Project by: Erin Westlund (11th Grade)
Project Advisor: James French
Student(s)’s Advisor(s): Shauna Finn

Description of the Project: My honors project started off with me wanting to draw characters, but it turned into a way for me to just draw my emotions. The goal of this project is to visually represent an emotion in a drawing or painting. I want to learn and expand on my skills in conveying feelings through artwork. I want people to view my work and see a story they can relate to in some way.

Final Product & Final Reflection on Learning:

Update on Progress from Weeks 1-3 (include any photos or video if relevant): Over the past few weeks I’ve been focused on adapting and growing some foundational skills. I’ve worked on two different techniques, a realistic and receptive style and an abstract projective style of my imagination. When I draw a more realistic style piece, I have found it a lot easier to work from reference photos creating an accurate proportional foundation to my drawing. It has been more challenging to draw just from my imagination, I find it harder to express a clear emotion when I have nothing to work off of. My mind wonders as I draw and it becomes impossible for me to stick to one idea. I created a visual representation of what my brain process looks like as I start to draw from just my imagination…it became very random.

Update on Progress from Weeks 4-6 (include any photos or video if relevant): When I first started my project, I went to James and I told him my plan was to create characters and come up with visual depictions of their different personalities. I planned to represent these personalities through colors, outfits, body language, facial expressions, settings, and other visual tellers. But, as I started to draw my creative process lead me to shift my gears. I realized that what I wanted to draw fro this project was less structured and I wanted to open it to drawing more than just characters.

Update on Progress from Weeks 7-9 (include any photos or video if relevant):         Before starting my drawings or paintings I think through ideas and build on them until I land on something that feels like something that will be creative, evoke feelings in a viewer, and over represent some kind of clear emotion (even if that emotion is different for each person). When I work on each piece, they are never exactly what I imagine in my head, and that can be frustrating, but I’ve realized (and James has helped me to realize) that art isn’t about perfectly remaking an image in your head or a reference photo. I’ve learned that it’s much more important to just keep going with your work and let the art be what it is. The journey is much more important than the outcome or initial thought. A lot of the time, my drawings and paintings never feel finished. There’s still a mark that I could add or something to rework, but that turns into a never ending cycle and I just need to put the pencil or whatever it may be down when it feels complete.

TRIMESTER 2 UPDATES: Description of the Project: Final Reflection on Learning: Update on Progress from Weeks 1-3 (include any photos or video if relevant): Update on Progress from Weeks 4-6 (include any photos or video if relevant): Update on Progress from Weeks 7-9 (include any photos or video if relevant)