Matthew McClain Sept. 9, 2012 Ms.

Lipton Period 2 Mandala Artist Statement Through my mandala, I attempted to answer the question of Who am I?. This is a complex question, and it is rather difficult to answer with words alone, which left me to use pictures instead of words. The pictures I chose for my mandala represent a few of the various aspects of my personality. Below is a list of the pictures I chose, and my rationale for selecting those images. 1. The NASA logo is the central image in my mandala because it embodies some of my goals for the future. I plan on becoming an engineer, and though I am not sure exactly how I want to apply those skills, I may find myself employed for corporations such as NASA. 2. The photo of myself standing under some trees shows that I enjoy being around nature. I find the natural world to be much more fascinating than an urban environment, and so I may pursue opportunities in the future to leave the city for a more rural environment. 3. The beach is a special childhood place for me. As a child, I remember going to the beach with my family and enjoying the openness of the beach, and, though I was terrified by the water, still felt excited by the sheer size of the ocean. 4. The photo of the park bench shows somewhere I would like to be in real life. I would enjoy being able to sit at a quiet, isolated area like the one depicted by the photo and simply relax, without any worries.

Matthew McClain Sept. 9, 2012 Ms. Lipton Period 2 5. The sailboat symbolizes my desire for solitude. I enjoy being by myself, and sailors (at least in the past) were able to set sail and be cut off from the rest of the world. 6. The trophy symbolizes competitions that I may find myself a part, such as for entrances to college. I know that I may not always win, but a winner never quits and a quitter never wins. 7. The image of the winding road depicts my life as a journey. At times the road may get confusing and I may lose sight of where Im heading, but I always know that Im still moving forward. 8. The image of the man holding up a trophy builds on the same idea as the picture above it. I know that life is a competition, and I am determined to do what I can to come out victorious. 9. The image of the man standing atop a hill symbolizes me overcoming any obstacles that I may face, and always seeking to reach new heights. 10. The photo of my smartphone represents a link between myself and the rest of the world. With my phone, I can keep in contact with my friends and family, as well as browse the web to find out information. 11. My Rubiks cube represents several different ideas. First, more literally, it represents a skill I have that sets me apart from a large majority of the population. Second, it symbolizes that there are many sides to my personality. While I act one way around my family, I can become a completely different person around my friends, and vice versa. Lastly, it symbolizes that, once a person gets to know me, I am actually a lot simpler than they once thought.

Matthew McClain Sept. 9, 2012 Ms. Lipton Period 2 12. The image of Mario and Luigi symbolizes the bond between my brother and I. Like Mario and Luigi, my brother and I work together at many things and, though at times we have our differences, we always get past our problems. 13. The last image is an image of a sofa that I created in Notepad on my laptop. The sofa represents not only my tendency to be lazy, but also my casual attitude towards others. Though I know when to be professional in my approach towards others, I prefer to be able to sit comfortably and be less formal in my interactions with others. The assembly of images that I chose for my mandala reflects my personal aesthetic because they show my strong attraction towards the natural world. This attraction has caused me to dislike urban environments, which Im sure has affected my other desires and dreams in some way or another, guiding my thoughts with an invisible hand. Through the creation of my mandala, I believe I have gained a stronger sense of my identity. Though I may not be able to answer the question of who I am with complete accuracy, I have been able to grasp a much stronger understanding of the answer. I feel that my mandala is a strong expression of who I am at the moment, and though my identity is constantly expanding, I think that this project has helped me to realize the foundation upon which my identity is built.