My most significant experience this year would have to be the UCA Downtown Black History show & and Art Walk. I got the email about the event and just applied on a whim. I was trying to get used to being told no and actually made it in. The entire time was unreal. I got to speak with so many people and other artists and after the event I had so many ideas of what to do next time and how to set things up better. The event was honestly bigger than I was expecting it to be so I was a bit nervous and overwhelmed but it was the experience of a lifetime and really solidified for me that this is what I want to do in life. 
 

I’ve done surprisingly well this first year. I go to my classes and I’ve maintained my grades. With this being said time management is definitely something I need to work on. A couple of times this semester I let time get away from me and that reflects in the quality of my work. I’m good about getting it done, but when I'm rushed I tend to throw quality out the window which is something I need to work on. To try to help myself with time management I think I’ll start studying outside my house. I started doing this these last few weekends and it’s been really helpful. I focus better in a space where others are doing work too, it’s like I'm being held accountable. Going to coffee shops and the library to do homework will help me get more done on the weekends which will allow me to put more time into art projects throughout the week.
 

Honestly shocking to myself, I think my mini collection project from studio A was my most successful piece. I’m shocked I like this piece because I don’t really draw and usually feel like I don’t have the skill to create what I want to. I’m proud of this piece because of how visually interesting it is and the meaning behind it. Each ribbon represents some part of my day and the amount of turns/folds in each ribbon represents how many times I did that thing. This was a data collecting project and I really wanted to show my data in a subtle way and I think this accomplished that goal. I had a lot of options of how to place each ribbon and I honestly took a bit of a risk placing them the way I did. One of the things we were expected to have was a focal point but I didn’t think my piece needed one. The flow of the ribbons represented the flow of my day and I felt that having them all come together somewhere would be misleading since I never did all those things at once. I talked about this in my critique and luckily my professors agreed with me. My most challenging piece was probably the cake project from studio B. Every part of this piece was delicate which made it hard to work with. If you cut the styrofoam wrong you had to start over, if you pushed it too hard it broke, everything had to be balanced before it dried, ect. There was also just the challenge of working with someone with a different schedule. There was a lot of trust and communication that had to happen with this project since outside of class my partner and I never worked on it together. 
 

I’ve completed all of my regular first year goals on my digital sketchbook CV but none of my SMART goals. On my CV I said I wanted to complete 2 projects from my ideas list and add 5 more. In studio B I created the newspaper bowl I wanted to make and I created a photoshoot with newspaper walls for a black history show outside of UCA. I’ve added quite a few new ideas to my list, my most exciting, and ambitious, being a series depicting visual impairments and/or creating works that can be fully enjoyed by the visually impared. I made these goals to challenge myself to constantly be thinking about what I can do. Two of my other goals were to improve my drawing and photography skills. I would say I have improved these skills but nowhere near to the level I wish I would have. Both these goals were also included in my SMART goals where I planned out exactly how I would achieve them. Going back to the time management thing, that's why these goals didn’t happen. 
 

Goals
a) Pass SMAI
b) Apply for a show/competition
c) Work on “Black experiences” series and possibly have a small pop up show
 

I am pursuing a BFA in Studio Arts emphasis in photography
 

I almost wish we had a project where we got to do outside art (chalk art, graffiti, a mural, etc). I think street art is really cool and it’s a part of art people don't really consider or take seriously. I also wish we would have gone a little over how to price as an artist. One thing I struggle with is pricing my pieces and services. I'm currently struggling to figure out how much to charge to shoot a high school reunion I've been asked to shoot so I think learning about this as soon as possible would be good for the foundation's students. 
 

Try everything! Coming into UCA and the art department I had no training in art. I had 1 art class in high school because we had to take it and I knew I liked taking pictures. After these first two semesters I've gained a love for 3d art and video editing, something I would have never discovered if I didn’t try it out. This is your time to experiment and learn about yourself. Some things you may already know you don’t like and those things may not change. But there are some things that you just haven’t seen in the right light and your professors might change that for you and turn your most hated thing into your most loved. Also try not to compare yourself to others. Comparison crushes potential. Instead look at your progress and applaud yourself. If you’re anything like me you get tunnel vision and only focus on what goes wrong and what you can do to make it better. This is a good mindset to have but also look at your progress and be proud of how far you’ve come.