For my first semester I'm taking two classes, one which covers sketching, form, perspective, etc. and the other is a sculpting/jewelry design class ~ have to laugh at the jewelry part, what a hoot!
Art 101 - (not really the class title but we'll refer to it as such) was a huge challenge. Who would have thought that drawing simple 3 dimensional shapes would be so challenging, but after focusing on pressure, angle, dimension, perspective, vanishing points, and a boatload of other aspects ~ my arm was achy and my mind mush. 
Sculpting 101 - (again, the 101 is for amusement sake) in this class I learned how to build and armature structure for a sculpture and what a maquette is. Our assignment is to create a clay sculpture of either an expressive or morphed creature. We had to submit a series of sketch ideas, supporting textural images, and finally a maquette which is laughable with it's aquatic nose (purely by accident) but my best attempt in clay at the moment.
It's a struggle for me on so many levels, time management being the biggest, but I must say I've already learned SO much and I'm really enjoying it.
One of the key requirements of attending an online university is participating in the discussion groups where students and teachers meet to post assignments, comments, and share feedback. It's all such uncharted territory for most of us and so many students seem to be in a similar place as me ~ feeling like a fish out of water ~ that it helps to know you're not alone.
The teachers are also extremely supportive, both in attitude and responses, and they're each exceptional artists in their own right. I would love to post the website for one of my teachers here but I'm not sure if it would tread on some thin-line of privacy so I've let that go for now.
All in all it was a great first week despite the intense stress and I'm looking forward to learning more as it comes.
❀I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for their lovely comments on my OWOH post. While I haven't had as much time as I'd hoped to get around and visit everyone, I'm looking forward to catching up with this in the coming week and can't wait to see what you've all shared. I hope you all enjoyed an equally artist & productive week ~
