Yearlong Introduction
- shanestephensartist
- Jun 9
- 2 min read
Throughout this year-long course, I will be introduced to key techniques and materials across Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Sculpture, and Ceramics — building a strong foundation for my emerging arts practice through skill development, artist research, and creative exploration.
This series of blog entries will contain the first six months of the year-long subject, VIS1012 Foundational Studio Practice. Within these pages, I will reflect on the experience as both thrilling and daunting. As a mature-aged student, I am stepping into the studio space carrying nervousness and self-doubt, unsure if I will be able to keep pace or find my place. I worry that I might not be "good enough" — but I am also full of determination and a deep desire to learn. With eagerness and open curiosity, I am hoping to approach each week as an opportunity to discover not just techniques, but new ways of seeing. I think that the initial weeks may require courage — to draw without fear, to paint without certainty, and to show up with honesty. I am hoping to quickly begin learning that foundational studio practice is not about perfection — it is about process, presence, and growth.
As I undertake this course, I do so while walking alongside my beloved husband, who is facing the profound challenges of dementia and cancer. These experiences inevitably shape the way I move through the world - and I may find quiet expression in my work. Time for me, feels especially precious. I hope to find moments of clarity, solace, and meaning through the creative process. I will return to reflect again at the halfway mark of 6 months, with gratitude for what this journey has already begun to offer.
“Artists are here to disturb the peace” is widely attributed to James Baldwin, and it originates from an interview he gave on PBS’s program The Negro and the American Promise in 1963.
In the interview, Baldwin speaks with remarkable clarity about the role of the artist in society. The full context of the quote is often paraphrased, but the spirit of it comes from Baldwin’s reflections on the responsibility of artists to reveal uncomfortable truths.
James Baldwin: Negro And The American Promise.1963 (Accessed 9 June 2025)
James Baldwin (1924 - 1987) was a writer and civil rights activist who is best known for his semi-autobiographical novels and plays that center on race, politics, and sexuality.
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