Reflections

The reflections unit was a unit that challenged us to explore our identity and find what has shaped us people. We were given a central question, “Who am I?”

This unit helped me learn many things about myself working through class projects. We worked on an essay in English, we produced a reflections short in film, and worked on after effects projects in digital media. All these projects showed me the importance of how struggles shape who you are. I was able to realize how the challenges that I’ve faced weren’t just bad experiences, but have permitted me to be where I am now.

To set up our brain to dig deep into our personalities, we worked on the core values video. This assignment involved 7 of our core values which we evaluated according to each one of our lives.

Mandalas

The mandala unit was a very fun and creative unit. We used Adobe Illustrator to plan and create a mandala. We planned what our mandala would include and where we would ultimately want to engrave it on. I wanted my mandala to include something related to the night, so I went from there.

My artist statements:

Black and White Mandala – What inspired this project was nature. I knew I wanted to represent something in nature through my art and I went with the overall vibe of night time. I Included moons, mountains, trees, stars, and hills. All combining into the night sky. I am most proud of how detailed I was able to make this mandala. At first I though I wouldn’t have any details but I kept adding more and more until I reached my desired look. If I were to change something it would be to add something that isn’t repeating in the middle. This project has showed me how to take an idea and expand it using small but meaningful details. I have also learned to appreciate the significance of mandalas.

Colored Mandala – This project was a continuation of my previously made mandala. The inspiration for the colors obviously came from the night time. But to me night can be more than just black and darkness. I used bright colors, using a purple, blue, and yellow pallet. Although they are bright they still capture the vast and complex nature of the night. All these colors represent stars, galaxies, space. Everything you see when you look up at night. This part of this project showed me that everything is up for interpretation and even though you see things a different way, doesn’t make you wrong.

Mandala Build Reveal Video:

Behind The Scenes:

Mandala Engraving:

Finished Engraved Mandala:

The Mandala Assignment introduced a new artistic aspect that I wasn’t really familiar with. This is a unique art form that uses repetition which I thought was pretty cool. This project also required a lot of attention to detail which was a refreshing aspect. I had to be patient and intentional with every line or shape.

Personal Essay

The personal essay was an assignment that dived into our past challenges and how we’ve developed from them. The man question was to answer “Who Am I?” I think I answered the question pretty well, I developed my essay based on a struggle that flourished into a passion.

Reflections Film

In film class, we were prompted to create a video that represented us without directly saying it. We showed the journey of how this place, thing, person has shaped who we are. In my reflections movie, I describe how I developed my hobby of guitar playing. I was never a musician up until freshman year of high school. It’s been a fun journey and I’m excited to share it.

Here are a few videos/exercises I developed during this unit:

This unit was definitely a great experience. It got really personal so it challenged me to reflect on myself and the things I’ve done. Being able to portray your emotions through my work is a very satisfying aspect. With this unit, I was also able to keep practicing and perfect my use of Adobe software to become a better film maker. Overall an amazing unit with many lessons learnt.