Leaders

I listened to the radio lab Emergence. I learned alot. They talked about the queen ants and how they do not give orders. When i was little i always thought the queen ant told every little ant what to do, but from this radio lab they said that all she does is lay there, and lay eggs. That is all she does. The ants do not know her as a queen or anything special, they do not know one another as antyhing, just as workers and their jobs as ants. They explained that ants are boring by watching just one, but amazing watching a whole group of them. When the weather changes to worse, they build a barrier over their hole to protect them. Ants also nurse their babies, and do many other spectacular things that no one knows about.
Pharomones are the key to what links animals communication to one another. A man from Harvard figured this out by following ants, and disected them. He put this under magnifying glass and to figure out organs of the ants. Spread them across the ground and watched all the other ants flood out to play with organs and parts of the ants. The ants exchange information, perhaps from smell.
This was really interesting listeing to how ants communicate and how they know to do certain things. Most is following scent trails and as a group, they can solve problems together by combining all their scents together. Ants are blind and brainless.
Even though people step on ants and think nothing of it, they are killing a very smart creature that many people over look. I recommend this radio lab episode.

Religion vs. Society

When searching for a topic to listen to on the radio page, I decided to look into Christian Science since I've been studying a Christian Science church as a subculture for Writing and Rhetoric II. I stumbled upon a radio show about the Christian Science religion and some common misconceptions. The two most common misconceptions where that the religion was in fact a religious cult and that the idea of "Christian Science" was just a nicer way of saying scientology. Through this radio show, I learned that misconceptions are formed on a daily basis about almost every religion and because of these misconceptions; many churches in America are finding a decrease in the amount of members attending the church. Also brought up in the show was not only the fact that people are steering themselves away from religion by their stereotyping, but that maybe some religions are lacking members because of their lack of progression. If a church doesn't grow and change with society, thus sticking straight to their traditional ways, how will the church be able to fulfill the spiritual needs of the younger generations? The big question that this radio show brought to the forefront of my mind is: Is it the Church that needs to morph with society or has society lost its spiritual need for the church (and maybe the true meaning of religion itself)?

Blog Post: Radio Lab

For this post I want you to listen to an episode of Radio Lab and discuss what you learned in 250 words or more. There are five seasons and many episodes to choose from so explore the site and find one you might be interested in. Try not to repeat an episode that someone else has already written about. You can also download their free podcast off of itunes, but make sure you write about a full hour long episode.

Remember to post a comment on a classmates blog. These are due next Wednesday 11/25.

Cleaning up America

If I was president for a day, I would go down into all the projects and just talk with the people down there. All the previous candidates seem to know what is best for the American economy, to make less poverty, yet they aren’t the ones actually dealing with it. So I would want to be the one to listen to the families and what would help them in their struggle. I would want to go to the top 5 most poverty stricken communities in America to hear and witness first hand what’s really going on. Then I would make a truly informed decision on how to clean up and better the chances for people in those areas. After starting up my decision, I would want to directly clean up the worst area in each state. I would do this because although raising taxes for the wealthy and lowering for the poor will gradually help the economy, eventually bettering these areas, I think that a direct approach will aid to better results. It might even give these people a little bit of hope until the economy gets itself back on its feet.

Let's Save Some Money!

If I were President, I would change our dependence on foreign oil and instantly make cars that do not run on gasoline. I would have all cars be energy-efficient without harmful emissions being produced. This would cut down drastically on our impact on the environment and save millions of people so much money each year. If we could have a solar-powered or electric car, we would no longer need to pay for the ever-increasing prices of gas at the pumps. It would save everyone concern, frustration, and above all money and help reduce the damage forcing its way into the environment every day.

What homeless people?

If I were President of the United States, a small thing I would change would be the amount of homeless people walking the streets of every state throughout this great nation. I would come up with some sort of system where they could get help, find jobs and get back on their feet. They would either have this option or jail. If they chose jail they would be there for live and if they wanted to change their lifestyle they would have to listen to the help of professionals and service men and women volunteering their time to find these individuals jobs and housing. There would be no room to fail. They would have to ultimately succeed at becoming educated, employed individuals or would be put into jail. I think this would help a lot of the violence on the streets, give them hope and a future and create somewhat of a more peaceful world. 

Morgan as President

If i were the next President of the United States the thing that i would change right away would be the all the waste that covers our land. I would somehow create a device that would take the millions of plastic bottles that cover our land, all the wasteful uses of paper, and turn them into objects that would could resell and reuse. I think this is a good idea because as a whole, the US is a very wasteful country and we are not changing anything about it. We are trying to, but there are still stores like wal-mart and sams club that sell so much plastic bottles and they do not give any chance that they will change their ways. As a President, I would create a law that would make everyone recycle, and make companies that are large in wasting, reduce to less than half of what they would waste oringially. Not really sure how i would actually go about forcing people to do this, but i would find a way as president.

President Ban

America is in a tight grip of troble as all of you know, i myself can fix it but by the act of the people we can make this country great again. I as the next president would pass a new law that needs to be acted upon. We all need to cooporate to make ends meet. The bill will signify that all people making more than 150,000 dollars a year will be raised in tax and all who make less would get lower tax rate. By this law the money from taxes can go directly into the tax collector. By this law people who are making less than 150,000 dollars are saving money and helping there small businesses which would help the bigger corporation and by that it will get our economy flowing again. I would love to see America back on its feet it is by one man that can easly destroy the course of our economy. Bush made war all because of oil and the thought of W.M.D. but i believe that was an excuse to get into iraq. America depends on a person that can lead it into greater hights and upholds the words that he or she makes.

I AM SENATOR ABRAHAM BAN, AND I APPROVE THIS MESSAGE.

What Would I Change?

One of the most important things I would  change is the economy. We are struggling when it comes to the economy and it's not just us it's everyone but I would start off by helping and changing the way we spend money. Since I have been alive the U.S has been in debt and a lot of it. No matter what we do we can't get out or we just continue to spend money that we don't have.  I would definitely cut down the spending and also try and make things cheap or others. Also build up American made businesses so that money would go to us and no one else.

Another thing is along the entertainment type. I would change how College football doesn't have a playoff. It irritates me every year and it needs to stop. Take the top ten teams in the nation and let them go at it because than we would figure out who is the best because they had to play five games to get there and all their opponents were in the top ten. 

What Would You Change?

Before you post this new blog make sure you go back and answer your classmates ethical dilemmas.

For this post I want you to imagine yourself as the next President of the United States. In this imaginary scenario you have one free pass to change anything you want in the US and it will miraculously happen. In 250 words or more tell us what you would change and why.

Due next Wednesday 11/19. Remember to comment on at least one of your classmates posts.

For Richer or For Poorer

It is a regular windy day in Chicago. It is raining, cloudy, and cold. You are sick and tired of not just your daily routine but the routine of life. You work 13 hour days to support your family but you still live pay check to pay check, sometimes falling short. Walking on your way home you stumble upon a wallet of what appears to be a very wealthy, high class business man. Of course there is enough money to pay for the next few months rent. Do you return the wallet with everything in it knowing your family just might be getting by? Or do you take the money, supporting your family? Do you figure he doesn't need the money anyway? It's tough.

Your mother or your father

Your parents are happily married and you grew up with a happy childhood loving your parents equally. You hope to one day have a marriage like your parents. Your parents do everything together. Unfortunately they ,also, have the same illness and you have to donate your kidney to only one of them. What do you do? Do you let your mother die or your father?

do you write the story?

