Semester Reflections

Semester 4

1. One thing in particular that really struck me is that my final capstone project was much more visually cohesive and appealing than my earlier posts. I’ve gotten a better idea of how to fit an aesthetic around my project, and I’ve also gotten better at taking pictures, which is something I don’t think I’m very good at. It was surprising to see that I have improved at photography, without really putting in any conscious effort, as my general artistic sensibilities have developed. 

2. I’ve been in a number of single-day workshops that have really challenged me to push outside of what I thought I was “good” or “bad” at. At a point in my capstone project where I was really struggling, I attended the “Stitching Stems” maker mixer. I’d signed up for it at a time where I really felt like I needed to get better at embroidery, but sitting down at the table and making a flower from scratch made me realize that I had improved greatly even across a couple months. I ended up taking a week off from construction on my capstone to embroider on the pieces I’d already made, and that pause was what I had needed to remember why I liked sewing and refresh my brain to tackle the difficult construction. 

The third semester discussion with various people in arts positions was really interesting, as well. To hear what arts administration is like and the paths that those specific people took to get into it was reassuring to me, because it reminded me that people who are good at those jobs are the people who took the time to learn those skills. Art isn’t really about innate talent, it’s about developing skill and a sharp understanding of the work you’re doing. It reminded me that I’m very early on in my artistic journey, and it’s okay for me not to know things still. 

3. I didn’t start sewing until college. I knew it was something I wanted to be able to do, but it was only freshman year where I was surrounded by people with various fiber crafts (admittedly, mostly knitting and crochet) that I finally sat down and started teaching myself. My second semester, I took the “Recycle, Restyle, Rewear” workshop and realized that my sewing skills, even while still limited, were extremely helpful for some of those assignments. It hadn’t occurred to me before then to try sewing a larger project, but the further I looked into DIY and upcycling, the more achievable it seemed. Without that workshop, I don’t think I would have ever seriously considered basing my capstone around sewing as a medium. 

4. I have a widespread and deep love for the arts, there really isn’t much that I didn’t already enjoy seeing. Arts Scholars gave me a chance to try new art forms for myself, and I relished the chance. My freshman year, I took part in an unofficial “Bel Air Band” run by one of the other scholars in the building, and I played instruments I hadn’t had access to before. I played the trombone once, and now I’m thinking about trying to play it more regularly. I’ve had the opportunity to talk to loads of people who all love different art forms, and that has been the most important part of Arts Scholars to me. I’ve learned about art through people describing how it feels to make it, which is always a lovely thing to experience. 

5. Collaboration is something that I have to do a lot, so it’s hard for me to pinpoint one particular experience that stood out. I think the most interesting one to me was when we were sharing our prototypes with our classmates at the beginning of the semester. It was a lot of fun to see their ideas, and a fresh perspective is always helpful. In comparison, when we were sharing our works in progress a little later, it was fascinating to see how different the two responses were between my prototype (drawn ideas) and my in-progress project (pieces actually made). Providing responses as an audience member is really important, and I think that both times, we gave each other very useful feedback just with how we viewed each other’s projects. 

6. I’m definitely going to use this capstone experience when thinking about how to do large-form projects in the future. I struggle a lot with planning out projects, especially personal artistic ventures, but now that I’ve done this one, there’s a lot of things that really worked for me that I’ll carry into future work. Being able to plan out large projects will be especially helpful to me as a theater artist, both in my acting (breaking up an entire play into pieces to memorize or develop) and technical work (painting, for example).