Week 9: Preparation for Final Papers & Presentations
8:00AM: Silence.This week was the first time I was late for class this quarter. It was also the second time my cellphone’s alarms have failed to ring. If my fellow classmate hadn’t texted me, I probably would not have caught any of our class session. This made me wonder what teachers would ever do if they slept in. I remember that in elementary school, the next-door teacher would check on us occasionally if our teachers were late (if they ever did sleep in, they never told us).
9:00AM: Turn over. Silence.
10:04AM: DING-DONG. Crack eyes open. “WHERE R U?”
10:05AM: SLJFSKLDFJWOIEFJWEKLFJSKLJFS
During class, we learned about what sorts of ethnographic factors we could keep in mind while analyzing our fieldwork and writing our papers. If I were to pick one single thing that stood out to me from the whole lesson, it would be the analogy from one of the quotes (I wasn’t able to jot down the name or the exact diction). I believe I remembered this part the best because it was something that actually made me stop to think about what the author was exactly trying to convey. Blinking and winking are essentially the same thing- but one is a conscious act that may or may not take certain skill. It sounds silly, but before that day, I had never really associated the two together. My way of thinking is very methodical, so I had always categorized blinking in the “essential body part function” and winking as “something to convey emotion.” Dr. Shimshon-Santo pointed out that the two are really just the top and bottom lids coming together. The difference in the way the body approaches doing so is very great, however. Parallel this concept with writing, and one has a wonderful analogy of a paper and its potential contents.
When it came time to gather into our groups for discussing our final paper outlines and sharing ideas, I thought that the activity task was for us to create the “media collection” on the spot, etc: commence frantic note-taking and sketching of shared anecdotes.We found that a common experience was that there was not always much time to observe our fieldwork closely. This is understandable, as the Bowers Kidseum already has staff members who do a fantastic job of telling stories and educating the children about history. At the very least, we were able to experience and comprehend how much educators need to prepare prior to actual instruction time.
From what I gather, the best time to go to the Bowers Museum to volunteer is during the Free First Sundays, which is the event I attended during my first field work session. That is when there are many visitors (guaranteed). If possible, work at the festival event at the Museum to have the best observation/participatory work opportunities.
A common observation we all had was the wide spectrum of the ways parents treated their children during the art activities- but this can be further explored in our papers. Thank you for the great planning, group! (:
Week 8: Making a Circle
My phone’s memory card had a hardware failure - my pictures were unfortunately lost. ):
This week, our class had a lengthy discussion about the “good” and “bad” teachers. As always, it is important to remember one’s past experiences to help guide what should be done in the future. Much of the class conversation reflected what is actually troubling UCI at the moment. For example, there was the question as to whether more money should be invested in retaining “good” teachers/instructors, or to spend those funds on improving other class conditions.
In an open forum with UC Provost Pitts, a common question was,
“Why are executives receiving up to an 8% increase in salary, while faculty are being cut?”The simple and watered down answer was that the “better faculty” were possibly going to take opportunities elsewhere. For example, UCI’s faculty member A might have been offered another position at University Somewhere Else; UCI would offer this great faculty member A a raise in efforts to keep them at UCI. However, the sacrifice would be met by the conditions of other aspects of education (ex. material, other faculty cuts).
This situation is not as simple as it seems.
The university administrators may not always have the means to act as good judges of “good” or “bad” teachers, but they have hints: student reviews and grades. As biased as student reviews may be, there could potentially be somewhat of a consensus to tell a story about the individual’s strengths as an instructor. Unfortunately, many of the K-12 teachers do not have these kinds of written reflections. The school executives invest in the teachers- also known as the ones who render great test scores- who are essentially keeping their schools from the No-Child-Left-Behind-Graveyard.
I have not done enough research to even be called knowledgeable about this situation. However, I know that this issue reflects the uncertainty the class had about what the schools could utilize to declare the teachers “good” or “bad.”
We also shared our outlines for our field work analysis final papers. Even though I initially found the assignment very structured, there were so many different ideas presented (similar to the color wheel activity)! I almost became unsure as to whether my thesis should be more or less specific.
