I first began drawing during grade school. I used to win all the poster contests, volunteer to draw for school pamphlets, event programs, and yearbooks. My experience of drawing before college was more fun than experimenting. I felt accomplished to be able to offer my skills in drawing at the idea of pleasing others. It was not until my senior year in high school that I took a real art class. There was so much about the technical side of art that I had not known. From that point on I wanted to do everything I could to refine my technical ability, because back then, I believed that the ability to draw realistically was what made one an "artist."
And then there came college. Three years at the junior college seemed helpful in the process of improving my technical ability to draw and paint. Then when I transferred to UC Berkeley, I only realized how little knowledge of art and art history I had known. Boy did I feel out of place for the first year. Conceptual art that first semester went over my head. I felt as if my work was nothing compared to others', and that my fellow classmates saw my work as too decorative or concept-less.
With the help of other fellow students who feel similarly about interests in graphic art, I was able to regain confidence in my own work. |
