Semester Reflections

Semester 4

Looking back these last two years, I have learned so much and gained such an amazing community through scholars. Working on my capstone project gave me the opportunity to share my artistic passions and worldview with others who may be able to benefit from learning about different ways of perceiving the world around them in order to uplift them. I always had belief in the uplifting abilities of art and nature but this project gave me the opportunity to research and understand why that is which in turn helped me to convey the ideas I had more effectively through our presentations and exhibition statements. 

My perception of art has been influenced by our class workshops and field trips the most. In my first year workshop I got to learn how to create an art form I always admired but never got to try, which was animation. In my second year workshop I learned how labeling affects the arts and gained a stronger value for “low” forms of art in The Fine Art of Not So Fine Art workshop. I considered things like memes or fanart to be superficial forms of art or at least undervalued in society which was why I tried to focus on making more “high” forms of art that I could sell or display in an art show or museum someday. Now I don’t feel bad for wanting to make “low” art because it does in fact hold value and is appreciated even if I don’t always realize it. Additionally, our trips to the Cirque Du Soleil and the Vogueing workshop gave me first hand experience with how creative people can be and how there are so many different ways to apply the arts in these large scale performances and shows like through costuming, lighting, writing, performing, and more. 

My capstone drew upon ideas from our mindfulness and time-boxing lessons in scholars and gave me ideas for engaging better with nature so that I could focus on the feelings the capstone was intended to create rather than just trying to get it done. 

Before college, I primarily considered myself a visual artist with a focus on acrylic paintings and similar mediums. In art scholars I got to learn about and try community music and drumming at the West African Drum Session. I became passionate about dance and joined the Ballroom Dance Club after the Vogue workshop and seeing dance performances from the Next-Now Fest. Additionally, I was inspired to start crocheting from conversations with friends in the program. 

I have demonstrated an ability to collaborate effectively with my peers who have diverse artistic experiences through our team projects such as the end of year multi animator project (MAP) in my animation workshop when we strung together a bunch of different genres of animation into a cohesive project. I got to see everyone’s different passions and skills and was amazed at the final product. 

I believe the lessons I learned in scholars will follow me into the future by pushing me to always learn new art forms and take every opportunity to experience the arts I can find, be that discounted theater tickets, shows at my local community college, high school art shows, museums, and more. I additionally will use the skills I have gained in writing for future curations and art shows I create, and professionally for conveying information and communicating effectively.