Finally, our class was fortunate enough to be exposed to a spoken word artist (I caught her name). I believe that when the teacher is truly able to engage his/her audience as she did, they would be able to inspire at least a handful of his/her students. I had the same thought as one of the comments given during our discussion: when she paused, we weren’t sure if she could not remember the words, or if the emotions and memories of the narrator were too painful to process all at once.
I’m going to miss our art studio activities! Until next time. (:
Week 7: Trash
We began this class session with understanding that there are different forms of representation of what we see (Anchory Based Learning). We all proceeded to represent the trash in mathematical equations and sketches/stories. I chose the personally-easy way out and sketched what I saw. What I was more entertained by, however, were the fun creative writing pieces that some classmates made. Even though we only had a few tables with only so few piles of trash, all the representations of the said number piles of trash utilized different perspectives; while some focused on small pieces, others depicted larger landscapes.
By having us simply bring in our trash and choosing different representations of them, we were literally forced to look and think about what we consume and use on a daily basis. One of the goals of this activity was to be able to create something that could make us more aware of what we, as human beings who coexist with other organisms, throw away- and something that could bring more attention to sustainability. Vocabulary words included assemblage, community, consumption, biodegrade.
I chose to make a turtle for my “creature of trash” because of my recent/very delayed discovery. The park has this relatively large pond (?) with turtles, which I had previously thought were fake. However, even in this park that not only has ducks, geese, seagulls, and turtles, people still carelessly leave behind garbage from parties. Tossing all the trash I had from the day into a bag truly made me aware of how much I throw away on a daily basis. It irritates me when people carelessly put something that could be potentially recycled in the trash bin, but it enrages me when people knowingly toss their garbage in non-designated areas.
Thank you Nature-Education.ORG for the image on the left, and kittivisianlife.com for the image on the right.
Life is literally muzzled and rendered speechless by carelessness. Turtles might not know any better than to chew on the plastic- which they mistaken as food- but we do. We are able to utilize our intelligence to make better choices, but we choose not to. If we simply took a few seconds to look at the things we are disposing before doing so, we could be recycling so much more. There are many food take-out containers with the recyclable icon- which are so often ignored.
ASIDE: Did you know that the restaurant Gen at University Town Center uses high quality plastic in their bowls? The higher the number in the recyclable icon (the three arrows that make a triangle), the better the quality of the plastic/material. This is why so many water bottles are only made with “1” plastic. Gen uses “6” plastic in their bowls and “6” styrofoam! How many times (if you had their takeout) have you thrown away the bowl simply because you could, or because you did not look?
My “Ninja Turtle” has a creamer container as its shell. As mentioned before, the trash that is carelessly tossed away ends up inside of the life that does not know any better. Even though the majority of the creamer is gone from its container, the essence of it still remains; a chemically synthesized sweetener, deprived of any natural ingredients, stays inside of what is supposed to be natural life. The fact that the turtle’s limbs and head are made of a plastic bag represent the fact that turtles sometimes confuse plastic bags for jellyfish and consume them.
If I were to present this activity to a class, I would not change the main components. The only thing I can think of to change would be the type of video to show. From personal experience, I know that this studio activity most definitely made me consider what was asked of us. Everything seems to be appropriate for even young children; as depressing as it is, they need to understand the enormity of the issue at hand. It takes the truth- not censored and watered-down material- to give one even a smidgeon of comprehension.
Week 6: Dance Part II
The front side of the room, empty, before the activity begins.
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We warmed up for the dancing portion by running around and choosing a point of contact with a partner. This time, we made obstacle courses with our bodies, with an emphasis on the concept of different types of negative space we create.
We also taught each other our dance phrases from the previous class session. Although our partners had already had some sort of exposure to the different components of our phrases, it still took some type of instruction to teach our peers. There were even greater challenges when we were told to integrate weight shifts into our combined phrases. This reminded me very much of high school lacrosse practices- to be light on our feet and to be able to shift our weight when needed.
The front side of the room, empty, before the activity begins.
