Final Portfolio Reflection

WRITTEN REFLECTION:

Throughout this year of taking AP studio art I experimented with many different techniques and materials. I was able to take the skills that I learned last year in advanced studio art and improve on them into my new work this year. I've like being able to have class critiques and talk about our artwork. It's been really helpful for me to be able to bounce ideas off of my classmates and get and give feedback. The processes that I enjoyed doing the most this year was linoleum block carving/ printing, painting with acrylic, and using Prisma colored pencils. I really liked being able to use the Prisma colored pencil in my last couple of works to be able to get really saturated colors and blend the colors together. The processes that I struggled with was using the oil paint sticks. I like the final product of using oil paint sticks, but my drawings usually tend to have clean lines and shapes, while oil paint sticks are much more gestural. The products that I'm most proud of are Jungle, Birds of Paradise, Growth, King Eider, and Races. All of these projects show my range of skills in many different media and techniques.

I have learned a lot by taking this class both this year and last year. Throughout this year I have pushed myself to continuously produce new ideas for each project. I think that I have improved a lot over the course of this year, I have been able to use the techniques that I learned in 2D, 3D, Advanced Studio, and Photo 1 & 2 to be able to expand my ability to create work that mix all types of media together. I've always know that I've wanted to pursue a career in art, but I wasn't fully able to experiment with my own styles until I took this class. Art is a huge part of my life; I spend hours and hours working on my artwork to push myself to be the best artist I can be. In the future I want to use all of the skills that I have learned throughout high school and the skills I will learn in college to combine all art forms together. The theme that I have explored continuously in my art is plants/flowers and the natural environment. I have always loved looking at plants and seeing all of their colors and shapes. I like the idea of being able to take an object in nature and recreate it using man-made materials.