Week 1- Introduction

My name is Karisa Brake. My major is art. I should graduate in the year of 2019. I plan on being a member of the Art Club, as of now, but I may join more extracurriculars. My senior year of high school, I was awarded student of the year in the art department. It was a huge honor! I really loved and looked up to every single one of my art teachers. They motivated and encouraged not only myself, but everyone else in the classrooms. My goal is to maintain good grades in all my different classes the way I managed to in high school. I aim to get a bachelors degree. In the future, at some point after school, I would like to move away and become a middle school art teacher. Middle schoolers go through significant changes and have to learn how to prepare for bigger and better things that should come in high school, which is very exciting. I feel that I could help kids transition and possibly discover talents they did not know they had. (Below is a picture of me sitting on the edge of a cave in Cave Point Park, Door County, Wisconsin.)

There are many ways to define craft, composition, and concept. First and foremost, craft is utilizing a "combination of tools." Craftsmanship ought to give viewers a sense of the ability and skill level an artist has mastered. Concept is what should move people. It is "self reflective," of what the artist truly feels and wants to reveal... Perhaps there is a hidden political viewpoint expressed, whether blatant or discreet. Finally, Composition is a matter of creating a harmonic balance. It encompasses both elements and principles of art and design. Beneath are two photos that I feel exemplify craftsmanship and composition. The self portrait done by Frida Kahlo to the right is quite symmetrical and feels balanced, although her head is slightly tilted to the left. This thoughtful balance proves the piece is composed well. I feel at ease, and I don't have to look in different directions to see everything featured. The painting to the left done by my favorite artist, Salvador Dali, illustrates craftsmanship! The baby head is extremely realistic, it is as though you can almost hear the baby laughing. It takes some serious prowess to be able to paint so articulately. The baby's face is also a map, as if the fact it was floating in space with no other appendages wasn't strange enough. Overall, every great work of art ought to incorporate concepts, crafts, and some sort of composition.