Growing up, your family didn't have much money. But somehow with hard work you made it all the way through college and graduated with a degree in journalism. You also made it all the way through college with your best friend of eighteen years, who has a LOT of money by way of her father's successful business. You get a job reporting at the Chicago Tribune. Your boss hands you your first assignment, which is an expose on your on best friend's father. It turns out he started his business with money made by means of drug trafficking. This story could make your career, establishing you as one of the best new writers and giving you a steady income to help your family who has supported you for your entire life . This story could also end a lifelong friendship and lead to the destruction of that friend's family. Do you write the story? Why or why not? Which is the "right" thing to do?

intoxication nation

You're at a party with a few of your friends. Most of the people there you don't know, but you've been reassured by your friends that it will be a good time. As the night goes on, you realize that the driver you came with is a intoxicated, and you begin to wonder if riding home with them would be the best decision. 

Your friends decide to hit up another party, and you agree to go, but still aren't sure about riding with them. Someone you met while at the party offers to give you a ride to the next party so you can meet up with your friends there. The only problem with this is he tells you that along the way you'll have to stop and pick up some drugs from a dealer along the way, and you will have to make the pick-up.

What do you do? Do you take a risk and ride along with your friends who are clearly intoxicated? Or is it safer to ride with the sober friend who is asking you to do something illegal in return for the ride?

a mother

(It just makes up.)
You are a mother. You just born a baby, at the same time your husband divorce you. When your child is 3 years old, your child get the Leukemia. The doctor said your child need to change the bone marrow. And your child can live 2 more years, if doesn’t change bone marrow. Because there is no one has matching bone marrow, either you or your ex-husband. Now, if your child has a bother or sister, it might help your child. What will you do? If a brother or a sister can help your child, will you ask you ex-husband for that, but you don’t love him anymore?

Battle of the Roommates

When you moved into the dorms everyone was getting along great... that is until one of your roommates turned out to be a complete OCD clean freak (you have three roommates total). After countless times of having a discussion with all the roommates voicing their opinion on cleaning issues, you had thought everyone had come to an agreement until one of the OCD roommates left a very rude note indirectly blaming you for all the messes when it wasn't just you. Since she left to go out of town, you left the note up for all the other roommates to read and had to wait before you could discuss the note with her. Upon the day she arrives another one of your roommmates mentions all of you getting together and going to residence life and getting her kicked out, while one of your friends decides to take it upon herself to write a rude message to your roommate on the white board for her to find when she gets back. Do you:
A. clean off the message and just address things with that roommate/the roommates when she gets back
B. clean off the message and go with the other two roommates and get her kicked out with out talking to her about anything
C. Leave the message pretending its from you and live life as if nothing ever happened

PS. this OCD roommate has another place she's kinda moved into and just stays here half the time because her parents paid for it.

Worldwde Biohazard Disease

June 6, 2012 at 6:66AM you are getting ready for work doing your daily route; shower, dress up, grab papers reports, and grab your morning coffee. Then as you sip your hot brew you turn on the T.V. its channel 32 FOX News then you hear a worldwide disease breaking out rapidly all over the half side of the world and President Obama made a pubic speech. Quote Obama "We as America need to protect ourselves from this breakout. I have ordered all ocean borders to be closed and we allied with Canada and all southern America to uphold this action to." So in other words we in the West side of the globe is cut off from the world in order for us not to get infected. Millions and millions of people are dieing helplessly and America got into action by trying to find a cure but all is lost. Then the government passed a bill saying, "All Americans citizens must be checked daily for disease inside our states for security of our country." As you hear that you went to go and get check-up from a free clinic around the corner. You suddenly found from your doctor that you are imun to the disease and that you are the only one in the world who can't get the disease. But the thing is that if you give in to help they need all of your blood to transfuse the blood and copy it (meaning you will die) or you can stay where you are and refuse and give up your life.

PS... IF YOU CHOOSE TO LIVE THEN IN THE FUTURE THE DISEASE WILL BRAKE OUT INTO AMERICA SOIL THEN EVERYONE WILL DIE EXCEPT YOU. BUT IF YOU DIE FOR THE WORLD YOU WILL BE HONORED THOUGHT GENERATIONS AND THE WORLD WILL CELIBREATE YOU FOR YOUR SACRIFICE AND WILL REMEMBER YOU ALWAYS.

The battle

You are asked to play a battle of the bands. You tell all the members of your band, (for me two), without hesitation they say, ok. As it gets closer and closer to the battle, you start to wonder if this event would turn out like the past battle of the bands, which was a grueling 12 hours of waiting until the decision, and upon the decision, which was won by the roar of the crowd, most of your fans had already left because it was way too late. So, when seeking out bands who have play at this new venue, they stated similar points of how band the venue is. What would you do? Would you not go? or would you think outside of the box and think of what will happen if you do go? 

A Doctor and Patient

(ps this is just made up - obviously...)

You are a doctor. You received a young boy at the hospital who is only 8 years old. You discover he has a life-threatening illness and you predict he has only a few months to live. Upon informing his parents, they tell the doctor explicitly not to tell their son, since they don't want him to become pessimistic. You, being a doctor, have the right to doctor/ patient confidentiality and you are obligated to inform the boy about his illness. What do you do? Not tell the child and let him find out later, or tell him against the will of his parents and expose him to the truth?

Ball or Booze

You are at a party, and your parents told you many times that you are not allowed to drink at all. If you did and the found out, you would have to turn yourself into the school and that means you would not be allowed to play basketball anymore. You end up drinking and the next thing you know you are drunk and so are the people you came with. Eventually as the night goes on, the party gets out of hand and the cops come. Your only choice is run and you end up at your car. Everyone is drunk. Even the driver. Do jump into the car to avoid the wrath of your parents when they find out you have been drinking? Or do you call them to come and pick you up and jeopardize your senior year basketball season?

Blog Post: Ethical Dillema

For Monday, create and write out an original ethical dilemma. It can come from your own life if you need, or something you've created; in either case, direct the question to the reader.

Don't include too much information or qualifications. Just enough to give your reader the basic understanding of their choice.

In the comments the rest of you will give your answer to the dilemma.

Portfolio Project # 3

I handed this out earlier, but just in case you missed it. The deadline is coming up!

Portfolio Project # 3
Ethics and Essential Choices

Deadline:
Monday, November 17: completed project, with 2–3 page, word processed, Artist Statement reflecting on the production and purpose of the project.

Purpose:
To demonstrate creatively your understanding of what’s at stake in making ethical and essential choice within the worlds of Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, Caro’s Whale Rider, and in your own life.

Criteria:
Your work will be evaluated based primarily on how well you document the process of creating the work, and well you can reflect on and articulate that process, and not on the quality of the piece as an artwork per se.

Your piece should demonstrate evidence of careful thought and planning; originality and risk- taking; organization and focus; attention to detail; and respect for an audience of your peers. If you choose to work collaboratively, your project will be evalauted in the context of principles and practices for effective, creative teamwork.

You will of course have ample opportunity to revise your portfolio piece and the accompanying Artist Statement for the final submission of the portfolio.

à You should choose a medium different from the one you selected for the first two portfolio projects. Thus, if you gave me a short story for the first or second project, do not give me another short story for this piece!

