Art Teacher Simulator

For the 2022 Innovate WithIN business pitch competition, I pitched a website called “cardboard.com”. This website would be home to thousands of uses of cardboard compiled in a free, easy-to-navigate format. It would encourage reuse of the versatile and amazing medium that is cardboard. However, I needed some proof that this was a decent idea.

That’s where my art teacher, Mrs. Burnworth comes in. With her sometimes lenient policies when it comes to productivity, I was able to teach two of her art classes for a week.

Of course she was still the presiding disciplinary officer, as that’s not something you can entrust to a 15 year-old, but I was leading the classes through their activities.

I chose to give each table group a prompt, and told them to use cardboard. They didn’t have to follow the prompt at all, but many groups leaned on them to get started.

My favorite prompt was “draw your favorite food… but alive”. Here are the incredible results:

And that was just one table group. I’d say I led an impressive amount of projects to fruition from just the two art classes. Here are most of the rest:

My business pitch didn’t go on to win any prizes, but this experience definitely won a positive spot in my memory for many years to come.

I spy with my artistic eye…

Something… forklift-ish? Not to go off on a tangent, but I love the suffix “-ish”. You can put it on anything! Buttery-ish, cool-ish, smart-ish, and it makes any word seem uncertain. Not that I’m a fan of uncertainty… but I digress.

When some people see an ordinary object, such as a metal bookend used in a library, creative minds see opportunity. I saw one such opportunity in this exact situation, from which a forklift was born.

The Forklift

It took an unnecesarily long time to make, but it turned out great! As of now it is on the front desk of NMPL, supporting a featured book selection.

The Post on NMPL's Instagram

The idea is not to turn everything into a forklift… (though now I’m thinking of how I could turn this keyboard into one…) the idea is rather to look at everyday objects differently. For a construction lead, that could be a clipboard. For a teacher, that could be your classroom pencils, whiteboard, or desk arrangement. For a librarian, that could be a bookend.

Creativity is not only the creation of new things and ideas, but also taking ordinary things and making them extraordinary.

Goodwill Builds (ft. Waffle Blanket)

The idea of timed, limited budget creations with a theme in mind is used all over cooking and game shows. You don’t need to be on a show however, to enjoy the creative energy associated with competing for the best thrown-together project. My aunt and I tried this ourselves at a Goodwill, and it went great!

We each started with a $20 budget, and the theme of “Disney” (though we both chose Star Wars ideas anyways) and tried to find everything we needed for our creations at Goodwill. I went into the challenge knowing exactly what I intended to create (a jetpack), while my aunt wasn’t so sure. After I had found my haul of guns and noisemakers, I came back to find she still wasn’t sure… And then we saw it. The infamous ugly green lamp. It was perfect.

The challenge played out quite well, ending in no clear winner (as my Mom was the judge), but two great results. Without much stress, only 6 or so hours, and only $20 each (plus an Arby’s lunch), we had a fantastic experience both of us enjoyed. I highly recommend doing something like this with a friend or family member when you get the chance.

Things you’ll need when trying this:

• Two people willing to look crazy in a GoodWill Store (you have to be to pick up that lamp)

• Basic home materials (glue, knives, cardboard, scissors, markers, paint etc.)

• A budget

• A theme

Have fun!

Utilizing Other Peoples’ Energy

Despite my attempts to minimize social media use due to its adverse effects on… well… basically everyone, I’m still on it. Specifically Instagram. What Instagram can be useful for (if I can resist the infinite scroll) is finding new art tips and tricks, along with boatloads of inspiration.

One of my previous posts mentioned how the Cardboard Queen taught me (via Instagram) a great edging technique when using corrugated cardboard that I now use regularly. However, what I have recently discovered-that is an even better motivator-is comments.

Yes, I know, I know: Comments in a social manner can oftentimes be degrading or repetitive, simply hating to hate, or praising to praise. The comments I’m talking about are related to an individual format: open-ended questions targeted towards your audience. One such response to my first “what characters would you want cubified?” question is as follows:

Now it may have been different if I didn’t know Lily personally, but the energy in this comment was nonetheless immense. How could I not suddenly want to see this character come to life just as badly?

So the next day, I created Buffy.

Yes, Buffy turned out amazing, and I feel was worth the time, but the real reward is the friends we made along the- nah just kidding. The real reward is knowing: If I’m in an artistic rut, not to continue trying to lean on my own interests, but to lean on another person’s. This way I can channel their energy through finishing the piece, knowing they will be thrilled with the result.

2d or 3d Art? Which do I prefer?

I don't necessarily want to take the easy way out and say "they each have their own uses", but I'm probably going to say something like that anyways.. 

The thing about 2d art, or "surface" art, is that nearly every art piece uses it. If I were to make, say, a cardboard dragon, even though it is clearly a 3d piece of art, painting each of those surfaces with a nice pattern is a "surface" art. (I'm sure there are better exaples)
Answering the question though, I prefer 3d art. There is just something about it being so there in the present, taking up space, that makes it more appealing to me. Yes, that means giant murals have that effect on me too. But sketchbooks (though I love them), as well as canvas paintings, just don't get that "Wow" factor that a 3d piece does. 
I like it when the concept drawing has to be drawn from more than two angles because there is so much more offered in the third dimension than available on a piece of paper. 
Short answer: 3d, long answer: both.

