2-Dimensional Design

I have to begin with a confession. 25 years ago I took a 2-dimensional design class and I never turned in the final project. Planning for my up coming marriage were on the for front of my life and I blew it off. This class is an absolute necessity for any kind of a degree in art so here I am taking it once again but now instead of pulling out my paint brushes and drawing pencils I walked into a computer lab for my class. The idea of a completely digital class was terrifying to me. How could I ever keep up with all the kids who knew computers and the programs we would be using so much better than I did?  And how would I ever remember everything the teacher was showing us how to do?

This week, I am feeling really good about my art class. I remember some of the basic principles of design and I still have a good eye for it. With the help of some younger class mates, I am learning how to get the programs to do what I want them to and it is very exciting to go to class. I got my second grade in that class today and it was 100%. It sounds more thrilling that it is. He grades the projects on a 1-4 point scale so the only A you can get is a 4 or a 100%. I was thrilled however because now I feel like I can really be successful in this class. The second thing I am finding is that I am learning what the teacher likes and dislikes and that is the secret to the subjective part of the art grade.

 Art is not like math there can be many right answers and many wrong answers and half of the equation is in the instructor's opinion. I have met several very talented people who have dropped out of art programs because they had trouble dealing with other people's opinions. Either they couldn't handle the criticisms to their work because it felt like a personal attack or they had difficulty trying to figure out what the professor wanted and then giving it to him. You have to be willing to learn something new and different to be able to improve. You also have to understand that sometime you will not do well and that's O.K. and a critique of your work is not a critique of you as a person. Finally you don't have to love everything you produce it's alright to hate it to get the you just have to be willing to learn and grow. In whatever field an artist goes into they have to please someone or they will not make any money. There is always a boss, whether it is a client commissioning a graphic design piece, or a consumer buying a framed piece to put over the mantel.