# 81. Pen and Paper

I’m still enjoying messing with collages. This one is really simple but every time I tried placing something else into it I decided it looked better before. It makes some sense though a pencil and a piece of paper can create something simple or something extremely complex.

I learned in my art therapy class that sometimes it not all about just creating something visually aesthetic, sometimes it just about the process of creating. Yesterday in class we did a calming exercise and used crayons to color mandalas while listening to James Taylor. I was one of two people who actually knew who he was. Anyway, it was actually a really nice experience. My mandala looks like something an 8 year old did, but it was really relaxing and helped bring back some piece of mind I’ve lost this week. I love my art therapy class!

# 89. Through the Fire

I received an ASQ magazine today. (American Society for Quality and yes I’m a member) They had an article in there about the bright side of failure. It talks about how failure is the best identifier for improvements.

“The natural reaction to failure is to distance yourself from it. After all, nobody wants to be associated with a project that fell short of expectations. But, as any good quality professional knows, failed projects can provide a mechanism for continuous improvement.” – Sheffery

Anyway I thought it was interesting and it helped me create my newest collage. It doesn’t nail the theme on the dot but the concept is kind of the same. The way I see it “Through the fire” is a time when you look back at a previous situation and are just glad you got through it. My artwork really just adds on to the theme with a “How can I learn from this situation?”

# 66. Change

“Ch Ch Ch Changes” Ever listen to a song and sing it over and over in your head and then one day out of curiosity look up the lyrics and realize the words you’ve sang with the song were wrong? I watched a video once about the band Fallout Boy and all the crazy interpretive lyrics people come up with it was rather funny. But anyway I found myself in that situation earlier this week and as I worked on this collage I thought to myself “well sorry Mr. David Bowie I like the lyrics I sang in my head better”…..  at least for this piece of art.

I know this piece seems to scream a political theme but it’s not really all about Obama. Or at least that’s not was I was thinking while I was creating it. The main thought that came of my mind was “Wow, things really have changed.” Politically have things changed? Or are they still in need of change? I would think a little bit of both. I’ll spare the rant.

Point redirection and back to me and my artwork!  I love collages! Personally I like looking through magazines and cutting out weird advertisements and then forcing them together with different media and just see where it takes me. I’m kind of been thinking about doing a whole series of collages. Here is the material that made this possible:

1.       Random pictures from the free BusinessWeek magazine I get in the mail. I read 

         some articles here and there but I’m glad I could finally put it to good use.

2.       Scrapbook Paper

3.       Pens and Sharpies

4.       Paint

5.       Newspaper (even the free buyers guide that shows up on my doorstep came in handy)

# 87. Food

It’s really just a rough sketch but it’s not too bad.

I was thinking today about how awesome it was as a kid to have snow days although to get almost a whole week off well that never happened to me. Yet, although I have many fond memories of snow days as a kid today I have a heavy heart. It’s sad to think that some kids aren’t as excited to have snow days and not go to school. Not that they really want to be in class but because school is the major provider if not the only provider of food for them, which leads me to the topic of my theme of the day:  Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma.

Here’s a few interesting fact you might not know about our regional food bank:

·         500,000 Oklahomans are at risk of hunger every day  including 1 in every 5 children in the state

·         The food bank helps feed 77,000 Oklahomans each week

·         96% of all donations go to providing food to the hungry

·         8% of donated food go to the homeless while 70% go to the working core (they are not unemployed)

·         For every $1 donated, the Regional Food Bank provides seven meals

·         The Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma has more volunteers on average than any other food bank in the country! (There are 205 food banks nationally)

·         On average 1 volunteer is worth $14 an hour to the food bank

·         The slowest times of the year for volunteers is in May and August

·         Their staff force is only 75 people strong (40 of which work on distributing the food)

·         99% of all food from the food bank are delivered by trucks owned and operated by the food bank.

