Self-Portrait

I signed up to participate in a self-portrait project on the warm glass board. Now I have to decide what I want to do with a self-portrait. I could take an image of myself and reproduce it in a wafer, but that wouldn't really be reflecting how I use figure wafers, more as abstractions of ideas than actual representations. The figures in the Grief piece aren't about the figures, they are about no one quite connecting....

I can do something that is totally abstract. What aspect of myself do I portray? There are so many MEs, as I see myself. The NYC wannabe "sophisticate" who is always dressed in black. (One of my friends who met me when I lived in New York described me then as very hip. I wore hats even). The Venezuelan me, embracing bright color, rapid enthusiastic speech, drama and art... The child in me, clumsy, lazy, fat, ugly and shy. The professional me, creative, confident, bold, did I mention creative?, innovative, fun.

Or I could go in another direction, one that I have been thinking about, and reflect on how I have been rebuilding myself over the past five years. While for some women aging is about wrinkles, droopy eyelids and dry skin, for me it is about carpal tunnel surgery, knee surgery, getting in shape, losing weight, lasik surgery, floppy ankles, bad back, physical therapy, massage therapy. It's taking a city to rebuild me -- sort of like the bionic woman.

It's a struggle deciding where to go with this. Lots of sketches to consider....