Entry #11: Beginnings

Self portrait (buried under sweet poison), By Tiffany Holman, Watercolor

         There are so many things one can lend their time to. Education is such an important fraction of time, but can seem almost useless in in the grand scheme of someones existence here on this planet if it is not used wisely. 

         I began my educational journey in South Eastern Idaho, the town I was raised in and did not have an art community. So I made my own, unfortunately the majority of artists I spent my time with did not go to my school. As a result, I spent most of my primary education being as stealthy as possible and escaping those four walls that held the beginnings of what should have been my education. I didn't know what art really was at the time beyond the obvious painting, drawing, and sculpting. I just new that I didn't have a choice, I had to do it. Art found me, and I didn't have a choice, it became who I was unintentionally. My grades due to my lack of attendance suffered, and I could have cared less, it had no meaning to me. 

         When I graduated, after ending up being home schooled for most of my college education, I decided that I wanted to pursue art. I did not know how artists made money outside of selling in galleries, so I went to cosmetology school to hopefully fund my way through a "real" artist education. All of the things I knew about art, I had taught myself. Paul Mitchell, the trade school I was attending was not so lenient on their attendance policy. So after nearly being kicked out, I joined night school and found a group of students who understood me and cared about my art and I bloomed! 

         Now that I am back in school after years of adventuring and getting to know the world outside of my small hometown Sugar City, Idaho, I have a completely different perspective. I have learned that education in the U.S. is often forced upon kids in the most generic way that does not feed their dreams (in most cases, there are private and charter schools that hone in on the students talents), and that's what I needed the most. Now, that I have learned that it is alright to bend the rules of education, as you use them to benefit the person you want to be.

        I find that I love every class I have to take, even math, which most art students despise, because everything I learn betters my vault of knowledge that I incorporate into my trade. That is especially what this blog project has done for me. It has given me an outlet to experiment with my rhetoric to the fullest. Even in the posts that ask the student to analyze a specific concept, I find joy in the challenge of finding a creative way to make a correlation with art. 

         This blog part of the class, is one of the reasons I came back to Professor Neilson's class (other than him being a fantastic instructor). I loved being able to practice my rhetoric and enjoy the format of writing required of the students. I think that this portion of the class is very important to developing its whole. The fact that it keeps students writing almost every day, is hectic for some, but important in the grand scheme of learning to write. I learned more as a writer thanks to this blog project, and I hope that my readers learned a little from me.

Andrew Bird- Are You Serious? (If you have never heard of Andrew Bird, I feel bad for you)