Why do I do This

The Big View

I am an artist because it is what I wanted to be when I was in first grade. In my class everyone sat in a circle and we had to state what type of career we wanted to pursue as an adult. Most of my peers said: doctors, lawyers, astronauts, and bankers. I was the only one in class to state that I wanted to be an artist. Every summer since I was five years old I always took art classes at the Kalamazoo Institute of Art. I found that naturally I was great at making things.
I wanted to pursue art as my professional choice when I entered high school. My former high school teacher Edie McaFee strongly suggested that I should enroll in the International Baccalaureate program for Fine Art. She was a huge inspiration for me and she really pushed me in my senior year. She believed in me. During my senior year of high school I received my I.B. certificate for Fine Arts and also was granted the Department of Fine Arts medal. One of my goals my senior year was to be in the local gazette for Young Artist of the Year. I reached my goal and had a photo of me, and a statement about my work in the spring of 2006 paper.
Sadly, my art career took a turn when I entered college at Western Michigan University. I did not see myself doing this anymore. I gave up on myself. My first year of college I was "Undecided." That was my major! My second year of college I could not take it anymore. I had to create art. It is in my blood and my body & mind were telling me that I have to do this! I applied to the Art Department at my college and I was accepted. I decided that I wanted to pursue art education.
At the end of my second year of college it was time for me to get serious about art. My great aunt who, at the time was President of the Board of Trustees at Ringling suggested that I should have a tour of Ringling College of Art & Design to see if I liked it. Well, I did not just like it, I fell in love with it! I knew that this was the place where I needed to be.

The Immediate View

I started to think about my thesis project last summer. In the summer I wanted to focus on patriotism but, it was hard for me to express my thoughts about it on canvas. I didn't know what to paint except for guns, stars, and stripes! My concrete idea for my thesis started the first week of school. I knew that I wanted the United States to be a part of my work, but not the main focal point. I started to think about how fast the terrain is in the United States. How we travel to find happiness, and how colors act differently in different parts of land. (hot, cold, aggressive...ect). I settled on this idea because I love color & and i enjoy the act of painting. I knew that with this idea for thesis i can stay focused. To help me stay focused I constantly paint simultaneously. I feel that if i work this way, my mind is constantly cranking out ideas instead of focusing all my energy one painting.