Darning A Soul
Senior Thesis
The aim of my senior thesis was to reflect on the relationship between the current self and childhood self, and the way gender identity and mental health struggles can inform this relationship. The process of creating these works also acted as a form of personal exploration, an attempt to understand the conflicting feelings of guilt, affection, and grief which characterize the way I relate to the child I once was. These pieces are predominantly made using felt tip pens and oil stick.
“The textures of “Darning a Soul” by Willow May Frohardt ’24 were ragged and blotchy, alternately looking like film grain and blood splatter. Some of their drawings were abstract visions of violence that wouldn’t feel out of place in a “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” book. Others were much more precise works of almost photorealistic craftsmanship, though those drawings too showed bodies morphing into one another and contorting in unnatural ways... The mixture of materials—felt-tip pen and oil stick—and collision of memory and likeness with abstract fantasy and art-historical influence made for a powerful collection of pieces, a perfectly executed experience of ever-metamorphosizing visual unease.”
“Willow Frohardt work explores themes of childhood through the lens of gender identity, mental illness, parental relationships, and guilt. Frohardt was initially drawn to the conflation between the stitching of stuffed animals and the mending of human wounds. Their thesis demonstrates an exploration of various mark techniques and mediums (scribble, oil stick, micron pen, etc), each technique engaging emotionality in distinct manners. Their finished series demonstrates both a mastery of technical skill and the power of mark and materiality on the communication of nuanced emotions.”
