Sinkler, Midterm Exam

1. My favorite type of art making this year has been printing. Specifically mono-printing. The unit has a whole has been my favorite becuase of how many different ways to make prints. You can use paint for mono, Ink for relief, and I never would have imagined using a screen to make designs on T-shirts! I also really enjoyed seeing how everyone else's prints came out because I felt like they all came out really good for everyone. The only small struggles I had were with relief printing. Carving the foam plate and using the ink were easy but I did forget that it would print the opposite way around. It didn't mess anything up but it was a small thing I forgot about.The main struggle was with the markers. I either put too much or not enough water. Eventually I got it and it actually turned out way more beautiful than I thought it would. Even though I ended up liking how the marker relief print came out I thought that my best prints were using the Gelli plates. Mono printing was the most enjoyable because I could use whatever colors I wanted. You can also use so many different materials to make patterns and designs that the possibilities are endless. For example, when I was trying different things for my final piece on printmaking, I used paint brushes to give the paint a splattered look instead of using a brayer. I would definitely be more interested in using printing in my future.

2. This year I've struggle most with painting. It's been hard for me to mix the colors to what I'm looking for. It is very hard for me to be neat and stay "inside the lines" of what I'm trying to paint. I'm not completely sure why it's been so hard for me but I think some of it is just the fact that I don't like painting all the much in the first place. I have nothing against it, I've just never been all that good at it, but I am trying! When it comes to the mixing the right color, I can never add the right amount of a color so I feel like I just keep adding and adding and I never get it right. It's not a huge deal but it always bugs me when it's off. Painting is not my favorite unit but I can still make the best of it!

3. I feel that my most successful piece was actually my most recent. It was my final project for printmaking in which I used mono printing and watercolor. You could consider this to be my least successful piece due to how many times I changed my idea and wasn't happy with the result. But for me, despite the difficulties, the result was unexpected yet great. I had originally wanted to use mono printing for the whole thing but decided to use watercolor for the color instead. During the printing unit I had done a similar piece using screen printing except that one had no color and had words. This piece can also be interpreted in many different ways depending on the person. The only thing that bothers me about this work is that I mixed up the blue and purple even though I kept running "ROYGBIV" through my head. Overall I am very proud of this piece.