A bit of insight into a drawer.(everyone)

Raife

Okay so I'm Raife, no one knows me here But I've been a member here for a while. I thought I'd introduce myself, why?
Well, Cause i'm bored.

I've been drawing since I was well 6, really drawing, although the first drawing I can remember was of a naked statue stick lady as a fountain(strange I know) in math class.

I've always been seen as stubborn when it comes to art, what I draw and when I draw it mainly. I like to try my own thing all the time and have gotten alot of slagging for it over the years.

I never got on with my Art teachers, one reason I rarely finished any project work because i always got caught up on trying different things, not caring about time(not the best for exams, but it always pulls together in one way or other). The second reason I did'nt take direction very well, well not at all really. This because I liked finding my own ways of doing things, I don't have a particular style exactly, it flows and always varies, i let my emotion lead me, well i used to.

But i lost it a long time ago, for Art anyway, I find myself having to listen to music to relax me and use the emotion which comes from it to drive me(this years L.C. are a good example)

I am 20 next month and the last time I truly enjoyed drawing was when I was 16, I have done very little work to this day, This is because I started to hate the one thing i loved, school destroys the creativity of people such as I by frocing them to conform to techniques which were thought a thousand fold, by not giving in, I found myself with fire destroyed in me, the drive which once pushed me to try new things, on my own.

I am still drawing, I did my leaving cert practicals again, by this i mean I repeated the leaving this year. i did better than last year(C1,honours, did'nt really bother) but made some banal mistakes.

I now draw when I'm bored, to little creative spontaninity, though some might argue.

Thats partly why I'm taking a year out, to find the love I lost for the skill.

I've always been told to draw this way and notice this in the face, I ignore such things(I know you're thinking its a bad thing, maybe for other people, but I'm not like other people).

Art is'nt something you can teach anyone, it takes a spark in that persons imagination for them to understand and have the ability to draw, not everyone is aware of their hidden abilities, I know of only three in my case Drawing, Music(lyrics, yet to learn the guitar) and writing, but writing is the newest, and the most underdeveloped because it does'nt help when you show a bit of a spark in your writing that teachers(yeah I'm not the biggest fan of teachers, because they are supposed to inspire not destroy ones creativity, but I'd say its more due to the size of classes, but not always) dismiss it as, exact quote "I see your trying to be smart here" .

As you can see by my current writing the structuring is rubbish, but just because the structuring is bad does not mean in any way the viewpoint is. Thats why I'm going to be taking creative writing classes next year.

The reason I wrote this was because everyone writes their views here, so i thought I'd do the same but add a little part of me too.

Art is supposed to be fun, you can be depressed and still have fun, it does'nt make you any less depressed.

btw. i know some of you are teachers and I'm sorry if offened you, but you have to see the truth in what i write.

Sorry for the length, thanks for reading.
Please reply with some insight of you as a drawer/photographer etc...

havok*

First off, Wecome

Originally posted by Raife

School destroys the creativity of people such as I by frocing them to conform to techniques

Completely agree with this. Honestly i think its a blessing i did'nd do art in school. A few years after i left school and had found my feet in animation and graphic design I went back and repeated my LC, this would have been the year before last. I took up art as a subject for the first time. I was shocked at the way it was dictated down to the student. LC art barely qualifys as art in my book.
Believe me its very very different in 3rd level, you're given much more room to expeirment and make it your own. It's pretty much anything goes

Originally posted by Raife

This because I liked finding my own ways of doing things, I don't have a particular style exactly, it flows and always varies, i let my emotion lead me, well i used to.

Funny, these are exactly the kind of qualitys colleges look for in a student.


Do you plan to go into a art/design related field or just keep it as a hobby?

FinoBlad

I wanted to study Photography but got a load of "not a proper job"

Sitick with your art as long as you enjoy it, even if you have to put up with crappy teachers and system.

p

Often people who find themselves talented at something at a young age find it very hard to take direction. Combine this with the arrogance you have during your teenage years and you get a big problem.

