Art 2 Final Portfolio♥

1.) This year in Art 2 I have learned so much and had so many new experiences with different techniques and trying new things. I would have to say that my Tic Tac Dog portrait was my most successful piece of this class. The theme was non-traditional self portraits, but my partner Connor and I thought outside of the box. We created his dog, Bailey, out of tic tacs. We had trouble debating on what we should create this piece out of; coming up with ideas such as buttons, tooth pics, M&Ms, Skittles, and finally Tic Tacs. We chose tic tacs because we reasoned that they were a good shape and size to develop our wanted result. We also agreed that the tic tacs added a nice texture to the look and feel of the project. There were many steps to create this piece. First, we had to develop a picture of his dog and put it in photo-shop to make it have 4 layers of color. After that we traced each color on to our poster board, using the projector. Then it was time to start gluing the tic tacs on. We decided on hot glue guns so that the tic tacs wouldn't fall off; although we were worried about if the tic tacs would melt or not. Our four colors were green, orange, white, and black. To get the black tic tacs we spray painted some white ones black. After gluing all of the tic tacs down, we painted a glossy top coating on to make it look even, and to enhance the project. It was very successful and I am very proud of it. It was fun and different and I would love to do something similar to this in the future.

2.) Overcoming obstacles is what art is about. I had many projects where I had to overcome obstacles, but I would have to say that my book carving project had the most obstacles to overcome. I have to admit, this project was a challenge for me and it took me many tries to get a result that I was pleased with. This project was so challenging because at first I was confused about the layers and how they work. I was also having a tough time using the xacto knives because it was hard to control my lines. Over time after starting over and practicing, I got the hang of it. I overcame these obstacles just by practice. This made me a better artist because it taught me how to control my hand and how to use xacto knives to their potential. It was a new fun experience for me, even if I got a little frustrated. I am glad that I overcame these obstacles and didn't give up, because I am happy with my result. I would love to do another project like this.

3.)  Over the years of taking art, I have grown in many areas. Growing is what art is for; to step outside of the box and challenge yourself. I think that the pieces that showed my growth the most as an artist this semester would be my Candy Land painting and my What's the Point drawing. In my Candy Land painting I grew as an artist in ways of my brush strokes, making them more fluid and neat. I grew in the areas of my color schemes and my dimensional effects, as well as using different brushes. Compared to my painting from art 1, I see improvements in these areas, as well as more open to thinking outside of the box and coming up with more interesting ideas. In my What's the Point drawing I grew as an artist because I showed more texture and dimension. I improved on my shading, using different techniques and types of shading. I used new drawing materials, and experimented with different ideas and opened up my mind a little more. I expanded my artistic vision since last year and it has helped me succeed a lot.

4.) This semester was a little different in art. We were introduced a new way of learning, and I thought it was very helpful to trying new things and a new way of thinking and looking at things. I learned many new tricks and techniques such as changing the opacity in pictures, using tissue paper to either create a background, or to create color, and using media, such as magazines, to create a theme. I used new materials involving mixed media, such as cutting out pictures, changing the opacity, and tissue paper. Learning this way helped me with my art a lot. It helped me open up my mind and come up with more interesting ideas, like we had to for every project. It expanded my artistic vision and helped me be optimistic. Having a theme for every project helped me expand my mind to that theme and come up with different and interesting ideas. For example my Mixed Media cigar box was a new experience for me and I liked it a lot. Mixed media was introduced this year, and I think that it really helps to show the theme and expand your ideas. Media really has pretty much everything and you can work with a lot more. I loved the way this class was taught and I really hope others get to experience this wonderful technique.

I LOVE YOU MRS. ROSSI ♥♥♥♥♥