I've decided that art is hard. Laugh if you want but I insist that this is, in fact, true! First of all, the time involved in creating your masterpiece is a commitment. Believe me, I have tried to create a complete and perfect portfolio the night before, but it never works. You're proud of your work, but only because you managed to halfway finish 5 prints in 4 hours straight. NOT ENOUGH! A good and complete piece of work takes many hours across many days to finish. Second, inspiration is not predictable. Often times an assignment is given and your inspiration has left the building and there's no note saying "will be back in 5." So you take walks and you go out with friends and you just simply drive around waiting for something to slap you in the face, which inevitably never happens. Inspiration is like that crush you have who doesn't want to be with you until you're over them. Third, even if you find your way through the jungle and come up with some solid idea, there is probably someone else doing it better and faster and just all around cooler than you. You'd be fooling yourself if you thought you were the best thing that happened to design.
Sometimes art hurts my head. I can see what I want but I lack the complete knowledge to make it happen right away. I have to study and think about rules and steps to take. At the end of the day though, I would claim all of the above reasons as reasons why I love design. I love the devotion and the time spent creating something you're absolutely proud of. I love spending hours slaving to see the end result. The means to the end: definitely worth it. The fact that inspiration is unpredictable keeps me on my toes. And if someone does my idea better, good for them! Soon after I'm going to be their best friend and proceed to absorb all of their knowledge.
Most of all, art builds virtue. There are times when you want to throw your computer at a wall when you're using Dreamweaver and it won't let you create a Rollover. However, there is a tiiiiiny little voice, deep within, that says something like "Now Allison, don't give up. You're so close!" So you don't. And you learn a little something about yourself. Perseverance and dedication.
So I propose to you all, as you go about your day and you meet Art Majors, don't make fun of them or ask if they play with clay all day.... Art is hard!