Art cannot be taught in the traditional sense, but drawing techniques can be learning fostered and encouraged, as can creativity.

Some naturally talented people throw off all traditional training because of this and manage to succeed anyway, others simply waste their talent because of it.

So, yes, sometimes being taught can stifle your creativity, I don't know what kind of teacher you had, but often what seems stifling is actually part of building important fundamentals that you'll not realise until years later.

e.g. If you're learning a sport, no matter how talented you are, you'll get nowhere unless you train, work on your technique and are able to listen to those with more experience than you, they're not all wrong.

Good luck with whatever you do in the future,

- Kevin

p.s. Having a bad structure doesn't invalidate the viewpoint, but it doesn't do anything to encourage it. If something's structured well then you can see that the person took the time to organize their thoughts well. Now I don't expect that on boards, but the point still stands.

Raife

Wow, quite possitive critism.

Firstly Havok, I used to know Sico aka Dabhoec, I played a game of quake 3 with you once although you destroyed me and my friend(UT players).

Anyway, as you said" Funny, these are exactly the kind of qualitys colleges look for in a student." I know that but am wary of the college environment, well that of NCAD etc...mainly due to the academic look towards Art. I'm not an Academic and have never been suited to such an evironment, I found out recently that my aunt told my mum when I was in 1st year that I should leave the current school and go to a school for the artisticly gifted(wording is a bit posh though) you know where creative development is encouraged. Shame it never happened though because I know I'd be in palce I want to be now, skill wise. Once I refind the love(romantic I know) for drawing I'll improve at a faster rate than I am now.

And on your queston "Do you plan to go into a art/design related field or just keep it as a hobby?"

Its always been a hobby, I was originally going to go into computer animation as I did some non school related work experience in '99 in POP, who did "What dreams may come" and were working on "Mystery Men" While I was there.

Although my views of my future have changed and so i'll be trying out CA in the 10 week course in Ballyfermot in sept/oct.

Plus I'll be trying out writing, and music and web design(website idea on hold for 3 years). Its going to be a creative year and i hope it goes well.

Thanks for the encouragement FinoBlad, and about your photography, you should still do it if you love it, do the crappy course if your forced to, like the leaving cert its a means to an end although it really sucks, and keep doing it, remember you can still do it in college after that college course you were forced to do as a mature student or **** everyone else and do it.

Its a bit of advice on the DL

"Often people who find themselves talented at something at a young age find it very hard to take direction. Combine this with the arrogance you have during your teenage years and you get a big problem"

Actually P, I know that it is a general statement, but it does'nt in any way have any likeness to me, as I've always been humble when it comes to positive critism, I've learned my faults in that area and dealt with them when I was 13.

Techniques are nothing more than pre-made ready to give out basics, in school anyway. I was shown many a technique, used them, but found them lacking in the sense of skill as they were step by step and made my own, theres step planning, just rough and then over natural layers build up the object or person, like in life you make mistakes, so should artists or those working to become one do.

And in doing so you learn, but school never teaches you to really look at an object but give you a basic of what you should draw which can lead to laziness in the drawer whom will leave as is.

btw P are you a teacher?

Anyway thanks for the comments, later!

havok*

Originally posted by Raife
Wow, quite possitive critism.

Firstly Havok, I used to know Sico aka Dabhoec, I played a game of quake 3 with you once although you destroyed me and my friend(UT players).

When was this ?

Raife

Oh, well it was a long time ago, in nethouse in rathmines.

I used to hang out there religiously after school playing Ut and the like, dabhoec used to the all nighters back then.

It might of been last year or the year before, I remember handles better than I remember names plus I got my ass kicked by a quake player which is'nt exactly waht a ut player likes to have happen.

Anyway, gotta go.

