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Grace Satterfield

26 September 2013

English 1101-017

Miss. E

Literacy Narrative

The smell of fresh paint fills the air of my art class, the white, cinderblock walls are covered in posters of famous artists and their brilliant work: Van Gogh, Monet, and Picasso to name a few. As my eye wandered around the room I fell in love with a certain aspect of each painting, whether it was the specific style, the combination of colors, or the assortment of brush strokes. I enjoy knowing the artists of each painting and intelligibly understand the symbolism of a piece of art, hence why my intended major is Art History. Having the early practice of analyzing an idea or object, thoroughly helped me, as a writer and reader. My literary past has a great deal to do with the influence of art in my life.

My mother is the type of person to have a million little hobbies that she pours her time into, as well as her money. Being interested is an understatement when it comes to how involved she is in an activity. From belly dancing to Zen tangling, my mother is a jack-of-all-trades. When I came to my mother over a tasty vegan/vegetarian lunch, expressing my plan for college and my

future career, she was very excited about my decision. She then proceeded to help me adjust my occupation ideas to better create a more stable financial situation. Art for a number of years has been an important and passionate area of my life that allowed me, in my opinion, to become an overall better person. Analyzing a work of art in a way of symbolism and iconography has enhanced my experience with reading and writing in many ways. I believe I think deeper into a work of art, pulling out many characteristics and signs that most people would not notice. Details are a large factor in both, art and writing, and with the practice I receive from analyzing the details of a piece of art, I reiterate into my writing. Fabricating the scene through the five senses of taste, smell, touch, hearing, and vision I attempt to draw an image into my audiences head through my writing.

Christmas morning two years ago I received a paintbrush set equipped with various acrylic colors to paint with. I would not say I am the best artist, however I tremendously relish in the act of creating art when I have the time and focus to do so. I began using my paint and brushes pretty regularly just for fun and for art projects I was required to complete. My high school art teacher, Mr. Espinal, genuinely valued the history of past and present artists and the footprint they left on the art world. In his class we were presented with ten famous works of art each week. I was bombarded with various ideas and common themes in our society, such as, politics, culture, science, and realism through the art I viewed. By memorizing and analyzing the aspects of a work of art, (artist, medium, time period, and title) my exposure to the knowledge of different subjects grew. All of which molded my present understanding of literary and writing knowledge.

The earliest memory of literacy I retain is my father forcing me to always read a book before seeing the movie version. Every summer, on our annual week long beach trip, my dad would tell me to bring along a book to read throughout the duration of our trip. Each year I choose a book that had been made into a movie: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Series of Unfortunate Events, and Bridge to Terabithia, to name a few. As a young child I loathed the chore of reading in general, but to top it off my father would quiz me after I would finished a few chapters. However, now looking back I genuinely appreciate and am thankful that my dad pushed me to stick it out and read the full book before seeing the movie. The process helped me grow as a reader and increased my vocabulary as a writer.

My early literacy experiences have led me to believe that every picture has a story behind it, whether it be the discussion and symbolism of a piece of art, or the illustration of a book through a film, without literacy pictures mean nothing. Expression cannot be described nor understood without the help of words and prior knowledge of the object and language. One simply cannot describe something if they do not obtain a literate background or have experiences that have educated them to understand the significance of literacy. I am more than thankful for the opportunities I have been given in my life, I consider myself lucky to have parents that pushed me to become a better student and person. Being literate is the key to success in this world.

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