In Studio Arts 12 I have been exposed to several different types of art, medium, and techniques. All of which have helped me become a better artist in general. For me, art is a way of expressing myself and is something I enjoy greatly. After taking art for the past couple years at Riverside, I truly think my love for art has increased by many fold. Before that, I didn’t really know how to draw or paint. I would use one pencil and the colours of paint that came in the set. Of course now I know that there are a variety of pencils with softer and harder graphite for different effects. And I hear Ms.Schmit’s and Mr.Drysdale’s voice in my head saying to never use the colour as it comes. To always blend and create your own new colours. Also because of Art class I was able to try out amazing medium from all over the world, which I definitely wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. Here are some of my favourite art pieces from over the years!

Add a final reflection:

1) Reflect on which assignments you found most successdul and why?
I really loved the white on black assignment. Where I drew a zebra. That was really out of my comfort zone, but the end result was amazing! It isn’t included in the above because it’s still hanging somewhere in the school! I learned so many new techniques with that assignment, and it was challenging to switch gears from black on white to white on black. The several practice drawings and thumbnails really helped me along the way. And I realized that taking risks is rewarded.

2) Which assignment was least successful and why?

I think the self portrait assignment was the least successful. Although I don’t dislike the final product, I think if I were to have access to better tools I could have done a much better job on it. For example, I would have used paints instead of pencil, and captured my face close up.

3) Any final thoughts?

I have made so many wonderful connections with students and teachers because of art class, and I have grown an even larger passion for art than I had before. I think that sums it up very nicely. It was amazing to work with such talented people both graduated and not, that sparked inspiration in me. Thank you to everyone who has helped me along the way! Especially my amazing art teachers Ms.Schmit and Mr.Drysdale!

I love taking photos of anything and everything. At family events, birthdays, etc capturing candid moments is the best. My future direction in photography is a bright one. I think I will never stop taking photos and will continue to share them with people. Here are some of my favourite photos that I took this year in Photography 11. There were plenty more photos, but a lot of them are stored on the school computer, so these are mostly photos I took at home in second semester. Hope you enjoy!

Final reflection:

What part of your finished portfolio did you find most successful and why?

I think the colour theme portraits were the most successful. The photos in my opinion look like they were shot professionally, which is something I am very proud of. It also allowed me to think as a photographer and artist together in setting up the background and picking the poses. I think this assignment helped me become more aware of colours and the endless possibilities of photos you can take in your own home!

What part of your finished portfolio did you find least successful and why?

Being honest there isn’t much I would change about these photos, I love them all. But if I had to pick on one small thing it would probably be the camera quality. At school we have amazing professional cameras, but these photos above were taken from my cellphone.

If you had the time, what project would you like to redo and why?

I think I would redo the negative space assignment. I haven’t included any photos from there into this portfolio, but I think after that assignment I got a better understanding of how to use negative space to enhance the so called “star” of the photo – with the other assignment we did on using negative space and texture in portraits.

Any final thoughts?

My final thoughts are that I am really glad I took Photography as an elective because I learned many new skills. Those could be about taking an amazing picture using photography techniques, or just learning more about the camera and its complex settings. – I also had a really great teacher, thank you Mr.Drysdale !