The Impression of Artistic Expression

By Chloe Gamber, contributing writer

When discussing one’s journey through art, there is never enough that can be said. We experience art and impressions of it even as an infant. Colors, shapes, and forums are seen but the fovea in charge of seeing details is not developed until age six. This gives comprehension to how visually we form and why children exercise their creative skills around such as age even if they may not continue to be as passionate about art when they grow. As we grow, we can assume our past mindsets, but we cannot get the same impact as we did at that moment. When analyzing my work, I feel interested in the possible thought processes behind them. There is no endpoint for us when we look at our past, present, and possible future art growth because it is ever-growing. It is constantly growing regardless of if we create art or not. Thoughts and experiences in our lives are what make growing through art a constant concept for numerous meanings.

Overall, art is something that surrounds us and is a part of us. I wanted a lot of color in my art because I did not do much of it in previous years. Mrs. Vancil, my high school art teacher, was the one who guided me to express myself in more than one way. Mrs.Vancil taught me how every detail shows a piece of the artist. I felt that she had given me more freedom than I anticipated when making my art, but this is how art is supposed to be. Through the four years of being under her wing, I was able to recognize the concepts and intentions of a piece that I would have never thought about previously. Without her teachings, I would not have been able to write an article in such depth and meaning. When it came to my piece and future pieces, Mrs. Vancil always wanted me to express myself on different levels within different concepts such as the mixed objects on the canvas.

When reflecting on my art I see in many occurrences that I focus on body parts. Our bodies are very important to maintain, but they are not something to force into a mold. Our bodies should be cherished in such a way that is special to everyone. Each experience with your reflection shows deeper meaning into who you are and how your image affects the mind. Throughout the years, my reflection has taunted me with a false perception of who I am. Considering our flaws, our minds may warp reality. When it comes to reflections, an additional consideration is that the mirror helps warp what we see. We can never truly see ourselves from the exact perspective anyone else does, which plays into other flaws we see when we consider our minds, personalities, habits and so much more. Such a valuable lesson is seen through artists when reimagining the human body. My art professor, Mrs. MacLennan, has emphasized on occasion how our bodies are always a subject matter we can create from. Humans will forevermore be drawn to certain parts of anatomy. Subconsciously, we are drawn to the face because it is the door to the inner person. Facial features emphasize on the lack of emotions in the form of cues we all interact through.

Recently, I haven’t had time to construct in-depth, but I am permanently learning. I continue to grow through certain focus points in my art. I have been doing sketches that include more in-depth layering in colored pencil and highlights. Sculpting with polymer clay continues to be enjoyable as well. Sculpting is very calming for me because I like to make textures and to grab onto what I am making. I have expanded my skills sporadically for digital art, which I find more tedious. My eyes can easily strain after looking at a screen for a short time which makes small details harder to make on the screen compared to traditional mediums. After saving the image, the layers did not transfer as smoothly as intended. Working digitally is very beneficial when techniques are cultivated. Working with various mediums has helped me uncover how and why art is constructed.

Conducting A Strategy

Choosing what medium will portray certain meanings is an additional process to investigate. The common ones are obvious to consider and to become comfortable with. But from my experience, I believe you should never stay comfortable too long. It is nice to ease yourself into projects when you are great with one medium, but additionally raises limits for the artist’s work. Without expansion into separate mediums, an artist will not feel complete. An artist should seek multiple mediums for multiple reasons. First, it allows an artist to understand how to convey themselves in a new light. Discovering what can be used through various components allows craftsmen to indicate things in more than one way. Some may feel that you can become more intimate with a variety of materials.

Emotions from Art

Being intimate with the piece creates an understanding of how it has impacted you. Through different processes, one becomes engulfed by personal attachment from the creation process. Feelings can cause an artist to interact with their art by being driven by emotions. Emotions are shown by expression of brush strokes, textures designed on dimensional art, markings in a piece and so much more. Different mediums also allow us insight into others. When we try something and understand what actions can be made or not made through a medium, a deeper understanding can be processed. We can further show interest in others and see how they developed certain practices. This can be shown by professional artists who know various techniques, but that does not mean they will use all of them. In both my art professors MacLennan and Professor Kao’s classes, I learned how to implement these techniques. I was also able to look deeper into the presentation that the artist had constructed. Professor MacLennan also showed ways that movement can occur on a still surface. Professor Kao also expressed how each mark made to a piece shows the great reflection of the creator.

The Title Of Your Art

The title of a piece can also give meaning or insight into it. A title can be as simple as the name of the subject matter or it can branch out into the mind of the artist even deeper. I was never one to jump to a title when finished with a piece. I knew that it could either make a piece or break away from the meaning of my work. Mrs. Vancil taught me the importance of this process along with other life lessons. For some pieces, I gave multiple names because I would forget the previous one. This is a bad example of carelessness when considering how sincere the artist is about the creation. The most appealing titles come from phrases and words that convey the feelings and endurances of the artist. As said previously, words are an art on their own. With this said, words can at times not fulfill what is trying to be represented. Which makes creating a title all the more difficult. There are infinite ways to look at a piece and decide on a title, and how each artist decides is rightly up to them.

