life’s not a paragraph

i’m back! and it’s a new semester filled with exciting graphic design things! it’s been a little crazy these first two weeks with all the snow. delays, cancellations, messy commutes. this winter is proving to be much worse than the last. thankfully, all this is a motivation to stay indoors and get some work done… whether that work actually gets done is another story.

i am taking five classes again this semester. three studio classes and two classes at the main campus. at the new england school of art and design i am taking computer typography, graphic design II and advanced computer applications. i am also taking history of contemporary art and latin american history and culture up on the hill. so far, at least, it have been a really nice balance between traditional school work and art work. last semester i was at nesad practically 24/7 so it’s kind of nice to get outside, walk to the hill and use a different part of my brain for awhile.

the past couple semesters i’ve had a art history class at the same time that i am in studio art classes. this is going to sound a bit cheesy but it’s inspiring to see all this amazing work while i am trying to create my own masterpieces. all this work from the past (in this semester’s case) fifty years and the transitions between movements are incredible. it makes me wonder what is going to happen in my lifetime. what are art students in fifty years going to be looking at in their contemporary art textbooks? (wouldn’t it be exciting if i were in it?!) with all this new information i am learning, i can now pull from my knowledge of francis bacon and andy warhol to inspire my own work. i can see what is successful in their pieces, whether it is color, composition or subject matter and take elements to create a totally new, (hopefully) innovative design.

i’ve always liked history, and i have always been one of those people who believes that you can learn from the past. history is always relevant even if it doesn’t seem like it at the time. obviously, the connection between my contemporary art class and my studio classes has already been established, so the inspiration comes naturally. in reality, you can be inspired by anything, but for once it is nice to see that connection and to know that the next light bulb moment will most likely come from another class.