First General Artist Statement

Over the past two years in the School of Art and Design everything I thought I liked to do was completely subverted. In my early days as an artist and creative thinker I was all about painting and drawing people. I only used Photoshop to manipulate my MySpace picture to make my teeth whiter, my hair redder and I would do assignments exactly as they were given to me: rinse and repeat. At orientation I was thrilled when I learned my freshman year was already structured for me. I wouldn’t have to make decisions yet! Boy was I wrong. I had never been exposed to open ended projects where I was actually given the opportunity (as I learned to call what I once saw as challenges) to do what I wanted to do.
I feel as though I have always known what I wanted. Sure I am young and still have a lot to learn but I am the most passionate person I know. My dream is to become a museum curator. I love the atmosphere and history behind museums and am very much interested in getting involved in the museum system, one I understand I must work my way up in, that it doesn’t just happen. I am currently an art and design major working on a minor in history of art. I am involved in a student docent program at the university art museum as well. I believe going to an art school is a good choice because I think the best way to understand something is to experience it on your own. Why read about it when you can make it? To get inside the mind of the artists’ whose work I would be curating I think it would be best if I were an artist myself; therefore I would be easy to relate to and understand.
The classes I have enjoyed most are the design classes I have taken: designing for exhibition being my favorite. I was the only sophomore in a class of juniors and seniors. At first I was intimidated by their experience but they were all great mentors. I learned so much from them and have found a few great students to look up to. The surprised looks on their faces when they saw my first project left my smiling for weeks.
Those are the moments I live for in this program. Sure there are days when I think, why the hell am I here? I have been torn apart in a critique where I thought my project was spot on and I have slept on the building’s sofa to be the first one to use the printer at the media center. Those are some of more unhappy moments in my career thus far but they are just as important to my development as the good ones. Finding out I was one of the freshman winners of the All Student Art Exhibition and having my stop motion video on the school’s website stay fresh on my mind. In those moments I was so sure, so confident of myself and who I am as a creative thinker.
I want to take more design classes like Typography and Organization of Visual Spaces. Since this is an open program I would also like to try watercolor and maybe a 3D design or building class. I never want to stop trying new things and pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I recognize the need to know one’s own limits as to stay sane, but when a person slips into his or her comfort zone they begin to settle, a state of being I never plan on accepting. I rather create something incredible or something dreadful than something mediocre. I always want to be pushing some sort of boundary as to expand my own horizons so I can never stop growing. Attending the school of art and design has allowed me to do this both in and outside the studio.
What I enjoy most about being an artist is making something out of virtually nothing. I love being responsible for the way colors, forms and textures come together to make an image. The process of creating is very important to me because that is the period of time when my mind does the most work and my hands come second. My favorite time of the day is late at night after most of the world is asleep where I come up with an idea and in that moment I feel like a genius. How was this not thought of before? Although I wish I did not have to be delusional from lack of sleep to get my best ideas, then end product and critique makes it all worth it.
Being a visual artist has also helped me with my creative writing, another form of expression I very much enjoy. It is a very rewarding feeling to be able to paint pictures with both my words and my hands. I feel as though I can easily transition between the two forms’ symbiotic relationship.
In conclusion, I know where I want to end up but I am ready to enjoy the process of getting there. I know what I want the end result to be but I am ready to challenge myself and my ideals on my way there by taking demanding courses outside my comfort zone, getting involved in the local museums, and staying passionate about every task I am given the opportunity to experience.

General Information

Name: Kellyann
E-Mail: kawargo@umich.edu

Age: 19
Education:
Currently enrolled in the University of Michigan School of Art and Design.
Attended Mercy High School in Farmington Hills, Michigan.