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Another display, the Blue Morph, emphasized the intensity of life and movement in even what seems extremely miniscule. To be frank, even though this display held the spotlight, I did not feel that great of a connection with it. This feeling could perhaps be influenced by the fact that I did not actually immerse myself in interacting with the exhibit.
Nanomandala: Sand art, from the big image to the simple single sand grain.
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If integrated into an art lesson, I would probably choose this visit to such a center to take place in the beginning. I’m currently unsure as to how this could be integrated in an actual studio-activity lesson for younger audiences, but I know the main concept behind the exhibit reminds its audience that the arts and other fields are intertwined in more ways than one. This would show the students of the class that the arts could maybe bring about a different kind of appreciation for the different occurrences/aspects of life.
Field Work: Valentines Day Weekend at the Bowers Kidseum
Activity example wreaths for the kids.
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This past weekend, I completed my field work hours at the Bowers Kidseum. I wish I did not have to finish my hours in two sessions, but my limited transportation allows me minimum trips.
However, I had a relaxed and positive experience in helping prepare and run a wreath-making activity! When I first arrived, I helped to prepare the materials. Along with JumpStart members, we cut many squares of different colored (red, light pink, magenta, white) streamer paper and materials for another activity (card stock butterflies, popsicle stick “stars,” etc.). I can now say I have experienced the pain which my second and third grade teachers must have gone through when preparing the seemingly endless amount of cutouts for our activities.
Table setup: A container of streamer paper squares, a small container of foam hearts, a paper heart with string through holepunched holes, a plate with the center cut out, markers, gluesticks, pencils. |
Making Flowers Out of Streamer/Tissue Paper Squares
- Take a square of streamer paper.
- Place the eraser end of a pencil in the center of the paper square.
- Gently wrap the tissue paper around the pencil, almost crumbling it.
- Apply glue to the bottom end of the tissue paper.
- Press the glued part of the paper onto the plate where one likes their “flower.”
- Hold for 5 seconds.
A wreath made by an 8 year old boy. He was the only one to have “XO’s” present on his wreath. |
Looking into the audience that this activity drew, it was apparent that mostly girls of ages 3 to 12 participated. I was present during the duration of the activity, and only one boy older than 3 years old (he appeared to be around 8 years old) stayed long enough to complete his wreath; the only other “older” boys that came into the room were only interested in the free cookies and apple juice. Children- the boy especially included- seemed to be more engaged in the activity when the parents made their own wreaths. This was evidenced by the boy’s intimate interactions with his mother and his emulation of her work on her own wreath.
Surprisingly, I noticed a trend of decorations. Those who were “older” tended to put more emphasis on making flowers, while the “younger” ones utilized the markers more.
Two sisters’ works. Above: A wreath by an 11 year old. Below: A wreath by a 7 year old. |
If I were to modify this activity, I would not have pre-printed “Happy Valentines Day” on the heart that hangs from the wreath. I feel that allowing the artist to add their own message would make the wreath more personal for them. I know that while some intended to hang their wreaths on their own walls, others hoped to give them to their presents (as one little girl said, “it’s going to be a double birthday gift for my mom!”).
Although this probably does not directly relate to art education, I saw something with parent-child interaction during this event. When a dad was attempting to grab his 2 year old daughter’s attention, he picked out a foam heart from the container, looked at it with wide eyes and gasped. His daughter, who had been eying the cookies suddenly turned her head and almost copied his face, suddenly looking at the heart in amazement. This showed how a simple act could intrigue a youngster in something so small.
Week 5: Dance
Break time in the dance studio.
High ceilings. |
We began with yoga, which is known for its calming effects. For me, it was the most stressful studio activity we have done so far! I am very clumsy and often unaware of my movements. Having a mirror in front did not help this silly mental stress, but it helped me to see the yoga pose demonstrations better.
We were to completely relax and “let the Earth hold us,” but I could not. I kept wondering if I was letting the Earth hold me correctly, or if my breathing patterns were strange. During all of this, my stomach continuously complained about the lack of food. What’s more is that even though we were to keep all the poses comfortably adjusted to our bodies, I discovered that my muscles were unexpectedly stiff- something that added on to my stress.
