I give credit to my competitive nature for my skills in art today. In elementary and middle school I used to seethe in jealousy whenever my sister was praised by my family for her artwork, when mine could never match up. She would draw a beautiful horse, and I would draw an animal that looked like a cross between a lama and a giraffe.
Our mother and grandfather were both artists so you could say talent ran in the family, but in my case the talent stopped short. So I did what my sister didn’t have the need to do, I practiced. Today, when someone ever asked how I am good at drawing, I tell them honest to god it takes practice. Every week, every month, every year I worked to improve myself, first at teaching myself from drawing cartoons, then to learning from teachers in high school. What once was my competitive nature at play was growing into something I took pride on and came to love. I got my hands on any art subject I could, from ceramics, drawing, and painting.
Although I was improving in ceramics around my sophomore year, I had little to no experience in sculpture. It was an area in my portfolio which I lacked. My art teacher suggested I apply for the Governors Honors Program, which would help my struggle in sculpture as well as improve on other areas of art. I applied my sophomore year, but after making it to the state finalists I was not accepted. Out of the six art students that applied with me, I was the only one who didn’t make it. So I tried again my junior year, and I was glad I did, because my portfolio and ceramic had improved immensely, even though sculpture had yet to be explored. I was finally accepted into the program, where I spent four weeks at Valdosta State University and learned from real professors.
The speed of the program was immeasurable, switching each day from one subject to the other where I learned not just sculpture, but for the first time abstract painting and oil painting. By the end of the program, my fifteen by ten by six sculpture of a plaster and wax covered human torso was picked to display in the art show. It was through perseverance and the Governors Honors Program that my portfolio is so well rounded today.
