Foundations of Art

*In what ways does your work illustrate your strengths and weaknesses as a learner?

I began the year, not really knowing where it would take me. I had struggled with truly enjoying art for a rather long time, there was very rarely a time where I could stay focused and committed on improving my art skills, and if I ever did feel like that a time, that feeling had faded away. The time I would say I was most interested in art was the summer of eighth grade, and at that I was creating things that I had found online. Bringing ideas that were my OWN to the paper was near impossible for me, and though I drew things that I was and still am proud of, these creations were not ones that were my own. I hadn’t created my own drawing, or my own piece of work, I had created something that already existed. Although these may have helped my art skills at least slightly, it wasn’t really a lasting effect because eventually these interests wore out. This year, I attempted to focus on bringing out my own creativity in order to create works that were actually my own while simultaneously attempting to improve my skills a bit.

The year didn’t begin how I had initially imagined, planned, or how I had wanted it to happen. Towards the beginning of the year I was rather unsatisfied with everything that I made. Though, to be honest, I didn’t really find my satisfaction with my work to be linear, I wasn’t automatically more satisfied with my work as I went along. In the beginning especially, it was almost as if I was satisfied with every OTHER piece. For example, I really didn’t like my blind contour piece, but I was able to have a decent amount of fun with the negative space assignment. I haven’t found this changing anytime throughout the year either, I feel like my satisfaction with my art truly depends on the specific project that I did. My own skills confuse me because of this, but it may also depend on the medium paired with the ideas that I have for that specific medium. If I know what I want to do, AND I know how to execute it then I am usually able to have a decent project. The problem this year, and honestly all former years regarding art, is the capability to actually put my ideas on the paper. No matter how hard I try, I feel like I am never able to translate the things onto paper or into some other form of art. And because of my spotty satisfaction with the things I create, I don’t know if I am actually getting BETTER or if I am just naturally better at some aspects of art than others.

Not knowing If I am learning and not knowing if I am actually improving is frustrating. Oftentimes I can create a piece that makes me feel as if I AM really improving, but then I can turn around and the next thing that I make is something that I am very unsatisfied with. This makes me feel like I went forward one step, but immediately afterwards I went back two. I believe that certain drawings or certain creations highlight specific areas of success. Just because you are good at one thing does not mean that you will be good at everything else regarding art. For example, maybe you love 2d art and you’re really into drawing, that doesn’t mean that you will automatically create a masterpiece when moving to 2D. However, I think having an expertise in one aspect of art will still help you with all others. When it comes down to it, art tests your ability to think creatively, or to use that overused expression ‘to think outside the box’. You really ARE coloring outside of the lines, trying to create something that is your own, maybe even out of a material you have never touched before. Throughout this class I have gotten to experiment with many different objects and materials. Some of them I have certainly found easier to use than others, but nonetheless I do believe that this improves my skills as an artist even if I do deny it. Just because you may be good at drawing and not 3D art— such as creating sculptures— does not mean that the skills you gained from 2D art will not help you with this project. They may even help you make more progress, and help this come easier to you. The skills you learn in one area of art will be able to help you with all others.

Works of art that you make later on as an artist can surely show your improvement, and show various skills that you have learned. Not only that, but specific works can illustrate your strengths while others illustrate your weaknesses. When focusing on my own art, I found that a lot of my strengths were purely in 2D art. As an example, the colored candy (specifically the spheres) was a strength for me, as well as pure contour from the beginning of the year when we were focusing on drawing our hands. Creating something through pen, pencil, or some other form of 2D art was the easiest for me because of the skills I had previously practiced. This showed my strengths because of the outcome, how these things look compared to some of my other pieces show what I was comfortable with and more importantly what I was already good at. When looking at other forms, such as acrylic paint and wire sculpture, my strengths don’t shine through. Although technically acrylic paint IS 2D art, it was a form of 2D that I'd never used before. The overall outcome of the piece shows my weaknesses, because of things such as sloppy lines and colors. Another example of my weaknesses was the wire sculpture, this shows my weakness because of the obviously simple form that I chose to create. I wasn’t challenging myself, because after already trying to create something more complicated I knew the limits of my skills and opted for the simpler option.

At that, the wire is wobbly and not strong. Different projects and different mediums show my different skills and weaknesses, and this obviously isn’t true for just me but OTHERS as well. Everyone who loves and practices art has different skills in different areas. Not only that but they illustrate where they are as a learner, as well as their strengths and their weaknesses. These weaknesses (as well as the strengths) will show improvements if you keep practicing art. Practice is what you need in order to improve weaknesses and in order to LEARN. Learning improves your weaknesses, and reestablishes your strengths, making you a better artist overall.