Reflection

Do you feel like your experience in Foundations of Art was successful?

I feel as though my experience in Foundations of Art was very successful. Coming into my Freshman year I was worried that I wouldn't have the same opportunity to create art as the GT program had provided in middle school. In elementary years, I never really found regular art class to be AS challenging or creative as the GT club. However, this was definitely not the case with Foundations of Art. Each assignment taught me something new about art and improved my technique as an artist. I found the projects to be full or creativity and engaging, allowing me to take them as far as I wanted. At the end of the year, I've acquired new skills and have made a few pieces of art I am really proud of.

What was the hardest thing for you in taking this course?

In this course I was most challenged with time. It's no secret, I am a VERY slow artist. Even though most of my classmates were able to finish within the time provided, I was usually cramming late at night to finish a project. Contributing greatly to this issue was my poor quick-decision making ability. I usually spent a large portion of class trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I would have liked to be able to do more work in class then at home.

How did you overcome this difficulty to be successful?

Mr. Andreson was very understanding and supportive of my timing issues, giving me lots of great advice and offering extensions so that I could do my best work instead of rushing the end. Also my the end of the year I tried to keep things a little more simple, cutting down on overthinking time. I also started coming to the art room during advisory and lunch, which allowed me to get more of my work done at school rather than at home. If I could give myself a piece of advice at the beginning of the year, I would say don't waste time overthinking what you want to do for each project, just jump into it and enjoy it.

What were your favorite projects this year?

My favorite projects this year were the Negative Space Drawings, Self Portrait, Mixed-Media Drawing, and Abstract shoe drawing. As a final product, I am most proud of the look of the Abstract Shoe Drawing, as I think it had some interesting elements of depth and movement. I had a lot of fun drawing the animals, even though it took forever, and think the light comething through the surface of the water worked out pretty well. Although I don't love the final products of the Self-Portrait and Mixed-Media Drawings, I liked both project because I think they helped me grow a lot as an artist. I've never been good at or enjoyed making self portraits, but this one turned out way better than any attempt I've tried in the past. I still feel like the Mixed-Media Drawing looks little unfinished, but using the grid technique for both projects was really cool and I'll definitely be using it in the future. I also loved the picture I used for my Mixed-Media Drawing (an image of my now 4-year-old little sister Simone) so I had some emotional attachment to the project. Finally, I had a lot of fun with the Negative Space Drawing and thought the final product looked really cool.

What was your least favorite?

My least favorite project this year was the Squiggle drawing. I have nothing against the assignment itself- I thought it was fun and creative. I just think my final product looks gross. I wish i had done something a little different, and definitely not used marker. The eye looks really weird too which totally freaks me out.