The Artistic Mind
Leanna Szwydek
November 14, 2019
Since the beginning of time, art has been subjective. From caveman to Van Gogh, society has interpreted and brought light to various works of art. By reaching through the past, society has always tried to understand the mind of an artist and the work they have created. “See what I do is stick figures, but like, for a deeper meaning, I think it means you know, it’s a way to express yourself and maybe it’s a way to cope with things, but man I don’t draw, I just eat,” stated sophomore Alysia Ricks.
There have been many ideas on what drives an artist: some say it is a deep sadness or chaotic ideals. Trying to connect with them requires a little digging, but luckily some artistic minds are roaming the halls of this bear cave.
“I’ve been drawing since, probably – it’s been like five years, but it’s since I was in eighth grade,” stated Senior Daesha Jordan. Jordan has been surrounded by art since she was young, finding inspiration through her father. “I was very inspired by my father; he always drew in front of me,” said Jordan. “I remember being in the second grade, he had drew the United States for me, and I just thought it was the most beautiful thing ever.”
She developed her art style through different works by other artists and old cartoons. “I took a lot of inspiration from Mickey Mouse, the older cartoons, Steam Boat Willy,” says Jordan, “I get a lot of inspiration from YouTubers, such as Vex; he does a lot of art.” She plans on pursuing art as a career, studying a bit of animation and painting due to her love of creating different works art.
However, Jordan doesn’t always enjoy her art. “All the time, it’s just like, you would think it would come out one way, but it just turns out terrible, but I’m a very hard critic on myself, so it probably wasn’t that bad,” said Jordan. When looking back at old drawings, Jordan doesn’t find them appealing. She even said, “Um, sometimes, but for the most part, no.”
Artists are known to be their worst critics and usually spend an extended period creating art pieces. “Yeah, like every other time I draw; I’m definitely my worst critic,” stated sophomore Thao Truong. However, when going through old sketchbooks, she sees it is like a blast from the past. “Definitely, I keep all my old sketchbooks, and I laugh at them because it brings memories.”
Truong has been drawing since the sixth grade, and her passion for it has grown over time. “I don’t really know; it just kinda happened, maybe because I was bored in class, and then I was like, ‘oh wow, I kinda like this.’”
She enjoys drawing due to the process and the results behind it. “What drives me is the physical process of making my art,” Truong said, “I love working, drawing, and knowing that I created something by myself with my own hands makes me happy.”
Truong plans on taking art head-on as a career in the future. “At first it was a hobby, but I am planning to pursue it as a career in the future,” stated Truong, “I kinda wanna be an animator, but anything involves drawing is good.”
Like Jordan, Truong pulled inspiration from artists and references online. “I don’t know their names, but just like a lot of people, on Instagram or whatever on Pinterest,” stated Truong. “Mostly, like, taking reference from other people and building my own style out of them.”
When developing an art style, an artist goes through many phases. “I had a phase in like, middle school- when it was, like 6th-7th grade, where I just drew really demonic stuff,” stated Truong, “like scary stuff, and it was really bad- I don’t know why people let me do that.”
In the end, artists create pieces based on their personal feelings. “Well, not to sound emo or I’m not like other girls,” stated Truong, “but I am sad quite a lot, so drawing brings me a sort of joy because I zone out when I do it, and it puts me in this state of being content sometimes.
