Ryan Shaffer

With our school’s vast selection of elective courses it can be a challenge to decide on a schedule. Registration for spring classes is about to begin, and I want to invite those of you who have not yet experienced them to consider joining one of the fine arts classes being offered.

There are tons of reason to take an art class, first and foremost they’re a lot of fun. Concentrating on an art project is more like meditation than school work. There are also numerous studies showing the scientific benefits including: improvements to concentration, observational skills, and spacial reasoning.

However, what I really want to discuss are the reasons why people don’t take art classes. Chief among those being concerns about personal ability, in other words: talent. This, however, is an illusion. What we so often call talent is really nothing more than dedication, and yet, when I signed up for my first ever art class this semester, I was nervous I might not be talented enough for it. More than once I’ve heard the same fears expressed about every subject involving creativity; math and the sciences are something to be learned, the arts are a skill we’re born with.

And yet as everyone in that class taking an art for the first time discovered, and everyone taking it as a continuation of their studies already knew, the only thing required to create work you can be proud of is the desire to do so.

That’s why I encourage all of you to try out an art class this coming semester, you might just be surprised what you can achieve. For more information you can contact the Fine Arts Department at jbadger@smccme.edu, and anyone looking to get involved right away is welcome to join the school Art Club, which meets Thursdays at 12:30 in the Art Studio.