Drowning in Thoughts, clay
Mohamed Karaki
Pacific Grove High School | Senior
My name is Moe Karaki. I am 17 years old and a senior at Pacific Grove High School. I have been making ceramic art pieces since 2019, when I first started taking 3D Design with Mr. Kelly. After some months in the class, I was soon to find out my interest in working with clay and how mind-freeing it can be. As a teenager I have many goals and aspirations, but at the same time I'm trying to find what is right for me; it's why I took the opportunity to take 3D Design to begin with. I used to make these figures from pipe cleaners all the time when I was a kid so I have always had an interest in 3D work.
My preferred material to use is clay. When I make my art, I like to just let things happen with the clay. I could make a sketch of a project, but I will never make it look like what I had originally drawn; I always think of new ideas, shapes, textures and colors right on the spot.
Recently, I really started to get into busts and sculptures, so I decided to sculpt a male head for my submission. In my art, and specifically in my general life, I always overthink and most of the time it negatively affects me. This piece depicts an exploded, cracked male head with his thoughts flowing away and settling at the bottom. The dirtied butterflies represent ideas and thoughts being ruined or forgotten. The clouds turning into barbed wire represent the harm that overthinking can bring, physically and mentally. The male head has bandages, which represent the attempt of self recovery, or self help. This piece allowed me to create something that represents me, in hopes of it resonating with somebody else.