NAEEM JADAVJI

My main project features a functional city that shares the beauty of modern, and urban architecture. It promotes Minecraft as not just a game, but as a portal to one’s creative mind. My other project features cartoon characters that were shared with others to form an interactive activity where the grade 4s got to express their creativity while using my art. All of my art incorporated the artistic process as I have firstly sketched and planned, then I made my work digitally, then I modeled and drew it.

When I first started studying art as a young child, art was about discovering. This was about figuring out what mediums I was good at, and which ones I enjoyed. After this, I learned and improved my art, by practicing different mediums for many years. Now, I enjoy the digital form of art along with modeling and drawing and cartooning. While doing my project, I have also learned about methods of carrying out the mediums I have chosen. My project consists of making an organized city on Minecraft, and modeling and drawing the best-looking pieces of it. Along the way so far, I have learned to better my techniques and work more efficiently on the digital portion of my project.

I have been inspired by many people and places while carrying out my project. The first is Josef Garrett. Also known as, Stampy, Josef Garrett is a popular Youtuber, who worked on a city in Minecraft, much like what I am doing now. Some of my buildings and techniques are inspired by his vision and his architecture. Another artist that I studied was Kelly Wearstler. She is a very prestigious interior designer and has influenced some of the interiors in our city. Another source of inspiration was well-known areas with beautiful architecture. Some of these places include Singapore and Beverly Hills. Firstly, Singapore is often thought of as a utopian society. It is organized, clean and beautiful, which are all the things I hope that viewers can see when looking at our art. Second, Beverly Hills is a very well-known area for architectural wonders in the form of houses and mansions. In our city, we have attempted to replicate this area by taking inspiration from actual mansions in Beverly Hills. The final artist I studied was Adrian Smith. He is famous for designing many buildings such as working on the Burj Khalifa. His architecture has inspired some of the building designs in our city. Finally, our work and city would not be possible without the research and inspiration from more than just these artists. 

Work this year in art was very interesting. My biggest success was probably the project I did with the grade fours. It consisted of making cartoons and then giving them to the grade fours to color. I think this was a major achievement as I was able to communicate my art to grade four. As well, instead of making art to be viewed only, my art was able to have a further purpose to help the grade fours explore their creativity. 

I would say that my biggest challenge is experimenting with and trying a new medium that I have not done before, which is modeling. Trying a new medium took multiple classes to help me master techniques and strategies. Some sources of error included that I would just go right into cutting out cardboard, whereas I should have taken more time to measure and sketch what it should look like. However, with a few classes practice, I’ve been able to try new modeling strategies and improve my art.

I hope that while viewing my art, one can sense the beauty of the modern-day, urban architecture of a fully functional city. I also hope they can understand how Minecraft is not only a game but also a tool.