The art workshop was a great time to relax and have fun collaging with maps. I mostly draw, so it was fun to try another medium that I haven’t used for a long time. I was somewhat surprised by the relatively small number of people who had come to this event, considering that the Johnson Museum art events tended to be pretty popular, but that was probably due to the timing of this event. Every piece was different, and could be interpreted differently. For instance, I chose to interpret another person’s piece as advocating against ocean pollution, but she didn’t create with that intent in mind. Art, after all, means different things to different people. It also doesn’t have to be made to make a statement or advocate for a specific cause. Art can simply be made for the artist. All the different and creative ways people used maps (our one requirement) was also interesting. I arranged maps to look like a long scarf being knit, where other people utilized the different places and colors to tell their own story.

Usually when it comes to the art events I am really good at it and I get really into it. This time not so much. In this event you had to make a collage with a map. I had a lot of trouble figuring out and understanding how I can make a map express who I am. All I could think of was that I’m from California so I just cut out a map of California. Another reason why I had trouble could be was that I was also just stressed out that day and this event reminded me of the Java project I had to do, which was about writing an algorithm for the shortest path in a map.

I usually consider myself creative and artistic, but I think everyone has their own mode of how they like to express themselves. Maybe the problem I had was that I thought of my approach too geographically. I could have just cut the shape of things that represented me by using the map. I could have had trouble figuring out what to do with the map because I don’t use a physical map ever in my daily life. If I need to go somewhere I just type it into Google Maps and don’t really think about where I am going. There’s no connection with maps for me.

I think if this event was towards the beginning of the year when I am in a different head space and not so stressed out by classes I would have been more able to express myself.

The creative workshop was a fun chance to work with a new and interesting medium. I loved the idea of using maps to create works of art. I had a lot of fun experimenting with an interesting new medium, and using the maps to represent myself and things that are important to me. It was also interesting to talk to the artist about their jobs, which they all seemed very passionate about. I love the mural that they put up in the dining hall is beautiful and I think it was a great fit for the wall. It was interesting to listen to the artists themselves explain the concept and meaning behind the work. This was a really fun Rose event.

For this week’s Rose House event, I went out on a limb and out of my comfort zone by attending an art workshop. I do not consider myself to be a very artistic individual, and therefore find organized art to be rather intimidating. However, the atmosphere of the workshop was extremely relaxed and inviting. The artists who were present to facilitate were friendly and I soon realized that the purpose of the event was not necessarily to create a perfect project (despite it being displayed in Rose dining room for all to see), but instead to enjoy the process and be self-reflective. I enjoyed the use of mixed media in the project and also seeing other people’s perceptions of self and mental health. However, the maps provided a unifying aspect which felt to be quite symbolic – although we come from different places, we still can find shared ground and commonality.

I really enjoyed yesterday’s art workshop as it was such a good way to de-stress and relax after a long day of classes! We got to work with various art materials (paints, pastels, etc.) to create an artwork that incorporated a collage of cut-outs from maps. I thought that the idea of using maps was so unique and I personally chose to use the map for color purposes rather than to highlight the significance of the places that the map represented. For instance, I made a cut out of a person using different parts of the ocean on a map so that the person was a blue color throughout. However, as I was looking around the room, I saw such a diversity of uses for the maps and I think that that is what is so special about art – people can have such drastically different interpretations! Another thing that I enjoyed about the workshop was learning about the artists’ works. One of the artists I spoke to is actually an art teacher while another is currently making artwork for a hospital wing! It was exciting to learn about all of the many different projects that professional artists take on. Overall, this was one of my favorite Rose Scholar events and I am curious to see how the mural turns out and where my artwork ends up!

I made a map collage today, which was pretty fun and relaxing. All of the professional artists who were supervising us were really nice and were genuinely interested in us and our work. I found lots of fun and interesting words for my collage, and I glanced at other people and they seemed to have cool shapes and neat paintings. There’s not too much to say. Painting is a great hobby for people who want to relax, a great way to express yourself creatively, and even a career for the people like our artist hosts. I don’t know if I necessarily improved at all in my art skills, but I haven’t done any artwork in years, so getting to try it again was a good experience. My sister wants to be an art history major, so I’m sure she could tell me about some of the history of collages and maps. Collages are great because they’re easy, and maps are great because they already have interesting patterns and a consistent color scheme. If I ever make another collage I’ll try to express myself a little bit more and free form a little bit less.