My favorite piece

This  is my favorite piece that I did for drawing class last term. It was done with charcoal pencil and vine charcoal.  I like drawing faces and i think this one came out well. The original picture that we drew  from was by michaelangelo:

 

If Google had all the answers

     If I could ask Google any question, I would ask where I should go and what I should major in for college. This would be after I googled the answers to world hunger and peace, of course. It's really stressful trying to decide what to do, when your whole future lies in your decision. It would be awesome to just let someone else (Google) make the decision and feel totally confidant that I'm doing the right thing.  Then I would feel a lot better that I'm not wasting my money in college learning things that will be useless to me, or wasting my time in a major that I will end up switching.

Individual Responsibility

     I actually had to bring this topic up to my family to see what they thought before I could begin to organize my thoughts enough to write something about this. This is definitely a big subject, and my opinion on it changes as does the situation. In a situation like the dog example, I think that if an individual was at all in doubt that the animal is okay, it is their individual responsibility to act on it if there is no one else doing so.
     When I was talking to my family, my sister said that a situation that involves individual responsibility that she is most familiar with is bullying. She brought up the point that sometimes it is hard to tell if two people are teasing each other as friends, or if someone is being harassed. I think that people are reluctant to get involved and find out the real case because they are afraid of making a big deal out of it when in fact there was nothing going on at all. On the other hand, if it was later found out that the person was being harassed and ended up having emotional issues or having to transfer schools, anyone would feel guilty for not speaking up when they had the chance.
     Sometimes in situations like these people think 'why should I stop to help when the next person or the next person will stop to help?' Well, that just may be what every other person is thinking, and there is no guarantee that anyone will stop and help unless you yourself stop and take the individual responsibility to make sure that everything is okay.
     I think that my dad has a great sense of individual responsibility. Many times I have waited in the car when he stopped on the side of the road to see if the people in the broken down car needed any help, or watched as he took the initiative to make sure the person struggling with a heavy load could make it okay. I think part of this is because he has often been in similar situations himself when no one has come to help, and knows how much just someone asking 'are you okay?' can help to let them know that at least someone stopped to think about the problems they may be having.
    When we were talking about individual responsibility, my dad brought up the point that in some cases, it is our individual responsibility not to take action. He gave the example of a physical fight, where we might be hurt trying to break it up. He said it is our responsibility to make it some other person's responsibility, such as a teacher or a police officer.
     Another example that I can think of is when I had my training to be a CNA. As a worker in a medical facility, CNAs are considered 'mandatory reporters' and must report any abuse or negligence that they may have witnessed. They are not required to step in themselves to stop the abuse or wrongdoing, only to report the incident so that it can be intervened professionally.
    I could probably go on about this for a long time, but I already wrote more than I planned to. Main point: I think that any kind person would take individual responsibility in a case where there are many people who could react, just to take the extra step in making sure that everything is okay.

Fairytales

       If I could research any one topic for a whole semester, I would choose to research cultures and their folklore. These would be stories that people told before they had written word. In Russia they told stories of the witch Baba Yaga, Native Americans had many stories about the spirits of the Earth that had a lot to do with their religion,  and so many cultures have stories that tell a lot about what they believe and the way they lived. One of my favorite tales is called 'One eye, two eyes, three eyes', or 'Wee Little Havroshechka' and it is like a version of Cinderella. I also love Greek and Roman mythology and all the culture and traditions tied to such beliefs. I could spend a lot of time researching mythology and how one culture's beliefs may have effected another's, or be connected in some way. I have always loved Disney movies, and most are based off of folklores and myths. Hercules of course, is based on mythology, but The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, the frog princess and sleeping beauty are too. Its just cool to see how ancient stories can tie in with present culture and tradition.

Wordle.net

Symmetry

So this art assignment was to draw something with symmetry! Real boring but easy enough to do with colored pens and markers. I like the stuff we're doing in class better (actual portraits w/ models) but at least this wasn't hard to do.

Dreams

I never really have dreams- or at least I never remember them. But when I was younger I would always have dreams that my parents would take me to an aquarium and then accidently leave me there over night, and I had to find my way out with all the lights off and a bunch of creepy fish staring at me. This is probably why I think fish are so creepy to this very day. I refused to swim in lakes when I was younger because I thought the fish would bite my toes off :(

Advice

The question is 'what is the best advice you have given or someone has given you?'
I think that the best advice I've ever recieved came from my DARE class when I went to St. Paul's. Our DARE officer came in every so often when we were in fifth grade. I still remember the class when we were talking about personal choices. Our officer told us that every single thing in life that we do, we do because we want to do it. We do volunteer service because we want to. We do our homework because we want to. We are mean to people because we want to. We skip school because we want to. His advice to us was to want the right things. If we wanted to have a successful life, then we would want to go to school and get good grades. If we wanted others to be happy, then we would be kind and help others. He told us that people who make the wrong choices are doing what they want only within the moment, and not thinking further ahead. I always remember this advice, because sometimes I've had a long day and I think 'I really don't want to go to school tomorrow,' but it only takes me a little while to decide, yes, I really do.

Take home art assisgnment

    In drawing class we had a take-home art assignment to do a pen and ink drawing of an object around the house.... Well everything in my house is boring so I drew one of the fancy hats in the art room :). It was pretty fun to draw, but i messed up on the netting big time. I didn't spend as much time on it as I should have, and it could look a little better, but I pretty much got results equal to my effort which is good. The next take-home assignment is to draw something symmetrical. I have a feeling I'm going to hate this assignment.

