For this assignment we had to create 3D shapes without using glue to connect The sides. For the cube and the triangle I used cardboard and attached the corners with pins. For the one with the straws I first used tape to build the base of the shape then I sewed the sides together with a needle and thread.

Thursday February 9 2017

My whole life I’ve told myself that my feelings aren’t as important as others. I’ve repetitively told people that I was fine because I was afraid of opening up, but that only caused a bigger conflict within myself. He used to tell me that I didn’t fight enough when we were together but I did. I swam, I swam 12 oceans and drowned in every single one of them, and each time the water seeped into my lungs and the fish started swimming in my bloodstream, I spat it all up, looked at him in the eyes and said “nothing is wrong” and continued swimming. But I am no longer a life raft; I will not pop in the middle of the ocean when he needs me and when it is convenient for him. I will make it to the shore alive and when I do, I wont have to speak because my eyes will express to you that I made it on my own and that “I am fine.”

Eventually, the tide will lower and you will reach the shore the same way I did. You will find yourself lying down in the sand taking a deep breath and filling your lungs with fresh air while looking up at the baby blue sky. Your thoughts assemble. All the people you ever loved, all the people who ever hurt you and all the people who you have hurt align perfectly in the clouds. That’s when you come to peace with yourself. You get up, wipe off the sticky sand from your body and walk away from the ocean. I’ve realized that not everything is supposed to turn into something beautiful and long lasting. Sometimes people come into our lives to show us our potential, to teach us to love ourselves, or maybe just someone to walk with at night and spill our secrets to. We cannot run from our feelings, instead we must learn how to integrate them into our life and let them guide us. The process of our feelings and each experience, memory and feeling stays engraved in our minds throughout our life and that’s what shapes us. The secret to reaching that is to silence the mind, let the heart heal, be at peace and remember that everything happens for a reason. We need to find serenity and healing in our mind and that can only be reached through the acceptance of ones self after going through so much hardship.

Wednesday, February 8 2017

Creativity can’t be taught, it’s an act of self exploration. This thought came to me late at night. I was  thinking about how i go to art school and what i’ve been learning about. Until now i haven’t been taught once how to be creative because i don’t think that’s something one can teach. i think creativity comes from not giving yourself boundaries, not being afraid to try new things, being curious, wanting to know more about yourself and about the world, how you see yourself, how others see you, how you see the world and what your purpose is. It’s being self aware and in the moment. I think putting all of these together is what brings you to self exploration and with that comes creativity. I believe everyone can be creative but not everyone knows how to unleash it or find it within themselves. It’s about being in touch with your inner self, things you’re passionate about, and things you dislike, things you’re good at and things you need to work on and the most important tool to have while doing all of this is self confidence. not being afraid and not saying no to your heart. Allowing your mind to wander and knowing that you’re unique and different from everyone in every way possible and that its a beautiful thing. What you can bring to the table others can’t or even if they can it can never be thought out in the same way. a lot of us are afraid of knowing ourselves but I believe it’s the most important thing to do and it’s the first thing we need to do because finding and knowing ourselves leads to beautiful things and self doubt can only kill us.

 Negative Space drawing Positive Space Drawing

For Project 1 we were asked to pick an object that reminded us of home and a place we are deeply connected to. The most important part of this assignment was the way we used the page and where/how we decided to place our object and why. The object I chose was my perfume bottle because I used to always wear it back home so now when I smell it, it always brings back enormous amount of memories. For my positive space drawing I decided to place the object as if it was a continuation of each other, because it’s something that’s a big part of who i’ve become and completes me in many ways. For my negative space drawing I decided to do a repetition of my object diagonally across the page to represent the whiff of the perfume along with all of the memories it brings back. Both drawings work with each other because the positive space drawing could be a zoomed in version of the negative space drawing.