As one can tell, I am not a very relaxed person.
I only took pictures during our break between yoga and our production because of my personal feelings of being photographed while “dancing.” I have never felt comfortable being photographed (or recorded) while moving- other than coordinated and practiced moves that is- so I tried to take pictures where people mostly weren’t [located]. I realize this deprives my blog entry of photos of the actual activity, but I try not to put others in a situation in which I [would] feel uncomfortable.
We were given even less structure when we were told to run around the dance studio aimlessly until the “music” or clapping stopped. We were to immediately freeze in our positions. In doing so, we unintentionally made our own dance “phrases.” We also made connections with our fellow classmates by having to cooperate and move together with a certain number of touch points.
Looking at photos of people in action, we did the same. Through this, we learned that the feelings which people act/dance out their phrases can be dramatically changed by the music or words being said. This simple concept of acting out our movement phrases turned into a coordinated production. As audio was provided by those reading poems, dancers demonstrated their phrases across the room. Eventually, the summation of different tasks (freezing, “melting,” dancing, running, waving fingers, rolling away, etc.) became a full production that could be filmed.
In all honesty, I was more relaxed by the end of the production than I was at the end of the yoga session. From this studio activity, we could see those who were more comfortable being out of their chairs [and/or element]. I felt silly doing the things we did during the production, but it felt more comfortable than doing yoga because we were actively motoring around. This activity could perhaps be used to moderate/calm children who might have too much energy at a certain point of time. For those who might enjoy directing or choreographing, this improvisation activity might also be for them.
Field Work: Bowers Museum Monthly Festival
 Table setup: sharpies, flyers, blank parasols |
I was lucky to be able to have volunteered at the Bowers Museum Monthly Festival during this past weekend. For this event, they focused on Asian cultured as a nod towards Lunar New Year. I felt an almost deja-vu feeling, as we had gone over this in our last class, as I was once again instructed to focus on dragons. We were surrounded by other tables which were decorated with red table covers, which probably alluded to both the sponsor, Target, and Lunar New Year. While some tables focused on making foil projects, others explored Japanese calligraphy and food from different Asian cultures. My table was the parasol-decorating station.
The parasols were relatively cheap ($2.50 from Oriental Trading), but a wide range of people seemed to be intrigued by the idea of decorating their own. They were provided with sharpies and printouts of different motifs of Asian culture: flowers, cherry blossoms, dragons, koi fish, etc.
It was interesting to see who was drawn in by the activity, and what they chose to put on their parasols. The first few customers (confident and young Asian girls- maybe 5 and 7 year olds) took a much different approach than others; they first labeled their parasols with their names- as many children do in elementary school when told to decorate something of their own- and drew the things that they liked (ex. boba and Taiwan). However, as they ran out of ideas, they began to focus on the displays/example parasols in the back and what had been drawn around them.
 Left: 5 or 7 year old girl’s work; Right: examples |
As the volunteers manning the table, we were to encourage them to look at the printouts provided for ideas, and to remind them not to press too harshly when drawing. However, whenever the artists hit a point in which they were stuck, they would almost immediately look up at the already-decorated examples in the back. I thought this was very apparent, as many of the flowers that appeared on parasols resembled the example artists’ flowers, not those on the printouts:
  Evidence of emulating examples? Left: Children’s work; Right: Examples |
This, I believe makes sense that they would rather copy what is already on a parasol than what is on a printout. The printouts depicted the culture more accurately, as they were direct representations of different factors. However, the art that was already present on the example parasols gave them a solid idea of what things would actually look like. Perhaps this was the easier/safer option for them, as they were most likely pleased by the appearance of the examples.
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 Much younger children’s drawings/scribbles  Decorations without being given already-decorated parasols as examples |
Finally, I also got to see what an artist would do without the example parasols in the back, but provided with the printouts. She, like many others, was disinterested in the printouts, and drew flowers and people.
