Images

What If... things get hard?

During the idea development portion of this project I really struggled to think of an idea that I felt was 'my own' within the parameters of the assignment. This experience was really different for me in this class and although I ultimately did not end up with a solid product, I gained a less palpable lesson. For the first time I really struggled, conceptually, with a project and it drove me to think more about the 'what if' issues and although I was not able to express them on paper, my frustration led me to be more acutely aware of these problems. When reading your feedback, "Remember that creativity shows up when you have to work within parameters. It’s important that you embrace the spirit of the assignment, that you “get on board” even if it feels outside of your comfort zone." This quote really made me go back to first term freshman year and reexamine what it means to be creative.

Text: Breed

My text project was very vague, I chose the word breed to represent a couple different things. I am a vegetarian and I chose this word to make the viewer think about how cows are bred and the cruelty of that process, and also to think about your own "pedigree" and family, because it is mainly through my family that I connect to nature

L a n d s c a p e

feedback

My idea for this project was very vague and personal. The word I chose was breed, meant to symbolize family and blood as well as to suggest the way cows are bred, treated, and killed in the food making process (I am a vegetarian). The idea of the cow was mainly because of a family joke, the joke being that my mom has purchased 2 life sized cow statues to sit on my front lawn. In addition, my main connection to nature is when I go to the birkshires to stay at my aunt and uncle who live on this amazing farm in a beautiful house so cows always just seem to be present... As I introduced my piece to my group they instantly recognized the simple qualities of the picture, but struggled to identify my word. Once I pointed out "breed" hidden within the spots of the cow my group suggested I do something to highlight it to make it more clear to the viewer. We also discussed my intentions with the background, together we wondered if placing it in a setting would punctuate the piece or overpower it.

Fantasy vs. Reality

Drawing from observation felt much safer then drawing from the imagination. When drawing purely based on what you can directly see the challenge is to recreate a realistic 2 dimensional replica, while drawing from imagination demands less 'physical' accuracy and more 'emotional' accuracy. Though both individually and equally challenging 'physical' accuracy requires you to replicate each and every little line, shadow, and contour of your subject while 'emotional' accuracy is a visual mechanism used to recreat the feeling or thought an object or image may have and manipulating it to transform your work into a more communicative piece. At my stage now, I personally enjoy the challenge of recreating objects I have right in front of me. I feel as though I can conquer the subject and I am satisfied and sometimes amazed at the fluency in translation between 3 dimensional and 2. Drawing from imagination and memory usually proves itself frustrating and unsatisfying.

the end.

This is the year I became an artist. Over the summer my mom encouraged me to take an art class and I was so far from into it. I had an image of myself as being too athletic for art. It didnt stretch my mind, I was always just frustrated with the disapointed with the outcome. This year really changed that for me. In all the stresses highschool brings, art class balanced it out. It was what my ideal class would be. It wasnt that I used this class to relax or waste time, of all the time I have spent in countless hours of classes in these two terms I have done the most learning and growing in this space. I love this space. Everything about it is warm (litterally and figuratively) and every corner is filled with work. There are always people in here doing something. Even when its empty you feel the presence of the art and all that art brings love to this room. We take advantage of every inch using the floor the tables the windows and hopefully some day the roof top to fuel our creativity. My story is not ending, this class has brought me to learn new skills and passions I plan on taking with me. Pencil drawing has really stayed with me, all through these two terms I have pushed my self to get better and have found I just really love it. Freshman year is about finding what your likes and dislikes are, there are plenty of ups and downs and growing experiences but for me this class has been the greatest. During plenty of study halls I would beg sarah to come up here with me to just escape the dry work we knew we had to get done down there. If my this is a story then we have only gotten to the intro. Thank you so much for a fabulous year, and I know it sounds tacky but you have really made a difference and dont think you wont see me monday (even though we dont have class)