Trash or Treasure

2023

11” x 14”

Ink, marker, and graphite on the cover of a pad of paper

In this assignment, we were supposed to illustrate two opposing words, using imagery to create the letterforms that made up the words. I chose to focus on my tendency to pick up little things off the ground, like small pieces of metal or discarded objects that appear to be small treasures to me. I kept the color palette muted and introduced texture with the linework and some swatches of graphite to make the whole scene feel a bit dismal and dirty. I also included some suggestions of space to make it clear that these objects exist on a side walk, and some chose to walk right by them while others take the time to reach down and examine them.