FINAL ART 2017

one. looking back over the course of the year, and your blog posts, which project or projects were the most engaging for you? Where did you fully own your process as an artist? where did you get lost in the material or the making of work? 

I really loved all of the projects, to be completely honest. I feel like I was able to fully own each assignment and explore and push myself as an artist for each. I think what made this year so much fun and such a success for me was that I was able to take the message of the prompt and connect it with visual themes I'm excited about. The beauty of it too, and I've never experienced this fully in an art class before, was the opportunity to persist and get through a project despite set backs. In fact, I think four out of five of my projects had major speed bumps, and I think I'm more resilient because of it. But to pick a singular project, I would choose the beacon one with the light, just because I was able to focus intimately on the minutia of the rock and the shipwreck and the clouds. 

two. you have had a year of tremendous artistic growth. where do you see that you have grown the most? think about the studio habits as you answer and explain--observe, stretch and explore, craft, express, understanding the art world, reflect. which of these areas do you feel the most comfortable with? how do you see that comfort showing up in your creative practice?

I think last year I was able to develop my style really well, but this year, I able to much more fully explore my message as an artist. This year was my time to really explore my intention, and formulate the so what of my art. I was able to find that I like for my art to serve a purpose - to tell a narrative or explore an idea. But I think, but as Mr. O has pointed out, I think could push myself further in terms of my presentation, and embracing the opportunity that my medium provides. 

three. which assignments were the most successful? which assignments were the most frustrating? What are one or two things that your teacher does really well? What is one important piece of advice that you would offer your teacher so that they could make this class better?

My most successful assignments, or ones I'm most proud of, are certainly my digital work, just because I could feel myself improving and growing through the process. These, being the most challenging, were also the most frustrating for me, often having to rethink the piece, redo unsaved work, or deal with a challenging interface. Mr. O is great in every way, is extremely helpful, and is willing to work with my point of view without imposing his own. I think, to be completely honest, the class is basically perfect; it is a balance between structure that some people need and creativity and fluidity that inform the creative process. 

Who am I as an artist?

After talking about it for a couple weeks now, and doing art for the entirety of my life, I realize that asking who I am as an artist is intimately connected with the larger question of who am I. Its evolved in skill and precision, but I think my larger intentions were the same when I was painting with my grandma at age 4. Then, and now, I am ferociously curious about the world around me, and seek to document it and explore it through my art. All forms of communication are limited, language through speed and vocabulary, facial expression through misinterpretation. Art is yet another form of communication for me, indeed - it seems to hold true that a picture is worth a thousand words. I draw what my words can't describe, what I can't show to others - be it a feeling, a story, or something else in our world. That's why art is important to me. But additionally, I choose to focus on the moments, however small and mundane, that compose our human experience. Because oftentimes, more than our wildest dreams and fantasies, our own reality is what is truly breathtaking. As a result, I dive into the mundane and explore it for longer than I initially expected. How about painting a shipwreck on an island? I ask. I then spend hours painting out the cracks and bumps on the rocks, exploring the complexity that surrounds us. I use my computer and other 'non-expressive' mediums so that I can tame the art - so that it won't rise up and rebel against my intention. That's who I am as an artist, someone who uses art as a tool to express what my words can't, to express something about the human experience.

Text Project

1.  In what specific ways did the employment of "text" engage you as an artist?  

• What was difficult or challenging?  

The most difficult aspect of the project for me was grappling with the immediate power of added text. So much so, that at the time of this writing I have not yet decided on the wording. This aspect, the immediate attention that text grabs, was exponentially more challenging than the formal aspects of the piece, which I have begun to come to grips with. Although challenging, the color, composition, character work, and other aspects of the piece were relatively clear. 

• What formal, technical and/or conceptual insights did you gain through this practice?

This piece was a continuation of my exploration of using art as a narrative device. The concept was something quite different, and it was a bit of a risk, but I think I got my theme across, the inability to let go and move on, and sort of surprise the viewer in the process. 

2.  Where do you see your authentic artistic voice in this work?  

• What did you learn about yourself as an artist through this project?  

I learned that I enjoy concept design much more than the minutia of details. My ability to focus on many more panels this time around was much more enjoyable than focusing on tiny rock textures and the like. I also continue to love telling stories through my work, and might gravitate towards this as a larger project in the future. 

• Speak specifically to aspects of concept, technique, formal analysis and/or expression.

I think I was able to stretch myself in interesting ways for this project. The human figures were even more cartoony and representative than the ones before. I also really enjoyed the quick workflow of photo collage to easily make a background.