NMA: Project 1

The first time I told myself I wanted to be an artist was when I was picked to be the "Star of the Week" in First Grade and had to fill out one of those all-about-me posters the teacher makes you fill out and share with the class. 

Original Drawing
Dated June 2013

I remember using my Crayola markers and printer paper to make portraits of family members for their birthday presents. I remember hand-drawing the floor plan of the bakery I dreamed of owning when I was in middle school, only to give up on being a baker because I was unsuccessful at making cookies that weren't burnt. 

Back then, I pictured myself as an adult wearing one of those stereotypical French berets painting canvases double my size and having them presented in art museums. However, I did not picture myself as a liberal arts student trying to find inspiration for her next drawing assignment while also worrying about her job and student debt. But here I am

Self-portrait
Dated Oct. 2022

Hi, I'm Shelby, a current undergrad art education student and I use art as a way to escape the physical world and understand what was happening in my mind. From an early age I used  art as a way to cope with my depression, so I try to incorporate mental  health into my work to destigmatize talking about one's own mental state. 

My favorite medium is painting but my goal is to have basic knowledge of all art mediums so I can educate and encourage my future students to create in any style they desire. I want to encourage them to reach further into their imaginations and to grow as an artist and to create pieces they are proud of and that represent themselves, especially in today's world where "today's child is growing up absurd because he lives in two worlds, and neither of them inclines him to grow" (McLuhan, p. 18).

"Seeing Three" 
Dates February 2023