Week 10: Final Post

When signing up for courses, I found the course name interesting which led me to enroll. However, once I saw the syllabus, I almost dropped the class. I was afraid of having to draw since I have never been very good at drawing nor had I really drawn anything for school since middle school, over ten years ago. 

I found the beginning of class very interesting, especially when discussing La Virgen de Guadalupe. Aside from a brief lesson during my Mexican history class, I had never really learned about her as I did not grow up in a religious environment. From the images we saw of hers in class, my favorites are “Our Lady” and “Lupe y Sirena.” When we saw them in class, I immediately became fascinated with them and showed a few friends, although to my naïve surprise, not all of them found them very tasteful. I went on google and searched for more Virgen de Guadalupe art and ended up finding some I really liked. Some that stood out to me from my google search were “Goddess” by Alfred J. Quiroz and “Pray for our Sinners” by Elrod among others. I also enjoyed learning about La Malinche and La Llorona through a different perspective. Normally, they are made out to be villains, but there's a lot more to them than the myths and folk stories our friends and family members told us growing up. 

Once we began using our sketchbooks, the fear of drawing left me. Although life outside of class is hectic, drawing in class became a stress-reliever. It really helped me clear my mind. Surprisingly, my drawing skills improved, I learned new techniques, and learned a lot about the artists presented in class. I plan on doing some sort of artwork during winter break. I can't wait. These artists not only influenced me in the “art” section of class, but their ideas have also impacted me such as those of Delilah Montoya, Isis Rodriguez, and others. I’m really going to miss this class.