Post 30: My 3 Best Arts of the Year

The three pictures I posted above are my favorites for various reasons. For the 6 Inspiring People Project, I drew and painted: One of my characters from my story, my mother, Dr. Oz, Maurice White, Chino Moreno and my bestest friend Jennifer Vu. I chose all of them because they all mean a lot to me in different ways. Maurice White and Chino Moreno are both singers, and their songs help spark ideas for drawings and stories. My mom is the best, so I drew her. Dr. Oz is cool because I like how he tells people how to stay healthy with alternative medicine. Lastly, I chose Jennifer because she's a cool person who helps when necessary.

For the next picture, Teen Social Issues, it's pretty self-explanatory. I created it to show the common problems of American teens in modern society. I was surprised how well it all came together towards the end. Lastly, for my biggest art project ever, Watch ME Watching You Lose Your Mind, is about both inner experiences, how I "think" and how media watches you.

Post 29: James Montgomery Flagg

I chose James M. Flagg as a groundbreaking 20th century artist because no one would've thought to create posters to help the army gain publicity. Also, he wanted to help the army get more recruits. Lastly, he wanted Americans to know that it needed our help. When he created this poster, Flagg knew that the wars going on the 20th century demanded help from the Americans. As a result, he wanted to inform them about what "Uncle Sam" wants. Uncle Sam is basically a personification of the United States. Without the encouraging messages, America probably would not have been as willing to join the army and fight.

Post 27: I Luff YouTube.

So I went to the very popular website, YouTube.com and did my usual thing, watch videos. I like YouTube because it gives me something to watch when there's nothing on television, something to listen to when I'm bored with my CDs and there's nothing of interest on the radio, and something to laugh at when I'm feeling down. I prefer to listen to music (not the music videos), and parodies of things, comically titled YouTube Poops. Random videos of anything is also pretty cool, but it's lame when people sneak in rick rolls and screamers. But usually it's pretty obvious to tell which are real videos and which are fake. YouTube is part of my identity because it fills the bottomless pit of boredom I sometimes fall into. But, even after countless hours of enjoyable videos of stupid people, funny parodies and music, I still end up falling through a crack and continue fall into the blandly colored pit of Boredom. I still love YouTube for all the great videos it has brought me over the last 4 years! :]

Post 26: More in-depth about No.25.

I think the artist was trying to say that they are illusionistic, open-minded and curious. The unknown artist is possibly illusionistic because they combined different types of brush strokes, colors and patterns into the artwork to evoke a certain thought or emotion from the viewer. I believe he/she is open-minded because the broad feeling I get from the art makes it seem as if there's a lot of different elements that could be linked together in some sort of way. Lastly, the artist may display their curiosity with colors because they mixed colors that usually don't look good mixed, and made it look nice. Such as the dark blue/purple-ish streak in the mid-upper part of the artwork, it collides with a streak of yellow and orange, and it blended well with the other colors. Furthermore, their map of the mind tells us that they are open to new ideas and techniques to authenticize their style and make it solely theirs.

Post 25: Explosion of the extinct once again.

Roses are red, violets are blue. I see a phoenix, part of a Xerces butterfly and a winged horse. Can you see what I see, too? I feel illusionistic, spacey and maybe even weirded out. Now, I wonder what that's about.

Post 24: Everything's bigger in good ol' TEXAS.

I would like to visit the state of Texas for three reasons: the big amounts of food, the interesting cultures and hot weather. One thing Texas is known for is their love of barbequed foods and big portions of it. In fact, they sometimes even supersize doughnuts (as shown on Man v. Food), and pizzas. Also, Texas' rodeos and events are all worth going to see at least once in a lifetime because they are full of fun and excitement. Lastly, since it is located in the southern area of the USA, it is much hotter than Chicago during this time of year. I would love to get out of this bone-chilling cold and relax with a plate of barbequed goodies in the sun.

Post 23: No one said ALL landscapes were pretty.

Disclaimer: The image of a shack in the foreground of a beach landscape greatly pertains to a story I'm currently writing for survey lit. So I decided to write a mini-story based on it! :)

Cedar hesitated a bit as he answered Kavana's droning question, "when can we hang at your place?". He looked into her glistening brown eyes and sighed, unsure of how to break the news to her that he lives in an abandoned shack. He's already told her too much. Too much about his brother, his drug-selling lifestyle and why he chooses to be reclusive. However, it still hasn't led to a common conclusion of a few insulting words from her. This surprised  Cedar, as he expected her to call him a dork, weirdo, loser, or his favorite--freak.

Now he's done it. He's said it. A little place on the shore, he says. Her eyes grow wide in surprise and curiosity. Kavana doesn't realize how nervous and regretful her new friend is, about how embarrassing his home looks compared to her normal house on a block of 8 other houses. Nevertheless, she insists that he show her his home, which is nothing she would have expected.

After traveling on foot for half an hour from the high school, Cedar and Kavana reach the shack. He points to it ever so reluctantly. Instead of screaming at him for what a bum he is, she gasps in surprise and runs up the stairs to inspect the interior. Instead of gagging at how dark and dreary it is, she jumps in excitement and begs Cedar to let her decorate it for him and his brother. She says she's always wanted to be an interior designer. This would be her first big project. What do you usually do here, how do you like waking up to the beautiful sunrises each morning, she asks as she continues to walk up and down the shore line with Cedar, now holding his pale, rough hand. A fifteen year old boy shouldn't have such rough hands, she adds.

"It's alright living up here, I guess. No heat or running water except for the restrooms and showers further down the shore. I've only been up here for 3 months, so I can't say how well this place would hold up in winter. Winters in Connecticut are the worst, so we'll see. Anyway...I do what any normal dude does here. Eat, sleep, play with my bro every now and then, swim and stuff. Are you serious you don't mind this place? You have to promise me you won't tell anyone, either." Cedar said softly, which made Kavana almost strain to hear him. She agreed to keep it a promise and told him her plans for it in the future.