Last year was the year I said that I became an artist. It came easily and that ease made it exciting and inviting. This year I came in expecting the the same level of comfort and was caught off guard when I was challenged to grow both conceptually and technically. The process of developing my ideas proved challenging as the bar was raised to create more personal and original pieces of art. Whereas freshman year, we were more blatantly told what to create and how, this year we were simply presented with a question to which our art had to provide an answer. This year we were challenged to incorporate color into our work. With the color came a whole new range of emotions in my work and within my self. The color was exciting, it brought a new level of life and to the work although learning to tame it was wildly frustrating and at times discouraging. Initially when we began painting I instantly decided I did not like it and that it was to 'loose' for me to be able to successfully manipulate and even enjoy it. Through working with the paint I learned how to struggle with the balance of the loose and tight work. I really discovered that my work was stronger when I released some of my tension and fear of messing up and simply let myself experience the materials. If I were to start the term all over again I would like to say I would try to loosen up even sooner but the struggle was half the fun.
Thank you for another fabulous term.