melissa swift...so far, so good!

This class has been eye-opening, if for no other reason than I feel like my artistic vocabulary has grown beyond anything I thought possible.

Through several conversations with my peers, we have all commented that our previous work has elements of tension within the composition, but that we didn't consciously make the decision to put the points of tension where they were. We've all followed that observation with the question: Is that possible?

What I have come to think, is that the education of an artist has evolved, much like technology (I mean hello. This is a blog, for class!) I think that somewhere in our fine arts education, the term "tension" was dropped as a compositional quality. While creating a composition, we are constantly drawing and checking, and adding elements in order to create balance, contrast, movement, rhythm, and emphasis. However, when asked why we created the composition the way we did, our answers have grown more generic and typically suggest that we just found it "more interesting" that way.

This course has made me rethink how I compose my artwork. Each mark affects previous marks and the success of the composition is dependent upon the whole as opposed to just a part. While it is still important to let your drawing guide it's own direction, you have to make the decisions regarding the size of the paper, the way it handle the media, and when to stop. There is an exceptional amount of beauty within a contour line drawing and it should never be considered a "lesser drawing" because it doesn't have shading, collage, paint, and the kitchen sink in it.

I've also learned to rethink how I discuss artwork. It is certainly not easy to break from the widely accepted generalizations and describe the components as if they are alive. The visual tension within a piece, is the new response for an image that is "interesting."

In the end, my drawings are nothing like anything I have ever done. And I'm mentally exhausted. That must be a sign that it's been a good day.