Last Chance

As the semester is coming to a close, I think this is a great opportunity to look back at everything that has happened thus far and really reflect on where we are going. The final assignment for drawing really tied it up for me in forcing me to think about who I've become as a person. Everyone was able to pick two things that they felt has brought them to pursue art. I find this exercise important because though we are constantly experiencing events in our everyday lives, I feel that many of us fail to really "look" at what is happening around us (and to us) in terms of the grander scheme of things. It's so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of getting from one point to another that the whole journey is lost in a blur of activity.

What I've struggled with all semester was trying to keep myself from growing indifferent toward my life and what I'm doing. They say we're young and we should live it up, but there are many people who just breeze through college without ever thinking about what really mattered to them. Those people end up not fully realizing what they want to do with their lives. This can be a big problem, because the world is much more demanding and we have to be prepared for it. On the other hand there are people who are like zombies; semi-numb towards everything...those kinds of people also miss out on a lot. I've found myself falling towards the latter part in that I was loosing sight of why I choose to be an artist. I think this drawing class has really help me rethink everything that I'm doing in my art and in my life. I have a school girl crush with art. By maintaining my passions and constantly reflecting on all that I do, I feel myself falling in love with art all over again...reminding myself why I want to be an artist. Every drawing has to matter, we have to have interest in all that we do (even the little things), otherwise what's the point?

So I hope that everyone can look into themselves and their work and remember their goals. It's the simple but hard questions that must be answered..."where are we going?" Even if the question cannot be answered just yet, simply acknowledging these finer details will get us there. With that said, I hope everyone has a good a summer! Go do ART!

Wondering about Art

art on the brain
work by Guilherme Marconi

I enjoy making blog entries but I've found that coming up with topics to post about is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I haven't done so in while, but after attending a very interesting talk today and reading other entries, I now have something in mind.

It is now the time for advising for the classes we will take next semester. Though I have a good idea of what classes I'll be taking, I've been bothered by other thoughts about the "somewhat" near future. I'll be a junior next semester and in 2 more years I'll be flung into real world. I'm not exactly sure what I'm suppose to do after that. I'd love to get my dream job in the art industry, but the thought of this economic situation we are in makes me rather queasy. I don't know if I'll be ready to compete for my bread and butter in a world full of many other talented individuals. I feel like my bachelors degree isn't enough. All these worries sometimes make me have doubts about whether I could survive and be successful as an artist.

I love art and can't imagine anything else I'd be good at doing...I think it's a career that gives me the most creative freedom. But how do you know if something is meant for you? I hope I'm not delusional in my pursuit. During my advising I wanted to ask my adviser about her experience working in a publishing company, and what I need to do to get into something like that. Although I didn't really get a chance to ask her. I was however, able to attend a lecture talk by Adam Burke this afternoon. He is an animator for Pixar. It was a very insightful talk in which he described the many processes of creating an animated film, the perks, and how a student can become an animator. The talk seemed to inspire something in me. From everything that he described, I knew that I wanted to do the same (or something similar). His job is just so much fun and also very rewarding, and I know that creating art in some form is something I want to do. I guess I just need some reassurance that I'm doing the right thing for myself. Also after reading some blog entries I definitely know that I share the same passions as others.

I wonder if other art students feel worried about life after college? It can be a scary thought. I just know above all we have to do the things we love the most.

Greatness & Purpose in Art: A Reflection

Sometimes I wonder to myself, how does one get so good at drawing? If art were as simple as we’d like to think, well then everyone would be an artist. And perhaps everyone does have that potential to be an artist in their very own way. But I struggle with this idea at times. I’m an art major. I chose this out of all the subjects in the world. Although sometimes I am not so certain of the reasons behind what I do and why I do it. Most other subjects require a lot of reading and memorization of information. But art is that one subject that you can’t really study for. There are many things an artist can read to get some guidance in the matter. Although for the most part art is about “seeing and doing.” It is a hands-on type of study that requires continual practice.

When I see some of my peers create amazing things that perhaps I would not have thought of or could have done, I wonder how can an artist become successful above others? Though there are many factors that motivate an artist, I can imagine many of us do want to be successful in sharing our ideas with the world. It has occurred to me that the only way to get really good at something is to constantly practice our skills. By effectively communicating our ideas through our own unique means of expression, we can perhaps shine in our own way. Effective communication requires that an artist target an audience. Art that no one can relate to is useless--mere aesthetic decoration. A successful drawing depicts a theme, showcases the artist’s skills, and does so in an interesting way that a viewer can understand and be affected by. I think this is important because many of us, including myself, sometimes just draw things for the sake of drawing things. In other words, though we may be given a theme, or have an initial idea for a composition, we just quickly draw whatever we think of first.

I believe this is why many of my studio classes stress taking time to formulate a process or at least a preparation before working on a project. To be most successful in art, it seems we must reflect upon every aspect of our work, from the composition, to the message or objective, and to the different techniques we use. In doing so, we are not just creating pretty pictures; we are making something that relates a visual message in a unique way. We become valuable to society in this ability we have to design pictorial statements. At this point I realize that art is important because everything we see from graphics, consumer products, entertainment, history, science, is possible because someone drew it. Therefore, I believe that our jobs as artists are just as influential as other careers. We draw to practice, so we can be great...and we do it because we can.

art is love

Love and Art by sheispretty

Art is your emotions flowing in a river of imagination. ~Unknown

All true artists, whether they know it or not, create from a place of no-mind, from inner stillness. ~Eckhart Tolle

Whenever I look at a person's work of art the first thing that comes to mind is, "what was the inspiration behind the piece?" It is so easy to think that art comes from the mind alone, through our creative thoughts. Although what I've come to realize is that out of all the things in the world that could inspire us, we fail to see that one of the greatest influence in our work is our emotions. It is how/what we feel about things that influence most of our ideas.

I think many will agree that art alone is not just meant for aesthetic appeal, but most importantly, it is a means to convey a message. This message may not always be something themed or obvious. The impact that a drawing could have on a person could simply be an emotional reaction or relation to the work. Therefore an artist's feelings can be the source of inspiration for a piece or what is to be transpired by the viewer. Our feelings could be as broad and external as life, the universe, and everything. Or as specific and internal as what we personally feel....happy, sad, angry, etc. Regardless of all this, it is necessary to note that as artists, we should be aware of our emotions, embrace them, and apply them to our work. Perhaps by doing so, our passions will be apparent through whatever we create and will give our work more depth.

I for one like to use a lot of colors in my work to represent what I feel about the subject matter. All the colors in the world inspire me. In relation to the theme of this blog, I am never done with looking...at the sky. The blues (and other colors) of the sky, make me feel infinite. It is this feeling of being a part of this world as well as the vast universe that brings me the most inspiration. It is for this reason, that I want to become an art/graphic designer. There is a satisfaction and closeness to humanity that makes me want to share and express what I feel with others visually. What we love is art. And art is love.