Things an art class can teach you
Little over a year ago, I enrolled in a drawing class in hopes of obtaining a graduate certificate in Graphic Design while I was finishing my other degree. The class was a studio class. For those who have taken an arts class, you know what that means, for others, it means additional time outside of normal class time to complete projects. However, I discovered that I had to complete numerous classes before I could be considered for candidacy because I did not have a graphic design background. So, I ended my efforts after this class. As well, I found out that I could obtain a graphic design certificate in a similar program for a lower price.
I will be honest—this class kicked my butt.
I had not taken an arts class since high school, so many years ago that any drawing skills that I “had” developed “had faded” into memories, flash thoughts of “I used to do that.” Our grades were not only based on our individual effort but also on the effort of the best artist in the class. Critiques by the instructor and classmates were an integral part of the class. Fortunately, most of my classmates were good artists, fresh out of high school. There was another graduate student in the class and of course he was an architectural student. So, looking back at the “you-suck-meter” I was probably the next to last in this course. Adding to this mayhem, I had my other summer class, a requirement taught by a persnickety professor.
The significance of drawing is sometimes overlooked. Despite films that delve into the lives of artists, like Freda Kahlo and Pollock, the “making art process” is still a mystique to some and meaningless to others. The web does not help with the later because of the plethora of designers and simple tools to make images or make a film or music further pushing the “making art process” down the appreciation ladder.
Discipline
Drawing a line is not as simple as you think and making it appear correct, appear real is difficult especially for the untrained hand. To draw, you need understand your physical mechanics (limitations) and after you become comfortable, you need to quickly build your endurance because if you are taking a class, the assignments become more difficult each week (especially on a quarter system). I shrugged off the professor when he warned our class: “You’ll probably spend 40 hours a week on each project.” Easily, I spent over 50 hours per week on each project. It requires discipline and practice to draw a line and shape a circle. I spent countless hours, slowing down my thought process, coordinating my hand and eye while viewing and drawing different items like irons, wine bottles, chords, curtains, plates (I dreaded drawing plates), hallways, doors, glass, miniature cars, and lights—learning shape, negative space, and how items relate to each other in a set-up.
Focus
Naturally, hour after hour, in trying to rebuild a physical representation into a visual representation, your focus becomes stronger. Your focus grows because of the work, the intensity of peering at an object or at a group of objects for hours and hours. Hopefully, as you become better, dropping into that moment, the zone, the process becomes easier as the relationship between yourself and the work becomes closer.
Critique
No one likes critique, right? Yet, it is a basic and primal activity that humans encounter, minute by minute. It pulls you to one website and pushes you to another. We self-critique and simply critique other humans as they walk down the street. “Why did she wear that?” “Why did I wear that?” In this class, critique was usually a day or a few days before we submitted our final drafts. Of course, it can sting when you hear simple comments such as “I don’t like it,” which a fellow classmate said to the class about my next to final piece. Yet, constructive criticism is important for your growth as any evaluation is. Naturally, I think we all want to improve, become better, and be the best; thus, feedback, detailed feedback, negative or positive is important for growth.
Giving criticism is important to build your judgment skills, not only for other’s work but crucial for your own. Oddly, it was interesting that the undergraduates in this class were eager to share their opinion, even if the feedback was not detailed. Meanwhile in a few of my graduate classes, some classmates were almost afraid to give constructive feedback, any type of negative feedback, removing the passion and true opinion, creating too many Kumbaya moments. “That’s nice” can only take you so far, like an inch. Despite the dislike of criticism, it can help us as individuals especially when the comments are poignant and specific—improving the final work.
