Reflection

 This year in art, I've progressed exponentially as an artist and a student. Coming into Haddon Township this year from Paul VI was an enormous culture shock for me as I had been previously exposed to a big school. When I met with Mr. Ottinger in the guidance office on my first day and he asked what elective I wanted to take, the first word out of my mouth was art. I've always loved art and admired the works that inspired artists came up with. But, the first day I walked into art with Ms. Kiick I'll admit I was a little bit intimidated with the different art projects going on. The first thing I worked on was my own personal Art x1. Looking back now, I am particularly proud of that piece because of all I had going on at the time with adjusting to HT. At first I had no confidence in producing a piece half as good as those of my classmates. Ms. Kiick saw the potential in my artistic abilities and brought out the best in me. Ever since that first piece I created, my confidence has grown and grown even when I got paint all over me during ceramics. At this moment, I feel as though I can doing anything art; maybe even get my art hung up next to 'The Mona Lisa'. I look to continue my art career next year and beyond.

Time Capsule

  My time capsule is an expressive representation of the person I am here today. Inside there's many sports related items that speak volumes to the lifestyle I live as an athlete. From the sports catalog page, to the Nike receipt; I implicate sports in my everyday lifestyle. Within the components of these sport related items, one will find that they are all related to shoes. My love for sneakers runs deep so it was an easy selection for me. Also in my box I selected to add lyrics to a Tim McGraw song. This was also an uncomplicated decision because ever since I was little my mom always listened to country so my love for it was implanted at a young age. Another piece that could be found in my time capsule is an attendance slip. I have a hard time getting out of the bed in the morning so the reception of an attendance slip is a common occurrence for me. One could also find a picture of me and my best friend who is really more like a brother to me. He has been there for me since kindergarten so adding a picture was simply inevitable. Finally I added a flower to my capsule for a couple of reasons. One reason is that I draw inspiration everyday from nature in my art and life. Another reason is that I'm fascinated at how the earth is structured and how all things have a role in their respective ecosystem. If someone were to open this box, a lot of thoughts would be going through their head about the kind of person I am. 

Clay Totem Pole

  As the veterinarian stated right after my brother with fur was put to eternal rest, "Koda was a once in a life time dog." Whenever I'm having a bad day, I just think to myself those nine words and a smile is produced. Everyone who got to meet Koda instantly was touched by his loving and caring personality. There was just a vibe about him that always attracted people towards him wherever he went. What will always stick in my head are Koda's great big brown eyes and his goofy clumsiness.

 The first day we had Koda he was a wild beast that went around reeking havoc. From running across the street towards strangers to jumping up on the counter, Koda filled our lives with hectic memories. In his mid life age, he settled in and started to become the loving and caring dog I remember. What really changed him was the edition of a puppy to our family two years ago. Once he arrived, Koda snapped into a good role model and showed the new addition-Tank the ropes. Even in his final days Koda showed that he's one strong canine in his battle with cancer. The doctor informed us in Koda's final veterinarian visit that he'd had the cancer for a year and a half and it had spread throughout his whole body. We never knew due to his will to stay alive for the ones he loved so much... his family. 

  Koda may be gone, but he'll always hold a spot in my heart.

Fortune Cookie Inspired Book Page

  When trying to draw inspiration for a piece of art, there's no better way than by eating fortune cookies! So, after I had opened and read all of the fortune cookies I found out that they all had one thing in common... time. With the theme of time in mind, I decided to solely center my assignment around a clock. The clock represents our lives and the time we are given on this earth. Next, I decided to add a galaxy background to show that we have endless opportunities and choices in life. My clock winds back into the galaxy background because when we don't take chances and make the best of situations we usually come to regret it. Finally, I diced up the fortunes into stars to represent that its just a small part of our lives and we shouldn't let it run them. Life is too short to waste it regretting chances we never took.

Art x 1

  In this unique piece of art I created, unlike the rest of my classmates, I had the opportunity to create this assignment all by myself. With having the freedom to go in any direction I wished, I had the full reigns to create my own vision. I decided to resemble in my art piece the constant struggles of the "stars" of the world. Struggles for these people include paparazzi, drugs, money, fame, the list is end less and the struggles are constant. In my art, the black represents all the listed above struggles which sometimes seems to swarm and suffocate the star struck figures we so highly praise. But, the figure in my work is still striving for all the glitz and the glamor that comes with fame. My figure is breaking through the chains holding them down and trying to soar above the badness surrounding them.

  Trough this experience I've learned many things about the "glamorous life" we all wish we had. One thing I learned was to be careful what you wish for. Like I stated above, even with fame comes struggles and it can engulf you and change you completely. Another thing I learned was don't judge a book by its cover. Someone may appear fine from the outside, but, on the inside they could be fighting a vicious internal battle. Most importantly, I learned never to let anything pull you down and to always strive for the good things in life

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