My first semester of art is coming to close, fortunately I get to do one more blog post before it closes for good. I've had a lot of up and downs in this art class, but overall I've really enjoyed exploring my abilities.
I had no idea what to expect when coming into an actual art class. I thought that we would learn how to draw, but instead it felt like we were thrown into art head first. I definitely was not ready and struggled to come to terms with my artistic abilities, and how limited I thought they were. Before art class I didn't really have an idea of how broad the spectrum of art actually was, but now after being immersed in art for a semester I feel like I have a better grasp of it. Before class I thought art was a perfectly executed drawing or painting. Now I know art can be anything you put your heart and soul into making. I believe the unit I learned the most in was the first unit, artists observe. I feel like that unit was where I first started learning about art and how to art. I learned how to draw more realistically, which is something I continually struggle with. I also learned how to draw in perspective which was something I always wanted to know how to draw. Overall I know I learned a lot in that unit and my art ability has definitely improved.
When starting art class I wasn't really sure how to interpret themes in my art work. I would have an idea in my head, but it would never really translate on paper. However throughout the class I slowly began to be able to transfer what was in my head onto the paper. It takes a lot of editing and going through several ideas before I find the one that I like the most, but usually that idea is pretty great. I also have started to relate a lot of my art work back to myself because it's easier to come up with ideas when I do that. Now my art seems to speak for itself the theme comes across in the work, but it's not obvious. When we had to pick a theme to draw for the pre assessment I picked beauty. I think I picked beauty because I knew most people wouldn't pick a theme that seemingly complex. I tried to convey the concept that everyone is beautiful, by drawing girls of different sizes. At the time I was pretty happy with how it turned out, but now I know I can do so much better. The second time I came up with a different concept, What is beauty? Is beauty superficial like makeup, clothes, and jewelry, or is beauty found in nature? I tried to draw on the juxtaposition of the theme beauty by drawing to very different things, that we regard as beautiful, next to each other. In this image I pose a question to people, what do you think is beautiful?
My favorite unit/ project we have ever done was where we got to work with clay. I have always wanted to work with clay and learn how to sculpt. When I heard that we were going to be able to work with clay I was very excited, and couldn't wait to see what I could do with it. In this unit I learned more about clay than I ever knew before. I had no idea the process that went into making all these different things. My final piece went through a lot of trial and error periods. At first I couldn't shape my bowl the way I wanted to, and then I changed my idea half way through. However in the end I was very happy with the way my candle holder turned out. I think it's amazing what I was able to do with clay in less than a week.
When starting art class I had no idea what to expect. I had no idea how intense it would be, or how much I would enjoy it. I have never had an actual art class before this, so I wasn't sure what would happen in this class. I thought we would learn a new skill everyday, and that I would learn how to art. Instead it felt like I was drowning on the first day. I had never taken an actual art class so I didn't really know how to draw anything. However slowly throughout the class I could see my ability starting to improve. I was very happy with the amount of teaching in the first unit because I felt like I was learning something new everyday. Unfortunately in the next couple units it felt like the amount of teaching decreased dramatically, and I didn't enjoy that very much. It felt like my ability had plateaued. In one of the last units I did learn about grid drawings, which help me draw more realistically. Overall I did really enjoy this class, but I wish there would've been slightly more teaching.