Statement of Purpose:

What questions can you formulate about your theme (at least 4)?

My theme is growth and thinking about growth, you can formulate these four questions:

1.)What is growth?

2.) How does growth affect you personally?

3.) What causes things or human beings to grow?

4.)Where does growth take place?

How does your theme connect to your life?

My theme connects to my life immensely. I feel like through the past 2 years to a year, I've gone through a great amount of growth. I've of course grown physically, but more so emotionally and as a person. I think my own personal ideas have grown. I've been able to truly see what ideas I believe in and which morals I hold strong and close to my heart. Throughout the past year especially, I've had to overcome a lot of adversity with family and illness, but I believe because of my hardships, I've been able to test and grow my own personal faith. I'm become more connected with my spiritual self and my Catholic identity. Besides my spiritual identity, i've become more intact with my cultural identity as an African American women. I know that growing up has truly helped me to be able to accept myself as who I am. My sense of reasoning and understanding has also grown. While attending Beaver, and truly getting involved in different programs and opportunities, i've become a strong believer in open-mindedness and being able to see different views. Because of this, my understanding of compassion and people has really, REALLY, grown.

How does your theme connect to the world around you?

Growth can be find all throughout the world around me. It can be found literally, as you plant and watch a flower, fruit or vegetable grow. It also can be found physically, as you see the innocence of a child disappear as he or she grows into a beautiful adult human being. You can see it culturally, as one nation grows its population, racial acceptance, success and wealth. You find it in the media, when rumors and stereotypes grow and spread like wildfire. And sometimes you reflect on your own personal growth, when your relationships, friendships, and understanding of yourself grows. Growth is inevitable, it happens all around the world.

What kinds of images come to mind when you think about your theme?

When I think of my theme of growth, many things come to mind. I envision a flower growing its roots, stems, leaves, and pedals each day. I also see a population or culture doubling its size. I see disaster, like a tsunami, growing in size and eventually growing in the amount of land and tragedy it takes over. I see a fad growing from person to person because they saw the celebrities doing it on tv. I see a girl looking into the mirror trying to find something beautiful about her self to help grow her own self acceptance. I see Barrack Obama siting in the white house, because the growth of acceptance of a Black race is finally prospering and growing.

What kinds of art or visual information (advertising, tv, film) have you seen that relates to your theme?

On the news, I've seen video clips of a tsunami growing in size, take over Hawaii. I've seen millions of videos on Youtube where teenage kids reenact the popular show Gossip Girl. On TV, I saw the Dove Soap commercial that shows women of many different physical backgrounds and with diverse physical features "Campaigning for Real Beauty." In biology class I watched a movie on the mystery and beauty of flowers and how they grow. In history class I've watched a documentary on Jamaica and how their pride as a culture has flourished and grown. I watched crowds of people with all different racial backgrounds cry tears of joy during the Inauguration of President Barrack Obama. Many things on TV and films have shown me that growth is all around.

Why did you choose this theme and how can you envision exploring it through works of art over the course of the term?

I chose this theme for many different reasons. I chose growth because I knew that it would be something that would challenge me to think. I also knew that it would challenge my execution as an artist. At the same time I also chose growth because I knew it was all around us. I knew that growth could be something that other people would over look, and that as an artist I can stop people from over looking. I took into consideration what growth meant to me at this stage in my life. Being a teenager and becoming a young adult, I knew that I've been through a lot of personal growth that i'd have a passion for expressing.

Essential Questions:

How do artists develop content and ideas for their work?

I think there are hundreds of different ways artists can develop content and idea for their work. I think the most important reference that artists pull from are their life experiences. Artists tend to do artwork that means something to them and that defines their unique qualities. Over the years quality of artwork develops because your experiences develop. I know as an artist that i've become more passionate about what I do because over the years i've gained a lot of different passions myself. Some artists can create content from their cultural background and identity. Artists can make arts of work that show their strong beliefs and morals. They pull from the environment in which they live in. They develop ideas from things and places they've seen or would like to see. It is even possible that artists will go into a piece of artwork not really knowing which direction their going in, but eventually through fooling around with the materials, they find inspiration. If certain emotions or feelings are overwhelming to them, artists tend to express themselves and capture their feelings through artwork. I know that art is a way of expression and depending on how you express yourself each day, your artwork can truly develop from all things and all different angles.

What kinds of techniques, behaviors, and habits allow artists to turn their ideas into meaningful works of art that engage the viewer?

As an artist there is a broad spectrum of techniques, behaviors, and habits that you develop to make meaningful pieces of artwork and to essentially engage the viewer. To start, you have to learn the basics of art. I believe I truly sharpened my skills as an artist when I came to Beaver and joined the Art Principles class. It was there that I learned the basics to art, such as, color, line, pattern, texture, placement and spacing, and so much more. I think if you truly want to better yourself as an artist, then you'll have to explore different kinds of art, too. In the past I've taken photography and sculpture just to explore and dig my hands into all kinds of art. I haven't fallen in love with all art forms, but I think having experience is very important. Being able to brainstorm is a habit and technique that all artists should perfect. Brainstorming will help you develop a message in any artwork you do, and will also help you remain open minded so that your work will relate to a plethora of viewers. Observation is key as an artist also. Learning how to observe your artwork and especially different artists work will allow you a sense of style and uniqueness that will transform your work into something meaningful. I think the most important habit that an artist can grow, however, is truly having fun and loving what kind of art you do. Having a passion for art and creating something, will transfer into the viewers eye and truly make your artwork rememberable.