a royal luxury and cultural expression. I was going for a rich, antique feel with lots of curves and movement.

word visualization: cobra

SEE NO, HEAR NO, SPEAK NO

For the self-visualization triptych, I wanted to use the old adage "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil". In my life I often turn my attention away from things that remind me of obligations I have and stressful things around me. I put a lot of pressure on myself to succeed and it can sometimes become overwhelming. I wanted to put a twist on the theme, however, by making "speak no" different. Whereas the others represent outside influences, I wanted "speak no" to represent all the inspiration I having blooming and boiling inside. Just as I am restricted by what others show and say, I am restricted in what I can express because I do not yet have a steady outlet for all my ideas.