Advanced Art & Design

Final Reflection:

My digital portfolio demonstrates improvement through the expansion of materials I have used and the variety of my work. Looking at other pages of my digital portfolio you can see that in the past I only ever worked with paper paint, and sometimes digital media. This year with sustained investigations I was given an outlet to explore other materials, and that shows my improvement as an artist because I have been able to adapt my style in different ways, and it truly pushed me creatively.  For my investigations, I did a few pieces using shells, and I used these shells in different ways. For my thirteenth SI, I used the shell as my canvas and found materials that would work on that surface. For my first SI, I used the shells as the art themselves and had to find ways to attach them to a canvas (liquid nail), which was also an example of experimenting. It is also apparent that I have depicted various subjects throughout my time-making art this year. I played with various aquatic animals during my SI, along with humans, landscapes, hands, and more. This shows my growth as an artist because it demonstrates how I have been able to explore different forms, and styles of painting different subjects, again showing versatility in my work. I feel before this year my work was very uniform in both material and subject, and I have been able to harness my creativity in different ways through experimentation, thus improving my artistic abilities.  

My work shows how I like to learn a lot. I find a lot of topics very interesting and I like subjects that explore various topics like English and history.  This is shown in my work as I've had to learn different ways to use materials and research different animals to create different species in my work because I wasn't familiar with them. I believe this shows my strength as a learner because it demonstrates my ability to learn on my own, along with being able to take in a lot of information. To add on I think this same aspect shows my weaknesses as a learner because I get bored easily, and that causes me to jump around. I did change my SI because of boredom and lack of ideas relating to people and the ocean so I had to change my topic, but I think it overall elevated the quality and ideas that came with my work. 

I took a leap this year and decided to jump into three AP classes my junior year without fully knowing what that would entail, along with other honors classes. I didn't fully predict how much time I would need for all of this along with extracurricular activities/sports, so time management was a difficulty of mine. It was incredibly hard to find a balance between my workload along still making time for myself and my friends. A lot of my stuff was late, or I found myself exhausted and therefore did not complete projects by the due date. This was ultimately my biggest challenge. 

I am proud of myself for completing my art. Though timing was a challenge for me, I was able to finish most of my projects. I continued to make art despite my challenges, and I still pushed myself to create and explore my creativity despite other worries and stressors that came with school, mental health, etc. I am proud of myself for what I have accomplished through art as I sold four of my works, and have heard from others how much they like my art, and how they could see it in their homes. This was huge for me as it allowed me to look at my work as less of an assignment or burden and more of my outlet. 

I don't think art will be a priority over the summer after this year.  I do want to continue to improve and experiment with art, but for now, I think it's best to take a break. I have always loved to paint and create art to pass the time, and that is something I would never give up. I want to start fresh and return to art with a clear head, and less stress surrounding it. I aim to continue to better my abilities by fully synthesizing my materials, as it elevated my understanding of the artistic process, as well as thinking more intentionally about the elements and principles of art and design while creating.