Coffeehouse #2

Growing up I was always expressing my creativity through art, no matter what form of art it was I was always proud of my work. From pre-k to middle school I did art consistently, I was into every piece I did with so much passion and pride. Then everything hit a sudden stop when I got into high school. I went to an arts high school as an art major, throughout high school I have taken about 3-4 art classes each class was nothing like the last. My first one was very “wishy-washy.” My teacher at the time was angry at every little thing to the point where she blew up at the whole class causing her to leave mid semester. All that taught me is that perfectionism brings out the worst. My second art class was very straight to the point when it came to the assignments and required many presentations. My teacher wanted us to explain every detail of our work; every line, every mistake, every placement. It was more of a “why did you make that choice” instead of a good constructive criticism. He taught me that questioning is good and how artists must explain their pieces so the observer can really feel them. My third art class was a lot more strict when it came to the projects, we had to follow and stick to the task he assigned us. The teacher was also monitoring every student, I remember him keeping a book dedicated to the students where he would keep track of the stage of work we would be in and grade us based on the amount or work instead of quality. We also could not disagree with him if we were not comfortable with the task, we had to abide by his idea of art no matter what. All those experiences in class just creatively drained me, I had no intention or want to even make art anymore; it was so bad that I had to eventually just stop taking art classes. During my senior year, I dropped my major and just took my core classes. I felt a lot better but I ended up drawing on every paper I had in sight in my other classes. Looking back and reflecting on my art experience in high school made me realize that no one should suppress or stop your creativity and how art is almost as subjective as beauty is; everyone has their own art style. Art should be an experience between the artist and the viewer with no secondhand opinions or critiques from others.