My name is Alexa Murray, and I am a first year Photography major at Parsons School of Design. During my first semester, I have been learning various art and design techniques and exploring various mediums, many of which are completely new to me.
One skill I explored extensively throughout this semester is book making. Both as a means to display my work to an audience, and as the work itself. In Studio class we made two books as our first in last projects, in Space class we used books as a means to showcase our completed projects, and in Drawing class we created a book as our final project. 
Another skill I developed during multiple classes is composition and space, and how objects interact. In Drawing class we learned about composition through creating abstract black and white compositions, while in Space and Materiality class we created prototypes of our imagined designs to show how they could interact with people in an imagined space.
The final similarity that I see between my projects this semester is the focus on creating work that expresses my identity, or teaches the audience something about myself. In Studio class we created autobiographical photography books, while in Space we created symbols to represent elements of our personalities, and in Drawing we created books to visualize a journey throughout our lives.
One highlight throughout the semester for me was our first studio project, the Selfie Book. I think for me what is most memorable about this project is how intimidated I felt by the initial assignment, and how happy I was with the final outcome. The assignment entailed taking photos of ourselves with no clothes or objects to represent us, just body parts. I was very unsure of how to complete this assignment in a way that felt authentic to me, and my personality- and I was much more comfortable being behind the camera than photographing myself. However, as I began to work on the project and receive feedback on my work I found that I was able to create something that really represented me. I became more excited about the project, and was very proud of the final result. I think this project made me aware of how much the judgement of others can effect my work/my process. In addition, this project taught me about presenting and ordering my work, and exploring themes in a clear way.
The second project I consider a highlight of this semester would be our perspective NYPL projects in Drawing class. Similarly to the Selfie Book project, this project also challenged me to step outside of my comfort zone. Starting this project I had very little confidence in my ability to draw well, especially when dealing with more complex subject matter (like buildings and architecture). However through the progression of the project, I was able to become very confident. We started with simple line drawings of hallways around the school. We then progressed to doing New York City street scenes, and finally, we took a field trip to the New York Public Library where we completed large scale drawings of the architecture. Throughout this project I was able to challenge myself and grow as an artist. I found the whole thing unexpectedly enjoyable, and I was able to learn a new skill for the future.
During this semester I have faced many challenges, and learned a lot. In the future I would like to continue creating art that takes me outside of my comfort zone and expands my skills. I would like to continue to explore various aesthetics and styles, and develop my own unique approach to art making. I think I would like to continue exploring themes of one’s self, self identity, and reality and fiction through my work in coming years. I hope to continue to develop the skills that I learned this year, as well as the ideas we have discussed in class this semester.
