ARTISTIC EXPRESSION THROUGH THE YEARS

Art is a creative outlet for many, and personally I see it as a way to not only express something I care deeply about, but also develop in my technique due to personal interest since art has been a part of my own self expression for such a long time. Reflecting on my artistic expression, I want to focus on my communication through the visual arts and look more closely into how I have developed as an artist through several arts-related activities, in and outside of school. The first activity which I was involved in was an Art Enrichment Program, dedicated to creating art as a way to help others. Especially during the second semester of the extracurricular activity (ECA) was when I really got to make a change using art. The aim was to create art for an auction that was held at a cafe which supports and employs people living with autism. This gives them a chance to live a normal life. The paintings which our group created were inspired by the people or work environment of this cafe, yet the aim was to not express this directly. The first skill that I learned was being more aware of the environment around me and finding a link between everyday life and what role our environment plays in it, what symbols it may carry that I could express artistically. This can be seen in the painting which I created, as the sunset was the main focal point/ positive space of the painting. However, the sunset represented much more than just its literal meaning. A symbol of hope, that there is always a new day awaiting that that it can help us ‘rise up’ to those who might want to bring us down. Being there at the art auction selling the painting really gave me a sense of what it means to show commitment to something and carrying it all the way through. I was very proud to have taken part in an activity that was something different to what I would usually do. While I am very familiar with art, I challenged myself by doing something that required collaboration and was service related. I met a lot of new people during this time which helped me to step out of my comfort zone. I met people from different year groups who also participated in the art auction and people working at the cafe. While at the auction, I had the chance to explain to others what I did and why I did it.

This is evidence of the picture which I created for the art auction.

Before the actual experience, before I decided to join the ECA, my goals were to develop in my technique and learn new skills to do with art, such as brush control and paint mixing. I was very excited to do something related to the arts that would help me develop further as an artist, since I already chose the Visual Arts Program for the Year 10 course. My expectation was to use this as an opportunity to develop my skill.

During the first semester, I really got to focus on the technique aspect of my work. I developed in brush control, mixing unique colors out of the primary colors and finding my own style which is what I expected from the introduction at the beginning. There were different tasks, such as creating a piece of art only using black and white; here I learned about brush control so that everything does not end up looking the same and were different in terms of shading and shape. I also worked on a project where I focused on one object and put my own spin on it using the primary colors only. We were encouraged to use primary colors only so that we had to mix the paint and become more familiar with the potential of a simple art pallette. The opportunity to participate in this ECA helped me to realise that there is so much more to learn and really sparked growth in my passion for art. Even though I had always enjoyed art before, I realised that choosing to pursue the visual arts course was the best decision for me and that the Art Enrichment Program was a great way for me to develop even further.

I have also made a strong commitment to art at home. Especially over the past year, I have adjusted my work space in a way that better suits my needs when creating art. The reason why I wanted to create art at home was because I wanted to improve in my skill. Aiming to move on from the art I was producing at the moment and grow into a more mature style. I wanted to express something that I felt passionate about in a more accurate and eye catching manner. This is also a reason why I decided to join the art service after school activity, because I felt that together this could really create an impact on me as an artist. Now whenever I am at home, I like to sketch out ideas and create paintings to develop my technique. I decided to challenge myself by trying out not only water color which I would normally go for, but also try acrylic and oil paints which I am not as familiar with. When I first got into art, both at home and at school, my expectation was to simply understand art to a better extent. I also wanted to do it because it has been a hobby of mine for a long time, develop my skill. However, after this experience I have noticed that my passion for art grew a lot more. I am now at a point where I am still improving everyday and learning a lot by doing. My confidence in my art also grew because I have gained a better understanding of the different techniques. Another positive outcome which I was not expecting to get out of my art pursue, was knowledge of artists and what they do to create change which helped me for a school project.

A small collage of some of the pieces I created at home, trying out different techniques. Techniques which I developed were:

- Blending colors of different shades together

- Using a range of brushes for texture and making each section easier to color

- Using different art tools (watercolor, pencil, colored pencil, acrylic)

Having expressed myself through art for such a long time, I now feel that I want to continue to do so a quite a while because it is such a powerful tool that can express so much. In addition, I learned that there is so much potential and learning to be done to help me grow as a learner and help me see things in a new perspective. Something else I learned which is important to me, is the fact that art is not only about how it looks, but rather what it expresses and its purpose.

I am definitely aiming to continue art related projects in the future, both for school projects but also due to personal interest outside of school because it is a way for me to relax. What I learned from being at the art auction and seeing other people’s work, that if I were to create another painting for this purpose I might want to try a different art style. I might also want to focusing less on the color and technique but also what I am representing as it might not have been so clear. I strongly believe that after this experience I have gotten the chance to see areas that I can still improve in and areas that I am good at. Even though the art auction may be finished, I will still continue to create art and at the moment in the ECA we are looking at new project ideas where art is created to send a message and help. My next steps and goals include stepping out of my comfort zone by using oil paints as I am the least familiar with them and perhaps trying to paint in a different style so that I can mix them for future projects.

The skills that I learned I now realise can help me in the future as I can develop them further and build on them. I have already started to do so in visual art classes in school where we are doing different units. These have helped me develop my understanding of art and skill level. From these experiences that have strengthened my sense of artistic expression, I feel that I am different in terms of my mindset: I learned that art cannot be judged simply because of looks, it is about the message that is conveyed and the meaning behind it. Another piece of important learning from my art experiences is that there is a lot more than simply using a technique and thinking that you have mastered it; it takes practice and you can constantly develop. Lastly, I learned that art is unpredictable and that you cannot follow that plan of your previous piece, it really helps to step outside of your comfort zone so that you experience something new and can be creative in many different ways. With this new outlook on how I see art, it's very exciting to work on such an inspirational form of self expression and continue this in the future.

Hannah