Collaboration:
Topics 1, 2, and 4 may be approached collaboratively; the maximum number of people who may collaborate on a given topic is indicated. You will be neither advantaged nor disadvantaged should you choose to work collaboratively. If you do choose to work with a group, your collective piece will be reviewed as a team project (this means that if two people work on a project, it should be clearly twice the production of the same piece done by an individual), and you must carefully document and reflect on the specific processes of your collaboration in your individual Artist Statements. In short, the members of a group must each turn in his or her own individual Artist Statement.

Topics:
Option One [max. 4 people]: Create a short (say, 8–10 minute) news segment that reports on a court case in which Okonkwo is tried for the murder of Ikemefuna (or some other crime, if you choose). Your report may be done in the style of a televised news program like 20/20 or Dateline (in which case you should turn in a DVD of the edited report) or a radio news program as on National Public Radio (in which case you should turn in an audio recording of the edited report). Your newscast should probably involve some background information provided by the reporter, as well as interviews with relevant parties: the prosecution and/or defense, maybe Okonkwo himself, perhaps a member of the jury. These discussions should reflect a careful and nuanced understanding of the ethical choices faced by Okonkwo; “interviews” of the two legal teams should present the various viewpoints in some detail. You should as much as possible focus on the values, attitudes, and/or beliefs that inform the various parties’ arguments. The large question your news segment should be striving to answer is “Why does it matter?”

Option Two [max. 4 people]: Things Fall Apart ends tragically, while Whale Rider ends on an upbeat note. What would have happened, however, if the protagonists of those stories had made different decisions? Author an alternative ending for either Okonkwo’s or Pai’s story. You may use any medium (film, prose, comics, etc.). Make sure to provide some context for your new ending so that we know where your new ending departs from the original story. The focus should be on the crucial differences between the “original” character (i.e., the Okonkwo created by Achebe, the Pai created by Caro) and the “new” one. What values, attitudes, or beliefs are different in the “new” Okonkwo or Pai that cause him/her to make (a) different decision(s)? You should also show the consequences of that/those different decision(s). Is the character, or his/her family, community, or society any better off?

Option Three [max. 1 person]: Create a work in any medium (which you haven’t already used) in which you relate an ethical or essential choice or dilemma from your own life or from current events to Things Fall Apart or Whale Rider or both. You may do this through comparison (i.e., elements that are the same) or contrast (i.e., elements that are different) or both. You do not have to choose an event that parallels Okonkwo’s or Pai’s (or Koro’s—the grandfather’s) situation explicitly, but your project should draw some connections between the decision-making process in the story or event you choose and the decision-making process in TFA or WR; in particular, you should discuss how values, attitudes, or beliefs contribute to the ethical decision in each case. Please note that it is NOT enough simply to describe a difficult decision you had to make; an ethical (or essential) choice such as those that form the crux of this unit of the course involve a conflict or disharmony of moral principles. While you need not choose a dilemma of the sort we discussed in class, you should choose a situation in which the decision and its consequences have profound implications for the decision-maker and his/her family, community, and/or society.

Option Four [max. 2 people]: Compose and record two songs: (1) a protest song, speaking as an Ibo resisting colonialization and Christianization; and (2) an anthem, speaking as a colonialist bringing Christianity and British rule to the Ibo. The lyrics of both songs should clearly convey the values, attitudes, or beliefs of each group in this particular situation. The music does not have to be “authentic” or stylistically appropriate to Africa or Great Britain in the 1890s; in fact, avoid musical caricature (as this is often more offensive than it is illuminating)—in short, do not try to create a “tribal”-sounding song. Parodying Gilbert and Sullivan operettas is fine, should you choose to do so.

A NOTE ON THE ARTIST’S STATEMENT

Please keep in mind what your Artist’s Statement should contain. It should discuss the process of creating your project, and while it should address some of the logistics of the process, it should spend at least as much time discussing the more intellectual and artistic questions that arose. While your Statement can and should find its own questions to answer, here are three to get you started, three questions that all Artist’s Statement should address in some fashion:
1. State clearly what the message of your project is;
2. Articulate why that message matters (i.e., What’s at stake?);
3. Explain how—if at all—you expect your audience to understand that meaning from your piece.

The Old Pair

Every day you put them on, not even thinking that these are items that go through everything you do, and still allow you to wear them. What do you think about when you finally look at them? They are more like you than anything you will know in your life, and yet you walk all over them. However, they are the only thing that does allow you to step all over them.  They are normally taken for granted until that day comes when you need to but new ones, thoughts of "I should of taken better care of them", come to mind. Nonetheless, you never forget how great they were to you.

The Boxes

As I traveled across the Earth, I couldn’t help but notice all that the humans wear to cover their skin. At every location, the humans wear different drapings, but there was one part of the body that was covered up in almost every culture. Instead of walking on the ground with their skin, the humans put all different shapes and sizes of material to cover the bottom, flat part of their limbs. Some wore a more box like shape with a snake woven up them to hold it on the limbs, while other had a big stick coming out the back of their box used for balancing on while moving. Maybe this is a form of punishment for a crime they had committed. Other boxes are tall and go all the way up the middle of the limbs, while others just attach to the bottom of the flat part of the limb. The purpose of these boxes is unknown, since the humans have a flat part of their body to move on. Maybe it is for mating purposes and the different styles/colors say what group these humans are a part of. This unique limb cover seems pointless and hurtful to the human body, yet a necessity within the human culture.

It's an Addiction

Walking through the streets, sitting on the el, lying in your bed, or even during class, you see people moving their fingers over buttons quickly. Almost like they are playing the piano. The object seems to come in all different shapes, sizes, and styles. They all have different sounds that inform the owner of something new, a change, or a text. Thats right, a text message. The cell phone as developed and evolved rapidly. Especially its features.  It has become a part of life, but more importantly it has become a major form of communication. The next time you walk down the street, or finding yourself sitting on the el, look around you, i guarantee there will be people playing into the role of the text messaging craze. 

the snake in the wall

It seems all too frequently that humans engage in this activity. As the sun rises over the horizon people generally remove woven fabrics from over themselves and proceed to pace to an enclosed area. The sides of this area are covered with smooth squares of a cold material; the walking surface often is covered in a similar substance. Against one side of the room sits a hollow slab. Within the depression is carved a small circular opening, and this gap is filled in with a similarly shaped metallic plug. Higher up above the hollowing a short snake peeks its head out from the cracks of the plastering. Though it remains motionless for much of the day, it sprays its venom upon its victims after having its tail twisted. Humans often stand in this venom anywhere from a minute up to half an hour and often engage in a capella chanting. Upon their skin they rub a variety of toxins which kill thousands lifeforms with a single rub. These toxins combine with the venom to create a thick mass which slowly drips into the hole on the ground. After the snake has fully expired its venom, humans will create friction on their skin by rubbing large rectangles of cotton and polyester vigorously. Once the friction has reached its maximum humans drape more fabrics over their bodies and proceed to apply multiple solids and liquids to their skin in order to appear as healthy as possible when out in public situations.

snikpmup dna neewollah

Every year when the leaves start to change colors and weather turns cold a certain celebration takes place. These people young and old turn into creatures and disguise themselves and their identity. They go from village to village asking for small objects that are shiny. All of these creatures run from hut to hut asking for these objects. After the sun sets and darkness falls these individuals go back to their villages and empty out their shiny objects. Usually they carry some type of basket that holds all of their gatherings. Next they sit and sort through their basket trying to find the best piece. The shiny part is taken off and then the object is gobbled down. 

