Title of your piece: Spread Your Wings

Materials in the piece: Photos, sketchpad paper, cardboard, super glue

Inspiration(s) from Morrill Hall: The bird exhibits in the Nebraska Prarie section

Explanation: For my project, I created a set of bird wings. In Morril Hall, I was drawn to the section highlighting birds specific to the Nebraska Grasslands. Birds are my favorite animal and hold a special place in my heart: my grandma loves birds and we would watch birds together on her porch. I initially wanted to recreate the bird wings out of the grass, paying homage to the fact that the grasslands are their home and where they come from. Upon further development with that plan, I switched things a bit, after my materials proved to be difficult to work with. Under encouragement to turn the focus of the project inwards, I decided to make it personal. I used images featuring my family and childhood family friends, a block of wood that holds artwork that was gifted to me by my sisters, cardboard, and super glue. The cardboard, super glue, and sketchbook paper provide stability and a place for the images to be glued to.

“Spread Your Wings” is an assemblage project that is a reflection of my life. Growing up, I’ve always done my own thing - I’m very ambitious and enjoy other career paths and walks of life than my family. I’m the first in my family to not go to Concordia University in Seward, the first transfer student, and the first non-educational degree pursuer. While I’ve experienced new things, whether that be a new school or a new experience, I always have one constant in my life - the support of my family. Anytime I face an obstacle or new phase in my life, I have my family to turn to for support. They are why I am able to “fly the skies” and land in my own new destinations in life. I am naturally a very anxious person, and it hasn’t always been easy doing something foreign to the rest of my family. But even if they don’t understand, they cheer me on and offer the best words of advice that keep me going, even when my stress takes a hold of me. They have shaped me into who I am today and are always there, unwavering in their love and support. Wherever I go in life, I always remember who’s supporting me and how I am doing new things thanks to the support they have provided me. It just so happens that the wood used to prop up the wings was part of a gift given to me by my family and worked to display the wings perfectly. I also incorporated sketchbook paper in the structural section, which represents that while I have all my hopes and dreams in a creative field, I have the best cheerleaders in my corner.