If I were to present this activity to a class, I believe I would not provide them with an already-decorated parasol as an example. I would want them to have more focus upon the material that is directly related to the subject/matter at hand, rather than wanting to copy what was presented as something acceptable. This, I believe, would allow them to better understand the actual details of subject that were perhaps ignored by the artist who made the example.
Despite having my foot deliberately stomped on by a small child, I had a wonderful experience being a volunteer for the event. * Any descriptions of people are from what I observed with my senses and cannot be guaranteed to be completely accurate.
Week 4: Colors
 The process of my color wheel making. |
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I enjoyed this activity very much, even though I had failed the “tones” activity we did in middle school. A common struggle I observed was how to make the secondary and tertiary colors; I wasn’t too sure myself. To minimize contaminating our shared paints, I put two primary colors (ex. red and yellow) in two palette wells, leaving an empty one in between. I then put a blob of yellow into the empty well, and added a dab of red into it. This made the light yellow-orange color that filled the “slice” to the left of yellow (counterclockwise). I progressively added more red to create the red-er colors to fill the “slices” that were closer to the red “slice.”
- Poke a hole in the center of a plate.
- With a pencil, divide the plate into quarters.
- Divide each quarter into three equal portions. This should leave the plate with a total of 12 “slices.”
- Number each “slice,” 1-12.
- Paint the primary colors (red, yellow, blue) in slices 1, 5, and 9.
- Fill the rest of the slices with the proper secondary and tertiary colors.
- Loosely secure an arrow/pointer with a paper brad.
- On a separate sheet of [graph] paper, create a grid.
- For each square in the grid, flick the arrow to make it spin around the color wheel. Whichever color the pointer lands on is the color that that square will be painted.
 The final product. |
If given enough resources, I would supply the students with a palette (10 wells) and another surface to compensate the missing 2 other wells- giving space for 12 colors. Students would be able to make each color on their wheel in a different well, so that when they made the grid, they would be able to retrieve the color directly (instead of having to attempt to remake it). If the activity were to be targeted towards a younger audience, I would also provide more instruction on how to make the colors; it seems to be a very simple process, but it takes more care than one would expect.
Week 3: Lines
 My sad idea of my current education. While the dips towards the center of the shape signify great experiences that “hit the mark/center area,” there are counterparts that represent just the opposite. |
This week, we discussed the “Learning Spiral,” which was introduced in our AIMPRINT reading. We “warmed up” by drawing what we interpret as our learning process through the years. While some had continuous lines (like that in exponential growth), others perceived their learning to be represented by outlines in the shape of a disfigured circle. I agreed with the latter, as I have seen my experience at UCI as a Bio-major as almost a bi-polar one; while there are some professors that exhibit their love for both their field and teaching, others seem to hold that position to qualify for research funding. Obviously, there is better engagement when the professor is able to influence/inspire their class to be interested as well. The reason why I chose to make my line into the outline of a circle is because I feel this process to be repetitive… going around in a cycle.
 © Neopets  We started off by making designs of lines that showed different attributes- curvy/straight, length, thickness, continuity, etc. |
The big idea of this assignment was to “draw line composition and make multiple relief prints of the drawing.” I thought this process would be simple enough- but we were then hit with the catch that would make some of us think/struggle the most: depict a dragon or create one of your own.” I was stuck with both ends; my dragons always have some kind of issue: looking like mermaids, strange lizards…etc. On the other hand, the creatures I try to come with on my own always have their own unique issues as well. I believe part of me is afraid to come up with a creature from my mind because of an experience I had in middle school: we had the same assignment, and my teacher did not believe mine was not creative enough and gave me a not-so-generous grade for it. As a result, I have always stuck to drawing creatures which I believe are cute- and have almost always gotten the comment that “they look like Neopets!.” As much fun as I had playing Neopets when I was younger, I found that the “dragon” cue gave me more limitations- something easier for me, as an individual, to work with.
 My first dragon sketches.  A lion costume and its ball. Thank you Beyond the PrIIde, Lion Dance Exhibition 2011 for the photo. |
The reason why dragons were chosen as a possible focus is because Chinese New Year had recently passed. For this reason and because I am very unable to draw European dragons- as one can clearly see in my dragon sketches- I chose to attempt to draw an Asian dragon.
