POST SPRING BREAK REFLECTION
Concept
After Spring Break, we were assigned a collection of questions to respond to regarding how much we'd learned up to that point. Since we were about three-quarters of the way through the year, this was a good time to evaluate ourselves what we'd learned. I tried to write at least a paragraph in response to the questions, but occasionally, I'd find myself short on things to say.
After Spring Break, we were assigned a collection of questions to respond to regarding how much we'd learned up to that point. Since we were about three-quarters of the way through the year, this was a good time to evaluate ourselves what we'd learned. I tried to write at least a paragraph in response to the questions, but occasionally, I'd find myself short on things to say.
Reflection
- In what specific ways have you grown as an artist this school year and how is that demonstrated in your visual work
-> I’ve gained a better grasp of basic concepts, as well as expanded my understanding of the general construction of art. I feel that I’ve learned so much about techniques I can use to improve my art and that I’ve really implemented them in the real world. Since this class started, my skills in every creative field have improved drastically. The principles of gesture, perspective, value, and a vast number of others play a prominent role in a lot of the recent projects that I’ve embarked on; I’ve found that it’s particularly made a difference in the traditional drawing that I’ve done. My work looks smoother, cleaner, and possesses far more order and simplicity than it did at the beginning of the year. I think that I’ve sincerely improved as an artist overall--I’m just really happy with everything I’ve learned! - In what ways have you grown as a student, leader, adult and how prepared are you for the next step in your life?
-> I’ve gained a better grasp of time management, definitely. As of late, my skills have been slipping a bit, but that’s mostly due to the fact that I’ve just moved out. When I figure out how to manage myself in this new environment a bit more, I’ll be able to improve my time-management skills and get them back up to the level that they were a month ago. If I had to stop high school now and go right off to college, I’d probably cry. I’m not prepared (at least emotionally) to leave what I’m doing now in favor of adult life. If I could get a job working as a graphic designer, that’d probably help me find some stable ground. I think that I could manage working a job, but trying to do that and go to school at the same time seem very overwhelming. Not to mention the fact that I can’t drive yet, which is vital to me attending college here at all. I’m not prepared, and though I know that what I have to do isn’t as enormous and scary as it seems, I’m still anxious. - What assignments and creative challenges have you done this year that you are exceptionally proud of and why?
-> I particularly like the way that I’ve improved with the use of the pen tool, layers, visual effects, and organization, since all of those will be of help to me when I get into my desired career field. I think that the infographic that we did displays a lot of the improvement that I experienced when we worked on that project. Considering the first fashion poster that we did, among other projects, I had a hard time making artwork that was concise but still visually appealing. Since completing that assignment, I think I’ve gained a better grasp of simplistic balance and visual flow, which I believe is evident in my work. I still need to work hard to keep improving, but I think of everything, the infographic assignment shows the greatest leap in my abilities, and I am proud of it for that. - In what ways are you aware that you can still improve in either your creative work or overall approach to school and professional life? How can you spend the remaining time in this class to make those improvements?
-> I need to manage my time better and separate myself from electronics. The sedentary lifestyle that I’ve been leading since moving out has completely killed my work ethic, and I find myself constantly exhausted yet still buried in work. I want to be able to commit myself to a project without wanting to quit halfway through, which is a lot harder to do since I’ve been sleeping so much less. If I can get to sleep more and manage myself better, I’ll be able to work better because I won’t be trying to juggle all the things I need to get done. I also have historically had quite a problem with being unable to finish projects that I embark on. A representative at Kendall told me that I need to work on that, so I’m trying to stick to projects more, even when they begin to bore me, in order to finish them. In class, I have much less of a problem committing myself, probably due to the “work time” atmosphere of this class. I think that what’s most important is trying to find a way to tackle the projects I work on in class in a more well-managed fashion, and stop being so overly ambitious so that I can get things done within the given time frame. - Knowing that you will be creating a digital portfolio of your work and ideas, what form would you like your portfolio to take and what do you think should be included? What tools and techniques can you use to start collecting and building this portfolio?
-> I’d like to have my portfolio be an expression of the kind of artist that I am--namely, the things that I like and the things that represent me as a person. I think that if I can find a common theme within some of my better works, I can try and come up with a basis for my portfolio, and from there, work on collecting and occasionally producing works that would make it feel complete. I’d love to have my Garden Hand drawing, along with the “Vessel” project, maybe the infographic, and I’m considering the book covers project we did a while back. I’d have to look through my projects and see what I like and what goes with my still-undecided theme. Once I decide, I’ll be able to give a fully competent answer.