Sometimes this tribe will have a gathering a local hut and begin certain traditions. Large orange balls are cut into different shapes and then lit. Some of the smaller creatures bob for red round floats in a basket with liquid. They look like chickens pecking for food. They run around eating small sweet treats and sometimes sit around a fire and tell scary village stories. Overall this celebration occurs every year for this tribe. After a long night of fun these individuals wash/take off their disguises and become themselves once again. 

You know, that thing you do

Every morning, every night, there is something almost everyone does. Lying on the sink is a long object, shaped like a stick with what looks like hair bunched together at the end. There are few next to this particular sink and some are red, some are blue, and a few have more than one color. One looks like it can bend right under where all bunched hair ends, its flexible. A young man walks in and comes directly to the sink. He picks up his "stick like object" and puts what looks to be a sort of liquid on it. It is not exactly a liquid, but a gooey, foam, paste to say the least. He squirts some on to the bunched up hair at the top of the stick. He moistens the stick with paste with water coming out of a silver pipe with two things that swivel back and forth on either side of the pipe. After he runs the stick under water, he begins rubbing his teeth. Back and forth. Up and down. Side to side. The paste, goo encoats his teeth and lips with a white watery substance. He continues this motion for about two minutes. His mouth at the end is filled with what was a thick paste, but now is watery and white. He then turns the pipe back on, and tilts his head to the side like a dog and drinks the water flowing from the pipe. Tilts his head back, and gargles water until he removes all the excess white residue. He spits out the water, i get a scent of mint coming from his breath when he smiles at me after this ridiculous series of events.

Achebe Interviews

Here are just a few interviews with Achebe. This question and answer I found interesting.

It seems that people from places that haven't experienced colonization in the same way have also responded to the story.

There are different forms of dispossession, many, many ways in which people are deprived or subjected to all kinds of victimization -- it doesn't have to be colonization. Once you allow yourself to identify with the people in a story, then you might begin to see yourself in that story even if on the surface it's far removed from your situation. This is what I try to tell my students: this is one great thing that literature can do -- it can make us identify with situations and people far away. If it does that, it's a miracle. I tell my students, it's not difficult to identify with somebody like yourself, somebody next door who looks like you. What's more difficult is to identify with someone you don't see, who's very far away, who's a different color, who eats a different kind of food. When you begin to do that then literature is really performing its wonders.

The Atlantic

BBC

Conjunctions

Blog Post: The Nacirema

For this blog I would like for you to find one aspect of your every day life and take a anthropological look at it. Look at it as if you were an alien studying American culture. Then write 250 or more words in the same style as the Nacirema essay. Don't tell us exactly what it is you are describing and analyzing. Let us figure it out for ourselves.

Find the essay here.

Here is a response to Nacirema I found: Religious Beliefs

Due next Monday. Be sure to comment on someone's blog! Last blog there were 2 comments. The comments are just as important as the blog post. You will NOT get full participation credit unless you comment.

Lonely Little Love Dog

I had decided to go on a train ride one day after work. I was bored and decided to use my U-Pass just because I could abuse the privilege. I sat quietly by myself, my hands folded in my lap and I stared out the window until I reached Belmont. When I reached Belmont I decided to go back the way I came when I saw him.
Short.Fat.Black and Gray. He had a pouty lip and brown sad eyes. He waddled onto the train. No one paid attention to him but me. He stared forward at nothing inparticular when I turned my Ipod to Tv On The Radio , "Love Dog." He looked like a gentle man. Probably had seen a lot of hardship in his life. Not homeless but close to it. Maybe women never paid him no attention because he looked at the pretty girls when they came on but quickly looked away when the doors closed.They didn't look back. Not happy. Not sad but his eyes were permanently sad. I wanted to know him. I secretly wanted to be a relative of his and sit and listen to him talk. I wondered what he sounded like. In my mind he spoke softly almost at a whisper and spoke only when he had something important to say because I like people like that. I wish I was more like that because some days I feel as if I am just talking to talk. Every now and again he would study his hands and it made me wonder was he realizing for the first time how much they changed?
Lonely little love dog that
No one knows the name of
I know why you cry out
Desperate and devout
Timid little teether
Your eyes set on the ether
Your moon in a bella luna and
Howling hallelujah
Nameless you above me
Come lay me low and love me
This lonely little love dog
That no one knows the name of
Curse me out in free verse
Wrap me up and reverse this
Patience is a virtue
Until it's silence burns you
And something slow
Has started in me as
Shameless as an ocean
Mirrored in devotion
Something slow
Has sparked up in me
As dog cries for a master
Sparks are whirling faster
Lonely little love dog
That no one knows the ways of
Where the land is low is
Where the bones'll show through
Lonely little love dog
That no one knows the days of
Where the land is low is
Where the water flows to
And holds you
The song described him perfectly and when my stop had came and I had to go back to the apartment. I smiled at him and he smiled back.

Mother in pain

I walk down Chicago in my same routine in my same route when i get off of the Metra. You always see some homeless person walking down or sitting down in some place holding a cup probably a Coffee cup hoping to get some change for his or hers next meal. I see it all the time its inevitable to not see one. I always walk in my same route to get to school and i see all these hobo's but one suck out to me the most.
It was cold outside and raining one gloomy morning and i see this little old lady probably in her 60's or so holding up her little hand in a gesture for some hope for some change in her life. i can see in her motherly eyes hoping to be back to her normal life back to her family lives. Holding her son or daughter arms again. She lost it all by drug abuse, lost it all by gambling, and probably lost it all in selling her house for just one hit. Family lost her and they left her they couldn't handle raising her instead of her raising them. how could this be that one thing in her life is gone by something that rips though her addiction. If she has one chance one more time to be with her family.

Crazy on the Red Line

Well, as you all know the red line is a little ghetto to say the least. I usually have to ride from Harrison to Grand so it's not to bad. I was getting on the red line last monday night when this crazy lady followed me on and started ranting and raving about life and whatever other mumbo jumbo she was spewing out.  Just for the sake of things I am going to call her Mary.

Mary is 45 years old, a heavy smoker(at least the butts she finds on the ground) and she drinks anything she can put her hands on.  Mary hasn't always been like this though. She was 20 years old, a graduate from Northwestern looking to enter Law School when tragedy struck her. She became ill, couldn't work, and bills just kept piling up. You see, Mary lived paycheck to paycheck and like most of us she was one payday away from being homeless all of the time. Her illness unfortunately left her homeless because she was evicted since she couldn't work to pay her rent.

Sad but true many people we see that are homeless may be like this and I often wonder what back ground they really came from. Just a thought...  

The Man with the red sweater

I was on the mega bus coming from Miwaukee and i was really curious about this man that was sitting in front of me. He was wearing a red sweater, had a full beard, not long, not short hair, in the middle. He was tall and looked like he could hold his own in a fight or some encounter on the street. He has a wife, her Name is Lydia and they have six children. Three Boys and Three girls. There are two sets of twins, two girls and a boy and a girl. Their names are Lucy, Mike, Chad, Journee, Lacy, and Zane. They are all in middle school and love it. The man with the red sweater, his name is Lynall, and he works for the city, waste management company. His wife works for a company as a secretary and has been divorced three times. They are both 45 years old and love living in CHicago. They wish they could raise a family else where, but both their jobs do not allow them to m ove. They have to maintain an income and quiting now would not be the best idea for the both of them. Lynall loves to go to movies and read Jack Kerouac books. He loves studying the Vietnam war and is not a fan of the government. He is wearing a red sweater, kahki pants, and birkenstock sandels. He is a vegetarian and used to ride horses as a young child.


