Art 1 Final Portfolio

1. Which project was your favorite or most successful this semester? Please explain.

The clay tile project was my favorite and my most successful for several reasons. This project was my favorite because I love camels and working with clay was a unique experience. Also, I liked using the various paint colors like bronze to bring the tile to life. I believe the clay tile was my most successful project because I used strong shadows to show contrast between the foreground and the background. The camel had quite a bit of texture that made it look realistic. Painting the camel was challenging because I had to layer the colors to create a color that would stand out from the rest of the image. The most successful part of this project was the head of the camel. I carefully sculpted its head and I believe that my hard work paid off. In conclusion, my favorite and most successful project was my clay tile creation of a camel.

2. Regardless of whether you liked or disliked a project, which one did you learn, grow, or developed the most from? Please explain.

Although I was not completely satisfied with my end product, the stencil project helped me grow the most. This project taught me to push the dark and light values to make an image really stand out. Before this project I was tentative in using straight black or white because I thought it would look unrealistic. The stencil project showed me that when you put two contrasting colors next to each other, the end result is powerful. Another thing the stencil project taught me was how to properly use spray paint. I had never used this medium before and the first time I sprayed it the paint was drippy and gross. I grew so much from this assignment because the image seen above is not my first attempt at this project. Usually I would lose hope and give up after failing, but Ms. Rossi helped me persevere and create the image seen above. Overall, this project taught me how to use push values, use spray paint, and push through the difficulties of being an artist.

3. Choose 1 piece of Art that you used skills and techniques learned from previous projects. Discuss your growth as an artist and how you incorporated these skills and techniques to create the piece.

To create the landscape painting of the Grand Canyon I had to use skills that I learned in past projects. The car value project taught me how to use shadows, which I used in this project. In the car project the shadows were much more noticeable and strong, but I had to use shadows in this project to create layers. Also, I used my knowledge from the stencil portrait to help paint this picture. The stencil project helped me learn the concept of foreground, middle-ground, and background. I learned that I have to make the foreground more detailed and use less detail as the image gets farther away. The skills I obtained in the stencil project also helped me push the dark and light values in the clouds. Not all of the clouds are the same brightness, so I had to use different values. I grew quite a lot as an artist because I had to take some risks in this picture. It was quite difficult to create this picture because of all of the different colors of the Grand Canyon, but the skills I learned from previous projects helped me.

4. Which project do you feel was the least important in learning the concepts taught in this course?

I believe that the Photoshop pancake project was least important in learning the concepts taught in this course. The Photoshop unit did not help me learn any of the other skills in this class and I feel like it was randomly thrown in between two other units. I did enjoy making this project because Photoshop is an interesting program, but the project did not help me with any other assignments. Also, I think we should have skipped this project because I hardly had time to finish it with only one day in the computer lab. It was not like other projects that we did in the classroom that I could go back and work on if I did not finish. The Photoshop projects should be something done in Art II or Computer Art because they do not correspond with the rest of the cirriculum. I think that Art I should focus more on developing basic art skills then trying to get into complicated (but interesting) programs like Photoshop. To summarize, while the pancake Photoshop project was fun, it was the least important assignment.

5. Choose a piece or artwork where the subject matter reflects you as an artist. One that you have a personal connection to. Please explain your choice.

My sea turtle print reflects me most as an artist because I can connect to it on a very personal level. I took the photograph that this print is based off of on a family trip to the Bahamas in 2009. That trip was one of the most amazing experiences and every time I look at this print I am reminded of the great memories I have of the Bahamas. Also, this picture reflects my favorite activity: swimming. Swimming is the one thing in my life that is always constant and the turtle in this picture represents me. This print represents me as an artist because I love using shades of blue and purples in my pictures because I love cool colors. I chose this picture to represent me because I could use this picture and explain every aspect of my life through it. I also love using a lot of texture in my pieces and this obviously has detail and texture. Other than the clay tile this was my favorite project. I enjoyed searching for images of animals, sketching them, and carving the linoleum to print my image. This was not my most successful project for various reasons, but I believe that it reflects who I am as an artist and a person.