I found the discussion to be very interesting. First of all, the familiarity between you and Professor Birky made your zoom discussion more like a conversation which I really enjoyed. I also enjoyed the psychological aspect you brought to art; I agree that it can be a very stimulating experience, but I had never thought of it like that. A friend of mine is learning the piano and watching him play it the other day was so beautiful. I took lessons for a few years in elementary school but haven’t really touched a piano since and it made me unexpectedly sad. I am thinking of brushing off my family’s keyboard this summer and seeing how much I can remember. Reflecting on this discussion I realized how big of a part of my life music is.
Similarly, art. I always enjoy making things, which is part of the reason I took this class: I don’t really paint or draw much in my free time. When I was very young my mom kept me occupied with sketchbooks, apparently I drew constantly. This sort of inspired my drawing today, I used crayons to color, something I haven’t done in a while. I listened to the discussion in FML and it made me appreciate the fact that I was able to come to campus this year and experience all that I did. I did a pen sketch of the trees outside the window (with some artistic changes of course). I tried to do the objects with one line to keep it from being too serious. I don’t love to sketch like this because I usually don’t like the finished project but I realized that’s okay and that it’s the process that is the fun part. It was very stress relieving and allowed me to forget about my other assignments as I was lost in focus. Plus it turned out better than I expected. I wish I didn’t do the harsh painted lines on the top and bottom. Before I did them it had more of a free feeling, the pen outline was sort of curved, but now it seems more like a block prison. Either way I am inspired to fill the rest of our sketchbook over the summer.