The silence was overwhelming. In a city of thousands, the only noise in those moments were sirens in the distance. We looked at the screens, too far away from the stage itself, and looked at her face as she stared down the street crowded with people as far as the eye could see. Silence. She didn't speak a word. A timer went off. From the moment she came on stage until the moment the timer went off was 6 minutes and 20 seconds. That was the amount of time he took to murder 17 innocent lives. 6 minutes and 20 seconds. That is one person every 22.35 seconds. Although others spoke of their experiences and thoughts, the silence spoke louder than any words could. It felt like forever and it was in no time at all. 

www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/03/24/us/march-for-our-lives-emma-gonzalez/index.html 

www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/yolanda-renee-king-mlk-jr-granddaughter-speech-march-for-our-lives-2018-03-24/

https://marchforourlives.com

http://www.danastirling.com
http://www.silvioporzionato.com/
http://www.reesfineart.com/

Everyone has their own ideas of how Earth came to be and how we as humans became. Many who are religious go under the idea that God created us. Some who are influenced by science go through the idea of evolution. I believe we are made from the stars though. Energy itself cannot be destroy, it can only be created or moved into a different type of energy. When stars are formed and they combust, that energy becomes something else within the universe, it doesn't just disappear. The idea of soulmates are similar, two stars who were near eachother when created or combusted, that energy will find eachother again. We are all made of stars. We all have a little magic and mystery within ourselves.

https://science.nasa.gov/news-articles

http://www.gaychristian101.com/does-the-bible-say-homosexuals-will-go-to-hell.html


https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4469849/

The idea of avant-garde artists originally were artists who were cutting edge, making ideas that had never been thought of before. People who claim to be avant-garde artist now tend to be contemporary artists, but with no ground breaking ideas. It has turned into artists who are pretentious. They walk around thinking that they are better than others because of what they supposedly represent. For instance an artist that exhibited at CREAM this past winter had an artist talk titled, "Who will hire the avant-garde artist". But this artist wasn't cutting edge or proposing new ideas, he was a self proclaimed avant-garde artist who used appropriate in all of his work to the point of plagerism, saying there was an idea of pop culture and minority culture within the work when it really just looked like bad Photoshop, random items thrown into installations, and no sense of clarity. He danced around questions and made himself look like a stuck up artist with a false chip in his shoulder claiming he was looked down upon when in reality he had long sold out to capitalism. There were no new ideas coming from him, just the same washed up ideas presented in a cluster fuck fashion. And that is the issue with some artists today. They claim to be avant-garde when they are really just contemporary. And if they claimed to be contemporary then all would be fine, but the minute they decide they are avant-garde they become pretentious assholes who look down on the rest of the world. If there was ever a day I, or someone else, called me an avant-garde artist, that is the day I would give up making art. That would be the day that I gave in to everything I dislike about the art community and the reasons why I chose not to go to an all art school and go to a school with all majors instead, to have a realistic and varied outlook on life and to stay humble in my work.

https://youtu.be/ogyJiVHwSRA

https://rupikaur.com

black mirror season 3 episode 4

Post #4

The way one might view religion is the same way one might view magic.When you think of religion, you think of faith and trust. Faith in the Bible. Trust in God. But at the end of the day, its a belief system. Its a way to cope with the world and loses and explain what you cannot. Religion is the idea of something greater. It is a way to believe in more and think that there is something after this lifetime because we do not know how to think of a world without ourselves or loved ones in it.
When you think of magic, you think of faeries and Santa Clause. But is magic any different than religion? Its the faith that there is more to the world than just what we see. Its trusting in something that can not be understood. Jesus made water into wine, is that not a form of magic? Its the idea that there is something greater. It is a belief system.
So while some go to church on Sunday mornings, I take my time to get up and fix myself some french toast. While some read the Bible to feel a better understanding of life, I go for a nature walk. Just because I am not banging down the doors to the Pope's office, does not mean I don't believe in something. I believe that everyone has their own form of magic in them. And no that doesn't mean we can fly or talk to animals, but maybe you can always switch back to the show you were watching right as the commercials end. Maybe you just make coffee better than anyone else. Maybe your magic is listening and understanding. It's these small things that we don't even realize we are doing until someone else points them out. The magic of Jesus is that he turned water into wine and the magic of my Dad is he makes the best chocolate chip pancakes in the world.
Because just like in the Bible, we can believe in being kind, in turning our cheeks to hatred, in loving all, without believing in one higher being. I don't think I believe in a god but I do believe in being a good person. I believe in energy. I believe that surrounding myself in nature makes me have a better understanding of this world I am in. But I will say, it is important to believe in something. Without something to help you understand the world we live in, whether it be religion, science, or magic. Believing in something, anything that you can hold down and makes you feel better about living life, then believe and never stop.


