#ImnotsorryforhavingEpidermalNevus

"The skin I'm In Was Made With Love"

Here for midterm is a collection of mixed media that I've assembled that embodies me and what I have learned. The term #selfiasimage is a powerful message that teaches us as students that images aren't what make us, we make the image we want to show people. That has been the first thing I was taught in this classroom that I've brought with me to my first collage. The subject of my image is all about loving yourself. The colors surrounding my image are bright and vivid to embody peace and love. Within the colors is my hand with the "ME" on it, peeling back a poster/sticker that unleashes everything that makes me unique.
 The colors are blended and surround everything including things that make me human. On the top left facing right is a quote that says, "Confidence is a beautiful thing." On the bottom left is my birthday. Along the bottom is my baby picture with my grandparents, next to it, a postcard from Portugal where my grandmother was born and raised. The poster that is peeling back shows makeup at the bottom and the hashtag, "#imnotsorryforhavingEpidermalNevus. This is the name of the extremely rare skin condition I have. Its a condition that causes the color of your skin to appear darker in some areas in the form of swirls, patches, dots and various patterns. The skin condition is notably everywhere on my back, chest, arms, legs and neck. This is why my neck in the photograph has many "eyes" upon it. Growing up, my neck has always been the topic of discussion when meeting all kinds of new people. On top is my name in big letters where my eyes should be but instead they are looking down at my poster from the top right. In the middle are my hands holding the words, "recipe for success" with the words, "I am a women" on my left arm. Beneath my arms are my insecurities being the foundation that I use everyday to conceal the marks on my face. At the right side of my self portrait with the blended colors have the quote, "The skin im in was made with love." At the bottom there are three little boats with the names, Reah, Ava, and Ronald Jr. which are my three younger siblings. Lastly, Beneath my hand, there is a small yellow heart that says, "Tio Danny", which means Uncle in Portuguese and Spanish and to whom I dedicated my poster. He has passed away two years ago but when alive he did teach me to happy about everything and never dwell on the negative things. Most of what he taught me has given me the inspiration of my self portrait to be about being happy.
The supplies I have used have been acrylic paint, crayons, magazines and various other household supplies. I used a lot of blending techniques for the colors of my outer poster and a scratch-like blending technique with a fan brush to represent the harsh insecurities my skin condition has given me in the past and how I've learned to love it.