I vote for Daves project- The lego Tower

Dee on bus 3

Dee is sitting on bus 3 heading south. As most older people do, she sits as if her back is strained. Her face looks strong but worn out, like she has been through a lot in her life. She is dressed in brown slacks, a purple jacket, black leather gloves, and a brown scarf. Her black gym shoes are orthopedic and look a little too big. The lipstick she wears is a bright pink fuschia color that is supposed to be for someone half her age. Dee's hair color matches that of salt and pepper, it is slicked back and the ends are curly. An old brown leather saddle bag is draped on her shoulder and is worn across her body. With her is a personal shopping cart; it is made of black metal and houses skim milk, oat meal, prescriptions, green veggies, and toliet paper.

Dee looks out the window. Then around her. She hears something. She looks down, her purse is vibrating. She opens it and pulls out her cell phone. It is a flip phone and it is big and silver with a navy blue face. WILL CELL CALLING... it reads. Will is Dee's husband. They meet her junior year in high school. They started dating within the next year. The year after that they had a baby boy, they named him Emmanuel (Everyone calls him Manny). The year after that they were married. They have been together ever since. They have been through so much, but have loved each other through it all.

Dee smiles. She answers, "Hello?...What? What's wrong?" Her face drops, her smile fades. "No...no...no." A tear falls. "Okay, we'll leave right when I get home. Make sure you're ready. I will be there in 2o minutes...Good-bye, I love you." She closes her phone and looks down. Deep breath. Dee makes the sign of the cross and starts to pray. When she gets home in 20 minutes she will have to leave for the hospital with Will. To see her son Manny.

The Mega Bus Mystery Woman

Coming home on the Mega Bus was always fun because you got to sit through a five hour drive with a lot of interesting people. I always got stuck sitting next to a person who would fall asleep and snore or twitch. This time was different because I got to sit next to a good looking girl. She had brown hair and a Chad Johnson jersey on( Cincinnati Bengal Receiver). She looked my age and she had Mt. Notre Dame sweatpants on, which is a high school back home. I hung out with MND girls but i had never seen her before and I had no clue who she was or if she was even from Cincinnati. She could have been visiting friends. 

She is a freshman at Depaul. She is heading back to her dorm to see her friends. She cares about what she looks like and she cares about how people see her as a person. She is a Communications major. She likes sports and watches them often. She doesn't have a job but is in the process of getting one.

the garbage man.

On the Red Line. Got on at Belmont, headed towards 95th. It's about 1 o'clock in the afternoon, so the seats are all taken. I stand in the aisle, across from a most interesting man. He wears a tattered jacket with old green pants and worn out shoes. He stands in the corner of the dividing panel and the wall, reading the comics in the Chicago Tribune. The strange thing about this fellow is his luggage. Along with his dirty old backpack, the man has two large garbage bags that I am sure are full of garbage. The smell of the car confirms it. So I wondered: Why would this man be taking his trash on the train?

This man was successful. This man had a home. This man had a family. This man was making more money than he knew what to do with. This man made a bad decision. This man lost everything. This man was forced to the street. This man was transformed from a loving father and husband to an eccentric bum that people stare down at as he walks by. This man is forced to carry around the unpleasant garbage bags full of his past. This man can do nothing else but read the paper and try to get to his final destination, wherever that may be.

Inside the mind of Danielle the Democrate

The red line… the only line I ever take around the city on a daily basis. As much as I take this line I’ve never seen the same person twice; always giving me a new atmosphere to soak in on a early Sunday morning. As I scan the car for my next form of entertainment, I can’t help but notice the women right beside me. A plump girl with curly brown hair pulled back, with bright glittery clips, into a tiny little floof of a pony tail. She’s wearing black square plastic rim glasses perched on her round nose and a camo zip. I can’t help but notice the four buttons placed strategically on the right side of her zip up. They are all democratic champagne buttons. Every other button bashes the Bush administration while the others promote Obama. I couldn’t help but notice her matching Obama shirt under her zip up and the frantic scribbling she was doing in her My Little Pony notebook. As I placed myself in the perfect position to read over her shoulder without looking like a complete creeper, I noticed she was writing down a list of words. War, Liar, Revolution, Dream, Vote, Change… these where just a few jotted down on the lined paper. Constantly she was periodically checking her watch and looking out the window with a hint of annoyance in her big brown eyes. Once she catches on to my gaze upon her notebook she quickly slams it shut, hugging it towards her body. Her gaze slowly lowers as she trails deep into her thoughts on the upcoming Students for a Democratic Society meeting at DePauw University that she’s about to be late for. She was so anxious and scared about speaking in front of her fellow group members, but since she’s president she has to face it every week. The long commute into the city made it worse because it was just more time she had to sit and think about all the things that could go wrong during her opening speech at the meeting. This meeting she really wanted to get people pumped and excited about their biggest event of the year… the election. The group would be working the polls and she wanted to grasp how important it was to be contributing even the slightest to making a difference. She wanted to nail this one, so to cope she brought out her favorite notebook and started jotting down words that came to mind when she thought of their cause and the presidential election. Finally, she was relaxing a little then she felt someone’s gaze upon her making her very self conscious, so she quickly closed her notebook. She didn’t know why she felt those scribbles shouldn’t be read by anyone but her… It wasn’t as if anyone would understand there meaning. But she did and they had a personal meaning to her with not only the election but also as an outlet for coping. She felt that if someone could read those they’d see through her mask of confidence and business like demeanor she wished to portray. She like the rest of society didn’t want to face her own vulnerability, and if she can trick society into believing her act… maybe, she could trick herself.

Glam

In the back corner of the El sat a beautiful girl. Her long, dark, wavy hair fell over her shoulders. Her side bangs hung in her face. She was spacing off, looking out the window of the El, lost in thought. Her head was bobbing to the beat of the song on her i-pod. Her style was totally vintage. She wore a dark sun hat with a bright right scarf tied around her neck. She looked away from the window and we made eye contact. Her eyes were alive. I found peace in her smile. The El stopped and the girl jumped up to get off at her stop. Once at her stop she made her way to the streets of Chicago. Obviously in a hurry she rushed to Argo Tea. As she approached a boy greeted her with warm smiles and hugs. He wrapped his arms around her thin body and they entered the cafe. Little did she know that later that night this boy would be proposing to her. He was in a band and had been touring for a while, while she had been here in Chicago studying for her major. They sat in front each other holding hands, lost in each others eyes. He knew she was the one. After tea they hugged goodbye, for they had to get ready for dinner later that night. They parted ways. Later that night, she became Mrs. Cody Clark. Her eyes held true happiness, and her smile held true joy. 

