Self Portrait as Pattern
Tehinnah Kitcher “Stitched Together, Whole.” 2024. Digital Art made in Adobe Illustrator.
Overview
For my first project I was tasked with creating a self portrait incorporating pattern in Adobe Illustrator. I wanted this project to reflect my personal identity as someone who has strong ties to both Ghanaian and Ukrainian culture. My other artwork is very self referential and usually involves me drawing myself. I chose to divert from that path in order to challenge myself to explore new avenues of self expression in this project. I ended up creating a piece that is a reflection of my unique identity all while figuring out Adobe Illustrator.
Thumbnail Sketches & Inspiration
I created ten thumbnail sketches that drew upon my background. I played around with kente, adinkra symbols, and the traditional Ukrainian рушник (rushnyk) style. Through this process I was able to determine that I was mainly interested in the gye nyame and sankofa symbols. Interestingly, the aspects of my cultures that I sought to unite in this project were both textile in nature. I decided to lean into that and to create my own kente-rushnyk fusion.
Inspiration
I was inspired by adinkra symbols. These are Ghanaian symbols that represent ideas and proverbs. Gye Nyame means only God or except God. It is one of the most famous of the adinkra symbols. The sankofa represents learning from the past to build for the future. I was also inspired by Ukrainian rushnyk, a traditional embroidered towel. It is used in many rituals and customs.
Previous Iterations
At first I only had two sankofa because I was afraid of the piece looking overly crowded. I also did not want to use color for that same reason. I am glad that I took some time to process these concerns because adding the color and the kente border not only made my art more lively but allowed me to get better acquainted with Illustrator.
At this stage I felt like there was something missing. I decided to chop up the rushnyk pattern, transform the elements and then weave them into the preexisting border.
Final Project
The kente border is intertwined with a rushnyk pattern with gye nyame rooted soundly in the midst of it all. The symmetry of the four sankofas and rushnyk pattern serve to anchor the work and tie it all together. I wanted to avoid a cluttered or disharmonious appearance because that would contradict the purpose of this project. I am happy with how it came together and believe it represents me, someone who is made up of many cultures stitched together, whole.
Tehinnah Kitcher “Stitched Together, Whole.” 2024. Digital Art made in Adobe Illustrator.
Annotated Bibliography
“Asante Kente Cloth –– Minneapolis Institute of Art.” n.d. New.artsmia.org. https://new.artsmia.org/programs/teachers-and-students/teaching-the-arts/artwork-in-focus/asante-kente-cloth.
- This was a scholarly article that not only touched upon the artistic value of kente but the social and cultural context as well. It was extremely helpful to view something so personal from an external perspective.
Smith, Don. “Negative Space, Empty Space and Dead Space :: Why It Matters.” 2017. Nature’s Best. September 29, 2017. https://www.donsmithblog.com/2017/09/29/negative-space-empty-space-and-dead-space-why-it-matters/.
- I referred to this article when contemplating whether or not to add onto my design. His distinction between empty and dead space helped me decide what direction to take.
“Adinkra Symbols & Meanings.” Adinkra Symbols & Meanings. https://www.adinkrasymbols.org/.
- This list clearly explain adinkra symbols. I used it as a reference when drawing the symbols in Illustrator. It also aided in explaining my project to others.
Crossman, Tanya. n.d. “What Is a Third Culture Kid (TCK)?” Tanya Crossman. https://www.tanyacrossman.com/blog/what-is-a-third-culture-kid-tck.
- I am a TCK and this project is built on that so I wanted to read up on what it truly means to belong and understand many different cultures. This was more so for personal development but that insight is ultimately represented in t he final product.
“Rushnyky.” n.d. https://www.artsrn.ualberta.ca/folkloreukraine/?page_id=97.
- This extremely thorough catalogue of rushnyk patterns and designs helped inspire my final design. There was also a quote in here that resonated with me. “The power of the rushnyk may come from the sacred act of embroidery”. That quote encapsulates the spirit of my project. It is really just another manifestation of the power of embroidery.