Graduation Reflection

When I entered the Honors College as a student in H-200 my goals were still fuzzy ideas in my mind and I didn't really have any idea of how I would accomplish them or even what they would look like once accomplished. I knew I wanted my art to connect to the outdoors but what that looked like was a daunting question that I couldn't answer. My priorities were focused on my next few years as a college student. (Any real answers for life after that were too much to ask for.) I has just entered my major(Illustration and Printmaking) and was still learning the basic skills there. I hadn't figured out my minors or really gotten involved on campus. I had just started my job at the Indianapolis Zoo and still overwhelmed and learning the ropes. 

Today, I am months away from graduation! I am completing my senior thesis project (a personally written and illustrated children's book printed using etching and screen-printing). I am completing my minor (sustainable management). I have been at the Zoo for almost 3 years and know the Zoo and my work there like the back of my hand. I am more confident. I have more direction, and my post-graduation goals are no long just fuzzy ideas. So many of the steps I was taking three years ago are now creating results in my immediate future. It is really amazing to recognize the path that has gotten me to this point, and how those seemingly small decisions made all of this possible. 

Over time, the work I have done as an honors student has acted as an important stepping stones to get me to these goals. In Showcase 3, I include three of my Honors Contracts starting with my first contract (Anthropomorphic Animals) completed during the semester when I took H-200, through my following two contacts (Wildlife in the Wild and Digital Parks). During these early contacts, my standard class assignments were heavily focused on developing base-line skills so I wasn't being given many opportunities to experiment with my personal interests and artistic goals. These contracts gave me the opportunity to experiment with subjects and mediums, figuring out the types of art that I enjoy doing. 

I found type of character design I was doing in Anthropomorphic Animals to be fun but not really my thing. It was the type of art that could be handy for my interests in children's book illustration but not what I want to do for my full time job. I prefer more realistic characters and doing things with the characters once they are designed. 

Wildlife in the Wild and Digital Parks felt like a much better connection. I really enjoyed working on Wildlife in the Wild. It was an opportunity to experiment with my love of realistic wildlife illustration. Artists like Ned Smith(a successful wildlife illustrator) and Rosa Bonheur (a historic animal painter) are significant influences on my work. I admire the skills of observation they used to educate and inform about animals and wildlife. As the Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art describes his work, "He honed his abilities as both an observer of wildlife, and one of the best naturalists the region has ever produced." Over the course of this project I realized that I didn't have the skills at the time to meet the standards of true wildlife illustration but it is still something I enjoyed and a goal to work towards as I move forward. 

The Digital Parks project allowed me to improve on my landscape drawing skills and develop a digital art style that works for the outdoorsy nature focused work I aspire to do. I had been very hesitant to work in digital programs because it tends to have an overly smooth, "computer" look that doesn't match my work. This project let me take on that dilemma head on and figure out what I can make happen with digital art tools. It felt like a real light bulb moment for me and made me much more willing to take advantage of the benefits of digital art.