Art, Kunst, L'art, 艺术, Τέχνη, アート, Искусство, Arte. Sanat. Celf

An artist is a dreamer consenting to dream of the actual world. - George Santayana

Art has always been a part of my life. My parents first noticed my creative side when instead of sitting in my high chair and obediently eating my food, I played with it as much as possible before eating. I smeared it places, I threw it places, I made pictures with it. Food was my first art medium.

Music was the next kind of art I discovered. My mother is a piano teacher so I had always been around music, but when I was in kindergarten she began to teach me and a few of my friends in a children's music class. We learned the notes and sang silly songs (my personal favorite was a Sesame Street song entitled "Everyone Makes Mistakes"). I grew to love music. I have been playing piano ever since that first class; so twelve years now. There was a period in junior high when I almost decided to quit, I didn't think it was worth the time it took, but as I look back on it now, I am so thankful that I did not end up quitting. Music gives me an outlet to make something truly beautiful and a way to express myself through it. In time, I also began to sing. First, just singing in church and singing in the car, but then more and more as I realized how much I enjoyed it (along with the fact that I realized I had been born with the natural ability of a good voice). Singing allowed me to express a whole new side of myself that I couldn't with piano. It is somehow more personal than playing piano. I think that is the case partly because you're born with the voice you have been giving; there is no swapping or getting a better model, your voice is your voice. I'm hoping to continue both singing and piano in college, and frankly, I don't think I would be able to give them up; music is too much a part of my life.

More recently I have begun to explore some of the other mediums of art, like ceramics and simple pen and paper drawing. I have been pleasantly surprised that I enjoy these forms of art too. I like the simplicity of sitting in a chair with a pencil and a piece of paper; I like the versatility and life-likeness of clay; I like the structure and robotic motions of patterns and signs. At this point I'm not as good at this type of art. It's a whole new world that I'm just beginning to explore, but that looks extremely exciting.

For the spring musical this year at my school, we're doing a production of Kiss Me Kate. I offered to design the t-shirt and put a lot of time and effort into it. Just yesterday, I saw it on the t-shirt for the first time and it was so exciting to see something that I had made actually put on something and have people compliment me on it! I'm extraordinarily (and probably too much because I mean it's only a t-shirt design) proud of it, but it's just so neat to be able to share something you made, something you created, with everyone else!

 There is some talk of cutting funding in the fine art departments in different schools, so I think it is important to really showcase the benefits of art. Here is a list of 5 things that art has given me; it really has given me a lot!

1. A way to express myself
2. Time management skills
3. An appreciation for the beautiful things in life
4. Experience teaching myself and working on my own as well as learning from others and working in groups
5. Fun!

Peace to all and stay safe :)

My seventeenth birthday creeps ever closer.
Lately I have been too busy to worry much about missing my childhood or growing up, I've just been worried about getting through my next paper, test, or, well, blogpost (actually that is not true I really enjoy blogging!).

However, today is a bit slower. Sure, I still have three tests to take before we reach the end of this quarter, but I've reached the point where I know I'll study for a while, and then I'll be done. No need for excessive stressing five minutes before the test; it's not really going to make much of a difference. That's one thing I hope that growing up allows me do to: take everything in stride and accept the facts of life for what they are. And maybe stress a bit less as well, but judging from some of the adults I know I doubt that is going to happen.


As promised, here is the list of things I'm looking forward to growing up for.

The Excitement of Aging

1. Being Done With High School - People say that Junioritis doesn't count; they need to remember their junior year of high school. As great as Uni can be, the constant, heavy workload and expectations from teachers, parents, and even fellow peers, can be suffocating and all I want to do is escape the narrow corridors of this stone "castle" that has been my second home for the past four years.

2. No More Curfew! - Although it still applies for another year, I cannot wait until I no longer have the state-enforced curfew for minors. Ten o'clock on weekdays? Eleven on weekends? Who is at home by eleven o'clock every weekend? Not many people I know.

3. Finding My Soul-Mate and Meeting New People - Who knows when it will happen, but I'm looking forward to that day. What little girl doesn't dream at some point of her wedding day and finding that "perfect person" made just for them? And college never hurts anything with the influx of new people into your life. I am looking forward to my little world of Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, expanding greatly in college.

