This is the first semester that I have started doing work towards my major, New Media Design. I am finally taking art classes and enjoying college. I have progressed this semester so much. I took Drawing one and Design one. My final drawing shows so much improvement in comparison to the one we did the first day of classes. I was nervous because drawing was never one of my strong points, but I have developed many skills that I will carry with me forever.

In the picture I drew a nose. The actual nose was a nose made out of a plastered block. The concepts shown in my work are working with shadows, mid-tones and the highlights. The aim of realist value drawing is to show the light and shadow and surface tones, creating a three-dimensional illusion. Outlines only define visible edges and don't tell us anything about light and dark. When creating a value drawing, my teacher told me I needed to shift out of line-drawing mode, and the best way to do this was to forbid myself to draw a line and focus on areas of value. I used the lightest of lines to get down the basic shapes. From there, I build up the shading. The outline was the joining between two different values, which was created by the contrast between the light and dark area. It was a challenging piece.

I went to a few shows this semester in the gallery here on campus, “Shared Experience, the Steven Barbash Collection,” the Fax exhibit and “Girl.” There were so many pieces in the gallery with each show, but it wasn’t overwhelming. The pieces were so vast that I knew right away what ones I liked and didn’t.

During the Fax Exhibit, many of the pieces that where in the gallery were baffling. I started doing research to help me understand the actual exhibit more. I found it to be ironic that I was using google to get information on this Fax exhibit, I did however get some vague details. I actually had to use my brain to piece together the information that I just had read; later I learned that that was the point of the exhibit.

I truly enjoyed “Girl”, even more so than the Fax. It explored the concept of girlhood within the works of seven contemporary female artists. Lori Ellis’ painting entitled “Onion Gown,” was a truly remarkable piece. The authenticity of it and the way it spoke to me, truly took my breath away. The colors and concept just worked so well with each other. The wedding dress was on a mannequin. There were falling onion pedals all around, at first glance what seemed to be rose pedals. At your wedding you typically cry for no reason at all, emotions over flow your body. In this painting is was somewhat compared with cutting an onion, for no apparent reason your eyes start to tear. This was done in such a tasteful manner that one could not just walk away. You had to sit, look and interpret; as all art should make you do.

The most inspiring artist that I found this semester was Alexa Meade. She creates incredible paintings using real people as her canvas. She is truly inspiring because she took “thinking out of the box” to the next level. My friend was telling me about her one day and I became completely fascinated. Her work can truly be enjoyed by all.

In Design one I am completely influenced by my surroundings classmates. Every critique they bring something new to the table. I have learned from all the critiques we have done; compiled together I can leave this semester with a more open mind. There is not a specific critique that stands out as I walked away from all of them with more knowledge than before.

My perspective on art has not really changed but I have tried to have more of an open mind this semester. If I saw something I didn’t like at the gallery I would try to look at it more and find one aspect I could appreciate about it and truly understand what about it I didn’t like.

Next semester I hope to advance more in Design two. I am very excited to see what the assignments are and what my fellow classmates have to bring to the table. It’s so important to learn from other people and grow as an individual.