“The beginning is the most important part of the work.”
—Plato
When I graduated from college with a degree in art, I stopped making art. The problem was although good at following others’ assignments, I was not good at giving one to myself. Now, as we neared the end of our course together, I asked the students in Finding to give themselves an assignment, a beginning, the most important part of the work.
Relying on the three elements we worked with continually, each student was asked to choose one—a material, a technique or an idea—as a beginning in conceiving and creating an object, allowing that first choice to guide the other two. No rules but their own, no requirements except to work with skill and intention. That’s what artists do.
As you can see in the work here, each student started in a different place and followed a path to an individual, artful conclusion. The variety and quality truly reflect the students’ commitment to their own artistic voices.
I couldn’t be more proud or delighted.
- Lissa Hunter