Magic Key

I'm really going to miss this class. We're almost completely done with the mural, but instead of thinking about the little things I can do to make it better, all I can think about is how weird it's going to be not to hop on a bus every Monday and Friday to get down to the studio. I've kind of already said this, but I wasn't expecting to like this class as much as I did. I had a full 18 credits this semester and I remember telling my friends, well, if I don't like my art class then I'll just drop that, but I was hooked from the very first day, and thinking back, it's weird to think that I ever even considered dropping it.

In one of our earlier pow-wows, Mark asked me if I thought that some people had a magic key to understanding art that others didn't have. I told him yes, I did think that that was the case and that I never felt like I could relate to art in the way that some people could. I love looking at art, but I've never been able to stare at a painting for an hour because I was so overcome by it's message. He assured me that there was no magic key, but I'm still not convinced. I think it takes time to appreciate art. It takes time to understand it. While I don't think I've necessarily received the magic key yet, I know that I'm much closer than I was at the beginning of the semester. What is so amazing about art, is that it makes you think differently about the world. You really start to see it as not the whole, but rather, the sum of it's parts. It's the colors of the changing leaves and the texture of the snow. Everything becomes more vivid, more real in a way. I can now appreciate the simple beauty of the world in a way I never could before.

I'm going to miss this class. It's taught me more than I can put into words. So thanks Mark, for believing in me when I didn't believe in myself. Thank you for forcing me to paint the portions I was afraid to, knowing how great it would feel when I actually accomplished it. Thank you for making this experience mean so much more than I ever thought it could. Thank you for giving me my sight back.

- Jamie