Raegan Wilmoth

 Title: Here Lies Beauty  Dimensions: 4" x 5" Medium: Ink on tissue paper Section: "In her book of forty-six almost life-size Polaroid reproductions, The Japanese Tattoo, photographer Sandi Fellman explains her attraction to tattoos as an infatuation with paradox: “Beauty created through brutal means,” “power bestowed at the price of submission,” “the glorification of the flesh as a means to spirituality.”" - 'A Natural History of the Senses' by Diane Ackerman Artist Statement: I created this piece to show the beauty of tattoos. Cherry blossoms are a common thing that people get inked on them because they are beautiful to look at. They also get them on a large scale, and they sit through the pain to get the piece of art they want. Working with inks on flesh is a tricky thing to manage and I wanted to show that by using the tissue paper as the surface since one mistake can mess it up bad. But the end results are worth it, something beautiful gets created and

 Title: Tied Together Dimensions: 12" x 16" Medium: Acrylic paint, string, beads on canvas Section used: "At the outset of a romance, the first touch people share is usually the taking of each other’s hand, while couples of long standing, moving through the world on their daily rounds, often hold hands as a tender bridge." - 'A Natural History of the Senses' by Diane Ackerman Artist Statement: As I was reading this section of the book I got reminded of the Japanese legend of the red string of fate. It talks about how two people are destined to meet and the red string connecting them by their pinkies will never tangle or break, and that is what I wanted to show. The string is a bridge connecting these two people while they go about their day, and that these people know there is someone out there just waiting for them to meet.