Personal Experience : My Experience In High School

The first class I took part in was weaving and fibers, and similar to that of playing an instrument, art influenced my life. Weaving and fibers opened up a whole new world I had never experienced; my grandfather built me my own loom, and my whole family became interested in my art projects. After taking my first art class I chose to participate in many more: arts & crafts (twice), ceramics, and stained glass. Art opened up many opportunities for me both socially and intellectually. I participated in art competitions including the contest for the Erie Times News 100th year anniversary (my school placed second) and the Vans Custom Culture contest. I collaborated and built friendships with diverse groups of individuals, worked on group projects (such as stained glass windows), and a plethora of independent study projects (macrame hangings, dream catcher’s, gnome houses…). Through the arts both musical and visual I experienced unimaginable opportunities and experiences that allowed both self-expression and

It was my freshman year of high school when I took Drawing A; I quickly learned that I had a skill that I had previously ignored and began embracing it. Sophomore year, though, was when I truly started using my art. It was during this year that I received a 4 on my AP-Studio Art portfolio, and won four awards at Scholastic Art and Writing in photography. Art gave me a feeling of accomplishment that I didn’t usually get in the rest of my academics, so I always tried my

After a few months passed I discovered an amazing opportunity, an internship with Walt Disney called the Disney College Program. I was excited. I didn’t think I would have been given the opportunity, and although I loved art school, I faced the struggle most teens my age had “ did I make the right choice”. Since I was uncertain

I have very little confidence in singing and performing in front of people, so when I tried out for the talent show at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, I legitimately

I graduated from Hilliard Darby High School this past spring. My love for art began very young with my father who always made sure to encourage my creativity. I remember making coil pots with him during the summer and then painting them. In the ninth grade I took painting which I immediately became attached too. For the past four years I have continued to expand my abilities and strengthen skills with the help of my teacher Mrs. Kulick-Brown. From there I have completed several commissioned pieces for teachers and their families. Painting has taught me a lot about color and composition. During high school I also was involved in ceramics where I competed in the annual ‘Feats of Clay” competition. I love the focus and serenity I experience

For adults, it was seen as ‘childish’ and ‘silly’ and I was rarely encouraged. Even my parents thought my penchant for art was unnecessary and insisted I was wasting my time. In those moments, I felt worthless, however, those feelings of defeat only fueled the flame inside of me to strive to improve and one day, prove that my art and I were not valueless.

I gracefully accepted the challenge brought on by my peers. It was no secret that I was the best artist in my high school due to my countless awards from art shows and endless recognitions but I still lacked the confidence to put my ideas out there. My artistic eye wouldn't get me anywhere in life; I thought it was essentially a useless talent as the world needs more than beautiful portraits and artsy doodles.

Standing outside the door I felt a sense of relief, but I also felt like a failure. I had spent hours preparing for this audition only to fail in a matter of seconds. When the final callbacks were posted and my name was not listed I was reminded yet again of my failure. However, I knew that this was not a true indication of my musical talent. I was accepted in my district band and that is what I am still proud of

In my life I have failed at many things, but I have always been able to recover. When I was in the sixth grade I had convinced myself that I was the most accomplished artist in my entire school; I thought I could challenge an eighth grader in the school’s bi-annual art competition

”When I was a kid, I went to an International Fine Arts Magnet School so I was introduced to art through that. I did my first mural when I was in 4th grade and I just really remembered it and it influenced me a lot,” McLain said.

Thankfully, my seventh grade art instructor, Mrs. Spiegel, gave me a reason to look back at my talents. Soft-spoken and very kind, she was especially good to me. She quietly encouraged me in my projects and inspired me to do more. I could be certain that she would place some of my own drawings at every special event that displayed student pieces. Even if I wasn’t the only student to be chosen, whenever I gave her my projects, I felt like I ought to be proud of it because it was special. By the end of the semester, I’d fully established myself as her adopted daughter among my peers. After I became an eighth grader and I could no longer attend art, I still visited her and she

I was not the best at first. Back in the fourth grade, I constantly drew Tuscan Villas and the Titanic, a symptom of my Aspergers. But like all of my obsessions, I found something better. Now in the first days of my Freshman year, I switched from a Study hall to Art I. My father was an artist in his youth, and he gave me some of his old sets and papers so I could “get ahead of the class.” Some of my first pieces were messy

I had to change the way I viewed the audition. Rather than viewing it as a chore, or something that all of my friends did, I approached it as an intriguing challenge. I decided I would do it for myself. I would practice and audition in order to make myself and the three judges listening to me, happy. I avoided immersing myself into my anxiety, and was surprisingly relaxed by the time I reached the entrance of the building. Even as I walked into the warm-up room, the air thick with tension and fear, I managed to calm down and warm up properly, facing the wall away from everyone else. My responsibility as a musician was to create beautiful music, and display my love for my instrument. I focused on making the piece sound beautiful and pleasant to the ears, rather than displaying the technique and style of the

I had always been fascinated by art, but it was a distant fascination that lent itself more towards observation than actual creation. The winter before I turned fourteen, my eighth grade art class held a contest to create a design for the school district’s Christmas card. Having been sick for three days, I did not hear of the contest until the day it ended. Finding a forgotten sketch I had done of a Christmas bell, I decided that no harm could come from entering it. To my complete and utter stupefaction, I won. The indescribable feeling of pride, accomplishment, and joy that I felt made me realize how much I loved art, and that I might possibly be good at it. Dedicating myself to my newfound passion, I convinced my parents to enroll

Throughout these years I had pursued art as an interest outside of my professional ambitions. Although I knew I had passion for the subject, I was convinced that I had to compromise my creativity in order to have a successful career. It was only in the midst of my crisis, when my favorite teacher decided to pursue opportunities outside of the school, that I realized that I shouldn’t have to play by anyone else’s rule book, especially not my district’s.