3-D Design

End of Semester Reflection

The work I made this semester shows exploration and ambition. Starting with the strengths I take away from this year, perseverance is an important one. This is shown through my dedication to a project even as it falls apart over and over, literally and figuratively. With the Whale Täil Sculpture, this strength was more apparent, as I had difficulty finding a technique that was structurally sound enough for me to build the tail. I have found that I am stronger working with clay than with other mediums. I learned how to sculpt the clay to portray movement, even in a still object. Another strength is creativity. For every project, I have many ideas. often this proves difficult as I am unable to decide on a singular idea and follow it through. When I am given an assignment and I have a singular idea in my head from the start, I know it is the right one. But as this doesn't usually happen, I often must explore the other options to find the correct path. This is more of a commentary on how I learn than strength or weakness, but it feels important to add. A weakness that I find is time management and commitment. As explained before, I usually explore many options before finding the right piece. This makes it so the final product is just a continuation of experimentation and not a finished piece that shows the ways I have grown. The commitment required to make a piece of artwork is vital, and with a rekindling of the love of art, this will come in time. Dedication to a specific idea is an important piece I will continue to work on, which will help focus me as an artist.

The work that I made this year shows my improvement through a widening use of materials and techniques. Throughout the semester I have used clay, sculpty, paper, wire with plaster strips, plaster molds, live flame, and flowers, to name a few. The wide range of materials shows I have pushed myself to grow as an artist. I have tried different methods of assemblage, and different ways to assemble pieces. From building things up from the bottom to carving away and adding on, there is a lot I have improved upon in ways of techniques. There is –of course– a long way to go, but that is to be expected. One area of particular notice that has improved is my use of negative space. At the beginning of the year, I wasn't thinking about negative space at all, but after some helpful critics, I began to note the importance of this in my work. This can be seen starting in Feminine Body #2 and progressing through #3 and #4.

The most challenging project this semester was the relief, because, per usual, I changed ideas many times. In the end, the piece wasn't technically that well done or good, nor did it make sense to people. I can't say I'm the proudest of this piece, but it does serve as a good touchstone for me to reference growth. Also, the last 2 pieces in the Feminine Body series posed a struggle because they were much more last-minute. I did work hard on them each class period, but my idea had stretched too big for the time frame, and my capabilities as an artist. I am most proud of the Feminine Body #1, Water Woman. This piece showed me a new way of working with the clay, where my hands would just find the right curves and bring them out of the clay. It was more like using my hands as the tools instead of carving away or sculpting up. I also really liked the photographic outcome of Feminine Body #2, Flower Fire Woman. While this piece got more negative feedback, it was a very good learning process and representation of the way a piece progresses. I had interesting plans with this one, which got a bit foiled after a failed attempt at supergluing leaves onto the body. After this, I had to cover up the superglue somehow, which didn't go as planned, but that's why it was such a good experiment. Taking a picture with live fire is quite a difficult thing to do, and it made me interested in photography and natural elements like water and fire. I enjoyed these 2 pieces because they were a way to try something new that correlated around a similar theme that is important to me.

Over the summer, I have 2 specific artist goals. The first is to improve my technical skill. There are many aspects of my artwork that could benefit a lot from improving my skill in areas like shading, realism, portraits, use of depth, etc. Through potential online classes, research and practice, I would like to see these skills develop over the summer. The second area is equally, if not more important. I hope to make art fun again. This year art became like a chore, something that I don't like creating at all. This is a big shift because not long ago, I thought I was going to go to art school and become an artist. There is still a piece of me that would love to follow a similar path to this, which is why this summer I want to make art that brings me joy again. I still love the process of creating, but when the outcomes continue to disappoint, it becomes a frustrating subject. I hope that I can love art again, and hopefully taking a break from structured art classes and diving into my passion will allow me to do this. My love of art brought me to the class, and my love of art pushes me to take a break, so I will listen to that, and return in my 12th-grade year. Thank you!