Funkstard

I know what you mean to some extent....

i've just completed my junior cert, it's pretty ridiculous the way it's done, eveything is zoned into this and that, it HAS to be done like this or that, is fookin annoying. My brother is doing Industrial Design, and i wanted to include a mood board into the project but i wasn't allowed......i also tried to put a little creativity into the black A3 sheets, wasn't allowed to do that either...

I don't really mind though, there's always outside school, i've next year to do portfolio courses and learn more of my own accord.











-Funk

Havelock

I was wondering about making this post a topic, but am not sure I want everyone to see. I have never been able to ask for assitance in reguards to anything really, I was always arrogant enough to make my self believe I could alwasy get by on my own. But recently I have been beaten into submission by events in my life.
I have an interest in photography since I was big enough to wind the dial on a manual camera, I never looked into it as anythign but something to do at family gatherings. Two years ago I had money in my pocket and bought a Phenix SRL (A manual Pentax). I took some photos and was told they were great, next time I had money I bought my self a FinePix s602Zoom. I have work for a few bands, done several events and loads of portfolios, but feel I am neglecting part(s) of life in reguards my photography. I was wondering could anyone be kind enough to share the development of their photography and if anyone knows of any good courses, placements or jobs I should try for to better my selk in my photography it would be much appricated. Thank you.

Raife

Yeah, well try and do it your way Funk on your portfolio, I'm not much of a course type person myself so I 'm drawing in stephens green park this summer, twil be fun!

Havelock I can't help you sorry, but you should have it as a different thread as I don't get many people looking at my stuff, maybe its because there jelis *ponders.....*must be.

Anyway goodluck with the photography Havelock!

Funkstard

Raife, how do you make links appear as a picture like in your sig?

DadaKopf

Looks like lots of people here are really motivated but have issues with teachers or colleges or themselves. Prejudices probably.

The bottom line is: if you want to make a go at something but have lost direction, get out there and find like-minded people who you can bounce ideas off. Throw yourself into places and situations where you can meet people of similar interests and get each other excited about what it is you want to do. Share information.

Enthusiasm is its own reward. If you're not too bothered drawing anymore, then go bleedin' find what you *are* interested in - maybe your tastes and ambitions have moved on. If you're curious about something, go find out. Go to exhibitions, read art/photography/design books, go to classes.

College is great for this. More than that, college gives you essential skills and something concrete to react againt. This is important. Stop moaning and get on with it.

Raife

Firstly Funkstard, have no Idea sorry man, I'll try and find out, but it will take a while as I don't get net access that often, so your better off asking Dadakopf or another mod.

Yes Dadakopf I have issues, everybody does, the only thing is, is that I'm aware of mine while others are not.

I also know how childish my anti-teacher speech seemed, but I have also been said that school destroys creativity by teachers too, and one of which that quit because of the lack of flexibility. He was a math and science teacher and when he tried to teach the pupils in a more imaginitive way he was told to stop, and in the end quit because of it.

Dadakopf you're a teacher are'nt you, either that or an Academic, Fine Art would'nt be a stretch .

Look, I nearly really pissed about you're statement and said something I would of regretted. Granted your views on how to bounce Ideas off, but sadly I've done it.

I'm interested in alot of things and just because I'm not bothered drawing anymore because I lost the love for it, does'nt mean I don't want to draw. I like to create, my imagination never stops.

Academic learning, is complicating things which are in essence simple. I do not have to go to college to becoem a better drawer, or become an Artist, I would call many people who came out of college with a degree in fine Art, Artists and those who I did, did'nt really need to go anyway, but in life you need degrees and thats whats wrong.

Oh and Dadakopf :P

Later, free thinker Hater!!

DadaKopf

You've just *completely* misinterpreted everything I said and, to be honest, I'm not bothered clarifying anything I already said.

Raife

Whatever,Anyways bottomline is I was out off line with my immature babble towards teachers, and thanks for your point of view.

Later D!