Oil and Water 

We all learn very early on that water and oil are natural opposites and they can never be combined. The water holds the oil at the top of the glass, putting in on display for all to see as the oil floats there, unbothered. For this project, I wanted to work with these two liquids and find ways for them to become more than just ingredients. I wanted to get them to work together to create something enthralling. With the use of food coloring, soap bubbles, and colored lights, I was able to prove that oil and water can work together to create a dynamic, otherworldly scene that is not only mesmerizing to look at, but also evokes emotion as your eyes are brought from one part of the image to another by the use of lines, shapes, and colors.  These images could also represent the beauty of opposites and how without one, the other isn’t as exciting. I chose to use colors that play well with each other, whether they are harmonious or contrasting, which gave each image a different feeling. I wanted each image to represent the beauty between two things that are so different by using vivid colors to tell a story in each image. 

No Loitering 

Have you ever noticed the spikes they put on the top of the neon letters on building fronts? The ones used to deter the birds from gathering in front of the building and potentially disturbing the paying customers that are wishing to enter. It sounds crazy and a tad bit dramatic that we would go through all of that just to keep the birds away but its even crazier to think about all of the cities around the country that are using these same tactics at ground level, on park benches, freeway overpasses and busy downtown storefronts; as an attempt to keep the homeless population from seeking shelter in any area that would prohibit “regular society” from enjoying the space. 

On any given night in Michigan, there are approximately 8,575 people sleeping on the streets. 3,100 of those people can be found in both Grand Rapids and Detroit alone. This series focuses on the architecture and signs that are used around both cities to remind the thousands of people without homes, that they aren't welcome here.