VINCENT ENGELBRECHT – Class of 2015
I am currently doing my fourth year of my Fine Art degree at Stellenbosch University and working at an art gallery in Gordon’s bay.
I experienced a whole different world from what i was used to when i first arrived at the university but i adjusted quickly. I’ve learnt a lot about the world of art and culture and found that i can speak about it for hours, I’ve always kept to my main influences of art and I’ve learnt a lot from the art masters; Kentridge, Picasso, and Da Vinci and through them I’ve channeled most of my creative thinking. I’ve learnt a lot of discipline and patience through art. The most relevant theme that Waldorf education continually reminds me of, is that the journey and the process of making is always more significant than the end result. This is the most valuable lesson I’ve learnt, because it has become clear that the most important thing is the way in which we think and learn along the way.
For me the plays and drama experiences and the Class 12 projects were instrumental in me realising that I can be myself, and have a good time doing what I love to do. Without Waldorf education I would not have had the exposure to art that created the curiosity wich has facilitated me being where i am today.
Before I started at Stellenbosch Waldorf School, I went to a public school, I had not taken art as a subject there because I was not interested and was not too good at it due to the lack of exposure. After a few months at SWS I realised I cant stop drawing and making art, because my new education encouraged creativity and creative thinking. Art was a running subject for us all. I was where I was meant to be.
I’ve learnt that failure is the most important thing that one must experience as an artist, if you don’t fail then you cannot improve. I’ve learnt that if you commit to something you should put all of your energy into it, failure is never the end, it only showed me more possibilities and made me realise i
I am more capable than I thought I was.
After my studies I want to travel and broaden my knowledge of the world. I also want to do my masters in Fine Art and become a lecturer in art at the university, and most importantly I want to make art until the end of my life.