Thoughts on Drawing

Drawing at Duke has been an interesting experience to say the least. I signed up for the class because as a Cultural Anthropology Major and Information Science and Studies Major I hadn’t taken a class like this since middle school. I remember truly enjoying it an being excited about drawing in my sketchbook. As I am looking towards a career I thought that it would be a great idea to take a drawing class since graphic/web design is a serious contender.

The class was actually a lot different than I thought it would be. I was expecting more of a lecture style similar to what I had in middle school. It was somewhat of a guided approach to drawing and art. I have to admit that the first day of drawing when we sat down in front of the objects and had to draw them was a nice hit of reality that I needed. Drawing was going to be a challenge. I appreciate being thrown into the situation rather than guided because it showed me what my weaknesses were. Had I been guided I would have essentially been blindly following directions, however being thrown into the situation showed me how I see the world in terms of special arrangements, shapes, negative space, colors etc. I have to admit I am embarrassingly oblivious.

I think that this was a lesson that I really needed to learn on my own and it will help me later on in life if I go into a career of web/graphic design etc. Similar to my peer Sujata Professor Fick often told me that my brain was overpowering what I really see.  At first I took it as a euphemistic way of telling me that I was terrible at drawing, but as time went on I realized what he truly meant.  This class taught me that I scan the world rather than really look at it. My brain makes up information for all of the information that I didn’t bother to focus on and that’s something that I would love to change about myself, because I don’t know how much I’ve been missing out on.

This class has been a fantastic learning experience artistically and personally. It’s taught me even more respect for the arts and people who are capable of translating the world into art and making it meaningful. I think that I would love to continue practicing drawing but without the pressure of receiving a grade. I think that it really takes time, effort and determination from inside to draw  and draw well and I’m glad that this course was an introduction into this life lesson.