Alone and In Need

Raven opened her eyes. The time was probably 7 am, since traffic had yet to pick up and the sun was only just beginning to creep over the vast cityscape. Lying under a long stretch of bridge on Grand Ave, Raven hesitantly stood up. She looked both ways up and down the dirty sidewalk she slept on, and seeing that no one was around, she gathered her belongings. They were a newspaper dated August 13, 2008, a faded blue comforter with many holes leaking a synthetic cotton, a thick coat, and a pair of shoes. All but the shoes she shoved into a large orange gym bag with a pullstring close. The shoes, black, velcro, dated, she slipped over her feet. She wore brown socks with rips in the ankles. She threw the bag over her shoulder and began walking aimlessly.

With no where to go, Raven often stopped in a shady area to sleep and rest. It didn't matter if people saw her. She had grown accustomed to being stared at. She had been homeless for 3 years now. She had all but forgotten the life she used to live. All that mattered was now. Surviving.

Everyday, Raven used her cardboard sign with the writings "Please. Anything will help. God bless you." She found that tourists often were more generous than locals, so Raven spent most of her days up and down Michigan Avenue, wandering back and forth from hotel to hotel. It was difficult to get money, or anything for that matter. Her appearance was far from acceptable. She wore a brown sweatshirt with many stains on the front. She wore gray sweatpants, also worn out, as well as her shoes. She hadn't taken a shower in at least a month. She knew she smelled.

One day, as she held her sign, an elder woman walked out of the Hilton. She looked to be in her mid 60's, wore a mice summer dress and white shoes. Her hair was a flowing gray. Raven saw her, and to her surprise, saw the woman take notice to her. The woman approached her, handed her a transit card and a twenty dollar bill. She only said "God bless" and walked away. Raven sat there open-mouthed.

Standing, she looked after the woman to thank her, but she was gone in the crowd. With a sense of determination, Raven proceeded to the nearest restaurant. She arrived at a McDonald's. After eating as much as she could, she gripped her transit card as she proceeded down the steps into the red line. She didn't know where she was going. She didn't care. She wanted to escape.

Sitting on the train, she glanced around at the other passengers. She didn't want to sit next to anyone, so she sat her large orange bag on the empty seat next to her. Glancing up, Raven noticed a tall younger fellow glancing over a her. She felt self-conscience and glanced in the other direction. She could tell he was still noticing her, and wondered what he was thinking of her. What types of conclusions is he drawing? How does he view me?

He exited the train at the following stop. She looked up, already drawing conclusions about him...

A Standing Girl

When I walked into the orange line at 12PM, I saw a girl was standing next to the atomic door of the train. The girl was having short hair. She was wearing a dark gray jacket, a pair of skinny blue jeans and a pair of red shoes. Also, I saw her was listening her ipod. She was leaning on the atomic door and sending text massages. She was a college student and going to school that like me. After the train passed through the Halstead, she got a text massage and smiled lightly after she read the massage. That smiling was sweet. This was because that massage was from her boyfriend by her boyfriend did something she was unlike. He wanted to say sorry to her and make her happy. But, she was thinking about her class project for her major, Economics. She needed to go outside of school to interview any at least five people. And then wrote a report according to the interviews and your thoughts. She still leaned on the atomic door and looked out from the train quietly. She was a lucky girl because she didn’t need to worry any thing by her parents did for her. Her parents were chosen the school for her from she first time went to school to now. She just followed what her parents would like her to do to finish the things. That was why she thought about and worried her project. She needed to become an independent person by she always leaned on her parents. This project was the first step might bring her to become independent.

Reading a Young Girl

Here I sit on the L right next to a little girl playing with her Barbie doll. She is frail with blue beach ball eyes, sitting with her legs dangling below, kicking them left and right into the air. She is wearing bubblegum pink jelly shoes and a pink dress with cherry red flowers lining the bottom. Her skin is light and pasty. She looks like she has not been in the summer sun in ages. As she was playing pretend with her Barbie I noticed her right arm had a big black and blue mark with a Tasmanian devil band aid over it. It looked like my arm after I had blood drawn when I was in seventh grade, although I had a dull beige band aid. Her arms were like toothpicks and her face was small and sickly looking. The only color came from her rosy cheeks and blue eyes which contrasted nicely with one another. She had a big smile that took over her entire face. All her teeth shown, which wasn't many since she lost the two front ones, grinning ear to ear. This little girl looks like any other little girl in the world. The Barbie in one hand and pink everything; except for one thing. Her strawberry blond hair was shaved and looked to be growing back. Something that a young, playful, vibrant little girl should not have to face. The image of life and fighting for it was written in those crystal blue eyes. I will never forget her childlike behavior, making swimming movements with her Barbie, chewing green apple gum, smacking it between her teeth and gums; her energy was of a child dealing with a grown up sickness, cancer. 

Unit 1 Project

In the comments cast a vote for which unit 1 project you want to represent our class!

Blog Post: A Story Of A Life

Here is a famous poem by Ezra Pound that may encompass how some of us feel as we look at all the people going by in this huge city.

In a Station of the Metro

The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.


For this post I want you to create a life! We are surrounded by thousands of people every day. Where are they off to? What do they care about? For this post I want you to observe someone on the train or bus and create a back story for that person. Describe them to us in detail and then tell us about them! What do they do for a living? Are they married? Single? Do they have kids? What are their hobbies? Did they go to college? What was their major? You will not talk to them. This is the opposite of journalism! Go wild.

Due next Monday 10/20.

Remember to post on one other blog for full credit!

this is kirsten's project...

To prove that someone does not have a life is an impossible feat. Everyone has a life and a tale to tell. My life is generally dull, but even through the monotony each week i find reason to get up each morning. The mundane day, we live a story full of comedy and drama which we often overlook. There’s something universal and entertaining about how we go about our day, the way we communicate, especially in todays more wired society; our invisible community we gather on the internet or through a phone. All this simultaneous to the physical world we interact in. I aim to bring out that world and show that even when we’re to ourselves, we’re still together.
The ordinary can be epic; fights with friends and family can seem like warfare, and good conversation can be as good as any stand up comic. If we could contrast the two, we would begin to see how we find enjoyment in the average hour spent together. Art does not exist in a vacuum, but it doesn’t exist in a fantsy world of makebelieve either. Living is an art, and I hope to help show how any instance can be interesting.

Here's the play: Right here

Amanda Doering's Project

Summertime Flowers

The sun is shining through the puffy clouds above
Its orange and yellow rays embrace me
Nourishing the flowers below
Those vibrant pinks and reds
With droplets of dew running down their plush petals
I close my eyes and take in the smell of sweet flowers
Reminding me of the garden my mother has back home
I see her radiant face caring for each plant
Compassionately growing each one with patience and love
Her smile is forever embedded in my heart