From Wikipedia, European Dragons:
“In Western folklore, dragons are usually portrayed as evil, with the exceptions mainly in Welsh folklore and modern fiction. This is in contrast to Asian dragons, who are traditionally depicted as more benevolent creatures. In the modern period, the European dragon is typically depicted as a huge fire-breathing, scaly and horned dinosaur-like creature, with leathery wings, with four legs and a long muscular tail. It is sometimes shown with feathered wings, crests, fiery manes, ivory spikes running down its spine and various exotic colorations.”
While I was sketching dragons, different stories formed in my head. However, I had the big problem of deciphering whether someone had told me the story a long time ago, and I had just forgotten that it was from a source other than my brain- or whether it had been something that came to me in the dream. In the dragon sketches, one can see the ball in the center of the page. This part came from my memories of the lion-dancers’ performances, which sometimes include the lion playing with a ball. I never looked into as to why the lions played with such balls, but I thought of the dragon playing with a ball too. I’m not too sure as to why I find that intriguing; just about everyone enjoys some type of small pleasures; a gorilla I saw at the zoo- swinging from branches yet inseparable from his blanket, third graders who love candy, etc. etc. For me, it is sometimes difficult to imagine something as immensely large of a creature as a dragon to find entertainment in playing with something trivial like a ball (which reminded me of an idea…).
We made a sort of stamps/relief prints by carving our line designs into thin sheets of styrofoam. Subsequently, we used rollers to apply paint evenly onto the styrofoam- and then flipping the paint side of the styrofoam sheet to stamp the design on to a white sheet. Contrary to many fellow students’ experiences, my first print gave better results. The paint was spread more evenly and the design appeared more solid. The second print, on the other hand, seemed slightly faded. I think this might have been because there was not as much paint left for my second attempt. Nevertheless, my two prints generally looked the same.
To modify this project for a younger group of artists, I would emphasize the aspect of lines for the relief prints more. I felt that without the continuous emphasize on lines in the actual stamp, much of the purpose of the project was lost; it sometimes became any normal drawing project, rather than something about lines. On the other hand, one could have a reason for having lines of all the same thickness, etc. I might also widen the boundaries of what could be engraved into the styrofoam plate. If a portion of our class struggled with drawing dragons or designing creatures of their own, younger children might have more trouble.
 My final result. The stamp is on top, first print on the right, and second print is on the left. |
The humans on Earth noticed this difference, and questioned if they should be hunting for something that was causing the change. Soon after, the other dragons discovered that the playful dragon had been leaving behind evidence of their secret existence. Angrily, they banned the dragon to the ocean, sentencing him to taking on the form of water. The only time he would be allowed to retake his dragon form would be once every month, after rainfall- and only if there were no humans present. Whenever he would surface in his original form, he would look at the sun and wish he could play again.
 @missamg/Andrea’s was my favorite because of the different perspective she made her “stamp” from. Many of us- I included- sometimes get caught up with using the typical point of view: from the horizon (? I’m not sure if there is a specific term). This one, if I’m not mistaken, views the dragon from the top! I think my favorite part is how the scales turned out. |
My goodness, I just realized how sad and depressing my story was. I realize that my story did not explicitly include a power, but I decided that previously being able to play with the elements of the sky and being able to exist as one in the ocean (and then later retaking his dragon form) would be his special talent.
I contacted OCMA again this week. If I do not receive a reply this week, I think I may have to try to see them in person.
Fun fact: With this blog entry, I tried to create lines- composed of the edges of the letters of the words of this blog entry- thus the justification! :D
Week 2: Newspapers, Value, & Values
This week, we started the class by analyzing the assigned reading, Reinvesting in Arts Education. Although we had already read and discussed it on the message board, we were able to look into things we may not have noticed before; instead of just focusing on content and statistics, we also delved into the messages behind the cover and images chosen to be included in the report.
