The reflections unit has taught me more about myself than I’ve ever learned before. Throughout this unit, we’ve been challenged to explore the deeper question of “who we are.” In our lives, we’ve been growing into the people we are today, but in many aspects, like regular school, we rarely get the chance to really “reflect.” Looking back on our experiences can teach us a lot about how to move forward.
Through the big projects, we’ve had the opportunity to work on, our skills have really been put to the test. In my design class, we created collages reflecting our summers as well as create aboriginal art that was a reflection of ourselves. In our English class, not only have we had an opportunity to work on our college apps, but we’ve explored our greatest challenges and the various ways we’ve overcome them. And finally, in our digital media class, we have constantly been applying our multimedia knowledge to create real, 21st-century art, that reflects our deepest values
Mandalas
In our digital media class, we did this cool mandala project that was all about expressing our core values through art. Each of us created unique mandala designs, weaving in our personal experiences and beliefs. It was not just about honing our digital skills but also understanding how art can be a powerful form of self-expression and identity.
Black and white
My Inspiration for this project was to incorporate some of my core values into a mandala. The value that I tried to represent the most was environmentalism. I included nature aspects like vines and leafs and a lot of lines that looked like ocean waves. If I were to do this again I would have done one with more shapes and geometric designs. I am happy with how It turned out in the end.
Colored Mandala
For this project I knew I wanted to create something different from I have usually done. We were tasked with creating a mandala using color so I decided to make some sort of a monster/alligator design. The center is a large mouth with a ton of teeth and the outside is a bunch of smaller mouths with sharp teeth. I am most proud of how it came out in the end because I really like the color scheme that I used.
Laser engraved Mandala
My Inspiration for this project was to incorporate some of my core values into a mandala. The value that I tried to represent the most was environmentalism. I included nature aspects like vines and leafs and a lot of lines that looked like ocean waves. If I were to do this again I would have done one with more shapes and geometric designs. I chose a pizza board because I am a big pizza fan and I figured I could maybe use it in the future to make a pizza. I am happy with how It turned out in the end.
Mandala creation video
Personal Essay
The Personal Essay was an opportunity for me to explore the question “Who am I?” on a deeper level. Initially uncertain about where to begin, I overcame my hesitations and gradually uncovered pivotal moments from my life that contributed to the person I am today. Writing the essay became a poignant journey, allowing me to reflect on forgotten and cherished memories. The satisfaction of confidently asserting that the essay genuinely reflects who I am is immensely rewarding, and I take pride in the work I’ve done.
Digital Media: Motion Graphics
Design
In the reflection unit of my design class, I’ve been taking a close look at myself and my design choices. As I work on various projects, I’m not just thinking about how things look but also why I make certain creative decisions. Going through this self-reflection process has shown me how my design choices often reflect who I am and what I’ve experienced. I have been able to incorporate myself into countless different projects.
Photoshop Collage
PSA Project
Jensen McDonell When you look at my PSA you will see the beach on top with a towel, umbrella, and a scatter of plastic bottles all over. Below is a graphic of the ocean water flowing with more plastic bottles. Within the waves are the words “Restore our shores” which is meant to address the international issue of plastic waste in our oceans. I hope that this piece will help the viewer understand how detrimental this problem is and make them more conscious of their own consumption of single use plastic products. My color scheme was meant to match the colors of the ocean and the sand. The red was used to make details on the trash to pop so the viewer would easily be able to see the trash floating around in the water.
I made my PSA using Adobe Illustrator. The most unique part of my design is definitely the waves in the ocean which I used the pencil tool to create. To create the trash I drew it in illustrator and then applied some effects to make them look weathered. I’m happy with how the PSA turned out and I think that It is successful at conveying my message to the viewer.
Aboriginal artwork
In my aboriginal artwork, I used many different symbols to represent different things. On the top of the piece, there are five different symbols representing stars that are all sized differently. Below the stars there is a wolf, the wolf is the center of attention for my piece because it is my spirit animal. The wolf symbolizes an intriguing mix of power, loyalty, guardianship, teamwork and wildness. Some of the other symbols I used were the symbol of a human track. This is the semi-circle with lines coming out of it. The last symbol I used was people sitting. I placed two of them on the bottom of the piece.
In order to create this piece I used the paintbrush tool in Photoshop. The process was very long and rewarding. The biggest issue I had was not being able to manipulate the dots after I placed them. The only thing you could do is erase and redo them. The part of my piece that took the longest to create was the wolf. I placed dots of varying sizes, most of which were fairly small so it took me a while. I don’t know if I would change much about my work if I did it again.