Artist's Statement --

First off, let me start by explaining my passion in life. My true passion is writing and journaling. I usually write poems, short stories, or just a journal entry of the day’s events. In this project my work consists of poems that explain who I am at this very moment in life. My work is inspired by my personal experiences, family, where I grew up, influential people, friends and books. It is so hard to identify as just one thing. Within this project I have developed many layers of poems that go from the physicality of me to my inner being.
Going more in depth in this project, identifying myself and trying to inspire whoever reads my work to find their inner self, is how I want to motivate. By taking my poems and writing them in layers I am slowly identifying myself and what defines me as a person. I wanted to write specifically about my parents and the connections I have with them; also my work experiences because I think that this is another defining factor of my identity. Overall I want to portray myself in the light of being family orientated and well rounded.
With my book I am using different pictures to symbolize my past experiences and my life. The front has two quotes that mean something to me and have given me inspiration. I have two eyes on the front as well. One is small and black and white. The other is big with multiple colors. The small eye is looking up to the big eye to symbolize thinking outside of the box and always looking for something better in life. I chose a lantern and put a flower inside of it. This represents my mom who has always given me light in dark times and the yellow flower symbolizes her beautiful bright presence in my life. The next artifact one the front is Jesus opening a heart door. I am religious and that is a part of my past, present, and future. I wanted to show him as always opening doors, especially in my life. I know he has been there to pick me up when things have gone wrong. I chose a black and white background because I feel as though my life at one point was very black and white. Then color was added, as I got older. Life started to become more meaningful as I matured.
My poems are all about the people who have influenced my life and myself. Especially my mom and dad. I write a specific poem about my mom as a flower. I also write about my best friend Alexis in this story and how she has helped me grow as a person and has influenced my identity. I think my work ethic is a huge part of my identity as well, so in two other poems I discuss my working experiences from when I was younger and one from present day.
Overall, I want whomever reads this to be able in some way relate it to their lives and realize that although we might be complete strangers, have different backgrounds, in some way we are connected.

Elizabeth Ragan's Project

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”; a popular saying that most of us have heard at one time or another. The architecture of our lives surrounds us McDonalds, the Sears Tower, and our homes. Although not something inspired by a specific human architecture carries a sense of warmth and that is what drives me. I love buildings that are warm and inviting places where souls can meet; sharing a cup of coffee or glass of wine. Creating a space or building is easier said than done having to strive everyday to be better and pay attention to the world around us and it’s ever changing needs.
Giving the straight lines of a blueprint life, making them move, and their beauty rise into the sky is my passion. Architects never know how the structure will change and if anything will aspire then to those changes. Life is rooted in creativity always giving something a chance; art and science working together hand in hand.
Many things have inspired me through life, but when I see buildings I see endless possibilities inside and out. Art stops where my imagination stops. God gave me talents to see things maybe others wouldn’t and to collaborate with those who have been given talents I do not posses. The human race was designed to work as a team and I see that as a huge strength for the imagining mind. I will always keep learning new things if I’m not willing to do that life would lose its virtue.


---- When choosing to do this self portrait I was thinking of a way to combine everything I do in to one body of work. Not sure how it would come together and if it would be possible. I have chosen to take slides of my work from my architecture classes, makeup artist projects, and the rock band I was in to compile slide show. I narrated this slideshow myself with an instrumental soundtrack. I hope this piece brings across who I am and that I have a deep rooted passion in many areas.

David McNeely's Project

Artist's Statement on its way!

Bowen's Project

Artist's Statement on its way!

Dance Defines Me

During this project, I faced the complicated task of defining myself. Rather than picking a personality trait or picture, I decided to focus on my passion, dance. Dancing for me isn’t about being the best; it is more of an expression of my emotions through movement. After a hard day at school, I would come into the studio and just let the music take over me. Through my movements, I could release all the built up tension from that day and really connect with my feelings. Dancing has become a daily ritual of not only distressing my body and mind, but a critical way of tapping into my inner most emotions. This emotional connection has made dance very personal to me and hard to talk about, thus I decided to do a visual interpretation. This visual definition sums up over 15 years worth of development in my movement. It also presents all the different dance styles that have helped mold me into the performer I am today. I decided to show multiple dances because these dances are more like journal entries to me. As cliché as it sounds, each dance captured an important point in my life and when I was performing each piece I was “bearing a bit of my soul.” So I feel that the loss of one would form an incomplete representation of myself and diminish the projects overall meaning. Through the formation of this visual representation, I have become more aware of what direction I’m heading as an artist along with an idea of what times I began to really change as a person.

Remember

Remember you must answer both questions for each project, not just the first one.

Sam Staley's Project

Artist's Statement on its way!

Bill Ross' Project

Artist's Statement on its way!

Morgan Robak

I can not recall when I became comfortable with who I was but to this day, I love who I have become. Every event that occurred during my 18 years of life, has created the person you see today. I have seen family members go through hard times, I have seen them come and go, I have helped out people who are less fortunate then me. None of this makes me better than anyone else, but it makes me who I am. It breaks me apart from the crowd because no one is like me out there. We are all different, inside and out. It just just takes moments and events to shape who we are.

Everyone knows who they can be, but it needs to be pulled out of them. I learned that if we were in a vacuum, all alone, we would be a different person than we are today. People shape who we are, how we think, what we look like. It just is your creative additions to yourself that makes you unique and an individual. It is different to take on someone else's identity as your own, those people just need to realize they can be themselves and be happy too.

Writing can be a big part of my life. When I write, I put down exactly what is on my mind, what I am thinking at that exact moment, wearing, or doing. It is a calming feeling that I feel when I am writing. I feel my thoughts are flowing through the paper and whether they are random thoughts or controlled thoughts, it expresses who I am. Pictures as well, when I draw something instead of right it, it is for a reason. It expresses who I am at that particular moment or what I am thinking.

I love who I am, I am comfortable with who I am. I really do not mind if someone does not like me. I am at that stage where I will find friends and people who enjoy my company. We are not all the same, and we might not all get along, but we can all be nice.

Lien Le's Project

Self identity is something I should be able to seek whether it is through visual image or words. My works show that I am self driven throughout my whole life experience.
I can say I have many personalities and I go through many moods every day. Recently, I took many risks in life and I think that it made me a stronger person. Knowing that I can do things I never thought I can do. I look at myself and I start to imagine my future and how my life will turn out to be. I believe if I stick to my goals and believe in myself I can conquer success and be what I always wanted to be… successful in life.
Through my artwork I can show viewers what I am seeing through my own eyes. The expressions I use through images and words.
Through research i fouond the the purple flower symbolizes dignity,pride, and success ,and represents accomplishment and admiration.

Abraham Ban's Project

Artist's Statement on its way!

Sarah Luckett's Project

Artist's Statement on its way!

My self is a stretch of sand along a shoreline. Along it have walked memories, people, and places. Each has left a footprint, an impression, which has faded with the tides, but existed nonetheless. However, along my shoreline of self lie six separate foot prints, which never fade. These six footprints are concrete, and have yet to fade away with the tides of my years. These six footprints define who I am.
When I received this assignment I immediately was drawn to the third prompt (“Impressions of Identity). Through class discussion I began to form a distinct belief that my “self” was completely made up of the people and experiences that have influenced me. My memories make up who I am
I decided to make a sort of replica of my self-shoreline, and the different impressions that have been made upon me. Originally I wanted the project to hang in the air, to be three-dimensional. However, my admitted lack of technical skill caused a change in plans. I felt like my orignal idea was too complex, and prohibit the discovery of my deeper meaning, so I shifted the project to follow simpler route – my shoreline theme.
My project consists of different “footprints” made out of pictures. The “toes” of these footprints are words that explain the impression that has been made on me. I also included pictures of myself, taken from different angles, each one paired with a photo of something that has left an impression. I believe in a complex “self”, where each memory or experience has affected different aspects of my personality, thus including pictures from different angles.

