As an art student in an American university,

At the end of the article, there are some small creations that I used to study in art college. This paper aims to convey my personal understanding of art-art has no boundaries, and each of us has creative potential!

I talked about my background in my previous blog post. Four years in college, I majored in economics, minored in art for three years and Spanish for four years. Whether it is a job introduction meeting (a job fair held by an American university) or chatting with friends and classmates, the most frequently asked question is, why do you want to combine this? Americans can't figure out why a person with a business background should study art and language at the same time. This is not the choice that most people will make. My reasons are mainly as follows:

1. I think these three areas help to train different parts of my brain. From the perspective of neuroscience, our left brain dominates logical thinking and our right brain dominates emotion, art and other fields. Personally, I always think that the coordinated development of the left and right brain is very important for a person's life. Many times, our left and right brains can complement each other. We can't just pursue logic when solving many business-related problems. More often, we also need the integration of creativity. This is when the right brain comes in handy. Even if you are not an art major, you can still consciously do something completely different from what you usually study and do. I believe this is a good opportunity to tap your talents.

Art is something that can make me relax. As mentioned above, in artistic creation, you are actually more engaged in your right brain, so you can give your left brain a proper rest. The so-called combination of work and rest. For me, the real relaxation is to do something completely different and involve different parts of my brain. Besides artistic creation, these can also be a series of mental work besides reading and writing, such as meditation, going out for a walk and getting close to nature.

The third reason is related to my dream. In fact, I have been obsessed with painting since I was a child. I once said that I wanted to be a painter. I don't know how long I've been dreaming. When I grew up, I came to America to study. I'm sure I want to regain this dream, but at first, I wasn't sure if I still had imagination. I have many doubts about whether I can draw. But when I persisted, I found what an important decision it was.

I have been in an art school for three years, and I began to apply for admission to an art school in my sophomore year (in most colleges and universities in the United States, I need to apply again to get a diploma). The first year is the cultivation of basic skills (sketch, painting and art history need to be studied, and the application requirements for major and minor may be slightly different). You can choose to complete these courses in one semester or several semesters, and then apply to the Art College. If you pass their portafolio audit, you can start the art school course smoothly.

My main focus in the art school is photography. I have taken some courses related to photography and video, as well as some very interesting courses such as interior design art history and installation art. Compared with the current system of charging by credit at Columbia University, I really miss the undergraduate tuition system. You can choose to take 12- 18 credits every semester, and the tuition fee is the same. So, I made full use of this advantage and took many interesting classes. Now that I think about it, every class has benefited a lot, enriching my life experience. At the same time, I also met people from different colleges and made many new friends.

At that time, I met the best professor, Ms. Hatmaker, a very kind grandmother, and took her class to let me know that I can also draw. At that time, people who really just came to our class and couldn't draw anything could draw well after a semester. What I like most about American culture is that it is a nation that advocates encouragement. Every once in a while, we will have comments. Students in a class stand together and evaluate each other's works. Discuss issues such as "What do you like or dislike about this work of art", "What's special about this work of art" and "What can be improved about this work of art". In short, everyone can speak freely. )

I thought painting was the process of teachers drawing what we drew. Later, I found that the teacher's role is actually to give you some guidance, but the process of creation is a process of self-exploration. Different materials, different colors and materials are media (that is, painting tools, such as pastel (pastel), Sharp (marker), watercolor (watercolor), each medium. You have all kinds of collisions with art in this process of self-exploration. I think art itself has no boundaries. You are free to use your imagination to create works.

This is a comprehensive criticism after a semester. People who know art must know how imperfect these works are, haha. But I am still very proud of myself. At least I tried and learned a lot.

This is what people say is the best of all my works. It's a pastel painting.

This is a quick portrait. It will be finished in about ten minutes.

I usually take some photos and do some small designs.

It fully embodies my love for color.

This is a digital collage. Blend different elements and create again. It is to combine one's own works with those of artists and knead them into a new work of art. Very interesting.

The main purpose of this article is to provide an experience sharing for those who are interested in studying in the United States. Art itself is not my major, so some of my experiences will definitely have some limitations. But I still hope to help everyone!

Sorry, I haven't updated it in these two weeks, because I have been busy with the final exam. After that, I will try my best to ensure more culture every week! If you have any questions, please feel free to post to me. If you think it's ok, please praise it!