Final Blog Post

This term as been quite a journey for me. I had never felt so inspired. I always thought drawing and painting did not come naturally for me and that I had to work really hard at it. I thought this art class was going to be look at the vase now draw it, now paint it. I was totally wrong. Every assignment we had was long and intricate. What I like about this class is its very free to adjust to everyones comfort levels in art. Every assignment turned out different and all the assignments had a meaningful point to them. There was no assignment that was just to draw a person. The assignment would be draw a person as a hero with some sort of meaning to yourself. One thing I did miss from Art Principles was the drop everything and draw day. I feel like I learned most on those days. All of the art projects I completed I was completely surprised by. With every project I struggled to come up with an idea. Some of the projects took me days. Looking back on all my completed art I can realized they every final piece is different from each other. No assignment was the same. I feel like I new know so much more about myself as an artist. I know that if I stick with an idea and give it more then 5 minutes before getting frustrated that I can actually come up with strong ideas.

Clean It up Project (Water cleaner)

For this project my idea was a little different then everyone else's. I felt that my project needed to have a strong point to it something that would make a difference. My idea really progressed through time. Over all I like my project. My favorite part is the background. My brother took that photo in Africa and when I formed my idea all I could think about was that photo. The photo is of the sewage line running next to a house and how gross it is. If I could change one thing it would probably be the tops to the objects. They look a bit funky. This was by far the hardest project for me. It took me I think over a week to figure out the project and I got really stressed about not being able to have an idea instantly.

Heros project

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For me I couldn't really find an idea for this project but I love how it turned out. I feel like I put so much work into the project and the message is very strong. If I could change one thing it would be that the people are not as strong as I wanted them to be and the trash pile is a little over powering. Overall I love how this project turned out.

Heors.

This piece of art was done by Hu Ming. This art resembles a heroic act because first of all fighting in the army makes a person a hero. They are fighting for to others to protect others. The women in this photo is a hero herself separate from the men because she is fighting as the only women with a bunch of men. She is taking a stand for her gender. She is the only women fighting and she is proud to fight.

Most of the heros I am seeing from The Boston Globe and The New Yorker consist of people who are acting as heros in movies. One article juxtaposed the difference between a hero and an anit- hero.

What does it mean to be a hero? To be a hero means to achieve something helpful. A hero does something good thats not done for oneself. A hero helps others to achieve or feel better about themselves. A hero steps in when nobody else will. Think about all the movies where a hero plays a big role. The movie that comes to my mind right away is the Incredibles. That movie is all about different kinds of heros and their superpowers. Maybe you dont have a superpower that gives you crazy speed or makes you invisible. But never the less you can be a hero even by an act of kindness. Saving a suffering stuck cat from a tree is a heroic act. To qualify as a hero one does not need to save the world from the evil guy who is trying to ruin the world. Life is not always an action movie. Heroic acts is done by somebody who cares and somebody who wants to help. A heroic act can range from someone helping an elder cross the road to someone risking their life to save others.

Product Project

- Phrases with water

- good idea very strong

- Ironic

Mid- Term Reflection

So far in our art class we have worked on three major projects. The first project was the Nature project where we thought about a word that meant something to us and represented how we feel about nature. In my life I have a lot of nature. Nature is a big part in my life. For this project I chose the word simplicity but the finished project did not resemble simplicity. It showed complication which is exactly what I was going for. I am happy with the out come of this project I didn't want to leave it unfinished. I think the piece sends out the message I wanted it to. For this project I did a lot of background research to find pictures of landscapes and natural disasters. I also sketched and did not rush through this project at all seeing that I finished it only today. Overall I loved this assignment and found it very inspiring.

The second project. Or second project also had to do with nature but involved more creative thinking. We were supposed to think of a problem in the world that we cared about that has to do with landscape. My project took a lot of thought and different planning. I had many different ideas before i settled on the final idea. Lots of changes happened in my sketching before I was finished with the final idea. I did a lot of research for this project and found many helpful pictures for guides. I stepped a little outside my boundaries during this project and tried something new. I had never traced something with a projector which is what I used for the coffee cup. Also i drew the whole thing which is not something I normally do. I dont normally draw everything. I didn't trust myself when it came to drawing. This drawing was complex seeing that I had to draw a city which I had no practice doing. Overall, I am happy with where the project is right now and I want to keep working on it. I loved this project. This is my kind of a project. Has to do with nature and future and the earth and things I truly care about. I loved this project and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Our last project was the painting of the cleaning supplies. This was completely new for me! I dont think I have really ever painted before. And I love it. I was nervous at first. But I love the way the brush feels on the paper and how its not as tense as drawing it. And not so exact and you can go over lines. I would love to paint more. I think I chose a challenging position because their is one red item that is tipped over which is a challenge. Still I am very happy with how it is coming along and I would love to keep working on painting and learn more about it. I started the painting with a light watery color then moved onto deeper colors with more paint. Last weekend I wanted to paint in my grandmothers studio so I think painting is affecting me in a good way!

Sally Mann