My biggest fears were sharing information (critiquing my own work), and developing my creativity/producing.   I really didn’t know how.   Overtime I realized that critique/ learning and sharing time are important facts for the artist development.  With practice and understanding of the various subject matters my responses and descriptions became more informative.  I am more confident.

Owning a sketchbook has helped me as well. Sketchbooks have great value in helping students learn how art ideas are generated and developed.  As an artist, it has provided me the experience to discover (when and where) I prefer to work or am more creative. It has taught me to appreciate the process and not only the end result.  It has helped me to learn to plan art work independently, to record and develop my ideas.

My sketchbook gives me the flexibility to work anywhere; parks, museums, galleries, another country, etc.  It pushes me to be aware of my surroundings, to become my own supplier.

After taking so many Art classes, reading art books, recycling lovely fabrics and paper, critiques, and exploring places in New York and around the world; I realized that Art is extremely important element worldwide.  Throughout centuries Art has made a difference in people’s life.  It is ironic, how people don’t realize that Art is everyday and everywhere.

Below I will share some of my favorite quotes:

“Like French or Spanish, Art is a language that can be learned and understood. It is a form of communication that one can learn to read and speak through study and practice.” John Goldonowicz

To me this quote means that Art is a way to communicate with people. When I first came to the United States I felt lost, but during art class I succeed. I even received an Art award during the first month in a new school.  In addition, sketching gave me the opportunity to relax during a tough life transition.

“Like Science, Art is based on a natural order and relationship of elements. These elements, such as line and color, have unique properties and can be explored in lab-like projects and exercises that reveal individual characteristics, how these qualities can be manipulated, and how these elements can work together.” John Goldonowicz

To me this quote means that as an artist, I can explore artistic qualities just like a sciencist would explore new products to make medicines. For instance, there is so much to explore from each color. They all have unique properties that give unique results on a painting.

“Like Music, Art is based on the refinement of one of our senses. As music relates to how one listens and hears, art focuses on looking and seeing – on visual sensitivity.” John Goldonowicz

To me it is amazing how one art piece could speak differently to people. Enriching my connection with Art, indulges and serene my soul.

Life is a challenge and I can say that I appreciate every single challenge that was put in my path. Because of them I have grown as an Artist and as a human being. After going through so many experiences and having opportunities in life, I came to the resolution that I enjoy the challenge of painting… which fulfills me completely as an artist.

Yes! At this point of my life painting is challenging for two reasons: time and practice. As a full time employee and student it has not been an easy route, but the rigorousness taught me to never give up and work hard for what I love. No too long ago, my first and only painting class was indeed a time of self limitation. I certainly had zero experience with the media (oil). It was frustrating not understanding how to apply the paint to create a certain dimension, how to make something look real with an awkward color, or hot make people see what I wanted them to see. I wanted to express my self in so many ways and something hit me. I told myself, “Denise you can’t fly until you understand the basic concepts of painting.” Although this sounds negative I was surprisingly happy.

On this reading, Winterson describes art in detail and compares it with Religion and energy. Winterson does this by saying that Art has always been and will always be. I believe that this is true. I also believe that Art is everywhere and that people needs to start paying more attention to it. Art couldn’t have a better description than its own history. Art has been influenced by political beliefs, humanity, etc.  It has always been and it’s constantly evolving.  Art is part of everything and its possibilities are endless. Winterson also states its beneficial characteristics, which are the following:  

“Art is love and imagination”

“Art is powerful”

“Art is no materialistic”

“It recharges the artist at a different voltage”

“Art is eternal”

“You can communicate with it”

My perception from the reading is that making art can be therapeutic and relaxing, as it is a time when you find and communicate with yourself and others. It’s a time when I, as an artist disconnect from the outside world and its endless demands. When making art I have freedom and no barriers. “Art can bring me back to consciousness” as it promotes consciousness and understanding of culture, politics and people. There is no doubt that Art makes us think and could make us become better human beings.  As an artist I know that I have a responsibility as a communicator.

Winterson compares the loving contemplation to art to the contemplation to someone we know, a human being, a unique individual who we think we know and therefore stop “looking”. We are always distracted, running, trying to win the marathon and stop observing and seeing the beauty of things.

Regardless of the personal artistic style, we shouldn’t stop “looking” at the heart of things.

I enjoyed the reading very much.  It is a story, in which Solnit, the author explains that getting lost is not always a negative experience, that instead, it can be an opportunity for personal growth.  Solnit, uses symbolism and philosophical references to express her points of view about life. The fauna is the base of the story and were everything takes place. It is the esthetic environment use to symbolize getting lost in a place, like in any other place such as the contemporary world.

Following, I will interpret what I grasped and how I interpreted messages from this reading.  Not getting lost translates into the idea that people don’t want to go beyond the safety of what they know, not experiencing new things is a defense mechanism.  From a healthier perspective, when getting lost, there is always someone who will find you or at least will try to help you and the journey has a value and a charm  all its own. Really, “The key of survival is knowing that you are lost”; basically recognizing the challenge, if there is one. Recognition makes it easier to find a way out.

“Going out of my way, beyond what I know” means, trying new things, exploring, risking, taking a chance, discovering new ways of pursuing something. Even though, it can be challenging at times, it is important to remain optimistic. Many times people feels lost, just because they don’t try new things. These are people that like to stay in their comfort zone (living in a bubble), not wanting to know the reality of life. This way of living can cause lack of experience and when encountering the unknown, one can collapse.

 “If one never gets lost, one never lives”,  To me this means that Not until we get lost, we begin to find ourselves, to really know who we are, where we come from and where we want to go.  I believe that knowing where you come from, helps people understand others and knowing where one wants to go.