1. The realism project was my most successful. The purpose of this project was to create a piece of art that had realistic qualities using value, line variety and shape. In order to do this project I had to look at a paper clip and observe the way the shadow fell and the shape of the paper clip. Creating lines that gave the appearance of dimension while making it proportional and realistic was a challenge. As far as what choices I made, I am still very happy with them. I think that using graphite was a good idea and allowed me to create shadow more easily. Having line variation also allowed me to create a three dimensional drawing and make the lines look sharper or less defined depending on how thick the line became. I also really like that I took the advice to make the paper clips different sizes. This isn't necessarily realistic, but it creates a lot of contrast between the smaller and bigger paper clips to make the bigger ones seem bigger and smaller ones seem smaller. I could have created the shape of the paper clips better by rounding the sides more with the shadow and allowing it to really pop off of the page. Overall, I'm very happy with this project.
2. One project where I overcame obstacles was the sculpture project. At first I didn't know what to do with the butterflies and whether or not to hang them from something or use Velcro. I ended up thinking about making it a mobile and instead if using paper like I had originally thought and used a piece of wood and drilled holes to keep the butterflies hanging. I had a difficult time getting the butterflies attached to the wooden top of the mobile, which took me some time. I ended up using fishing line and strung it through the holes in the wood. I chose fishing line because the thread wasn't strong enough and kept getting knotted. Getting the butterflies to hang down straight and not upside down or sideways. I tried using paper clips, but they weren't heavy enough so I decided to use washers instead. This worked very well, although it's not as appealing to the eye as I would have liked.
Taking risks and challenging myself has taught me new techniques that I can use in all different types of art. Having to solve problems once allowed me to think more thoroughly about other things that I did so that I wouldn't run into more problems. I also had to be creative with the ways I solved the problems, which added a lot to my project in terms of creativity and trying different things to achieve a certain look or purpose.
3. There has been a lot of growth in my ability to draw hands! My first hand drawing is relatively realistic, but the fingers aren't all proportional. The thumb was the most difficult part for me and it ended up looking too thin. I was afraid that if too much of it was covered by the phone that nobody would be able to tell what it is or that it would look weird. Now I realize that as long as its a good realistic drawing, people will be able to tell what it is. Realistic means capturing a real image, or taking something and making it look real. My final hand drawing shows a lot of growth. My ability to shade the hands naturally has improved drastically. There isn't much shading on my first drawing that made it look realistic, but on my final I used shading to create depth and make it look three dimensional. I also learned about highlighting certain aspects of hands to accentuate where the light naturally hits a hand. In my final picture, the area between the web and base of my hand is lighter because the light naturally hits there, and the fingers underneath the hand are darker because they aren't being hit directly by any light and they're not as detailed because they're farther away and not as large. Thumbs and hands used to be too hard for me to draw and I didn't like it, but now I like it because I actually know how.
4. Getting to choose our subject matter and materials was great. I have a difficult time working under pressure and strict deadlines when it comes to art because I don't think creativity can be rushed. One example of this was the abstract project, where I did a picture of the comedy/tragedy theatre mask. I used many different mediums for this project, and it took me a while to both execute and to plan. I couldn't come up with an idea, as I'm not too find of abstract art, but I was able to pick a subject that I was interested in and wasn't rushed to complete it. I had trouble finding the right color black to fill in the face with, and that set me back a little bit. Had I had a due date, I wouldn't have been able to finish and would've been unhappy with my final project. True creativity cannot be rushed, and if I had not been able to do something I enjoyed it wouldn't have been nearly as good as I think it is now. The detailing on this project took me a while to plan and complete, and it was important for me to do the drawing in pencil first to avoid making mistakes. Having to do this in a week or only being to use one medium would've been terrifying because different materials all have a different finished look that wouldn't have been right for this project.
