In-Depth Post #5

Not too much has happened since my last blog post. I have been practicing my watercolor techniques in my free time and have been using social media to contact both Simran and my mentor, Nina. I have been looking at videos and online resources to catch up on my learning, and a few new techniques I learned are wet/dry washing, underpainting, lifting, backwashing, and feathering. Overall, I think I was able to stay productive and use my time efficiently while learning new watercolor techniques.

1. What kinds of learning opportunities does the mentor provide to expose you to new learning?
My mentor has taught Simran and I basic watercolor techniques such as wet-on-wet, wet-on-dry, creating gradients, and layering. She also taught us how to set up our watercolor supplies, such as taping the outer side of the watercolor paper. Unfortunately, because of the recent pandemic, she has not been able to teach us as many techniques, and most of our learning has become independent work. Recently, I have been contacting my mentor to ask questions and clarify harder techniques.

2. What kinds of learning opportunities exist to reinforce new learning?
Nowadays, instead of my mentor teaching me new watercolor techniques, I have been mostly learning on my own. If I don’t get something or I need clarification, I go to my mentor. If she is not available, I use the internet and look at online resources and videos.

3. What kinds of opportunities exist that might accelerate learning?
I have been using blogs, websites, and videos to help me learn new watercolor techniques, but I think practicing the techniques on paper has really helped me accelerate the pace of my learning. The more I practice, the more natural my strokes become, which makes my painting more aesthetically pleasing to look at.

4. When you get together what do you talk about?
Before the pandemic started, me, Simran, and my mentor talked about the supplies we would need to practice at home. She taught us the basic techniques and talked about what we want our final project to look like (although it has now changed drastically because of everything that has happened so far). She also talked about things that are happening in her life right now, such as appling to universities and how she started watercolor painting. I think I have learned a lot about my mentor and watercolor through our meetings.

5. What is going particularly well in your mentoring relationship right now?
Something that is going particularly well is that whenever I have a question or need clarification, my mentor is there to help me. Simran and I mostly communicate with our mentor via message, and because my mentor is a high schooler and usually has her phone around, we are able to get answers very quickly. This has helped me grasp techniques and concepts more efficiently and effectively.

6. What are you learning about one another?
During our time together, I have learned a lot about my mentor. I learned that she is a grade twelve attending Glen Eagle, and that she is one of the best students in her art class (or at least that’s what the art teacher, Ms. Croft told me). She started watercolor painting from a young age of five because of her parents, and slowly became more into art. She has recently applied to two universities but has not gotten a response yet. I also learned that she is a VERY great painter after looking at some of her paintings. I think learning more about my mentor has helped build up a good mentoring relationship.

I am very happy about the way things are going, and hopefully, I learn even more techniques before the next blog post.

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