Senior Art Student Jayden Ball on his Art, Perfectionism and “Learning from the People Around You”
April 28, 2022
When I sat down with senior Jayden Ball, he told me he was a perfectionist.
I didn’t realize perfectionism and artistry weren’t oil and water.
“I sometimes have moments where I’m focusing so hard on one thing to the point where I doubt myself. Everything else looks so good, but there’s just one thing that’s bothering me,” Ball said. “It’s hard look at everything without finding those little things. But you have to remember that you’re going to make mistakes. And even though you do make a mistake, it doesn’t take away from the value of everything on the page.”
Art has been a part of Ball’s life for as long as he can remember — doodling in Elementary school art classes was a formative memory for him, as was his grandmother introducing him to “old old” video games.
Nowadays, he finds immense inspiration in those around him and in other artistic mediums, particularly music.
“You know, I think every song has a different melody that can be interpreted in different ways,” Ball said. “I try to put on some music to set the tone and I see where it goes. [Drawing is] a bunch of trial and error — you’re never going to get it [where you want it] on the first try. I realized that you can’t do everything in just one shot.”
Ball has found that his art allows him to embrace his individuality, his “collective randomness,” as he put it.
“For [one of my portfolio pieces], I found a little picture of myself from when I was younger. I drew what I looked like before [I started really growing up] and there was a lot of empty space on the page. It went from that blank space to me filling it with things that [make me “me”]. I have two cats, and I’m a big animal guy so I sketched a frog. ‘Oh, why not put a fighter jet here?’ It’s like a bunch of collective randomnesses that comes together and makes sense at the very end.”
It’s hard look at everything without finding those little things. But you have to remember that you’re going to make mistakes. And even though you do make a mistake, it doesn’t take away from the value of everything on the page. — Jayden Ball
Through the high school art department, Ball has studied graphic design, figure drawing, painting and figure drawing. In part due to all he learned in his courses, Ball plans to study Graphic Design at Kean University. Not only have these experiences helped him in his craft, but in finding community.
“When I was taking the graphic design courses, it definitely did help me realize ‘this is what I want to do.’ I think everyone should take at least one art class throughout their [high school] years because they might really like it. You might be like ‘hey, this is something where I can express myself and get my creative outlet….’ Especially when you’re working with other creative minds — in that environment, you just bounce ideas off of each other and everyone’s working for the same goal. It’s really fun and everyone helps you get better. You get collectively better.”
As much as art is about self expression and introspection, Ball finds that it is perhaps more powerful in allowing him to understand people.
“You can learn from the people around you, and art has really helped me to do that,” he said.