The Help

Right now I am reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett, and it has been a good read so far. It's set in the 60's in Mississippi and it's about three women. One of them is the help for a family with their first child. The other woman is a maid who lost her job because she back-talks too much. The last woman is a white woman who wants to write a book about what it's like to be a colored maid working for a white family. The book is great in general, but is also good for learning more about segregation because of all the historical details the author includes. There are a lot of books written about the unequal treatment of races in the south, so sometimes it's a little redundant after you've read a  few. But I actually really like this book, maybe just because it's very well written. The other books I've read about these issues during the same time period are Devil on my Heels, and the Secret Life of Bees (which is also a great movie).

Pen and Ink

For drawing class, we have an at-home assignment to draw something in pen and ink. It has to be an observational drawing, but I'm trying to think of something good to draw because pen and ink is my favorite medium, along with water colors. I love how super detailed you can get with the different size pen tips, or nibs. I like the flexible tips for more variation in lines, but the stiffer ones are good for clean drawings. My favorite part though, is the true black you can get with the ink. It puts great contrast between the black and white. Pencils can go pretty dark, but you can never really get the same saturated black that you can with ink. You can also switch it up by doing white ink on black paper, and so focusing on the negative spaces of the drawing, which can lead to some pretty interesting effects. The pics I put in have good examples of details like cross-hatching and stippling. I'm asking a lot of the AP art students to do pen and ink drawings, because they would look awesome in the Indigo Ink this year, because it will be in black and white. The cover this year will also be a pen and ink drawing. I'm excited to do my drawing and see my classmates' results and encourage them to submit to Indigo Ink!

TAG- A to Zen

     In our TAG class, we received a list of A to Zen (each letter of the alphabet representing something), and are supposed to comment on two of them. The one that I liked the most was probably C: consider things from every angle. This is definitely something that everybody should try to incorporate more into their daily lives. This includes seeing the other side of an argument, sympathizing with somebody by looking into their point of view, and being less judgemental of others, and instead trying to understand them as a person. When I saw the list I thought this was probably one of the most important, because if everyone followed it, it would eliminate so many issues. There would be less arguments and fights, everyone would be able to understand each other, and there would be less stereotypes.Sometimes it's hard to consider a subject, or idea, from another angle. Especially so for kids. They haven't had all of the experience that older people have, and they find it hard to see from an adults point of view. Remember the saying 'you'll understand when you're older'? It can also be hard for adults to relate to their children, or younger people. This also goes for people of different backgrounds, people from different countries, etc. It can be frustrating when another person doesn't understand the same concepts that you do. But it is so important to make the effort to make a connection by looking at things from a different angle. And even if it you don't agree with a person, at least you will understand their point of view and that will give you more respect for that person, and hopefully vice versa. (awww)

B- Believe in yourself- This is the other concept that really stood out to me. It's probably one of the most overused (hackneyed :P) sayings, but for a good reason. If you don't believe in yourself, then you won't have any self confidence, and if you don't have any self confidence, then you are a sad person. If you believe in yourself, you will have the confidence to know that you can do whatever you want, and you will reach for greater goals and have better self-motivation. Believing in yourself helps you to be more outgoing and driven. If you don't believe in yourself, then how can you expect others to? You would have low expectations of yourself and never feel the need to heighten those expectations. This ideal is definitely necessary to grow as a person. I think kids start off with a lot of self-confidence, but as they grow up they go through many changes that they're not used to, and it causes them to lose confidence. As a person matures, the goal is to gain back all that self confidence in order to be a functional person. I think this one is really important, because believing in yourself allows you to stand up for yourself and your ideas, and to be the best you can be.

Elegantees

Elegantees.com is an online boutique created by Katie Behnke. She grew up in Sherrill, Iowa, a small town near Dubuque, but moved to New York to start her dream of having her own fashion line. Her line's slogan is 'The marriage of elegant and tees.' She has a lot of really awesome shirts that have subtle and cool designs. I own two of her shirts, and I really love them. But here's the best part about buying from Katie's online store: the profits of the sales go to an organization to fight sex trafficking. The shirts are a great price for how high quality they are and the ones I have are super comfy :). Katie also feels very strongly about modesty, and creates modest and stylish looks. She came out with a dress line too, so be sure to check out her website (elegantees.com). She also has a facebook page, and a blog called 'Katie's modest style'. And don't be afraid to splurge, because the profits go to a good cause ;)

p.s. That's Katie in the photos, she models a lot of her own clothing

First Woman Doctor

So this is my first assigned post for my TAG class. The question is, if you could travel through time and talk to a prominent historical figure, who would you choose and why?
Wellllll.... I would have to say Elizabeth Blackwell; the first woman doctor. I've been thinking a lot more lately about the medical field what with my Nurse Aide classes and thinking about college. Being in medical isn't a pretty job and it takes true dedication to decide its what you want to do with your life. Its definitely not a job for the squemish. So I think its really admirable that Blackwell wanted to be a doctor so much that she worked so hard to be allowed to practice as a woman doctor. There were so many easier jobs she could have taken, but she chose a challenging one, and on top of it came the task of convincing people to let her practice even though she was a woman. It would be very revealing to meet her and talk to her and ask her what her motivation was- what drove her to strive for the top. In a time when the only reason women went to college was to find a husband, Blackwell did exceedingly well by becoming the first woman to graduate from medical school.