Thinking of submitting this piece to another show in San Francisco.
This is a hand-drawn piece using a ballpoint pen, not one of those fabulous wood ring prints using actual stumps.
When I came across some masterpieces of wood ring prints on instagram, I had an immediate impression that I could probably make something similar using a ballpoint pen.
So I gave it a try, and looks like it turned out pretty well
But a huge difference between the wood ring prints and this hand-drawn artwork is that I didn’t need to rely on the actual condition of the selected stump to create this artwork.
More importantly, I took the liberty to use my imagination to draw something which symbolizes my life so far using wood rings as the vehicle. In other words, my life could be depicted this way if it were a tree.
And here is my question-what the best title for this piece would be?
Currently I’m thinking of “proof of life”, but given the concept behind it, maybe it should be something more specific, such as “what is the proof of your life like?” or “proof of my life”.
Also, as a non-native English user, I am not sure how much difference there can be between “proof of one’s life” and “one’s proof of life”.
Any ideas, suggestions etc. would be very much appreciated!
An amazing piece, @Maki , still can’t believe the things you draw with ballpoint! I think that “proof of life” sounds good. The piece also reminds me of a fingerprint, but your title plays into that idea as well!
I would call it “Ring of fire”… because its very very good! I know that doesn’t really help. It comes from when my kids like something they say “thats fire”. and if I date myself its a song by Johnny Cash!
Thank you so much for your comment, TheMustardSeedLife! So you mean “proof of life” sounds better than other options? Is that because “proof of life” is more general?
Hi Thomas, thank you so much for your comment. Hahaha, your comment made me puzzled at first. Honestly, I checked the meaning of the expression “that’s fire”, who in the world Johnny Cash is, and what the “ring of fire” means at all using some online dictionaries. The title might help the viewers at the show all puzzled but also intrigued. So I’ll think about it. Thanks again!
The other options are good too! I think maybe “proof of one’s life” carries the connotation, or definition, that the artwork is the proof of someone’s life, and that it could have been created by someone other than the “one” that the title speaks of. “one’s proof of life” can possibly sound more like this was created by the “one” in the title. So, it really just depends. “Proof of life” sounds fine to me, but when you added “one” to it, the title became more…unique? Like, you added an extra something to change it, because the title “Proof of Life” is probably more common than the variations with “one” in it. Hope that makes sense? (if it doesn’t tell me and I can try to re-explain…)
Hello TheMustardSeedLife, thank you so much for your reply.
I think I understand what you mean and I’ve decided not to change the title of this piece.
Today I packed the framed artwork and sent it to the organizer, and I enclosed the certificate of authenticity like this…you can see the title “proof of life” on it:
No problem, @Maki ! I’ve seen the long posts you’ve written to help other users, and I’m glad you’re a part of this community and that I could help! “Proof of Life” is most definitely a one-of-a-kind original!
Hello Troy, thank you so much for your comment and so sorry for my late response. You’re kind of right about the interpretation of this piece. Thank you for your kind words!
I think that “proof of life” sounds good. The piece also reminds me of a fingerprint, but your title plays into that idea as well!
