Thinking Outside the Box: My life as an Artist and Student by Isabella

Thinking Outside the Box: My life as an Artist and Student by Isabella - October 2018 Scholarship Essay

As an artist thinking outside the box applies to several different aspects of my life. To me, thinking outside the box means coming up with innovative, creative, and previously unheard of solutions to problems, as well as new ideas. Growing up, I have always been drawn towards art and the creative side of thinking. I was not always the best at math, however, I pride myself on my unique way of coming up with solutions to unconventional problems. When I do not understand how a teacher has taught a lesson I research until I find a way that works for me. I may not use the same, traditional methods, but I always find a way to get to the answer. This same creative process helps inspire my works of art. I constantly challenge myself to think beyond restrictions and go above and beyond to surprise viewers of my work.
I have even learned to turn my mistakes into beautiful works of art. The best example of this was while I was painting a denim jacket for a friend of mine. I knocked over an entire container of bright red paint onto the new, expensive denim jacket. While I frantically panicked and tried to clean up the paint, an idea hit me: what if I spilled more paint on it? Sounds crazy, but I picked up my paintbrush and splattered big streaks of vivid red paint all across the jacket, covering the back, arms, and front. I turned my mistake into a different concept, incorporating the “blood spatter” into a design and play of words based on the album “Youngblood”, by a new and popular band at the time. Instead of throwing away and wasting a jacket, I used my creative thinking to reinvent it into a new, exciting piece of art that had never been seen before.
I use my art to help me with subjects that do not come as easily to me. I strive to approach my education and learning in a different, more meaningful way. Subjects like math, chemistry, and physics have been especially challenging to me because it does not come naturally. However, by creating drawings based on word problems or creating doodles to help me remember equations, I have found my own way to succeed. Thinking outside the box is about taking the unfamiliar and transforming it into something you grasp more easily in order to solve problems both creatively and efficiently.