Reflections on the final project: circus poster

There is so much to be said about the final project that I don’t really know where to begin. So, I think I’ll put it in bullet points. Hopefully, that will make it easy to read and follow my train of thought. So here goes.

• The color: I like the rich, deep colors I was able to get. It took quite a few tries to get the exact ink wash I wanted for the background. ANd it took even more patience to decide what other colors to use on the piece. Of course I wanted red and gold somewhere. The two colors scream circus to me, so I wanted them represented in the piece. The balls and other letters I wanted to go well with the background and the red/gold lettering. But I didn’t want them to be too matchy or blend in to the background. So I chose a bold blue and a leafy green.
• The subject matter: I wanted to create something that reflected my History major. I’ve always been interested in Russian history, especially the Bolsheviks and the Soviet Union. So, it seemed a no brainer to create something that displayed my interests. At the same time, I wanted to create something playful. So I put my Soviet leaders into a circus and made them slightly cartoonish, especially the ringmaster Lenin with his oversized head.
• The media: Because my project was a circus poster, I wanted to use media that would be smooth and allow me to create a graphic appearance. I also wanted to use the medium I had worked with the most this semester–watercolor. Watercolor is also the medium I had the most trouble with. Initially, I was impatient with them, getting frustrated easily. But as the semester progressed, I learned to work with them rather than fighting them. I took my time and made thoughtful decisions about what color I wanted where. In many ways, this project shows the growth I experienced through the year with watercolors.
• My peers: Working in the classroom was a motivating experience. If not for the work steadily going on around me  in the classroom every week, I surely would have lost focus on my piece. Getting feedback from classmates and having their presence around me while I worked was encouraging and educating.