Semester Reflections

Semester 2

This semester was more difficult for me than last semester, despite the fact that I was much busier last semester. I think part of this reason is because I did not have MSOM this semester. Not having this community and seeing the same people everyday made me feel kinda lonely, however, Scholars gave me something to fall back on. I feel that the workshops gave me the best opportunity to connect with other students in the Arts Scholars program through artistic interest. Workshops are small and allowed us to get to know one another in our respective groups and we already had one thing in common by picking the same workshop. Also it helped me connect with people by helping them with some of the new crafts we were learning, especially during the crochet lesson. Opportunities like these give students a chance to learn new skills, new art forms, and the chances to be a leader like I did. Art Scholars will continue to expand my mind on the definition of art and if new members fully engage in the activities provided by workshops then it will change for them as well. 

Another event that really expanded my view of art was Arts Fest. It also provided me the opportunity to share my work and contribute something to the community. My project for Arts Fest was based on the Free the Nipple movement. My project was called Nip of The Tit and I crocheted boobs that were then covered with shredded fabric that had holes cut in the middle of the fabric to allow the nipples to poke out. The idea was covering everything except what society deemed inappropriate. I also created boob patches that people were allowed to take to normalize and desexualize women’s bodies. I was worried that people wouldn’t like my project, but during our presentations before Art Fest, many people seemed to love the idea of my project and even came up to me to ask about it. My art piece also gave me the chance to better connect with Arts Scholar staff. Heather came up to me to compliment my project stating, “I love your boobs.” In any other context I would be filing a Title IX, but I took this as a compliment as she was referencing my crocheted boobs. We talked about the sexualization of women's bodies and my view as a lesbian and Heather provided great information as well with her own background knowledge. Arts Fest also fosters a sense of community and it was the best opportunity to connect with other art scholars by viewing their capstones and workshops. So many of these art pieces were deep and meaningful, especially pieces like the ukulele songs about love. I really connected with the song about dancing and I asked the artist about the song and if there was a way I could learn it. They gave me the original cords and even gave me the strumming pattern! I think this is what being in an art community like Arts Scholars is all about. It's about connecting with people through their art and contributing to this community with art that you find impactful. 

 Art Scholars has given me the opportunity to make and share pieces of art that are really important to me. Workshops gave me the skills I needed to make my Arts Fest project and I even figured out what I possibly want to do for my capstone next semester. I hope that I can continue to contribute to this community through my art by spreading messages of social issues and create deeper connections through these kinds of art pieces. For future Art Scholars I think it is important for them to make art that they care about. For my first semester of Arts Scholars I crocheted a little blanket, however, I was excited about it or really interested in it at all. I was much more passionate about my final project this year though because I created a piece of art that had a lot of meaning for me. I think that is something that future Art Scholars need to know, that this program isn’t another art class with assignments that are due, but a chance to create something uniques and really matters to you.