I learned a lot throughout this project, because I did a zoomed in version on a big piece of paper I learned that throughout the process it was helpful to put up my drawing pad and look at it from a distance. That’s one thing that improved the accuracy and making sure it was as even as possible. The negative space drawing was a good learning experience. Since it’s only the outline of the object and you can’t add detail, you were obligated to think about the ways you could make the drawing interesting for the audience as well as tell your story and I believe my drawings successfully conveyed the meaning behind them. These skills will come in handy in the future, it has opened my eyes to the ways in which I can use my page. The way the object is placed can convey a lot more meaning than I had imagined. It has also caused me to think about the different ways I can give meaning through simplicity, which is why i’m glad this project was entirely with pencil and charcoal.

Tuesday, February 8 2017

I often wonder if the only way to create beautiful art is through pain. It is often said that pain creates the most beautiful art whether it’s books, poems, drawings, paintings etc.. but does all art have to have a deep meaning. Or why do we assume that the meaning behind art pieces are always something incredibly emotional. Is sadness the only way we are able to give meaning or connect to our audience? They say that mutual struggles bring people closer together but what about mutual happiness? It’s interesting how the feeling of sadness always has the power to overcome the feeling of joy. Or how a moment of pain can last years whereas a moment of happiness last sometimes only a few minutes before we forget about it. So is it possible for an art piece with a happy meaning to reach out and touch people as strongly as a painful one ?
That energy is also carried out in museums. The ambience of Museums aren’t jolly, playful and happy. They’re usually quiet, proper and focused. And Without anything distracting you, you’re forced to listen and interact with your thoughts. I just find it interesting the way the tone and mood is set. In many ways I understand why it’s made that way but I also wonder what it would be like to create an environment in a museum where people were able to freely interact and express themselves in whatever way they felt.and that makes me wonder.. if art is meant for people to freely express themselves then how come we lock them in museums. If art is a form of freedom then why do we preserve them and lock them up in rooms. if we put famous paintings in the city instead of a restricted area. Would we be able to interact and understand it better ? Rather than be forced to stare at it hanging from a white wall with no real life interaction.

Sunday, February 5th 2017

I often wonder if technology has made us lazy when it comes to interpreting the things around us. Whether its art, books, people, life even in school. I get scared that the more technology increases the less our brain develops. The amount of times i hear the phrase “ill just google it” after a question is asked is too often. What ever happened to the beauty in writing poems about the world we so fondly observed, or getting lost in books, going out with friends not to take pictures of each other in order to get a “good insta pic” but to live and be in the moment with the ones we love. What ever happened to the beauty in writing letters to our loved ones or creating memories and moments by being in each others presence not in front of our screens. The amount of interaction we have with one another is constantly decreasing, we’re becoming more socially awkward and it’s sad to see so many of us obsessing over creating a “perfect” life on instagram while missing out on our real lives, on being emotionally connected to someone, on lying down in cold green grass on summer days and looking at the shapes the clouds are forming and enjoying real moments. when did our phones become the biggest comforter? When did it start taking over our lives ? Why are we so interested in building posting pictures other people will approve of instead of what we like and who we actually are when there’s no audience to please. and while you’re creeping other peoples instagrams to see what or where they are  they’re actually out there living so why can’t we do things for ourselves for once, things we actually like, instead of constantly trying to please others, because at the end of the day we can’t fool ourselves and to try and live our lives pretending to be someone else is a waste of who we are. Joan Didion touches upon this in “On keeping a notebook” She says “it’s a difficult point to admit. We are brought up in the ethic that others, any others, all others, are by definition more interesting than ourselves; taught to be diffident, just this side of self effacing.”

Monday, February 6 2017

I think if I was the subject to someone’s art piece the part they would focus on would either be my eyes or my hands. Ever since I was little I never talked a lot especially not about the way I felt. I would always bottle feelings up and would never empty myself. Not for a while at least. I still don’t but I guess I’ve gotten a little better at it. People always ask me why don’t you blow up when people piss you off or why don’t you tell them how you feel? Why don’t you tell them you dont like this or you do like this what are you even feeling ? I always hated talking about myself because I feel like I would be too vulnerable. But now I just hate talking because every time I try to express myself I cry and I hate crying in front of others. But for the ones who know me the two parts of me that can truly depict how I’m feeling are my eyes or my hands.
My eyes never seem to be able to hold back tears   and my hands because I can never stop playing with something when I’m feeling upset
I either play with my hair or something I’m wearing.