MiPads

Compensation is when one tries to replace something they can't have with something else. 
This can take the form of eating extra desserts after you work out or giving yourself a longer break after an extra stressful assignment (not admitting to either, simply acknowledging them). 
MiPads were my compensation for not having a phone.

The Advertisement Poster

They were either really creative, or... nevermind. I'll go with MiPads were a creative replacement for phones. Sure, they had zero functionality and were even more rudimentary than most "play phones" children are given, but they were my zero functionality cardboard phones.
MiPads were two pieces of carboard taped together. One was cut to have a packaging-tape screen, and the other was the decorated back case. Due to the groundbreaking technology, they could have papers inserted behind the clear screen to simulate a phone. These all had to be hand-drawn, as printing without a computer to print from is quite tricky. 
I sold a couple MiPads (don't sue me Apple), but then stopped making them when I had more consistent access to a computer. They were a fun idea, and I've seen a couple other iterations from people since. 
I don't want to go on a rant about how children nowadays don't even need to have a pretend phone, they simply have a phone in their hands from birth, so I won't. I won't rant about how I was one of the last kids in my school to get a phone and I was hardly 13. I simply won't address the exponentially growing social issues connected with phones because I'm part of them.  
MiPads were a great compensation concept realization, but compensated for the wrong monster.

I designed my own Rodeo Stampede Animals

Rodeo Stampede is the best mobile game out there. 
The range of animals you can collect, and the struggle you endure to collect them makes the whole game simply amazing. Created in 2016, this endless runner also features all the clever animal names. 

But no no no, the creators don't shut out the community's creativity. They hold semi-annual animal design competitions, with the ultimate prize being your design in the game!! Honestly, free work for the creators, why wouldn't they do this. 
Of course, being an avid fan, I chimed in with a couple of designs. 

The two shown are the WhaleMan and the Shoester (the shoester is my personal favorite) but some other brainstormed ideas included (but were not limited to):

• Sea Hurdle

• Tricerabops

• Groovester

• Chanta Ray

• Triceranaps

• Planta Ray (this one became a thing, but by another person's design)

• Snale (snail/whale)

• Sea Wordle 

• Bikeratops

• Pieger

• Mooster

• Gooseter

• Hoopster

• Santa Ray

• Wail (sad whale)

• Fanta Ray

• Manta Tray

• Manta Pray

• Tieger

• Rindocerous

• Cluester

• Tea Turtle

Suffice it to say, there are a lot more animal puns and names that can be unleashed upon the world through Rodeo Stampede.
​I'm not sure the world can handle that quite yet. ​

I drew a house

I had wanted to do this for a while, but hadn't known which house to draw. Then came a day I decided to bike around town with my sketchpad and pencils and search until I found one. I came across a nice one shortly after, and sat down to sketch. Nothing was unordinary about sitting on the sidewalk drawing a house, but it was a bit chilly, so I hurried. 
I finished the drawing and went to knock on the door. 
I explained that I liked the lady's house, and handed her the drawing. To my elation she accepted it, and seemed pleasantly surprised. 
A couple weeks later she spotted my Mother at church (I had stayed home that day) and praised the drawing, saying their family loved it so much, it is now framed and on their wall.
It took less than an hour to draw.

How to make the Perfect Christmas gift

As Christmas is rounding the corner, I thought I'd take a little time to talk through my thought process when making gifts. 
There are dozens of factors that like to freeze people in their tracks, including, "Will they like it?" "Do they already have it?" and even "Where do I start?". All of these are solved by how I go about it.
If you deem yourself a non-creative and are unwilling to make gifts yourself, then this won't help you. But if you have any handy skills whatsoever, beit woodworking, papercrafts, painting, etc. etc., this works great.

I start with finding something that the giftee really likes. This often happens by holding a normal conversation, and aiming questions towards the air of preferences until I have a solid idea. This solves question number one: "Will they like it". By picking something they already have a fascination with, how could they not? 
Next, I make something with this idea in mind. The "Where do I start" question is answered by "What do I know how to do?". For instance, my go-to gift nowadays includes something made from cardboard, as I have plenty of it at the ready, and experience galore using it. The perk of making the gift, is that it answers the "Do they already have it?" question, and also prevents them from recieving the same gift twice, as something handmade is one-of-a-kind in its purest form. 
Not only will they like it because they like what it represents, but the time you sink into it shows that you truly care. Handmade gifts have a sentimental value no matter your age or skill level. Parents look at handwritten cards from kids far more lovingly than the tasty box of chocolates they devoured the day they recieved it. 
Whatever you decide getting your loved ones for Christmas this holiday season, consider making it by hand! It really makes it the perfect gift.

Why Sketchbooks are the Greatest Thing Ever

I've begun to develop a fascination with documentation.
I've thought of a future in which I keep weekly journals that document my children's lives, and recreate pictures each year to show how they grow. 
Sketchbooks do this with art. 

If the pages are used in a chronological order, these books document growth as an artist.
Looking back at sketches I made in the third grade, I can see the creativity, but moreso I can see how I've improved. The ability to know "I can make this so much better now" is incredible. 
Sketchbooks may not be as convenient as a digital flashdrive or a physical folder from which you can rearrange and display the art. That does not prevent them from still being amazing in their own rights. The fact that you can hold a sketchbook and know years of your life were spent throughout it is wondrous. 
Sure, canvasses and cardboard will always be great mediums, but the simplicity and perfection of sketchbooks will keep me buying them for years to come.