MAGGIE MARTINEZ
Final Project
The name of this project is, "The Pieces that Make Up Me." The purpose of this project was to create a 3Dimensional abstractstructure that described what makes me as a person. I wanted to make something that would symbolize more than one thing. Something that one could look at and wonder aboutit. The symbol that I chose for the structure was a 3-D puzzle. It would be puzzle pieces put together in a way that most people would find weird or amazinglyunique. The puzzle piece is most special to me because it represents the Autism community My brother has autism. He is the main factor that plays the biggest role in my life. Everything I do, every decision that I make is for him. Therefore, this sculpture is also a tribute to him and how much hehas impacted my life. The design process was a bit rough. I wasn't able to pinpoint exactly how I wanted the piece to look. Different images and ideas would pop up in my head but I couldn't draw them on a piece of paper to see if it would actually work. So, I gave up. I tried to use puzzle pieces to make a statement of Autism Awareness. But, that wasn't me. I don't do simple. Hence, when I finally thought of the idea that I knew I could accomplish butwould take me some time to complete. I came up with a structure that has different puzzle pieces representing different locations or images of events that I have experienced. These also contributed to the characteristics that make me up.
The base of the sculpture is based on a quadrant grid, inspired by Sol LeWitt's Grid Photography book that he had published as an art piece. One corner of the quadrant represents my interest in being dedicated as a Naval Officer. The quadrant with the turtles and beach scene represent my dearest friend who resides in Hawaii. She's been there for me at my lowest points and so I appreciate her a lot. The other two corners, one with the New York cityscape and the other being the Florida beach, represents my upbringing from the North and South of the Eastern Coast. All four corners of my quadrant are anchored by my monumental commitment to the people of my life. Once I finished, I couldn't be happier with my outcome. I created a piece that was unique, confusing, yet put together and magical!