Digital Art Education

Here's a brief summary of my experience with my classes thus far.

1. Art History: Ancient to Medieval
This class was great at first because quite a large amount of my friends were also taking it. Then I realized exactly how much reading and writing we would have to do. I know reading isn't the most trying activity for most people, but I swear I have an undiagnosed reading disability or something. After some deliberation, I decided that I would never be able to keep up with this class along with my English class (which I will get to later). So, DROP. I switched out of this class into Art History: Renaissance to Modern, which, after one class, seems like it's going to be not only less demanding, but more interesting as well.

2. Elements of Math II
I love this class and the professor. It's essentially an analysis of elementary math and the teaching of the said subject. So easy to follow and interesting as well. The professor is very entertaining. Ever watch The Big Bang Theory? He has Sheldon written all over him, at least in terms of social awkwardness. I mean that in the nicest way. It's just funny because he always seems out of breath. But really, he has a way with explaining concepts, and he's a respectable teacher and human being.

3. Humanities Literature
This is a challenging class (recall the reading issue), but when I'm in this class I'm not as concerned with the course content as I am with the professor. He is one of the most indescribable people I think I've ever met. He's just so...odd. Usually I adore people who are a little bit off-kilter but, this guy, he has something about him that I just don't like but can't identify what it might be yet. However, I do like that he plays jazz records at the beginning of class and that he wears the same style of lens frames as myself (which we mutually complimented each other on). He also assigns fairly contemporary readings and he relates to his students with ease. Oh, and he named his flash drive after Meg White. So all in all, he seems okay by me.

4. Fibers Studio
Let me start by saying my professor is adorable. She is a petite Japanese woman who expects everyone to be nice and pleasant people. She seems so happy with her life. I love her. The class is off to a great start; we've already started on a raffia coiling project. I've never worked with the kinds of materials we will be using so every day will be a full-on learning experience. I am so grateful to be exposed to this unique kind of art making at my university.

5. Figure Drawing Studio
This class seems like it will be the most challenging of all. It is my first drawing class at my school, so I already feel like I'm below the level of my co-learners, many of whom have already taken several drawing classes. So there's that. Also, I have to learn how to use materials that I've never used extensively, such as charcoal. I know. Charcoal? Yeah, my high school didn't prepare me for this, but that's a whole different blog post for another day. Anyway, my professor is Polish and she is used to the strict European style of learning art, so she intends to teach it that way. I have to say I am thankful to have such a worldly teacher who is highly experienced in the field of drawing. We will have our first model on Tuesday, and as much as I say I can handle nudity, I admit that I haven't seen much of it from a close distance and I'm not sure how I'm going to react to seeing a female body other than my own.

This seems like an appropriate ending point. Until next time.
-B. Byrd