Because it was my last semester before graduation, my degree checklist only required me to take two courses: my capstone course and an upper-division elective. This made my goal ridiculously easy to achieve.
So I enrolled in a beginning drawing class, because I knew drawing was a weakness of mine and this was the perfect opportunity to strengthen those skills. I began drawing class with much frustration and excitement.
Drawing is so much harder for me than painting is. Much to my surprise, I wouldn't be in that class much longer.
After only two weeks of drawing, I was informed by my advisor that I had already taken the exact same drawing class three years earlier at my local junior college. She explained that I could stay in the class but would not receive any credit since it was considered a "repeat class."
So I buddied up to my professor and was graciously let into an Intermediate Painting class. This was big news for me because realistically they aren't supposed to let you in an upper-division art class unless you've first had all the basic supporting classes (about 12 hours of credits.) Being a PR major I obviously had not taken any of these classes. In that aspect I was behind. However, the painting professor looked at my website (haleyhooverpr.com) and was impressed enough with my work that he thought I would excel in an intermediate painting course.
As expected, I completed the course fine. I learned a lot, struggled some and challenged myself definitely. Just being in the art college opened a whole new side of my brain (the right side) and introduced me to a lot of interesting people. People who eat, breathe and sleep art. The culture was so different from my college of origin. Art people don't care what you think, and they openly admit their quirkiness. That experience was worth everything to me.
Over the 12-or-so weeks of class I painted 6 pieces, all of which pushed me out of my comfort zone on the painting spectrum. From depicting a coming-of-age scene, to using hairbrushes and ping pong balls as instruments, these are definitely some of my more intriguing pieces.
Last week I uploaded 5 of these images to my Etsy store front, (https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheSparklingHippie) and figured up fair pricing considering the materials and time put into each one. Descriptions are provided under each item entry, but I would also like to describe each one via blogging as well.
(For those of you who don't know, Etsy is a website created for artists and craftspeople to help them sell their products online. It was created in 2005 and has now expanded into vintage items and craft supplies. It's basically free and anyone can join! In fact, I bought all of my Christmas gifts on Etsy this year. It's a great way to support local initiatives and a person-to-person market instead of the corporate giants blasting through our television sets.)
In other words, blog readers: I'd like to introduce you to my Etsty store The Sparkling Hippie. And Etsy followers (few as there are), welcome to my blog, American Honey.
Over the next few weeks I will introduce each of my five paintings from class and drift into sharing other paintings with you all as well. This is part of a long-term initiative to merge my writing and painting into a business I can live on financially. Please feel free to comment, ask questions, connect with one another and learn more about the world around you. I am open to suggestions and trying lots of new ideas so bring 'em on! :)
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