Inspiration:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUzKCjrN1Ys
the ending lines

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1Ly0t8IhgU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogyJiVHwSRA


Progress:

Post #3

We see colors everyday. From a young age we are told the sky is blue and grass is green. When we go more in depth though, we realize its not that simple. Sure the sky is blue, but the sky is also yellow at sunrise and pink at sunset. The grass is green, but look up a different type of grass and it is more of a shade of turquoise. Colors are not as simple as they seem. So when you say you love the color of the sky, what color are you talking about? Are you talking about the darkness that comes with midnight, the yellow and orange hues that bring the sunrise, the baby blue tones throughout mid day, the pink and purple cotton candy skies of sunset, or the deep tones that begin as the sun fades away to bring back the color of midnight? When you say the grass is green, which shade of green do you refer to? Is the color more of a blue green, a hunter green, a deep olive tone, a brighter yellow green? There are so many shades and tones to just one description. When we look at people, we are not just white or black, every person has different colors to them. One person might have a cool undertone full of blues while someone else has a warm yellow undertone. Some people have more red to their faces and even more so when they blush. The descriptions of colors are more than just the basic general colors we refer to. What color combination created that blade of grass? How can I recreate the colors that surround me when they are not as they seem? Colors are not as simple as blue and green and purple. They have tones and saturation. Life is not as simple as yes and no and white and black. Life has tones and saturation and difficulties not every one can see as well. We can not categorize the world by colors when colors themselves have so much variety to them. It is impossible to say that one color is correct and another is not when the lines between colors can be blurred and changed just by a fraction of a difference in one part. It is impossible to say that one race is correct and another is not when so many people come from so many different places. It is okay to be from a European country but not from Southern America or Africa apparently. How do we compare colors when they are all unique and beautiful in their own ways? How do we compare people when they are all unique and beautiful in their own and different ways?

Inspiration:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBahODn9_PM
The lyrics and emotion in this song particularly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9KZ3jgbbmI
The video (about 1 minute in) when you start to see the individual sparks to Ava Maria is something else entirely

http://carriemaeweems.net/
Heating Carrie Mae Weems talk about her life, inspiration, and work was a once in a lifetime experience. Being able to talk to her individually about subject matter and identity brought many ideas into perspective.

Progress of The Table Cloth

Post #2

I find it interesting looking into this world of fantasy that is becoming ruled by human characters. The premise reminds me of the TV show, The Magicians. In the show human magicians are found to be the rulers of a different world filled with magic, mysteries, and problems. The world they occupy was created by two gods, one being of chaos and the other of order, making a world of rules as well as imagination. The creatures and people who were created in the world and the humans who come to it do not always see eye to eye. C.S. Lewis always has a way of creating something that one could wish they could visit themselves. I'm sure all of us as children wanted to visit Narnia and the world he made that was filled with wonder, as well as its mysteries and problems of its own. I think that with the show, The Magicians, we see this idea of a new world full of creativity and once again we are brought back to a childhood-like want to visit a place that does not exist in the real world. This is the type of creativity and inspiration that we strive for in our art work. Its the ability to create something so wonderful that everyone would want to visit that world you created in your head. Its the want to make people see something, of feel something particular in our work to show them what we want them to see and feel when looking at it.

The inspiration I found from this reading was artist Dimitra Milan. She uses her dreams to create her art works. By doing this she is bringing us into her own world.

I have worked on 3 images in the past few weeks, using layers and the idea of the sky and space on top of previously painted works.