1. What was the initial inspiration for your self-portrait?
In designing my self portrait, I attempted to stick with a theme of living organisms and or organic materials. The two items that deviate from this theme are the car headlight used as my left eye and the boat railing used for the chin. I thought that the headlight seemed to make the portrait appear more human than other objects that I originally attempted to use such as gears and marbles. I think this might be because the light coming from the headlight looked similar to the reflection from a human eye.
2. Why did you choose the images that used in your self-portrait?
I chose the images that I ended up using because they conformed to the living/organic theme that I originally decided to use. The headlight and boat were kind-of a second thought when I was unable to find items to build the eyeball and the chin that met my original theme.
3. What was your plan of attack in terms of the layout/composition of your self-portrait?
My plan of attack was to start with the facial features, followed by the hair and chin to act as a frame for the face. I followed up with the shirt and neck, and ended by using the burlap material as the backdrop for the facial features. Last I dropped in a landscape painting to serve as the background for the portrait.
4. In retrospect, what would you change about your self-portrait to make it even more successful?
Looking back, I think that my portrait would be better if there were a sense of motion to it. It looks like I'm posing for a formal picture rather than being caught in a moment of time.
