Introduction
The reflections unit felt like one of our most personal units yet. In this unit, we created so many things, each with very personal feelings for us. Every project I made took a lot of time and thought until I was content with my ideas. In each of our classes, we were able to use our personal experiences as creatively as possible. In Digital Media, we produced a Core Values video and made a beautiful Mandala. In English, we had the opportunity to write our college personal essay, and finally, in Design, we created a collage, a Public Service announcement, and Aboriginal Art.
The Reflections unit taught me so much, from working with AfterEffects for one of the first times to continuously thinking of creative ideas, I expanded my skills in so many ways. We used AfterEffects, Illustrator, and Photoshop in this unit. I’m fairly familiar with Photoshop and Illustrator, but there are still so many things I don’t know, and this unit helped me explore new skills. I also learned how much my art means to me through this, art is a way I can show who I am and that became extremely clear with this unit.
Art Reflection
At the start of the year, we made a trip to the SF MOMA; we were assigned to take a picture of art that gave us a feeling of awe. Untitled, by Cy Twombly, stopped me in my tracks. I used Adobe AfterEffects to create this video and added vocals and music. This emphasized the feeling this piece gave to me.
Core Values Video
Mandala
The Mandala project in Digital Media inspired me in many ways. It is a more personal project than we usually do. There were many steps and projects that created one whole beautiful one. I started in Illustrator by creating a mandala template and then thought of something that had meaning to me. I filled my mandala with all different kinds of fruits, with the brush tool, and repeated the pattern all around creating my Black and White Mandala
After completing the black-and-white design of my mandala. I continued in Illustrator using the brush tool, but this time with colour. I thought of a bright summer-themed colour scheme to go with the different fruits I had. When I was done, I was left with a bright, beautiful image. When I finished with the digital designs of my mandala, I had it laser printed on wood. This was the most exciting part of the project because I was able to hold something I had created.
Personal Essay
In English this year, we were allowed to write our CommonApp Essay. During the process that we went through, I was able to emphasize core values, have personal insight, and develop a much stronger essay. Having this as an assigned topic in class also motivated me a lot to get it done. This helped me get ahead with my college application process, which relieved a lot of stress. But most importantly this assignment strengthened my sense of self.
My essay describes the difficult experiences I went through and how they affected the person I am today. I struggled with many obstacles growing up, but I believe they only made me into a stronger person.
Art History Summer
Public Service Announcement
Introduction
This project is a Public Service Announcement to the smoking community. I drew a cigarette burning and the smoke went up to a pair of lungs slowly killing the lung. I used mostly red colors to represent a bold and scary feeling to represent that smoking is bad. Where the cigarette is burning the smoke starts as white and slowly turns into dark red, and then black showing how it is affecting the healthy lungs. I used “The Fire That Consumes You”, to be able to reach and get a reaction from the smoking community.
To create this project I used Adobe Illustrator. I started by creating a mood board, collecting PSA inspirations, and finding a tagline with a fitting font. That was honestly the hardest part, finding the right things to use to send the right message. After that, I made a new Illustrator file and started drawing. I drew out the lungs first and knew from the start I wanted to incorporate it being affected by smoke. After that, I drew the cigarette and continued with my text. I liked creating this piece because I felt not only that I was creating art but also for a cause.
Aboriginal
The symbols I used in the project each have a unique and personal meaning to me. The focal point, the butterfly I identify as my spirit animal for a very special meaning. I have connected myself to a butterfly because of this and even have a tattoo of it. The next elements are two aboriginal art symbols; the moon and stars. I chose these elements because I have always been fond of the nighttime and feel like these two symbols perfectly represent night. The last two symbols represent my astronomical status. I am a Leo so I used the Leo zodiac sign and the correlating star correlation. These symbols have meaning to me because they are a representation of a part of who I am. All my elements, tied together in the same piece, create a personal piece for me that only I will ever really know its deepest, most powerful meaning.
To create this piece, I used Adobe Photoshop. This was very different than what I am used to, considering most of my designs have been made in Illustrator. This was a very new experience to me and I learned and gained so much from it. I ran into a lot of struggles, with weird alerts that came up and colors only being grey. However, I overcame them by searching for my struggle and finding hundreds of solutions online and on YouTube. During this project, I also faced a broken laptop which set me back days. From this experience, I also learned a lot about how to use my resources and time management. I am very grateful for this project, as I feel like I only benefited from it. I am also proud of the piece I created and how personal it is to me.