4. Having My Own "Place" - Whether it is an apartment or a house, a shed or a mansion, I am looking forward to having a place that is all mine and I can decorate however I like. I love painting my room, in fact I've painted it 5 times since I moved (in 3rd grade); about once every other year. My parents sigh and say, "Are you sure you want to paint it again? You just painted it!" whenever I bring up the idea again. The thing is, painting my room allows me to believe that the room is truly mine; it is unique to me and no one else. Plus, it's exciting! Currently, three of my walls are light blue, and the fourth is dark blue. It creates contrast as well as really making the wall pop. I would love to paint the rest of the house, carefully choosing appealing and interesting colors that matched the furniture we already own, but sadly my parents won't allow it. They think colorful houses will be less easy to sell in the future. I reply that you can always paint it white again, but they refuse to budge. Oh, well, I guess I'll just have to wait till I have a place of my own.

5. Being  Able to Share Knowledge- I imagine myself as an old woman, sitting in a rocking chair with my grandchildren, telling them about my life: what I learned, how I learned it, why it's important.  I want to be able to share my knowledge and experiences with them so that maybe it'll help them in their futures as well. I have met many people who are older than I am and nearly all of them have learned something from life! All it takes is a little time and respect to listen to their stories and in the process you might learn a lot.

And there's always this possibility:  
A man growing old becomes a child again. - Sophocles

Peace to all and stay safe!

The March of Growing Up

The beginning of March signals the beginning of a number of good things: spring is approaching, bringing with it warm weather (yay for tank tops and Birkenstock sandals!); my birthday is approaching, bringing with it another exciting year to look forward to ("I am sixteen going on seventeen..."); and the end of the 3rd quarter is approaching, bringing with it the exciting thought that I only have a little over a year before I graduate (junioritis?). Needless to say, March is a good month.

As much as I am looking forward to my birthday, as it approaches I can't help but feel a little sad at the thought of my childhood growing further away. Now, that sounds awfully melodramatic, but it is kind of shocking to wake up one morning on your birthday and realize that seventeen years have gone by just like that. It's dawning on me that soon I'm going to be heading off to college and in a little over a year I'm going to be 18 (!!! legal?!!!). I'm not a little kid anymore, in fact in the "old days" I would be at the perfect age to marry and have kids of my own. Scary huh? So here's a list of a few things I'm going to miss about being a little kid.

The Woes of Aging

1. Toys - This may seem somewhat silly, but there are some days when all I want to do all days is sit down with my Barbies or American Girl Dolls and play dress up. The older I get, the less time or reason I have to do this. People often say that imaginations begin to fade as you get older (although I know some adults who have not lost even an ounce of their imagination) and that is sad because a person's imagination allows them for a time to escape into an alternate reality of their choice; to get away from bustle of day-to-day life.

2. Being Physically Tiny - I used to love getting rides on my dad's shoulders when we would go to the zoo, or curling up on my mom's lap before bed. Some people may still be tiny enough for these activities, but by the middle of your teenage years, not many. When you're tiny you can also fit into ridiculously small hiding spots for a game of hide-and-seek which makes the game much more entertaining.

3. Little Things - This may be a quirk only I have, but I have always loved miniatures of, well, anything. Whether it be tiny spoons to eat with, tiny glass figurines of animals to collect, tiny models of big structures, tiny musical instruments, tiny (living, breathing) animals, you name it. However, when you're sixteen and you ask someone if you can eat with a baby spoon, they tend to look at you strangely.

4. The Innocent Little Kid Big Eyes Puppy Face - Pretty self-explanatory. When you're little you can make a face, maybe cry a bit, and you're off the hook. This is especially the case if you have an older sibling to place the blame on (whether or not they did anything). Not so as you get older though. There's actually a thing called responsibility, and the older you get, the more of it you receive.

5. Parents Paying - When you're little and you see something you want, you ask your parents and they either buy it for you or they don't. As you get older you have to begin to decide what is worth buying and what isn't. More responsibility! ugh...

6. Napping - I had to include this one. One of the things I wish I had appreciated more as a child was napping. I used to hate naps when I was little and never wanted to take them. Oh, how I wish I could take all the naps I gave up or refused to take then, now!

Next time it'll be The Excitement of Aging.

Until then...

Peace to all and stay safe!