Scared of the Art Requirement? Don’t Be.

You might have seen that one of Carleton’s graduation requirements is taking an art practice class. Although the first thing that comes to mind is studio arts, this class can also be acting, music practice, dance or creative writing. You can certainly find something to your interest, even though you have never done it before, your professor is there to teach you. It is not a talent showcase, it is a class after all.

Although I do most of the aforementioned activities in my free time and feel comfortable practicing art in a general sense, I had never drawn before this term. It was one of those things that I’ve always thought I didn’t have enough talent to do, and therefore always stood away from it. I decided to take Observational Drawing this term because I wanted to challenge myself and enjoy a different kind of art practice which I thought could be something to work on in the cold weather. I learned so much during this class! From how light and color affect each other to how to draw reflections and transparent objects. We covered a different topic every week and even though it felt super loaded, it went by so fast.

The problem with art is that people generally tend to think that it relies on talent. That does play some role in it, true, but it is not as important as you think it is. The more time you spend on something, the better you get. It is no different than learning math or physics. Its basis is knowledge and practice. As such, even though I have never drawn in my life, I spent a tremendous amount of time drawing in the last few weeks and I can feel myself improving every day, which is such a special feeling.

You might hear from other students that art classes require a lot of extra time for homework, which is true. But I see it as a recreational activity and you should too. Please don’t be fooled into taking an art class because it will be easy, it won’t. Dedication is really important in art classes and it requires a lot of time. And in college, when something is hard, it means that it takes a lot of time usually. So be careful that you have enough time to spend on an art class in your schedule. And lastly, be brave! This is an opportunity to better yourself and broaden your artistic and intellectual horizons.

Defne (she/her/hers), is a first year international student from Istanbul, Turkey. Her natural habitat is the library and her diet consists of tea, coffee and LDC pizza. An artistic specimen, she dabbles in all art forms from printmaking to theater. She can be observed reading comics in the bookstore in downtown Northfield.”