Chloe Trachtenberg

When I’m stressed, I tend to draw made-up wildflowers. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized how many drawings correspond with my mood. I have created a wall art installation in my empty tower room. I taped non-adhesive craft masking paper to the walls, then day by day filled the walls with imaginative wildflowers based on how I was feeling in the present. “I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for.” – Georgia O’Keeffe.

This quote is said by Georgia 0’Keeffe, an American painter. It’s a prime example of how art is not only a language that does not depend on words, but it is a language used to illuminate them. The past couple of months have been extremely stressful and full of changes. My mom is moving far away to another state, and in the fall ill be living in New York City independently. I have so many emotions happy, excited, nervous, and sad. While drawing, I channeled all these thoughts as a snapshot of my mental state of mind. I added one butterfly to symbolize myself in the picture as an idea of metamorphosis. I wanted people’s eyes to relax and follow the dotted butterfly path traveling with me and part of me as the butterfly through the emotional wildflower jungle. My greatest desire is to walk out of this project feeling even more confident and ready to be on my next fall. A gesture to my present self and re-set switch that it’s okay to be afraid of new changes, but you can do it. I believe this installation will give me closure and a final goodbye to the life I currently live. Ready for my new adventure!