Don't Judge a Book by its Cover

Growing up, I always took art classes, was an avid doodler, and was always searching for ways to create. People always described me as “creative” and my school notebooks had little sketches all over the margins. I was constantly practicing my bubble letters and frequently changed my handwriting to whatever I could think of.

Throughout high school, I stayed away from the more fine art classes. I took the basic drawing prerequisite for photography and never looked back. For the next three years, I took consistently digital art classes. By the end of my high school career, I had a portfolio full of purely digital pieces.

When it came time for me to head off to college at Miami, I became nervous and lacked confidence in my fine art abilities. Specifically, my drawing abilities. I felt fairly confident that I had a very basic understanding of some of the adobe programs; however, I felt like my classmates possesed fine art skills that I severely lacked. Throughout the first semester, I completed my basic foundation requirements and struggled in the fine art courses.

I received admission to the graphic design in March of 2017 and was thankful to be focusing on digital work and finally doing what I was really passionate about. However, I have continued to take art classes other than my digital, graphic design classes. Unlike the drawing and painting classes I dreaded during my freshman year, these fine art classes were fun and allow me to utilize the design skills I’ve learned. I’ve had the amazing opportunity to take letterpress at Miami because we are fortunate to have a letterpress print shop! I’ve also taken printmaking which allows me to practice my composition and layout skills obtained in my design classes.

The phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover,” is used constantly and while it can be annoying, it has substantial truth to it. While I thought I did not like all fine art classes in the beginning, I ended up loving letterpress and woodblock printing which are both traditionally non-digital art forms. While my drawing and painting skills are still not that great, I have learned how to print and draw letterforms. Taking non-digital art classes was way out of my comfort zone and even if graduation requirements gave me the little push, I’m excited for my last two semesters at Miami including both digital and non-digital creative classes.