Although we don’t always admit it, many take education for granted. Today, we are striving to better the education- and in this class in particular, the arts- but others in the past were fighting for the right to attend the same schools as others. This idea, emphasized by the Little Rock 9 video, transitioned the class into the art activity: Media & Message: Value.
The main goal of the arts activity was to emphasize the value in art- for us, it involved beginning on a non-blank canvas. While newspapers bring current events to our attention, this project had the artists zone in on particular elements of the featured content. There were two spotlight-holders on the particular newspaper page I looked at: (1) Budget cuts and their effects on especially small districts (2) SOPA and PIPA. In the consideration of our class material, the former would be more relevant. Earlier in the class, we had talked about the budget cuts preventing us from providing quality education- types that would span over the different curriculum- but here, in current times, students in Death Valley are struggling to even find transportation to school. Because they live in a small district, there are a number of students who take two-hour bus rides just to get to their schools. Understandably, this form of transit is in no ways cheap, and seen as difficult to maintain. However, as a result, their bus line was put on the chopping block, possibly forcing those students to take on independent study.
Nevertheless, I chose to focus my project on SOPA and PIPA because their particular effects strike closer to home (I guess here is also a display of how easy it can be to push aside something that doesn’t affect one personally- something which very much applies to the imbalances in the current education system).
At first, I had difficulty in deciding what I could or could not do on my project. How many things considered “scary” or “dark” could I put on it? My first thought was to completely block/black out certain words on the article itself to reflect the censorship of SOPA and/or PIPA. However, it was repeated during this time to remember expressionism (expressing an emotional experience rather than impressions of the external world). I started adding the red blood and less discreet parts of the project; this was a reflection of what my emotions were/are, not a watered-down image for others. Through this process, I also remembered that I have never been able to portray monsters the way I would like to. My monster turned out to be a silly something that looks like it came from the show Powerpuff Girls (I am not related to or the the owner of the Powerpuff Girls and the image to the right of this). 
The monster, my mind’s representative of the SOPA bill, is supposed to be reaching out from under publicized media and censoring even more than what is already withheld from the general people. Because of this, the system of “freedom of speech” is blatantly and openly being attacked- and thus bleeding.
ASIDE: thoughts elicited by this project
All during this time, we listened to words of Dr. Martin. Luther King, Jr. This reminded me to reflect on the values that we particularly treasure. I’m no expert on these two bills, but there are people out there who are following the mass movement against the bills without understanding the immensity of the issue’s importance at all (Thank you 9GAG.COM for the photographic evidence). The fact that the bill’s name can not even be spelled correctly on something like this hints to me that there are some who do not truly appreciate the value of free speech given to us in this country. While I understand that it is particularly frustrating that websites like MegaUpload (which was recently shut down) present an easy-to-use system which is also easy to abuse, I cannot accept that aspect as a reason to completely “seize” or obliterate a website.
I especially have an issue with this idea of censorship because of past experiences. In short, a friend who was visiting relatives in China told me he could not access Youtube because the government does not allow it. To me, this is equivalent to what MegaUpload is. MegaUpload was a platform for users to share files with each other, just as Youtube is a place for videos. Because of the risk of people uploading what is not theirs, the whole system is blocked in that country or shut down.
I hope it is now understandable as to why I chose to focus on this article instead. (:
When others looked at my project, I had many guesses as to what the people to the right of the monster were: pirates, children, ninjas, you name it. What I was trying to express was the silence of certain people (but all the guesses can be very much valid!).
As mentioned in class, this project is best targeted towards older audiences. Despite the nature of current video games, I feel that my end result is probably inappropriate for the elementary school student. This does not mean, however, that the project’s structure cannot be modified to fit a younger group. Younger children could perhaps pick an image/illustrated story book and use the same concept to underline what they believe is important to them as individuals.
I did not have much time to do a complete walk-around the whole classroom for the gallery walk, but here are ones I liked in particular for different reasons and/or reflecting the different ways artists approached the assignment:
Until next time! (:
EDIT: I forgot that I could just follow/subscribe to everyone so that I can see what everyone makes, even if I don’t get to during the gallery walk. Silly me! I look forward to seeing everyone’s work! (:
