Identity: Depths of Self - Show Title
Art League of Ocean City
Feb. 1, 2019
Halie Torris
(excerpt that I wrote for inspiration and to learn a bit more about me)
I was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and have lived there for most of my life. The Pennsylvania landscape will forever have my heart; having grown up exploring the wooded greens and streams. While the natural elements there have always inspired me, I seem to feel a slightly deeper connection to the ocean. Its vastness; ever-changing yet completely still. My family would visit Ocean City each summer since I was a baby, and ever since then I would gape at the horizon and look for hours on end. It seemed to have a magnetic pull, I am forever drawn to it. When I began to draw and paint, it was only natural that the ocean was my preferred subject. I could spend early mornings and hot, scorching days at the beach and sketch or even just sit and stare; allowing my mind to set itself free. That was the magic it seemed to have, an uncontrollable force that could quiet the turbulent thoughts swirling about my brain.
I attended Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pennsylvania (not far from home) and majored in graphic design while minoring in entrepreneurial studies. I was on the women’s basketball team there as well, on an athletic and academic scholarship. As I grew older and graduation crept closer, I knew that my passion no longer belonged on the court, but within the arts. I graduated this past May, taking a job in Pittsburgh while unbeknownst to me; I would end up picking up everything and leaving in a few short months to land here. My passion doesn’t lie within the digital realm; more so in the physical application of paint. However, I do still love to design and express my creative thoughts digitally and through video. To say the least, I had a bit of an identity shift; thus, was born the theme of the show.
Common themes within my work are loneliness, love, independence, power, isolation, and truth. I explore these themes through surrealist portraiture morphed with natural elements. This is the simplest way that I define my body of work. However, it can range from women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, abuse of drugs and alcohol, materialism, and beauty standards. I am inspired by what I feel directly or indirectly through others. I analyze often, and take in my surroundings religiously. Love and longing are concepts that constantly provoke me. Thoughts that our physical bodies are merely shells and that our souls contain such an immeasurable depth. I delve into symbolism and using objects, nature, and the human form to express ethereal feelings/ideas. Painting is my escape from the world and awakens my internal truths. Simply put: I feel; my soul paints.
To be a local artist in this area seems quite surreal. Even though I have only lived here for a few months (& told that to be considered a local it takes at least seven years), it truly feels like home here. Twenty-two years of consistently traveling here each summer and falling in love with the ocean all over again. One of the pieces that I recently created for the collection was inspired at the Inlet. It was a cold January evening and I was walking down the coast when an image popped into my head. I knew that I had to bring it to life. This was a moment of pure bliss and gratitude; for I was next to the entity that has consistently inspired me for all of these years. I am convinced that when you can see the ocean every day, you aren’t doing too bad.
This show was inspired by an identity shift that I have experienced/am currently experiencing/will forever experience throughout my life. I am learning that we are ever-changing beings that adapt and grow every second. We must be gentle and kind to ourselves. It is mind-blowing how different we all are and the importance of accepting our internal truths. We must live lives that we cherish and follow our intuitive motives. This series was inspired by the thoughts swirling constantly and moving to a new place (here.) But most of all, I am inspired by the sea, by its ferocious, gentle, calm, turbulence; for it reflects all of us, and allows us to experience the inner depths of ourselves.
