Reflection

The first term of art has been really incredible for me. I feel like I have been evolving in not only the way I think about art and create art, but also in my mind set about art. Gradually, I have been getting better and "letting go" and just "arting" (new word!). I have become less focused getting everything "perfect," and more on just focusing on the main task and I have become more focused when I do my art work. In better words, I have become more free with my art, and more "experimental" and trying new techniques and thinking in different ways. One of the main inspirations are Monday "Drop everything and Draw Days." When I first started, I was so intent on getting everything "exact,"that I was always behind and "disappointed." Gradually, I have started to be more "free" and even though the art work may not be as great, I feel better when I am creating it and I feel more relaxed and optimistically. Even though these final products are not Picasso's masterpieces or maybe not as great as before, they are really helping me in the other projects that we are doing. From being open, I have learned new techniques and also what not to do, which are all contributing to my better art work. I feel like this was a step back, and then two steps forward. Thomas Edison when inventing the lightbulb failed multitudinous times until he finally got it said, "I did not fail, I have just found two-thousand ways to not create a lightbulb." He also said, "I never failed once. It just happened to be a 2000-step process." That is how I feel about this first term of art. I feel that everything that I have done in art class so far, both "good" and "bad," are just a process of making me better. In tennis, one very important lesson is learning not to judge something as "good" or "bad," but what is important is observing, and learning from the "positives" and the "negatives." I believe that I am gradually starting to do this in art class, each time that I pick up a paintbrush, a pensil, charcoal, or any object in the class room. I really feel like if I keep this up, I can really accelerate in the next term, maybe a step a step forward each time, or maybe  by taking one step back, and then two steps forward.

If I could do any of the projects again, I would do the either the value drawing or the painting portrait another time. Even though the value drawing was not my favorite project to do, I really think that my drawing skills need a lot of improving. I would really like to continue learning (about) and working with value to show perspective, time, mood, temperature, etc. I find it fascinating that value can create and add so much to a drawing, painting, or any form of art. I believe that by working on this topic more, I can really improve other aspects of my art. My two favorite projects were the Collage and the Portrait. I would want to do the Portrait painting and color over again because I really like how color can symbolize so much and can add so much to any work of art. Carianne Mack taught me something very intreguing about color. I learned that there are 100 red somethings in your Iris, to about 36 yellow, to 5-10 blue pigments (or something) that makes you percieve the way that you perceive the colors the way you do. Red is strong and "stands out" and is bold (because you have so many red "things" in your eyes."  Yellow is the "medium color" that is bright, but not intense and that attract your eye in a "medium"sense. Blue, the lowest, calms you eye and your body, and is cool, peaceful, and commonly used as a background (sky) for this reason. It is not he color that is going to attract your eye strait away. I find this fascinating, because I can also apply color to my everyday life. From books, to paper, to cooking, to designing, and to almost any thing that has color you can apply what color "means."

During this term, I/we have definitely researched and investigated many artists and their works. They are all "different" and so is their art work. My favorite is Andy Goldsworthy. I really like how he uses simple objects from nature to create such enchanting works of art. He also really uses everything to his advantage, and "thinks outside the box." For example, his work Knotweed Stalks (see previous post) uses the reflection of the stalks in the water to create the rest of the sculpture with incredible precision. Another one of his works, Rowan Leaves and Hole (click here for this painting and many of his others) is an extremely enticing, colorful, alluring,  and beautiful masterpiece of art by just using leaves from a Rowan Tree. I am captivated by how he uses the colors of nature to create such spectacular works.

Thanks so much for a great first term!

Kristopher.