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Why a Blog?
I’ve always loved sharing my ideas to whoever will listen, especially when it comes to art. A lot of them are horrible or plain goofy, but a couple are worthwhile! This site is a way for me not only to improve my communication and writing skills, but to share my creativity with the world! I hope one day somebody may be inspired by my writing or art and go on to do things greater than I could have ever dreamed of.
Duck Architecture is SO COOL
My first interaction with Duck Architecture was, of course, via the internet. Of course I had seen the Oscar Mayer hot dog vehicle before, but that’s hardly architecture. Besides, the internet showed me Paperville on creativebloom.com. Instant hook. It’s paper. After I’d seen it, months went by with it tickling my mind every once in a while. Then, bam. I attended an art camp and made some awesome new friends.Incredible, really.
Now THAT’S how you run an Art Camp
Now how do you host an “art” camp? Are group projects the answer? Is it a large collection of demos by various artists? How do you get the students to soak in all the strategies in such a short time?I feel the IWU Art + Design department has the process down beautifully.
Thoughts about My First Ever Workshop
Well first off, it was amazing. Second off, it was tiring. There’s simply a way about kids that brings energy and yet saps energy at the same time. I’m not talking my age of “kid”, rather around the tween age (9-12). The group for my first ever workshop was an amazing group of tweens who regularly attend a group my library calls “Between Makers” (very clever naming). There were about 8 who really got into the activity, and it was amazing guiding them through the creation process.
The Legend that is Harry Smiles
I actually didn’t know who Harry Styles was until I was 14. If you still don’t know, Harry Styles is an English singer, songwriter, and actor (according to Google). He was a part of the famous boy band One Direction until they broke apart, and he still holds the hearts of so many teenage girls to this day. I had never joined the One Direction listeners, nor followed them into their individual music careers until a friend of mine forcefully recommended I do.
The Heads or Tails Machine
A.K.A. another post about “What is really pointless?” Just kidding. This machine doesn’t even make an argument of usefulness.
The idea was sparked when I heard about a “probability” themed project in sixth grade Pre-Algebra. The idea being an overengineered coin flipping machine… of course.
The significance of June 25th
Some preliminary research reveals that June 25th is National Catfish Day (I’m assuming the actual fish) as well as Strawberry Parfait Day, Color TV Day, Log Cabin Day, and Global Beatles Day. It was also the day North Korea invaded South Korea and began the Korean war, and was the day of the Battle of Little Big Horn (a day that left us questioning if it was just a medium-sized horn).
But it’s also the day my Instagram account will be deleted. On purpose.
Preserved Through Planning
This was actually the first time I had heard directed at me “So I have these cool, valuable items that no longer really serve a utilitarian purpose, and would love a display made for them.”
Well, not exactly that wording, but basically that message.
Behind the Business (Cards)
For the longest time, cutting straight lines was a nightmare. Anything professional-looking has straight lines (or perfectly curved lines). The second something looks like it was hand-cut by scissors is when it loses credibility.
I cut hundreds of bookmarks by hand for my Moosey Club, but that practice never resulted in perfection, and even years later I still cannot hand-cut a perfectly straight line.
That is, until I got a new office chair.
My Kind of American Football
You know those hat days that American schools have every so often? One of those was incredible for me thanks to my clumsiness.
Of course I didn’t mean to bump my ceramic-ish moose head off its spot on the wall and let it crash to the floor, only saving an antler… twice… but it resulted in a cool project.
Define Useless…
Is anything ever truly useless?
How to have a Productive Break
Either it’s just me, or you too have a hobby that you think might be able to go somewhere.
For me, it’s art.
The Word of the Day is Patience
…at least that’s what I said the day I went to the University of Indianapolis’ “Riveting” Workshop at which I learned the wonderful new skill of joining metal sheets. However, I’m finding patience to be an extremely common need in art in an even broader sense.
Old Vehicles into Park Benches
If I were to create a TV show, it would probably be called something along the lines of “Junkyard Dreams” and feature me, along with a bunch of creative friends, turning stuff from a trash heap into art. (Oh boy, now I might just have to make that a reality).
One such “dream” is turning an old vehicle into a park bench.
Just imagine: There’s a rusty old minivan with no wheels and missing seats. The airbag is gone and the glovebox is missing entirely. The radio definitely doesn’t work, and the doors and windows were taken off years ago. I’d say that’s a perfect opportunity for a park bench.
Overdoing it
Sometimes inspiration strikes in the most unnecessary moments.
One such moment would be a United States History project in which the task is to create a cereal box advertising one of Roosevelt’s New Deal Programs.
Not only did I have an amazing idea of how I would advertise the CWA (Civil Works Administration), but I had the audacity to challenge a similarly creative friend to see who could create the better box. I won in the end… but not without ridiculous amounts of effort on my part.
How to sketch a sculpture
In a sculpture class my sophomore year of high school, I was introduced to the material that is foam core (I think that’s its official name). Foam core is a sort of thin-ish sheet of foam with paper glued on either side, making it firm. To work with it you must have very sharp knives, else the foam will tear away in chunks when cut. You also must be very cognizant of the way you are holding the knife, as with the depth of foam core, holding it at an angle will affect the edge.
Proportional Importance
Now why, you may wonder, would this boy write about proportions in art when he clearly doesn’t know anything about them? That’s where you would be mistaken. Just because I choose to dismiss standard proportions in most of my art does not mean I am unaware of them.
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 collected 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.
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.
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!
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.