Although I am called by many names and each are greatly connected to me, I feel my first name most accurately defines me. My first name belongs to me as a unique individual while my last name pertains to a group of people. Through my name, I was able to perceive three significant images which are a terrarium, a beaver, and a mouth. The terrarium and mouth were seen through the two ‘n’s, and the beaver was seen through the ‘y’. These three images portray significant experiences that I have gathered over the years. The first letter ‘n’ had a picture of a opened mouth which reveals my personality, values, and passion for eating.
The picture depicts the mouth open so that the top and bottom rows of pearly-white teeth are visible and the red tongue is also visible. It represents how I am constantly hungry and enjoy tasting foods from cultures around the world. My personality is also reflected, for I am extremely sociable and talkative. Even if the person is a stranger, I would attempt to engage them into a conversation and make them smile or laugh. Eating is also a way for me to connect and bond with my family and friends since much of communication is accomplished over meals.
For example, on my birthday last year, my friends and I celebrated by eating KBBQ and we were all ecstatic. For three hours, we were laughing, telling jokes, and recalling memories; and overall, we were growing closer and strengthening our bond. Through the second letter ‘n’, I drew a picture of a cactus terrarium. One side of the terrarium represented the day while the the other side represented the night. The day was characterized by bright greens for the cacti and luminous reds, oranges, and yellows for the sunlight. The contrasting night was a mixture of blacks, purples, and blues to embody the mysteriousness of the night sky.
A few shadows of the desert fox and mouse were also drawn. My older sister, Winnie, loves cacti and she once told me her wonder of how such beautiful and unique plants can survive and flourish in such lifeless environments. I share the same wonder as her, and I also realize this resembles both my own desire and my sister’s desire to always be able to trust and depend on one another and the importance of never giving up. In addition, my family and I traveled up to Arizona last year, and we were able to witness the beauty of the desert both during the day and at night.
I tried to incorporate the beauty of the scenery into my drawing. I transformed the last letter of my name into the face of a beaver. I tried to give the beaver a furry texture by using four different shades of brown and a featherlike stroke. The top of its head is a darker shade of brown compared the the lower half of its face. I love the arcane role of beavers and nature in general. I am an active supporter of the environment and I wish to spread the concerns of global warming and our negligence of the environment to more people, for many are still unaware of its consequences.
When beavers construct a dam and alter the geography of rivers, they create a beaver meadow which helps store carbon. This helps sequester greenhouse gases from the atmosphere; however, the decline in the beaver population has greatly reduced the amount of carbon storage. The picture of a beaver reflects my subconscious impulse to protect mother nature and the animals that are suffering because of the humans’ ignorance. I used my first name, Jenny, to convey my view of myself as an individual. In each of the letters of my name, I was able to draw a picture that represented myself.
The three most significant pictures are the mouth, the cactus terrarium, and the beaver. For the entire artwork, I used colored pencils, markers, and black acrylic paint on white paper. During the process of constructing this artwork, I discovered the deepness of my connection to nature and the advocator inside of me. I always wound up getting inspiration from animals and environments threatened by the effects of global warming. It was extremely fun and I enjoyed creating this work of art. I had never done something like this before where a name had more meaning to it than just a sound so it was a new experience.
