Friday, April 18, 2008

Art, or something like it

As I drove from Nashville to the Smoky Mountains today I thought alot about my love of art. Last weekend I painted a very large tree on the wall of my (soon to be) niece and nephews bedroom. It takes alot to get my creative juices flowing and even more energy to actually begin and complete a project. I often think of things I want to paint or make, but hardly ever do with the feeling that I will not have time or energy to complete it, and I hate leaving something half done. As i prepare to move into my new little cottage I can't help but be excited about the thought of stand on my deck, behind an easel, wearing clothes covered in crusty old paint from previous projects, and painting the mountain that is so perfectly framed by the trees infront of me.

During the short time I attended UT almost all of my classes were art classes. I enjoyed the process of starting from scratch and creating something totally original, however I did not like the grading process. Art is all about ones interpretation of the object infront of them. I find it hard to put a lable or grade with something that may look different to each person that passes it. For instance, two painters may be asked to paint a replica of the same picture. One painting may turn out to look idential to the picture it reflects, while the other may look completely different. This however does not mean that the painter who painted the different looking picture is any less talented than the first. Through the eyes of the second painter, they may have painted exactly what they saw. Interpretating art also makes me think of when a child colors a picture and asks you if you like it. You relpy yes and ask what it is and the child will probably look up at you bewildered and say well don't you know? Or can't you see it? It may look like a yellow squiggly in a blue circle to you, but to them it its duck swimming in a pond on a spring day.

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