Project 1: "The Only Way is Work, Up and Out".

1. How do you feel about the overall outcome of this piece in relation to your art making process?
1. On the whole, I feel that this piece reflects my process of journaling, while simultaneously creating a restored way to re-evaluate my processes and artistic intentions. 
2. In what way did you integrate your personal art practice into this project?
1. I collected self-portraits in an attempt to find trends within the past 4 years of  journaling. I wanted the piece to reveal itself to me, and I am happy with the level of clarity and cohesion that I was able to find within my composition. 
3. How did you challenge yourself creatively, conceptually and/or technically in the making of this piece?
1. I feel that I challenged myself conceptually, but maybe not as much technically as I would have liked to. I wish I had utilized the brush tool more, or other techniques such as cloning. I mainly applied masks and scanned. Regardless, I was proud to have pushed myself to explore the topic of honesty. I think, moving forward, I will allow my work to say what it needs to say, instead of censoring myself prior. 
4. Were there elements that made the completion of this piece either more difficult or felt not challenging enough?
1. Making the composition in a linear sense was challenging, especially when it came to the text. I had a hard time organizing the text in order for the reader to read it in the format that I was trying to convey. 
5. Reflect on the project critique: was the feedback you received helpful? Be specific about why or why not.
1. I was pleased with the critique because of the three questions that everyone proposed before their explanations. For that I would like to say thank you Kathleen because not all teachers encourage conversation, and you requiring the prompt really helped. I struggled with the critique because I felt that I had shared a great deal of my own personal experience but in turn did not receive a great deal of feedback. I felt afraid that I had overshared, but I also wanted to push myself in the direction of honesty. I think everyone is coming into their own and sometimes that makes it challenging to have meaningful conversations. 
6.  Please share any other thoughts
1. All in all, the piece has allowed me to question my artistic processes. I have developed a new importance towards the idea of reflection. I am happy with my piece but will push to utilize all techniques learned within our next Digital Imaging project.