Tuesday, April 19th
This week, I painted on tree bark. I have a forest in my backyard so I went back and took a piece of birch bark off a tree to use as an impromptu canvas. This is a scene from my friend's cabin in Montana:
In class we were told to focus on the IB learner profile trait of balance, defined below:
Balanced: They understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balance to achieve personal well-being for themselves and others.
This in mind, I thought about what art in my life means to me. Art is a stress reliever, especially when it turns out the way you want it to. Many people see art and use it as an escape from their busy lives and stressful work loads. However, I tend to use art not as an escape, but as an enhancement.
When I have a night of hard homework that will take me hours to finish (thanks teachers who plan together and put all my tests on the same day... just kidding☺), I take a break by painting a quick piece or sketching in my sketchbook. Doing this helps me achieve balance emotionally and intellectually. It's amazing how refreshed I feel after and it is loads better than taking a break to check my phone.
That is another big belief of mine and it's something I try not to do as much. When I stare at my phone for more than 20 minutes, my eyes get messed up and blurry! That's one reason I don't like using my phone a lot, but another is that it distracts from real life.
Art can be a reflection of your feelings, emotions, what you see, or a message you want to convey. Constantly checking your phone distracts not only from real life, but you are not as closely in touch with your emotions, making it much more difficult to achieve balance in your life.
Here is a simple pen and ink watercolor I did representing literal balance:
I love the painting you did on the bark-- it is super creative and it really gives an outdoorsy feel. I could definitely see someone hanging that up as décor. I can also relate to the feeling art gives you when it helps balance out the rest of your busy life. You are so talented--keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteI like how you branched (ha ha) off from the mainstream and used tree bark as canvas. Nature and art seem to go hand in hand when I think of balance, and I think you did a fantastic job depicting your trait. I liked what you said about how art helps you and how it effects your life. This blog is more personal than others and I love it! I also found it interesting that you didn't paint a face on the girl balancing on a ball. Why didn't you? And why a baseball?
ReplyDeleteThe girl on the baseball is actually me on a statue at a park close to my house ahhaha! I didn't paint a face because A) I am lazy and this was a piece I finished fairly quickly and B) facial expressions can be read many different ways. A mostly calm face can portray undertones of anxiety or fear. By leaving it out, the viewer can infer a feeling of complete serenity from the figure and realize that the piece shows peace as well as detachment from worry.
DeletePerfect reflection on balance with images to boot!
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