narrowing it down

i thought the critique of my video 'goodbye' was awesome, it had some criticism, but i was mostly elated to hear that i had, for once, met in the middle of obvious and too vague, so i felt i was ready to work on my painting/drawing critique. but first, i had to stress out and paint for luminaria. i painted on two sheets of 3' x 4' plexi and dropped petals from my collection of dried roses from past relationships in between, sealing them in forever. in contrast to the artist i was showing with, yvette shadrock, whose piece was immaculately white and clean, my painting was dark and dirty, which i was completely happy with :) spring break then was a whirlwind of ideas... ive been working with nude portraits a great deal, and tried incorporating text with them to indicate a power struggle. i also drew a large self-portrait with the giant word 'lush' encompassing the all-together 8 smaller self-portraits from the shadows. but alas, in critique yesterday, i knew i was back to the obviousness im trying to get away from. the drawings are cathartic to me, but it was suggested that im adding to much information with the figure and the text together, so i will make attempts at them separately and see what happens. i thought i was creating layers, but too many, it seems, and the wrong kind, as i was also advised that the nudes arent necessary, they are often typical, expected, and reminiscent of figure drawing class. they also dont show faces, so they are non-confrontational, and more seductive rather than intense and uncomfortable. so i am back to the drawing board again (hahaha), but with more, hopefully clearer ideas, and without loaded, literal, or melodramatic results. As for leslie's class, i would like to make another video and/or sound piece, but i havent quite got my idea yet. with a month before more critiques and the semester review, ive got to get it figured out now... however, ive been looking at more artists, and am inspired to keep trying new ideas and working through to what i want :)