Before the quarter began I was strongly considering dropping because although I was excited for it, I considered my artistic abilities to be just barely worth the gaze of a kindergartner. However, I am very happy that I did not. I had very little knowledge on any Chicana artists and those who I did know, such as Judy Baca, I only knew by name and would never be able to tell you about a piece. Being able to go through this course I have managed to learn about various Chicano/Latina artists, which truthfully is something that I thought was actually very sparse in terms of name recognition- I was wrong. Something that was also really interesting to learn was the various motifs that are usually found in the works of Chicana artists. Perhaps it is because they are something that I see quite regularly that they were often things that I just glossed over without taking its importance into consideration. La Virgen de Guadalupe was always deeply ingrained into my identity and beliefs, and I often forget it is often the same for others with my same identity/identities. Being able to see acts of rebellion loudly displayed for the world to see was, to say the least, inspiring.
The sketchbook was something that I thought I would end up being disgusted by by the end of the quarter, but I don't. Although there are pieces in it that are kind of terrifying to look at I am actually quite proud of what I was able to create after not drawing for years. Ofelia Esparza was also a highlight in my class experience; being able to listen to Esparza talk about the work that she is so obviously incredibly passionate about had me locked in. This is by far one of the best classes I've taken so far and I think that's because it was a taught in such an engaging manner by someone who holds pride in the material.
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