{"id":27,"date":"2024-10-21T05:34:56","date_gmt":"2024-10-21T05:34:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/freestyleacademy.rocks\/~StephenM\/?page_id=27"},"modified":"2026-01-07T19:06:55","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T19:06:55","slug":"reflections","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/freestyleacademy.rocks\/~StephenM\/reflections\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As I began my second year in Freestyle, we were immediately asked to answer the following question in all 3 of our classes: “Who am I?”, with each class integrating a different assignment to help us answer that question. From creating a mandala to represent ourselves, our culture, and our personality, to writing a college-style personal essay about our past, present, and future, to making a short film that highlights one of our most essential memories and characteristics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Art Curation for Personal Museum<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Art Curation assignment took us back to the SFMOMA, where we were asked to find pieces of art that helped us answer “Who am I?”. A more specific question we were asked was this: Which works of art are worthy of my attention? Below are 5 pieces of art that stood out to me, and helped me answer our main question. We call these photos our “Personal Museum”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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3 Art Pieces i would add to my personal museum<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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2 Art pieces i would not add to my personal museum<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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My own work as an artist and how I critique my artwork influenced which pieces I chose for my Personal Museum. When I looked at my art, I thought about which pieces best represent who I am, my interests, and my growth as a person and artist. I included pieces that I felt a strong connection to or that showed effort, meaning, or improvement. Some pieces didn\u2019t make the cut because they didn\u2019t feel personal enough or didn\u2019t reflect my values or identity. By being honest with myself, I was able to choose artwork that truly represents me rather than just picking pieces that looked nice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My personal mandalas<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In this project, we were challenged to create our own personal mandalas in Adobe Illustrator using features that would repeat what I would draw in slices, ultimately making a cool, circular design, kind of like a snowflake. After creating my mandala by drawing objects that reminded me of one of my favorite scriptures and songs, “Fisher of Men”, by N!x, I got my design laser engraved on a sliced piece of a log.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the images do not display below,
On a Mac, press Command + (plus) then press press Command – (minus)
On a PC, press the Ctrl + (plus) then press the Ctrl – (minus)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Seeing my laser-engraved mandala on wood was honestly pretty cool and rewarding. It felt real in a new way, like the design had finally taken on a permanent form, and I was done. I chose wood as the material because it feels natural, grounded, and timeless, which connects well to the Christian themes of faith, foundation, and tradition in Fisher of Men. The slice of the wood added its own character, making the mandala feel warmer and more organic than a flat digital or paper version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I created a colored mandala titled Fisher of Men, inspired by my faith and the idea of being called to faith. Unlike my black-and-white mandala, this piece uses color to add emotion, movement, and meaning. The boat at the top represents the fisherman, connecting to Jesus\u2019 call to be \u201cfishers of men,\u201d while the jellyfish and flowing ocean forms create a sense of depth and over-achieving. The Bible placed in the ocean at a higher level represents how we overlook the simplicity of the gospel, and look for other things that might fulfill us instead. This mandala feels more symbolic and expressive than my BW mandala because the imagery and color work together to tell a clearer story. Check out the making of my Illustrated mandala below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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