Grace is only an illusion here

To be honest, I barely made it through this quarter. It was full of wonderful things and difficult obstacles. Yet I survived.

I had my first solo exhibition this quarter through De Soto Row's Fellowship Exhibition program.

I am the President of Local Color, a painting club at SCAD. We hosted a collaborative show with the Sculpture Forum, Omnibus. Live music and over 40 works of art! Local Color volunteered at the SCAD Museum of Art for Family Day as well as Ex Libris for their Faculty and Student Appreciation Day. Local Color also collaborated with the Drawing Club to bring David Kassan to Savannah!

I am an officer in the Sculpture Forum. I had a giant pumpkin land on me and smash into a thousand pieces, covered in pumpkin guts and wet paint we still managed to crank out Cinderella's carriage for a commission for Disney on Ice. We also had the pleasure of a studio visit with local sculptor and gallery owner, Jerome Meadows.

I landed one of the best jobs in the world! A work study program as a Shop Monitor in the Sculpture Building. I also have the pleasure of representing the School of Fine Arts for the United Student Forum.

My time here at SCAD has been productive and definitely not easy. Only six months till graduation, we can do it! Here is some work from this quarter:

Aerial White, Mixed Media on Canvas, 50"x30", 2013

Aerial Black, Mixed Media on Canvas, 50"x30", 2013

Figure 1, 30"x30", Ink on Canvas, 2013

Aerial Study 5, Mixed Media on Paper, 2013

Aerial View I

There is Nothing and Nowhere to Hide

The world wants to make it easy for us to run and hide under the sheets, its easy to give up. It is too easy for people to make choices that aspire to shut down other's visions, missions and passions. However it is also as simple as making the choice to let them, to let them walk all over you and talk behind your back but it is just easy to make the choice to stand up and to make yourself heard. You have support, your friends and others who believe in the same vision, you're not the only one that sees it.

It is easy to make the choice to do what you were meant to do, to bring the good to those who are willing to learn, thrive and to grow with you. They can cut off the water source but there will always be rain. So what I am trying to say is this, stand up, do what you have to do and never listen to those who say you can't do it. Their words makes you want to do one of two things: A. Give up, B. Do it even better and make them watch.

Be strong, and two more things: There is nothing and nowhere to hide. Making things is never a waste of time.

All the best,
Sami Lee

Thoughts: Good and Bad...

"Good" and "Bad" are irrelevant in the discussion of art. They, like the term "art", are impossible to define in terms of exact definitions or limitations. Every time the words good and bad used, they are implied in different contexts and therefore always have a different meaning. Not to mention the user's background, lifestyle and mindset which forms their personal vocabulary. Together good and bad imply a value range, but the parameters and boundaries of this scale don't exist.

Success is relative, a drawing by a proclaimed artist could look indistinguishable from a drawing that a first grader completed. However, the concept behind the Artists' work would greatly overwhelm that of the child's.

Saying that something is a good work of art is essentially meaningless because good doesn't mean anything without another work to compare it to. Even then, the works could vary in material, style, process and concept so much that a comparison would hardly do either work justice.

I myself am guilty of using these words and I don't think that they should be extinguished from the art world completely for I am a firm believer in positive affirmations and constructive feedback. However I have discovered that in describing something as "good" or "bad" is not specific enough to be informative, helpful or necessary in critique.