******under construction******
At the time this website is published, the art section was hastily thrown together. Digital images I have previously worked with and were up on my last site, have been lost. So due to the quick rush to get this site up and running, I will leave this whole section sort of blank, and as time permits, will begin to re-scan the images found on the last site, as well as peices I have finished or completed during the duration of this page's design reconstuction, and rework the introduction.
I always liked art. Always was good at. Well never talented enough I though, or in love with the idea of art as career, to even think of seriously pursuing it. Perhaps it was a good thing when I came into it, but sometimes I wonder if it really was. Anways, I picked up the skill from my Dad. The only person I'm related to that as any artistic ability. Him and me. And maybe my brother but he's still young. And well I guess my cousin who is going to CCS, but I've never seen any of his work, and he just decided to be an artist. Whatever.
My junior year of high school, I had only taken two art classes. A semster of Ninth Grade Art and then in 11th grade, Drawing. I never thought I had real potential. The teachers always liked my work, and one in particular, sat me down and told me, "Melissa, you are so talented. Have you ever thought of furthuring your life as an artist?". Mrs. Booth, brought the art director to look at my drawing of the dumb hallway. I'll never forget though, sitting on the floor, workin on this thing that I didn't even like, and had down like five times already each with a different hall, when Mr. Salata casually walked behind me and looked at my paper. All he said was nice, and walked away. The oddest thing ever. Then I was told I was accepted into the AP art class.
My senior year everything happened. Heh, it's crazy thinking about how successful I was that one year. The first year of anything. If I blew it, I was hurting myself by passing up this opportunity,throwing away a lot of money, and disappointing the people who stuck me where I was. I hated the class the first semster. I didn't know anyone in the class, and they had known each other for year since they all had art classes together. They all knew what they wanted. I worked slow at first, afraid of the independence the class offered. I had to come up with my own subjects, still lifes, ideas, mediums. Scary stuff. I mean it helped that my senior year I had 6 art classes, so material could be used ffrom those classes, but everything had to count. I needed 34-40 peices, and not just a stack of work. The Advacned Placement couse had been outlined into the categories of Quality which was to be four peices of work sent in(the rest were photographed and made into slides), Drawing, Design, Sculpture, and Concentration. Conentraion being the largest most important section. It was to be anywhere from 6- 18 peices all focused on one idea, showing progression and thought.
My concentraion changed like five times. I didn't know what to do. So I took what I knew the best. The human face. I always drew faces, eyes, noses, teeth, hair etcetera. So I focused on the similarities and distinctions. By the second sesester my protfolio was coming along slowly, and I didn' think I would make the dealine, by this time however I had become a little more confident in my work, and Mr. Salata noticed I think. My grade in the class climbed until it could climb no more. I had freedom to work on what I wanted in all my art classes. My designs were picked to advertise the two school plays. The first had created controversy as well, since the poster had a gun across the whole page. The poster was never put up and those that were, were torn down. A few ere put up but they were defaced. I defaced my own work for the sake of the play. I felt awful, but the thing was, the idea had already been approved by school officials before I began the tedious work of silk screening 50 posters, 3 colors, by hand. Luckily, the original poster was displayed in the hall, as has been tradition for years. I designed the flyers for the Lincoln Park Zoo. I entered the regional Scholastics competition, landing two merits, and having that portfolio chosen along with perhaps 20 others to be sent to New York and judged nationally. Heh, mine came back really late though as compared with the two other students from my school. It nearly game my teachers a heart attack, they thought I had won something. I was nominated for scholarships for CCS. It was crazy and hectic, and all I had to do was draw. And it became my life and my passion. May 14th was a bad day for me, it was prom and everything, but it was also the day our portfolios were due. They were packaged and sent off.
Foreward to July. I had recieved my Quality peices back but no grade yet. The day the grade came, I sat looking at the envelope. I had come so far from when Mrs. Booth had told me I was in the AP art class. And here I was, two months after gradtuation, half way packed for college, and here in my hand was the one number on the one thing that I had worked the hardest on in my life.
5.
I got a pefect score. At the time, the second person ever at my high school. (oddly, the first was also a gilr named Melissa).
Since high school, I haven't been very disciplined. I plan on getting back there, next semster with a full schedule of all art classes. Until then I have tons of peices started and I love looking back through the stacks and stacks of work I have.
So this website, well it's just a small fraction of what I am and have, but to me it's everything. So i'm sorry about the shitty quality of the pictures, and clipped pictures, and the lack of work. It will all come.