Advanced/AP Art & Design 

Final Reflection:

Throughout the year, my work has shown improvement if not in skill, than in concept. I would say that fairly consistently, my artwork from the beginning of the year shows less technical skill than later on. For example, my Beautiful Oops, Whatchamadrawit, Diploma, and Map project all seem less impressive to me than later works such as Sustained Investigations 4-6, my Duck Stamp, Sustained Investigation 7, and my Revised Sustained Investigation. However, the most progress I can see is how conceptual they grew as the projects progressed. This is especially apparent in my Sustained Investigation pieces. For Sustained Investigations 1-4, while I knew my focus was on animals, there was not much additional meaning there, just portraits of animals. However, as my investigation continued, I began to explore the impacts that animals and humans have on each other. To me, this is most apparent in Sustained Investigations 5,6, 7, 9, 10, 15, and in my Revised Sustained Investigation as well. In this evolution, I believe that my improvement can be seen most. 

For weaknesses as an artistic learner, my work sometimes shows impatience as well as repeatedly leaving out certain elements of my work. I always try and make my pieces of artwork the best they can be, but sometimes I do become impatient with a certain piece, causing me to rush, or I just do not have the time. To me, this inattention is seen most in pieces such as the Beautiful Oops project, my Mapping Design, Tidal Shift, Donate Life, and Sustained Investigations 8, 11, and 12. In my view these pieces show a lack of detail, and effort, or appear messy or unfinished in some way. Additionally, though this is a very frequent piece of feedback for me, I often don't include backgrounds in my pieces (see Sustained Investigations 2, 3, 4, 11, and 15, as well as the Tidal Shift and Donate Life). These also tend to be pieces I am less satisfied with, so I will take that as a note to deliberately include them more often to improve my work. For strengths, I see a willingness to expand my ideas and experiment with new materials and mediums. Though most of my pieces this year centered around animals, I tried, throughout, to experiment with new perspectives and interpretations of them. In some pieces, I simply created a portrait, but in others, I showed the comfort they could bring to people, struggles they have, and how humans impact them. I tried to make all of my pieces somewhat different from the others. Additionally this year, I did some material experimentation. In my Material-Based Portrait, I created a portrait with ink on a mushroom. In Sustained Investigation 3, I used cut-up pieces of paper to create a portrait. In Sustained Investigation 6, I used cutout paper and Elmer's Glue to create a textured background. For Sustained Investigation 7, I painted on birch bark, and for 10, I used glass. Finally, for Sustained Investigation 14, I used seashells. Overall, I think my strengths were shown in my development of concept and experimentation with materials. 

I think what challenged me most this year was my ability to be creative in thinking of new ideas for my work. Though I had a lot of options, my sustained investigation was set on the theme of "How do animals and humans impact each other?" Though there were many things I could do with this, I often ran into roadblocks when trying not to repeat myself and come up with a new and meaningful idea. Additionally, I sometimes struggled with time management and the long process of creating good work. Oftentimes, with a heavy courseload, it was hard for me to set aside enough time to complete my work as thoroughly as I would have liked. Coupled with this, I sometimes became impatient, especially in a pinch, to get my work done and out of the way. Sometimes I was tired from the process, and other times I simply had no time.  To sum up, I struggled most this year with developing new ideas, setting aside enough time, and my own impatience. 

This year, I was proud of my ability to create works that held more meaning to them, especially in relation to my personal life. My grandparents and elements of their lake house, especially, were featured. This can be seen from the beginning of the year to the end. The reference photo for my Palette Knife Painting was taken from a lupin field near their house. My Material-Based Portrait was of my Papa, kayaking (an activity we often do together) on a mushroom he gave me. My first Sustained Investigation also features two loons, which are a big part of my time when I visit. While kayaking there, I also took the photo that served as my reference for this year's Duck Stamp. My 7th Sustained Investigation was also inspired by my Papa, who gave me the bark to serve as my materials and showed someone walking through the woods and spotting animal prints like we used to do. Finally, this can be seen again in my Revised Sustained Investigation, which features my Papa (again), his dog, and his cat. It shows him in one of his daily routines. Aside from this, I believe my art well represents my love for animals, which are featured in nearly every project from this year. I am proud that I was able to take my art to the next level by connecting it to my life. 

My goal for the future is to continue doing art. I'm not sure it will be in an official class anymore, as I simply don't think I'll be able to fit it into my schedule next year. This is kind of disappointing to me, but my course load is already very full. I hope to complete art here and there, maybe throughout next year and hopefully throughout the summer. I don't think it's something I should give up completely, however, even if it is not in my forefront. As far as goals regarding my skill, I want to work more on painting. While my paintings often turn out fairly good, I don't think I have quite grasped color theory or how to use light the way I want it to. Through practice, and gaining these skills, I hope the quality of my paintings will improve greatly. Finally, I hope to have the opportunity to take some sort of art class during college. It is something my dad did and it helped him gain a lot of artistic skill. I hope to do this as well.