The Latest Projects

This was a big week at school. My wood sculpture project was due Wednesday and today I took my second human biology exam. My score was just a few points shy of an A. This is not an easy-breeezy, lemon queezy class--nothing like high school biology. In spite of that I am enjoying all the new knowledge I'm acquiring on human biology. Fascinating stuff.

I'm glad the wood sculpture project is over. It was interesting and I'm glad I learned a little about using power tools, but crafting things in wood is just not my thing. My sculpture teacher has a reputation for rarely giving out A's, so I am not expecting one this time. I will try for an A, but I have promised myself that I'm NOT going to have a meltdown if I get a B! However, I may have a meltdown if I get a C!

My hedgehog portrait is almost done. The spikey part of the headhog is very repetitious and is not something that can be done in one sitting. It's the kind of thing that makes you cross-eyed if you stare at it too long an most of the portrait is composed of the little spikey, porcupline-like quills. I have added some of my own touches to the hedgehog that go a bit outside of the original colors from the photograph. I am also using a colored pencil & collage background that looks really cool! This piece is going to be about exploring textures which is something I really love to do in my artwork.

Art & Character Development

Whenever we find ourselves being stretched and go beyond our comfort zone, we may find it not only uncomfortable, but actually painful. My first reaction is usually to run away and hide. Recently in my sculpture class at college, I was assigned my first project--to create a sculpture out of wood and to make an orthographic drawing of it first. Then our drawing and the entire project would be turned over to someone else. We don't get to create our own project. And so starts the stretching. Using power tools for the first time is daunting enough, but to make an architectural drawing that involves math and then do someone else's project other than my own was enough to freak me out. I am actually math phobic and anytime you attach math to an art project, it is automatically ruined for me! Suddenly I have been turned into a carpenter which is not a role I feel comfortable in or have any experience in. I don't even know what type of wood to get and what sizes they come in! Now the stretching has turned into a panic attack and I'm even thinking about dropping the class. But I didn't. Instead, I worked through the problem with my teacher, who was very patient and helpful, and we came to a solution.

This whole experience was a lesson in character development for me. The development of our character and learning to face our fears can be a really hard and painful process. What I gained by not dropping out and giving up was more than just newly-acquired skills & knowledge in architectural drawing and carpentry. I learned a lesson in perserverance, endurance and courage. Running away from our fears just makes it easier to do the same thing again, but when you face your fears, something inside you goes from coward to champion and you have taken one more step on the long ladder of character growth.