·         During fiscal year 2010, the Regional Food Bank distributed 36.5 million pounds of food and products to hungry Oklahomans in 53 central and western counties

Backpacks for kids Program:

One of the best parts about our food bank. The program started in 2003 when several teachers in inner city elementary school noticed a trend in certain students as being inattentive and sluggish. One boy passed out right before the lunch bell and it was confirmed as the result of having nothing to eat since his school lunch the previous Friday. Another child admitted to having nothing but a single Oscar mire wiener over the weekend. The backpack for kids program provides these students with a backpack full of needed nutritional food every Friday so that they have something to eat over the weekend. On Monday the students return the backpacks and volunteers refill them during the week to be redistributed. To insure the kids get nutritious meals the food in the back packs are bought, not donated. The program serves 305 elementary schools in 42 counties across central and western Oklahoma, providing backpacks to nearly 8,000 chronically hungry children each week during the 2009-2010 school year.

For more information you can visit the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma's website (you can even sign up to volunteer on there!) Not only were schools forced to close this week but also our Regional Food Bank which could possibly lead to some of those children not getting their food backpacks.

# 92. All that I Am

This is my own personal logo that I created. It was actually our first assignment in my art theory class but I thought it would go great with my challenge! To create my personal logo I began by thinking about aspects about myself that I like and that make me unique. The simplest way to explain my logo is to explain in pieces.

1.     The design and shading of my logo are aspects of my artistic nature. Art is a huge part of me, it was my first major in college and I even earned an associate degree in fine art from Oklahoma City Community College.

2.      I used gears, a pulley, and clamp ends (those are the four pieces coming out the sides with oval holes) because of my mechanical background. When I was in high school I co-enrolled at the local vocational school and earned a degree in automotive service. I also worked as a technician at a Nissan dealership for two years. Ever since I was a child I liked to take things apart and see how they work. Although I am no longer a technician nor do I ever plan on being one again it still holds a large place as a part of me.

3.     The most noticeable part of my logo is the shield and sash at the center. This represents my new focus on the study of business. After I decided I didn’t want to be a starving artist, I changed my major to business. I’m currently working on my senior year at the Price College of Business to earn my degree in supply chain management.

4.     The chains represent my degree in supply chain management.

5.     The musical notes in the upper right-hand corner symbolize my love for music. I am not a musician but listening to music is extremely important to me. My dad always woke us up on Sunday mornings by blasting classic rock tunes on the stereo.

6.     Time. If you didn’t notice there are clocks hands on the center shield. I had to include one of my favorite art themes.

7.     The key is more of my subjective outlook on life. There is a key to every problem you just have to find it.

# 35. Hold My Hand

Or hold my eye… it almost makes sense. I know it’s not exactly the first thing that comes to mind when you think of “hold my hand” but I wanted to do something different.  

I’m excited to get the semester going and it looks like one of my courses is going to help me with my challenge. This semester I’m taking an art therapy class as an elective and I think I’m really going to enjoy it. One of our assignments is to have a sketch book journal and make daily entries into it. However there is one requirement is to test out different media. = ) I know I’m going to have fun with this! Plus this will help me think of idea for my challenge. Who knows you might find pages from my sketch book on here.

# 71. Obsession

Meet Jeszie, my level 85 undead warlock from the game World of Warcraft.

This theme makes a lot more since if you happened to have known me back in 2006 and 2007. In the summer of 2006 I was in a motorcycle accident that left me unable to walk for a couple of months. So, I spent the majority of my time playing the online computer game called World of Warcraft, maybe you’ve heard of it. Anyway even after I healed I continued to play the game almost addictively.  For my birthday that next year my dad even wrote/sang a parody about my obsession with the game and gods only knows what would happen if my computer blew up.

It’s actually funny how many people have gotten themselves addicted to that game and ruined their lives. I know person I used to play with back in the day played so much he fluncked out of college and lost his scholarship which also led to his parents (who paid for all of his living expenses) to cut him off and he got kicked out of his apartment. Of course his girl friend also dumped him because he preferred to go to raids in the game on a Friday night instead of taking her out on a date…. And these things are actually common with this game.

Anyway, I got the idea from an artist on deviant art. She had several drawings of her different characters and I thought that was kind of cleaver. So I made a sketch of my own character and low and behold there’s a theme on my list that fits.