Fleur: A Junior Design Student Conceptual Project by Kearstyn Harkins (2017)

I am exploring the feeling of desire through “I walk alone”.

In my photo, there is a vivid purple flower that stands out against the muted greens and wilted purples of the bush behind it. The bright purple flower is the centerpiece of the shot, and draws the viewer's eye directly to it, making the dull, lifeless flowers seem even more unsightly. This shows my artist statement because the colors in the shot make the flower look like it wants to escape the dull bush and find somewhere else where it can thrive. The flower is angled downward a bit to show that it is facing adversity surrounded by the dead and dying flowers that it has been trying to grow with, another reason it is singled-out and desperate to leave.

The flower is meant to symbolize desire as well as being alone, because it is the only flower that is fully thriving in its environment and looks like it is trying to leave the dying bush it is bound to. There is pollen on the petals of the flower to show that the flower is alone and desires to be around other living flowers. The flower is also looking away from the darkest part of the bush, showing that the flower is trying to get away from the darkness and towards the light and freedom.

When editing the photo, I first added a dark vignette to the edges of the picture to make the bush more subdued and to center the flower. Then, I changed the vibrancy of the image, making it more vivid to make the centered flower seem more alive. I then made a copy of only the flower and placed it on top of a mask that made the background. I heightened the contrast in the background to make the bush look more harsh and inhospitable and make the flower look more out of place and desperate to leave the plant life it is attached to.