Semester Update

The first drawing done in class was kind of a flop. I was anxious to get working on my children's book, so my dedication to a different project wasn't there. Though I did find the picture taking and making the mundane into something interesting to other viewers a great start for getting ideas going. And a way to find a meaningful topic to communicate in the work we create.

For most of the semester after that I worked on my children's book. Alot. I toiled on my computer everyday fixing, adjusting, and reformatting. Especially after the critique on it. Some good suggestions were made especially about the page's format and how to make the images more visually interesting. I did end up adjusting the ending so I didn't bring up any of those sensitive issues with painting the skin darker. It ended up being 42 pages long! Much longer than I had expected it to be, though only 26 images had to be made.

I got some great feedback at my senior show, some suggesting I make it into a coloring book instead of having it a childrens book. Others really wanted to see it finished and published. It was great to hear I was heading in the right direction with it. Seeing it in print also helped me pick out what more I could add to the pictures and what I needed to refine more.


After that I did the last project of the semester, which was open ended. I had been thinking about what I wanted to do as my senior show drew to an end and wanted to base the art off the crazy stuff I was learning about women and how God made them from the book Captivating. The book itself to down so many misconceptions I had about myself and the strength I had. It also dealt with my insecurities.

Though I still struggle not pushing my images far enough, I'm glad I was able to practice my line work outside of the computer tablet. And after much resistance I got back into using my watercolor pencils. It's been awhile since I used them and I was unsure of my skill level with them. I really enjoy how the pictures turned out, and I think that if I had brought the color into the image anymore I would have lost the idea of color representing the essence women possess. Particularly if it was coming from the objects that weren't actually helping them gain acceptance.

Overall I am sad I wasn't able to take life drawing instead, when I wasn't working on my childrens book, I would have loved to continue to work on the figure (I just feel like there's still so much to learn about it!) But Drawing three gave me new ideas on how to start different project ideas, AND allowed me to enjoy watercolor again.