Julia Lambright Artist Statement

For my final project, I entertained many ideas on the direction I wanted to take with the theme of my series, but after some personal reflection, I finally landed on one that strayed quite drastically from the others. Recently I have begun to come to the realization that my college career is coming to an end. I feel unprepared to leave this school that I love, and scared for what the future will bring. But most of all, I feel torn on one overarching question: now where do I belong? Moving to California for college was the biggest decision I have made in my life, and while I feel as though Seattle will always be my true home, a part of me now belongs here, with the experiences that I have had and the friends that I have made. I wanted to create a project that accurately represented the internal struggle I now feel as I face the choice of whether or not I stay here after graduation, or go home to Seattle.

My project is composed of three mixed media drawings. The first depicts a pair of hands holding a sharp succulent plant. The second depicts a woman holding a bouquet of ferns, and the third depicts a self portrait, but while the lower half of the face is visible, the upper half of my face is obscured by a forest of evergreen trees.

As stated above, the theme in this series regards my lack of a permanent home. I have been living here in California for the past four years, and suddenly my time here is coming to an end, and there is a good chance that I will be heading back home to Seattle in just a few short months. Yes, I love Seattle and it will always be home to me, but there is now a definite part of me that belongs here in California. The hands holding the succulent represent this new belonging to me. The succulent represents California, as it thrives in the sunny hot climate here but suffers in the rain and gloom of Seattle. Although it is a smaller part of me that feels this attachment to California, it nonetheless confuses me as I transition into this next part of life.

As for the self portrait, the meaning is displayed quite literally: Seattle is a part of me- it will always be my home and will always hold a place in my heart. My memories will always cause a longing for the trees, and always will always remain on my mind. Lastly, the woman in the middle holds a bouquet, something that symbolizes beauty and elegance. However, instead of the expected array of bright flowers, it instead is composed of simple green ferns. This represents seeing the beauty in what is around you, and being open to accepting that perhaps not all people share the same idea of what defines beauty. Sure, it is easy to believe that a bouquet of roses is beautiful, but because of my memories and experiences, I see that same level of beauty in something as seemingly plain and unnoticeable as ferns.