I typically have never thought of myself as a particularly artsy person. My twin sister, who now goes to SOTA, has always been incredibly skilled and talented in drawing, painting, and all kinds of visual art, so I have always left that to her. However this year, I tried some new things and ended up challenging myself artistically through different projects.
I got into film photography this October after finding a camera at the flea market for four dollars. I bought black and white film, as well as a developer and fixer to develop the film at home. Using searches and videos from the internet, I learned about ISO, shutter speed, and aperture, as well as the chemical developing. I like film photography because of the physical process of capturing the photo and developing it at home. It has also made me see the world differently, like the way light works, and has made me notice and be more observant of the things around me.
Another art project I recently worked on was when my sister moved to her own room. In January I decided to finally paint the room a different color. After picking up a gallon of paint at the hardware store, I moved everything in my room to the center and then threw tarps over all my stuff and lined them over the floor. I then painted around the ceiling and trim, before using a roller over the walls. Everything went smoothly until half way through rolling the walls, when the roller began to make bubbles in the paint against the wall. Being inexperienced with paint, I mistakenly decided to switch back to the small brush instead and finished painting the rest of the room. The next day when it dried it didn’t have very good coverage so I repainted the entire room using the paint brush, and it ended up drying very streaky. I learned through this experience about how paint works and though it turned out pretty textured, I don’t mind.
Then in February, I went to my first school dance for a Journalism story on Boat Dance, which meant I needed something to wear. I had begun a few months before to hand sew a dress based on a designer dress from the 70s by Loris Azzaro, and the dance was what I needed to finally motivate myself to finish. It was a good project for me as a new sewer because the fabric had stretch and the sequins covered up my stitches so the dress was more forgiving to make. I worked on the straps and seams a couple weeks before, getting to work on my sewing skills and learning how to use an invisible ladder stitch. I ended up finishing the spiderweb back only just in time, 5 minutes before I had to leave the house to the dance.
I’m glad this year I have been able to explore different kinds of art because it has made me a more well rounded person and has changed the way I experience the world. I hope to continue these interests this summer especially because I will have more time without the stress of school. I want to work more on my sewing skills and begin to make more challenging articles. I also hope this summer to explore more experimental aspects of film photography such as double exposures and multi-lens cameras.
