Emily Wilburn IB CAS Blog

In the photography club, we worked on taking long exposure photos. Taking photos like these is oftentimes pretty hard. With the help and guidance of my friends, I was able to take some decent pictures.  I found myself getting easily frustrated throughout the process and becoming angry when I could not take the exact picture that I wanted but it was then that I realized how valuable patience is.  I had learning outcome 2 while taking these pictures because I knew there were challenges that I was facing but I allowed myself to grow from them. I even developed new skills in the process. I developed the skill of patience. I developed the skill of asking for help. And I developed the skill of taking my time and really engaging with the activity I am taking part in. 

Rearranging the photo club cork board at school is something I often find myself doing. I love to do it. Every week I go and add new photos to our collection and work to build our collection.  I love working on this project because I get to show the school what cool things we do in photo club. I also enjoy it because I get to show off how talented everyone in the club is. The only issue with my love for the photo club board is that I use it as a distraction at times. I use it to distract myself from my actual school work.  Even though I can take too much time working on the board and forget about my other work... I have developed many new skills in the process. I have learned of my many other skills through the process. Skills such as being creative and good at organization. Because of this, this activity has led be to learning outcome #2.

In the morning we discussed the credibilities of artists and whether or not they should receive credit for art that is assembled by their employees, and the problems surrounding art that have one name on it but was designed by someone else. For example, Jeff Koons, an artist who focuses on everyday objects and creates large sculptures of them, has a giant studio filled with workers who basically do all of his work for him. There are so many problems that follow this being that his studio is based in modern New York where his employees are making only $15 an hour which to some may be considered unfair in comparison to the amount of recognition Jeff Koons is receiving. Another big name in the art world is Damien Hirst. Hirst is well known for his work involving animals and placing them into containers with some sort of gel to hold them in place. While he designs his pieces he has no involvement in installing the piece. After the piece is placed he then hires a group of people to judge wh...

I went to paint walls at a school with NHS. It was incredibly difficult. I found my arms giving out and becoming tired so quickly. I knew I was doing something really good so I always continued but I wanted to give up so badly. Through this activity of service, I have learned that I really have some areas that I could improve on such as my physical strength but also knowing when to take a break. Painting walls at this school was extremely rewarding and I am so happy that I took the time to do it. This is learning outcome #1 because I learned about my own personal strengths but also about where I could improve and work on myself. 

 I went for a walk. I often time find it difficult to step away from my computer or phone or whatever it is that I am working on. Something I have been trying to do is take my time with things more often and really be in the moment which is what has lead me to go on these sorta-daily walks.  The act of walking is not what I found to be difficult, but the act of stepping away from what I considered to be productive was. I often find myself feeling that if I'm not actively working on creating something or developing something that I am being lazy or unproductive or even wasting my time. So when it came to getting up to go on my walk I realized that this was something I needed to work on. I am extremely determined and excited about working but there are some areas that I need to improve on such as stepping away from my work and taking time for myself which is why I feel that through my walk I have had learning outcome #1. I have recognized my strengths but I have also recognized ...

During photography club, we worked on taking self-portraits using mirrors. While this may sound like an easy task, it was anything but that. The goal of our meeting was to take a least one photo of ourselves outdoors with the mirror. Essentially this is how it went: Step 1: Drag heavy mirror outside. Step 2: Identify the source of light, maybe play around with light. Step 3: Take a picture. While it sounds relatively simple, it proved to be extremely challenging. Playing with light and the way it reflects is something I have never really done in my photography practice -- making learning this to be extremely frustrating. I would say this day was a great example of the CAS learning outcome #1 as it showed me that I have some areas where I really need to learn to grow regardless of my strengths.  In the end, I never really captured the photo I wanted, but I learned what some of my strengths are and I learned where I could use improvement.  Strengths: determination, work ethic Ar...