Assignment Fifteen-Identity

My childhood was filled with much fear and uncertainty. It was filled with bravery tests, and danger and fear. Obstacles to overcome and truths to become aware of yet It was also filled with things to love, things to grow close to, people to learn to trust, relationships to work on. As many times as I was reckless and got hurt or made my parents worry I was equally as blessed to have received such love and friendship and travel and experience life in a way few get to.

Assignment Fourteen-Graffiti

While I’ve always been a big fan of graffiti, I’ve never been able to create my own. But I’ve always loved words and messages and I like to choose them with care and consideration, especially in relation to myself and my life and the influences and opinions I make upon those around me, those I love.

Assignment Thirteen-Self Portrait

In your life you are not just you, one single individual—you are a combination of all the influences in your life, good and bad. Another, anything that had any influence on you, anything you’ve seen and any choice you’ve made. What you love and what you feel makes you who you are.

Assignment Twelve-Collecting

While I do not actively collect anything, I believe the act in itself is merely a hobby, only the usage of such a composition could be art. I have heard of many strange collections one I enjoy is my sister’s she collects hard covered book’s sleeves, and with a friend has come up with quite the collection. Lately she’s decided to implement this collection into a large scale, yet portable work of art. Clipping her favorite images, words, and colors from the sleeve’s she’s crafted a portable collage that she will use, add to, and share with her friends as they go on and go out in the world to lead their adult lives, away from where they grew up, beginning to redefine the concept of home to themselves.

Assignment Eleven-Perceptual Cramp

Everyone gets stuck sometimes, and everyone has different ways to get out of ruts. I find that through life it evolves and changes, I do things now I would’ve never considered, and things I did back then just don’t work. Art is living and evolving, it reflects your ever-changing life.

Assignment Ten-Found Materials

Art reflects your interest, and likes, it reflects your past and your dreams of the future. Anything can be art if applied with an artistic mind. Inorganic or otherwise, temporary or everlasting. You can be inspired by everything around you and make anything into a work of art.

Assignment Nine-Two Handed Drawing

As difficult as I found this to be, having little to no control over my psychotic left hand, I steadied the best I could and went for symmetry, I found drawing simultaneously with a unified mind, vision, and goal aided in the process greatly.

Artist’s Book

By: Kevin Portuondo

Assignment # 1 – Cover & Parameters: The Use of Untraditional Materials

Using the strangest, yet aesthetically pleasing materials I could find around my household I created a sort of biblically inspired cover page. I used cup holders, a deck of cards, poker chips, ping pong balls, cardboard, tin foil, and a cookie cutter to create an odd and original book cover that conveyed a sense of grandeur. 

Assignment # 2 – Self Exploration, Map of your Life

Since currently my life has been filled with much confusion, I attempted to portray this idea in a sort of chaotic mess of a map. Though there seems to be a straight path, I often get side-tracked or down-right lost along the way. Though it seems like the path should be clear, I’ve found it’s often cracked, broken, and under construction. So as much as I set goals for myself and try to hold true to the path, there are still times of confusion, and loss that threaten you to the core. To represent this I burned away some pieces of the map.

Assignment #3 – Notion of Home

Home is where you heart is, and my heart lies with my family. Wherever we end up travelling, or whatever we end up doing there, as long as we’re together we’re home. It doesn’t have to be a physical location, just a bond of love.

Assignment #4 – Where do we Come from & Where do we Land?

I tried to create a distortion effect here contrasting to juxtaposing images as well as playing with dark and light. It speaks of how too much of trying to change yourself can often break you, or spread you too thin, cause you to lose your sense of self. Real self is composed of freedom, a carefree sense of passion. When everyone is constantly concerned and stress they become fractured human beings, instead of the free creatures we were born.

Assignment #5 – Art & Life

It has always been my opinion that art is life. That everything you do is a form of art because it is a form of expression, there is no such thing as not overlapping the two. Anything you do in life with a true heart and pure passion can be viewed as art, because art is not a thing or an object, but an idea, a feeling. In this sense I made a collage of photographs, words, and personal phrases I find meaning in.

Assignment #’s 6 – 8: 3” x 3” Collages (x3)

Enjoying collages greatly, and surprisingly also enjoying the very limited space I constructed my hand drawn 3” x 3”’s on simple paper with nothing more than a pencil. Attempting to balance dark and light, chaos and simplicity, my passions and my joys. The second collage I made with thick and fine Sharpie markers. It is entropy yet also order. It’s shape and structure is similar to that of an atom and molecules yet it’s nucleoid core hold all four elements: earth, water, air, and fire. Around the molecular earth is the universe expanding out in electrical impulses of and galactic progression. The third collage represented some more passions I have, there are obviously some recurring themes but this was more of a reflective side focusing on natural aspects and themes of balance and serenity, a more calm and tranquil representation.