This semester has been an interesting one for me in terms of production of work. Due to the restraints of my schedule as a senior I was only able to take one studio class so I became more about me exploring my work strictly through painting. This happens to be where my biggest interest is so it was not necessarily completely negative.

I find in my work I am constantly drawn towards depicting individuals, in a generalized manner that is less intended to portray a specific person and more to speak to an overall concept. I found this semester I was attempting to move the figures out of an empty space by relating them to surrounding figures. I also wanted to address this by altering the shape of the canvas I am working on.

This piece is my most successful of the semester. I am inspired by the notion of passing people in the world. In a fast moving society we often brush by each other and become numb to the splendor of one another. In this piece I attempt to pause life for a moment to view the blur of passersby. It is ultimately simply nothing more than an instant due to the fleeting nature of life.

The best learning moment for me was when I came to the understanding, that regardless of outside factors, schoolwork always needs to get done so I should always plan ahead and work ahead of schedule. I was sick with various things for the better part of the semester. I was able to get other class work done from my bed but I cannot exactly paint from there. It was the first time that I truly experienced there not being enough time in the day to produce the way I expect myself to. Regardless of this being a set back, time was a good motivator for me. Ideally this piece would have one more piece on either side but because of time restraints I felt it was more useful for me to spend my time focused on the center three.

I am currently taking Barbara Wisch’s Northern Renaissance Paintings class, which has inspired my alteration of the canvas. We have looked at diptychs and triptychs and I feel they are ultimately extremely affective and interesting ways of breaking up the space. One of my favorite artists for about a year has been Storm Tharp. His ability and method used to develop characters is really inspiring to me. I have also looked at artists who address multiple figures within a crowd like setting. I find some of Kate Kendall’s work does this nicely.

Having worked with a lot of the same students for a while now, it allows for a really nice exchange between classmates. I often find myself coming to them for assistance on things and because I value them as artists I am able to trust their opinions. I also think that being surrounded by students who produce strong work is motivating in itself. I have also really enjoyed watching their processes and their own work develops as well.

I would have to say that my best critique moment came from a class where we were not in a formal critique but where we discussed our ideas for our topics. I really enjoy developing the conceptual aspect of work and I felt that in sharing my ideas I was receiving great feedback and stimulating discussion about my ideas.

I plan to next semester really focus on painting and devote a large chunk of my time there. After next semester I will be going on to get my masters in Art Education and hopefully work in a high school someday. So I am excited to work next semester as the teaching assistant for Lori’s painting 1 class. I am really looking forward to learning how she approaches students with developing concepts for their work and learn her methods of teaching. I have always felt that her style of educating has been very affective for me individually, so I feel I can really personally grow from this experience.

I feel that my perspective on the arts has changed this semester in that I am more interested in other peoples work than in my own at this time. I love the exciting time when a person is developing a new idea and hearing them discuss it. I feel that I am finding myself uninspired by my own work at this time, yet increasingly excited about the work of others. This seems to be reinforcing, at this time in my life, that teaching is the route I should ultimately be taking.