1st blog (January 18, 2009)

I have to admit that art did not play a significant role in most of my life. I has only been in the last year that I have thought about the importance of art (for more than one reason). Last semester of high school I had to take an art class in order to graduate. Since I always thought of myself as untalented, I was upset about my predicament. However, when I got the class it soon became my favorite due to the endless supply of materials our teacher gave us. We were allowed to create whatever we wanted as long as the assemblage included light. I soon found this class a calm, relaxing break from my otherwise hectic day. The end product amazed even me. I had always loved mosaics, so I tried to think of a similar way to include that concept into my project. My light fixture (pictured here) was an assemblage of different colored glass I cut and attached to the wire mesh. When a candle is placed inside and lit, the different colored glass refracts different colored light all over the room.

Another way art has influenced my life is that it has forever changed my perception of what young children are capable of. On my first day of working at SU Day Care, I was amazed to hear that the intricate mosaic on the front door was in fact created by the pre-schoolers there. I had no idea that with a little bit of guidance such young children were capable of sculpting, glazing, and assembling.