I'm not much of an abstract person.

I’m not much of an abstract person.

One student’s journey in Project Open Door

Design/photography/editing by Michelle S. Cho Words by Project Open Door student July-August 2014

I’m not much of an abstract person. sheds light on the impotance of art education. The Project Open Door student’s words, alone, communicate the significance of studio making and learning. The project, professor, and program’s positive impact on the student’s thinking and identity is clear. The photos and words are records of what took place in a studio class, and they make a case for a young person’s transformation and growth.

Project Open Door (POD), a free college access program for urban teens is housed in the Rhode Island School of Design’s (RISD’s) Department of Teaching + Learning in Art + Design. POD supports not only the artistic development of students attending public high schools in Rhode Island’s urban core cities of Central Falls, Pawtucket, Providence and Woonsocket but also their access to and retention in higher education, increasing their chances to succeed in art and art and design. (risdprojectopendoor.com)

I’m not much of an abstract person.

One student’s journey in Project Open Door

I’m not much of an abstract person.

I didn’t know what to do.

So, I just cut out triangles and shoved them into each other.

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[My class] said that it looks like some form of icicles.

That’s when I started my square base design that builds up to a triangle that also has icicles coming out of it.

I was thinking of lower points and higher points.

I decided to give it a mountain-range look.

And then I had to think of where the icicles would go.

This mountain range isn’t exactly the number one thing you’re going to see, which I’m kind of disappointed about, because it does look pretty interesting.

But I’m making sure that the icicles are all the same size so that when I place them on,

they’re all six inches tall, so you can tell which ones are higher and which ones are lower.

I didn’t want to make it just some flat surface with icicles sticking out of it...

It wasn’t interesting to me.

Unfortunately, I don’t [sketch often].

I’m kind of stuck in this... artist block.

I’ve done some drawings, but I’m kind of that perfectionist that always beats himself up over his drawings.

So, that kind of makes me stop drawing for a while and eventually pick it up again.

I’ve been trying to learn how to draw.

I’m trying to unlearn and re-learn.

[Michael] tells me a lot that I have potential [and] that the only real problem I have is that I don’t usually believe in myself too much...

I don’t believe in myself.

I probably wouldn’t get this far without somebody telling me that I can.

Michelle S. Cho mcho@alumni.risd.edu

Copyright Š 2015 Michelle S. Cho