Madeline Kettlewell's Project

Mirrors and Metaphors
The task of this portfolio, as I came to understand it, is to display or create a symbol, which defines my identity at its essence. The symbol I chose that distills myself to its very essence would be that of a Hatchetman woven in to a Triquetra. I feel that these two symbols are a strong representation of who I am, as they both relate to my faith and what I believe in. I chose to show these symbols in a painting to further represent what I think best describes me. When faced with the challenge of creating this portfolio piece, I began with thinking of what different images may best describe my identity and eventually came to the conclusion that I could not use just one. As my project developed, my interpretation of a symbol describing my identity transitioned in to a description of my identity through my beliefs. I hold my beliefs very close to my heart and feel that, in some sense, they directly correlate to my constantly evolving personality.
The ‘hatchetman’ symbol is something commonly related to the “underground” musical group the Insane Clown Posse and their avid listeners. These fans have created a cult following to ICP’s music and record label, and consider themselves to be a non-conventional family. Ideally, this family dynamic takes pride in the acceptance of others regardless of social status, race, or any other defining factor that may affect one’s ability to “fit in” by normal standards. I consider myself to be one of these avid listeners and actually wear this symbol as a charm on my necklace (something which I have only taken off once in the four years of me owning it). To me, the hatchetman is a representation of the three phases of myself: the person I was, the person I am today, and the person I shall become. In short, it represents the evolution of my identity, which I don’t think could have happened without the help of my ‘family’.
The symbol that can be seen wrapped around the hatchetman is that of a triquetra. The triquetra is often referred to as a Celtic knot and has many meanings, depending upon the person and cultural backgrounds. For me, the triquetra is a symbol of my religious beliefs. This knot is often recognized to be symbolic of the holy trinity in Christianity. Interestingly enough, predating Christianity it has been symbolic of Pagan beliefs, specifically Wicca. This is how the symbol defined me. I have been a practicing Wiccan for many years now and still spend the majority of my free time studying my faith and meditating on my beliefs. Within Wicca, the triquetra is symbolic of the three phases of the Goddess: the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone. Just as I found the hatchetman to be symbolic of the three phases of myself, the triquetra is symbolic of what I believe to be the three phases of the Earth and Cosmos.
When it came to the actual painting, I used color as a somewhat superficial representation of who I am, as I am obsessed with color. Whether it is my interest in obscure hair dyes and their possible color combinations, or just my interest in color and its composition, I think there is something to be said about my enthusiasm about color and form. I used my feelings about color to connect these symbols in to one, unified painting. My intention was to show an emotional sense of exuberance and energy with this. Whether or not it was successful is solely up to the viewer. Ultimately, I feel that this painting is representative of how I see my identity at its essence.

Patrick Lewandowski's Project

Artist Statement

For many years I have been a musician, I was inspired by my guitarist Kevin to play drums, but was never in a band with him. It was nearly four years until Kevin invited me to become apart of a new band that he was starting. He explained I have become a drummer that would be great for the type of band he wanted to start. I was grateful and joined with no hesitation. I have done many other activities but none of them can be as rewarding as being a drummer. The project I did was a reflection of how well my band represents me. Dan, Kevin, and I have work countless hours writing songs, perfecting them, and preparing for concerts. It has been almost a year now since Modern Chemists was born, and since then, I have done nothing but sacrifice time, money, and energy to this band. I believe that the journey is not going to be over for a long time, and Modern Chemists will only give me the one thing that I want to do: be who I want to be. There is one thing in life that I will not regret, and that is becoming the drummer of Modern Chemists.

Diamond Stingily's Project

The art that I am conveying in this piece is music. Music is universal and displays emotions when words are truly not enough. It can be beautiful and innocent as a child being borned, silly and clumsy when someone loses their teeth for the first time, and sad and somber when families are going through hard times. There is a soundtrack to everything in life including the simple things in life. The idea is for people to understand me as a person as while as artist. With these seventeen songs I have chosen to display my past life with the songs that I listen to today. Music is constantly evolving; it is the only thing that everyone loves considering all the different genres in the world. I made the soundtrack of my life to start off simple not with many words and if they had vocals, it involved gibberish (Portugal. The Man – Opal Magic), to more complex and complicated vocals/lyrics when a child reaches the age of interaction with others besides family. The idea is that music is expression without words and that when someone listens to what you listen to on a constant basis. They are getting a sense of you and all that you stand for as a person. Without music there would be no culture. It is a source of communication to all generations and walks of life.

John Smisek's Project

Artist Statement
I have created this music in order to develop a “self-self portrait.” In construction of this song, I did not purposely write with myself in mind. Instead, I cleared my head and simply began writing the first thing that came into my mind. I think this more accurately displays who I am as a person because it is a description of me in my normal state. I am not forcing a theme to happen or allowing myself to become influenced by some outside source. I enjoy music with quick rhythms and variety within the song itself, reflecting in my personal writings. Piano is the one instrument I would like to say I am somewhat good at, therefore I am writing this tune as a piano piece. Accompanying the music are various images. I am using a variety of photographs, paintings, and drawings I have created in order to further the portrayal of self through sound and sight. This slideshow represents images that inspire me, remind me of things I love, and overall represent my creative side.

I think the self is difficult to describe. There is a question raised in relating self to identity. What is the difference? Many different facets make each of us unique. This song, or a painting, or a journal entry, or any of a number of projects cannot fully define who I am as a person, but it can reveal small portions of who I am. It identifies me as a creative person. It shows how I am a deeply thoughtful person, and how my creativity influences who I am on a daily basis. These aspects of self all contribute to identity by describing me in pieces to create an overall self-image. Overall, this piece reflects me in a unique way. My identity is crafted through images and music that inspire and initially draw roots from my imagination.

Blog Post

In the comments, answer these two questions for each of your classmates' projects.

1. Please share what strikes you as most "successful"interesting, engaging, compelling, or provocative-about this artist's project.

2. Please share the most important question that this artist's project raises for you.
(Questions that might stimulate creative ideas about enhancing, amplifying, or even re-imagining the project will be especially helpful and welcome.)

I believe in fairies

(Yes, this picture is a 'hoax', but...) I believe in fairies.

I believe in what they believe in. Or rather...

What they mean.

innocence, youth, naivety, carelessness

Like Peter Pan, we lost all this with age and time. 

But the fairies preserve it.

I believe in fairies.

What they stand for. And, yes...

I believe in fairies...stealing shiny thing

hiding shiny things

building shiny things

making shiny nests out of shiny things.

...i like shiny things. 

and I believe in fairy magick. 

I believe in fairies...but I wish they would stop stealing my shiny things.

I believe in Bagel!!

I believe in Bagel.

I believe in Bagel because she believes in me.

Unconditional puppy love, 

her ears blowing in the wind along the shore, 

Her tail wagging when she is happy,

Her shirt that says "Bling Bling"

The way she makes people smile,

Taking her on a run,

Snuggle time,

Flea treatment,

Vet insurance, 

Pee stains on the carpet.

Most of all I believe in Bagel because she never talks back and she always listens.

I believe in...

walking.

I believe that walking will save the world. I think that walking is crucial in helping make America a greener place.

I believe that walking will make us healthier and happier. It is good for the heart. It detoxifies the body, mind, and soul. It strengthens us from inside and out. 

I believe in talking walks by yourself. Walking alone helps your to clear your thoughts. It helps you focus on your problems and helps you figure things out. During a walk alone you can discover yourself.

I believe in taking walks with someone special. Walking with someone else ensures a bond and special connection between two people.

Walking is comforting. Walking is beneficial. Walking is what I believe in.