Just keep swimming...

I'm a month into my studies at University of Michigan - Flint. It's a little tougher than I thought, but I've never let that stop me before. It just means I'll have to work harder and smarter. I am enjoying my classes though.

One of my classes covers Contemporary Art History. I've lived during a lot of the Contemporary era and am familiar with many of the artists. There are many that I hadn't heard of though, especially women creators. They tend to be conveniently written out of history a lot of the time. It's also been interesting to learn about the flow between the different art movements so far and what drove those changes.

My other Art History class is an advanced course on animals depicted in art. We're talking about how animals are portrayed through the ages, their sometimes deeper meaning within the artwork, and their real-life treatment with animal welfare advancements. My professor wrote the book we're using (along with other material), and it's been a pretty enjoyable read.

While getting through the history classes can be difficult for me at times (physical/learning disabilities), I'm having a lot of fun in my art classes. I had my watercolor teacher for a drawing class at the Flint Institute of Art many years ago, and I was happy to have a class with her again. I haven't messed with watercolor in a while and I loved getting to reacquaint myself with the techniques, as well as learning new ones.

I also have a ceramics class. I'd really only messed with oil clay for making molds for my sculptures, We Will Lose the World and Save the Woman! (see portfolio). Ceramics is new to me and I am reveling in getting up to my elbows in clay! My first attempt at coiling was kind of a disaster. My bowl fell apart! But when life gives you lemons... Make incense burners for your kids to enjoy! I still have to glaze them, but I think they'll look great. 😉