Unraveling (2023)

Caroline Thierfelder (she/her)

22x30”

multimedia (watercolor, charcoal, pastel, pen, marker)

Unraveling is an abstract depiction of a seashell, and was created from a process of drawing one hundred different versions of that very shell. During my senior year of college, I was tasked with reading an excerpt from Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland that talked about the fear following the departure from a highly structured art program, specifically as it relates to creativity. The message I interpreted was this: you have to make a lot of wrong decisions to get to the right one, but you don’t make any decisions if you don’t even begin. So, with a 100 pack of 3x5” index cards, I chose a single object and started filling the cards. Some cards were detailed with interesting perspectives or unique textures, others were barely recognizable, but in the end I had 100 variations to process and pull inspiration from when creating this final piece. At the time, I was preparing to graduate from undergrad and move to New York, and I was riddled with endless questions and anxieties about moving to a brand new place with no friends and starting graduate school. I think the wild, unruly nature of my internal state was really the reason I was drawn to the wild, unruly qualities in my 100 drawings, and ultimately why the final piece ended up being so chaotic. The name unraveling felt like the only accurate description of what my life was like at the time. In the best way possible, everything I had known was being challenged and I was preparing to uproot. It was terrifying and exciting. Now looking back, I realize how much of myself and my experience was poured into this piece, and I think the visual I created is much more accurate than any words I could use to describe it.

Alt-Text: An abstract charcoal and ink drawing of a conch shell, viewed from above. The shell is positioned slightly off-center to the right, emphasizing its spiral pattern. The surrounding negative space on the left is shaded in dark gray and black, with delicate white lines sketched to mirror the outer curves of the shell. The innermost part of the shell is shaded with tightly packed stippling, which transitions into looser, more chaotic scumbling towards the outer edge, conveying a sense of unraveling. Subtle muted blues and browns add depth to the drawing, enhancing the texture and complexity of the shell.

Caroline Thierfelder (b. 2001, Goose Creek, South Carolina) is a mixed media artist currently pursuing her master’s degree in art therapy at NYU. The selected work, unraveling, is a pen and ink drawing with a watercolor background depicting an abstract representation of a seashell. Caroline frequently draws inspiration from her experience growing up near the coast of Charleston, SC, which can be seen in the imagery of the Southeast native shell. She also seeks to blend materials, line qualities, and colors to represent the complexities of the human experience within a two-dimensional plane.

Artist Statement

Art has been intrinsically healing since before we even called it art. Early civilizations painted narrative images on cave walls as records of our existence. Portraits and sculptures have memorialized influential figures for centuries. Through my personal art process, I’ve realized my deep, almost urgent need to create works in order to process the world and my experiences in it. I find inspiration in my years as a dancer, experimenting with how movement can be translated onto a 2D plane. I use art to connect with my love for the ocean and reflect my experience growing up near the coast in South Carolina. And I think most importantly, I find that my expanding knowledge of the therapeutically healing nature of the artistic process has given me a new found freedom to create art for that very purpose- to be healed- rather than with a harsh critical eye. For me, the art-making space is where I feel both safest and most vulnerable, where I can offer a piece of my soul for others to see, and where I truly feel the most content to just exist. I believe that when someone views a piece of  artwork I’ve created, even if it’s a doodle on the side of my notes, they are viewing that small offered piece of myself as well.