GIVE AND TAKE

Art is about give and take, but most of the time it's more give than take. You put hours into a piece of art and all you get back is simple, intrinsic, gratitude; but sometimes you get lucky and you win a competition or sell a piece and everything is worth it. A thin line exists between an artist who creates for themselves and an artist who creates for money. I think we all start out creating for ourselves and then we get wrapped up in money and fame and many artist just stop becoming artists and start becoming pay for hire creators or designers.

The greatest thing about a blog is that I can rant on whatever I want, well as long as it’s within the realm of art. Today I attended a local art show where I displayed some artwork and viewed others. I talked to this guy David, who I think I connected to, and who will be a great contact in a few years or so.

David is a self-taught artist who creates art as he pleases. he currently works out of his apartment and is planning on moving to a thousand square foot warehouse where he will set up his studio, gallery, and his home. I'm hoping by the time I get out of college David will have his new place set up and will maybe let me apprentice for him.

MY OWN BEING

With the majority of my T-Rex Rattle’s foot separated from his slightly wet body, I leaped into action, grabbing a cup full of slip and a beveling knife. I started to operate. Applying the slip cautiously to the dismembered body and the foot, I painstakingly stuck the foot back on the stub at the end of the muscular leg. Stepping back to take a look at my patient’s freshly treated wounds, I caught a glimpse of gratitude in his eyes.

After he was healed up and the slip dried securing the 2 pieces, I placed him into the kiln. As I type this post he lays in a blistering hot bed, slowly becoming immortalized in time.

In a few days I get to either see my T-REX stand tall on 2 feet or see him fall, crippled by a heavy head and weak heart. If he decides not to stand proud, I will lean him against something so no one will know of his weakness.  I won’t look at him any differently. I will love him the same, for he is my own creation.

TITANS OF PAVEMENT

Like thunder bolts hurled from Zeus’s godly hand they zoomed past. If you blink, even for a millisecond, you miss them. Like Thor’s hammer they clashed, titans of the road, gods of pavement.

The Daytona 500 was this weekend and I was right in the middle of it. With my trusty sidekick Betsy, my Canon Rebel 2000(yes, I do name my cameras), I captured these mighty racers as they fought for fame and glory. In the end there could only be one winner. Trevor Bayne, only 20 years old, became the youngest winner ever.

Over the weekend I captured hundreds of photos, from toothless fans to wrecks. These pictures will be the basis for a few of my projects coming up, including landscapes and a matrix project. Today I finished sculpting my T-Rex. Now I have to wait for it to dry a little bit so I can make it stand up.

DUST TO DUST

From dust to dust and from ash to ash; I sculpt life. Breathless beauty taking shape from once living matter,  modeled after the very creature that once walked this planet back before time, in a land full of pure instinct that lacked knowledge .

As time moved forward and knowledge was gained, the bones of these majestic beasts were buried. Some were found and proudly displayed in museums around the world, but for others Father Time’s wrath was too much. They disintegrated into dust, giving back to Mother Nature that once saw their existence.

Early humans discovered the importance of clay and how it could be sculpted into everyday tools. The techniques that surround clay back then still apply today; working with clay you feel a sense of connection with these ancient cultures.

On Wednesday I made headway on my Animal Rattle of a T-Rex. I connected all the limbs except for the neck and head. On Tuesday I plan on finishing it, that’s if it’s not dry. I really, really hope it doesn’t dry out because I don’t want to start over again.

DIRTY HANDS

My hands are always dirty, from sculpting with clay to drawing chalk murals; I always seem to be covered in something. Seriously, have you ever met an artist whose hands were clean? Well, maybe a graphic artist might have clean hands.

Dirty hands might bother some people but I’m not just some person. I like the feeling of ink smudges on the palms of my hands, I like the dried clay dust between my fingernails, but above all I love the feeling of being different. Sure, art is messy sometimes, but often life is too. We can’t choose what challenges we face on a daily basis, but we can choose how we will approach these challenges.

Today was a good day. I was introduced to the Mcdank, a cross between a McChicken and a Mcdouble sandwich, and I bought 2 new cameras. One being a Polaroid camera from 1999, and the other being a panoramic film camera. I can’t wait to try them out!

LOOK DAD, NO HANDS

It’s said that Michelangelo’s dad was so ashamed of his son working with his hands,  he would beat him. Well, one day a prince stopped by Michelangelo’s studio and found the artist staring at a giant piece of marble. (The rumor was he had been staring at it for the past 3 weeks prior to the visit). The Prince asked, “What are you doing?” Michelangelo answered back with ease “Working”.  4 months later that piece of marble was the sculpture of David.

Either Michelangelo was a Jedi who could sculpt things with his mind, or he was the most brilliant procrastinator of all time.

Whatever the answer may be, I have decided to stop procrastinating, I have decided to act on what I need to in a timely matter. If I want to learn new things or read an art magazine I will without hesitation.

Today I worked on my AP Art project. I came up with a great concept for my homework for the week, and I dug out one of my favorite issues of Juxtapoz that features my personal favorite artist David Choe.

GO DO

With "Go Do" by Jonsi blasting through my headphones, I start to lose sight of reality and start forgetting about society. I stare mindlessly at a blank page in my notebook, playing with my pen in hand. Contemplating the very physics of the paper, I start to wonder what would happen if my pen crossed one of those light blue lines etched on the paper.  Being an avidly curious teenager brought on by a lot of alone time growing up, and the fact that I had the whole world to explore, I unconsciously placed my pen and crossed the blue lines. As I watched my hand maneuver the pen around as the ink bled from the tip and reasserted itself on the crisp paper, I caught sight of what I want to do with my life. I want to devote my life to making people think; I want to give the human race inspiration.  Through art I will accomplish the impossible; I will rise above stereotypes, and bring nations together.

True, this might just be a pipe dream or an impossible endeavor, but with determination and hard work I think I can cross the etched light blue lines in society. From this day forward I want my art to achieve just that, to be an inspiration for the masses.