1. Visual Arts beyond Secondary School (University)
1.1. My experiences within my Bachelor of Visual/Contemporary Arts
1.1.1. I had a lot of amazing lecturers who were very inspiring and encouraging.
1.1.2. I also had a lot of lectures that didn't engage me as a student.
1.1.3. I wanted to use skills I had learnt to push myself into doing something different, which resulted in some people loving my work, and others who didn't find have interest in it. This experience was pretty scary, as an artist it can be a bit confronting to have some people really not understand your work
1.1.4. I remember enjoying both the practical and theory work and was happy to be learning things in what interested me
1.2. What skills I learnt Learning a variety of new skills involving new processes and mediums really helped me grow as a visual artist and I'd love to incorporate these skills and techniques into my teaching
1.2.1. Black and white photography, using an analog camera and developing film
1.2.2. Ceramics, using a throwing wheel, hand-building, slip casting
1.2.3. Jewelry making, I got to cast a silver ring and learnt about making molds and using resin
1.2.4. Drawing
1.2.4.1. I got to use media such as charcoal, conté, ink and erasers to draw
1.2.4.2. I got to experience life drawing, learning about drawing different tones and curves, and various techniques like continuous line drawing
1.2.5. Painting, most painting specific classes I took mainly involved using oil paints
1.2.6. Textiles
1.2.6.1. Natural dye making, using plant material
1.2.6.2. Shibori dying techniques
1.2.6.3. Knitting, weaving, wet felting, rope making
2. Memories/thoughts of other areas in the Arts
2.1. I remember hating drama because I was very self conscious about how I presented myself
2.2. I remember enjoying dancing, but I wasn't very good at it
2.3. I remember really enjoying music, the subject in school was a positive experience for me
2.4. I remember enjoying being in the school choir
2.5. There was an event in my school called 'House Shout' where home groups would dance and act out a short performance within a short time frame, I remember really enjoying them but also being extremely embarrassed.
3. Visual Arts Memories that effected my involvement with Visual arts
3.1. Secondary School
3.1.1. Started becoming interested in developing my own art 'style'
3.1.2. Started identifying more as 'the art kid'
3.1.3. Was really influenced by cartoons and anime
3.1.4. I remember having an amazing art teacher who really inspired me with how much passion she had for the subject
3.1.5. I remember learning key skills that helped me develop as an artist
3.1.5.1. Planning out my goals/ideas
3.1.5.1.1. This really helped me in other subject areas too where I struggled
3.1.5.2. Drawing thumbnails
3.1.5.3. Analyzing artworks
3.1.5.4. Various techniques that encouraged me to be experimental (I remember being shown that sprinkling salt on water colours made interesting effects, and strangely that really did stick with me)
3.1.5.5. Getting to use various mediums within my art
3.1.6. I have memories of wanting to draw comics/a graphic novel with a friend, drawing really encouraged me to think about story telling
3.1.7. I remember getting really involved when I could use visual arts to participate in events - like making banners for sports day
3.2. Early Childhood
3.2.1. Using Visual Arts (drawing, painting) to express myself where I wasn't able to with writing or speaking
3.2.2. I remember drawing on my drive way with chalk
3.2.3. Painting in kindy, I remember being really particular about my paintings and getting angry when one of the teachers tried changing my painting/encouraging me to try new things
3.2.4. I remember in school I felt very proud when teachers complimented my drawings, since I wasn't very good at other subjects, any time I could draw in my other classes for my work I'd be very engaged and happy
3.2.5. In Primary school I assessed and showed classic signs of dyslexia, I struggled a lot with my literacy skills, because of this I really felt as though I needed visual arts as a way of expressing myself