There and Back Again (but not really): A Reflection on My Freshman Year

This year has been more than I ever could have imagined, but not in a cheesy way. I couldn't have imagined the techniques, mediums, and art forms I've learned and grown to love because prior to this year I had no conception of their existence. I came into this school exceedingly low on self confidence, confused, and very discombobulated - I was an inexperienced artist who had far less interaction with the art world than a good majority of people I met here. Over the course of the year, I have familiarized myself with the basics of each medium Cornish offers, and as a result find myself working and creating pieces I never thought would be considered "my style." I have generally responded more to straightforward, technical work and as a result only created works as such, but I now find myself creating more conceptual and abstract works. Alongside the increase in my knowledge of the art world is the increase in respect for it. Art, while a very technical and demanding field, it's always about who can do it, it's about who does it. Being an artist is claiming a connection between your mind, what is in the world, and what could be. It's this connection that is portrayed in any work we create, and it's what draws people in as viewers and observers. This is a connection I've been realizing and developing over this past year, and as unsettled as I was 8 months ago, I am now proud to call myself an artist and an explorer of the metaphysical in our everyday life.