The Work of Nyssa Henderson

 I think of my artwork as a way to express my passion for my subject matter. Throughout the past few years I’ve tied the ocean and marine life into whatever projects I could, so it seemed fitting as a focus for my senior year. 

Marine life and the ocean have always been huge loves of mine before I even got into the science behind them. On my first trip to Dauphin Island when I was just in the fifth grade I realized they were what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. It seems silly to most people, they'll tell you your passions and interests will change a hundred times before you settle on something. However sometimes things in life are just meant to be and click into place. Obviously that one experience is not all I’m using to confirm that it is truly my calling, I’ve been back to Dauphin Island several more times including for their month long high school course. In addition, I have volunteered at the Tennessee Aquarium for over two years now. 

But what keeps me enraptured? Well that’s the hard part to explain. It’s the utter beauty of the animals, and how they seem to defy all logic. It’s how so much is still undiscovered and being explored, that there will always be something new to learn or see. It’s the beauty of an element of nature that so few people truly get to experience despite how vast it is. 

I want my artwork to lend a portal to that beautiful, mysterious world under the sea. I want to share my love and my perception of the beauty found in the depths below. My works focus less on balance and symmetry and more on evoking emotion and having impact. I want to use color and some cheesy jokes to invoke the sense of joy and awe my subject matter brings me. The vibrancy of life and the diversity found beyond dry land have been truly eye opening and shifted how I see the world, and I hope I can convey even a glimpse into that through my artwork. I’ve played around with several mediums over the course of this year, some more traditional than others. My main medium is definitely acrylic paint, as I favor it for the flow and blending I can achieve with it as well as the vibrancy of color that can be achieved with it. However, I also stepped out of my comfort zone and wanted to do something new, which is how the idea of plush giant squid came to life. From patterning, sewing, and stuffing it was a step away from traditional art, and definitely the most time consuming of my endeavors by far. However, I feel it truly invokes the joy I feel, an almost childlike wonder crafted into something that would not be out of place on a kid’s bed. Along the same line there are several other pieces that really focus on the aspect of joy, whether by name or design. I hope my work brings smiles or maybe even a laugh, if not a newfound appreciation for the beauty of the Earth and the creatures who live on it.