Integrative Studio and Seminar 1: Progress Statement

This was an interesting semester in Integrative Studio and Seminar. I was able to create work that I am truly proud of but I did not have the transformative experience that I was expecting. After feeding into the hype of the class and what it has been able to do for previous students, I was very excited to see where I would be after the semester was over. However, even though I was able to produce quality, interesting work, I feel like I haven’t grown much as an artist or writer. In class discussions and critiques never seemed to go deeper than surface level and I wished I was able to dive deeper into the concepts and ideas we discussed in class. However, I did learn a lot about collaboration and the benefits of having a partner on a project. Collaboration is such a big part of Integrative Studio so I was able to learn from others and their talents and strengths. That being said, I wished I had more of an opportunity to showcase my own ideas and concepts without having to compromise. The semester as a whole was beneficial but left me feeling a bit underwhelmed and unfulfilled. Moving forward, I need to push myself further and try to experiment with as many new techniques and materials as I can. I need to take advantage of outside learning opportunities like the workshops in order to further my capabilities.

After reflecting and hearing feedback on Friday, I was inspired to continue my work over the break so that next semester, I can be prepared to push myself and my work.

Which assignments helped you to grow and in what specific ways? What interests were sparked? List at least two.

Bridge 4 was the most challenging and helped me grow as an artist and writer. It was very challenging to have to do such in-depth research and then braid that into my personal experience. However, I am very proud of the outcome and I feel like I was able to portray an accurate depiction of Canal Street. The book was very challenging to make because I typically like to work with 3D objects and making interesting 2D work was challenging.

 

Which early projects seem connected to your research project?

Bridge 3, “Is Fashion Modern”, played a huge role in my writing for Bridge 4 because it forced me to form my own opinion about an object and explore it through that lens. It was also one of the more academic papers that we had to write which gave me practice for Bridge 4.

Where were there moments of synchronicity between Seminar and Studio, when your work seemed truly integrated?

Creating the book on Canal Street for Bridge 4 was probably the most integrative between the two classes. We were able to use the research and information from our essays directly in our studio project and even include some of the writing.

Throughout the semester, how was your writing ability changed? Cite some examples to illustrate your point.

I feel like I am more attentive with my grammar and use of commas now because of the feedback I was given. I also feel like I can easily formulate an idea and perspective on a subject matter and explore it. Other than that, I feel like my writing abilities haven’t changed much but it is always good to keep writing and practicing, I have also greatly improved on my citation skills and learned how to do footnotes.

Throughout the semester, how has your approach to reading progressed? Or how has text changed your work?

I have always loved annotating texts and this class furthered my exploration of it and its benefits. I loved the majority of what we read and I feel like it has impacted my work in some way.

Throughout the semester, how have your making skills progressed? Include allusions to projects to illustrate your point.

Practice is always beneficial so I feel like even though I haven’t learned new skills, I have been able to progress in the ones I already had. I don’t feel like I learned any new making techniques or skills in class, so the majority of my projects included skills I learned in other classes or in the past. For our Bridge 3 Project, I patterned and sewed the entire project from scratch and was able to create a piece that I am truly proud of. I did learn a lot about the power of presentation and how important it is to how people perceive your work. 

 

Which assignments proved particularly challenging? Why? How did you meet that challenge?

Bridge 4, “Urban Avatar” was the most challenging in both Studio and in Seminar. Research papers are extremely challenging and complex for me so the assignment was very daunting from the beginning. For studio, it was a challenge to create a book because I normally work with 3D materials and the book was mostly digital and 2D. For both projects, I relied heavily on the feedback from my group members to help me.

Which assignment(s) that you completed might you consider a kind of failure? Why? How can you learn from this failure?

I don’t think any of my projects or essays were a failure in any way. I am very proud of all the work I did in both classes.

 

Both in your writing and making do you see a common thread or themes? What ideas occurred to you again and again?

I feel like I constantly explore the duality of topics and I like to juxtapose concepts and materials in my work. In Bridge 1 I explored the difference between how others perceive me versus how I perceive myself. In Bridge 2 we explored the complexities of the words we chose and many have two counteracting parts. We chose to highlight that by having a high contrast color palette of black and red. In Bridge 4 we compared high-end fashion with low-end streetwear and counterfeits and made sure we explored the meaning behind it.

How can you use what you’ve learned in Integratives this semester and apply it to the next semester and to your focus at Parsons?

Next semester, I will definitely focus heavily on presentation and make sure my work is accurately perceived by the audience because we focused on that so much this semester.

What questions or interests sparked this semester would you like to pursue in more detail next semester?

Next semester I want to focus heavily on experimenting with different techniques and materials. This semester I was really intrigued with what others did with the laser and 3D printers.