Your Journey With Art

When considering your art journey, you must appreciate and recognize each piece as a part of you through time. Art can be very time-consuming or not so much depending on the piece but regardless, it still involves time. The duration used when making a piece is very valuable. If composure is not at its best, mistakes are made, but this is still considered valuable. I have ruined numerous pieces in countless ways, but I have always learned from these experiences. During my first class with Professor MacLennon, new phenomena were made as a result of mistakes. In professor MacLennon’s class, I discovered perceiving objects differently than previously. This is what caused many mistakes, but I became more aware of them. Life in itself consists of struggles that we have as artists which can be considered mistakes we have made. Of course, mistakes are bound to happen in one’s life and this allows us to become who we are because of these experiences. It is very difficult for many to understand how important art is to society. Artists have always struggled at making a living and this has only worsened over the centuries. Present-day, art is exposed all over different platforms using several methods which makes the art world a mess. Success in the art world is unconventional for everyone but the main goal of recognition is not very achievable. The definition of art has also been misguided and irrelevant when it comes to the media.

Art In The Media

The media has one main purpose, which is to get people’s attention. Social media is designed to be addictive through techniques that developers have induced and observed over time. This plays into the profession because emotional expression is pushed aside when platforms are used for recognition. Modern art and music can be labeled as outrageous if we are looking at what is considered successful by the mainstream. Many artists will never even get a glimpse of the spotlight because they cannot go against what they truly want to create just for a label on the media. Even with success, this is only an artificial version of it. Sadly, I have fallen victim to posting art in hope of some of this fortune achievement. I use the term fortune because luck plays into how recognized artists are when it comes to media platforms. My art Professor Mr. Kao thankfully gave me a new meaning for success. Professor Kao emphasized what success means to an artist is different for everyone. Some believe true success comes from just creating art for the intention of only personal reflection. While others make more artificial interpretations from false ideals of popularity. This branches out into other purposes and reasoning, but these are the main aspects when considering success. Becoming popular on social media may not mean that the craftsmanship is being expressed to its full potential. Many people simply like posts because it is in front of them. When liking a post, the viewer is sparked with some intention and meaning but this may be relatively small. The intention may not even be recognized or acknowledged. Not knowing the intentions of our own actions seems small when it comes to these acts at first glance. But, there is a deeper meaning to this which further shows how the media turns us into what is called “followers.”

Impressions In Media

As followers, the moment the post leaves the screen the impression of the arts disappears as well. When gaining likes from others who may never take a second glance, it is hard to create something that is guaranteed a “like.” Trends of aesthetics and other encouragements are what make the majority of users give a simple like or gesture of praise. This artificial connection also leads to what intentions others have on social media. Everyone on social media has their own personal gain from it. This can vary from contrary subjects. This is a huge issue because most do not make time to consider others’ work. This work can also involve subjects such as beauty. Filters and photo editors can make someone look at what is considered beautiful according to the media itself. Because themes within my artistry reveal varied occurrences of appeal, this is very difficult to face. The cosmetic beauty created also goes along with fake intent or self-absorption that we all face daily. These daily messages of attraction and other aspects of life make followers thrive for what is out of reach. These influences cannot be attainable because they will never have a conclusion of success. Following these influences is a constant recurring thing that is also constantly becoming more fabricated. So many artists fall under these false influences of social media which may lead future generations to be submerged even further into this chaos.

Influences can expand through locations across the world which also creates false acceptance. The location of an artist is such a huge disadvantage for so many in this world. Personally, I know many amazing local artists, but that is all they wish to be because they know the struggles they face cannot be fixed through raw talent. When chasing your dreams as an artist, you may realize that your dreams are your worst nightmares at times. Living in a constant struggle to do what you love when it is not noticed is truly a living nightmare. This harsh reality is something I do not want to face, and it makes me fear for any future I have as an artist. As artists face these struggles, others are affected as well. The reality of the art world truly affects us all in varied ways.

The Relationship

Regardless of if you are considered an artist or not, everyone has some sort of relationship with art. Art is something that makes being human more intriguing because it allows us to share our feelings and thoughts. Nowadays, people say it’s difficult to communicate with one another, but throughout time, language has always left out a part of us that cannot fully be expressed by providing words. Even more than ever, communication is lacking which is why art continues to manifest within us to thrive and grow. Language on its own is also an art of course but it is not always treated in this way. Art is something that appeals to our senses. Our five senses can be delivered in the form of art in various ways.

We must communicate through our senses because this is what connects us to the earth and others. This is why so many say they cannot live without art, and for me this is accurate. Everything that has been created can be looked at as an expansion of art. Something so simple like a sign or light for the road was made to make us feel a certain way. Signs are visually created the way they are to simply give a universal thought when approaching them. They are designed among processing the colors, words, or images and the size and shape of the signs. If we were to think about our surroundings, everything is a masterpiece of its own.

Art has always been seen historically as a passage to the past and therefore, we must continue to create it. Art helps represent many common and uncommon occurrences for each person who is from a certain time period. This is required of us to do because history would not be seen as it is without masterpieces that have described it for us. Professor Kao signified these concepts to me. He also taught me about how art can be looked at like a map. This map has several types of art and each piece is a detail added to it. This is because art is boundless but everything possible within art has occurred or is an extinction of something already on the map. This should make us want to excel in our own perspectives of art and create from them. Even if an art piece is seen from what could be considered a warped perspective, there is always something to take away from the piece. With the world revolving around art, there is no escaping that we all need art. I truly cannot fathom a world without creation and expression through the arts. This is why so many continue to face the world with struggles of living as an artist. Someone has to show expression for those who cannot push against the boundaries that have been embedded in society.