Art T2 W1: Series and Sequences

 Today in Art we studied series and sequences of portfolio works. 

In this folio, the sequences are quite vague but we can see some series. The top left and the one under it are a series, the bottom two on the left are a series with the top two on the right, and the bottom two on the right are a series. The image of Dumbo on the left and the image under it are outliers.

I aim to use this information to educate my own sequences on my folio about mental health. I want to make sure everything ties together through the portfolio.

Week 6 Art

What is my Kauapa: three key words Mental Health/Stereotypes

What artists have I looked at so far?

Frida Kahlo, Miriam Schapiro, Shane Cotton

How does my work show that I considered Negative space?

I have made sure that the light source has the brightest shades and the further towards the back of the brain the painting goes, the darker the paint is, showing degradation of the brain.

What has happened in the making process that led me to new ideas around negative space once the works were made?

I very much messed up my first attempt at painting my brain, so I repainted it with a much more careful and precise approach. 

What can I do to go further with my work?

Lovely suggested using the shape of a brain to put images inside, such as people. I really really like this idea and I’m probably going to use it for future works.

Level 2 Art

 Over the past week in the new year of art, we have been deciding our subject matter and themes. I have decided to focus my artboards this year on stereotyping and mistreatment of mentally ill people, specifically focusing on the autism spectrum. I chose this because I am an autistic person and I notice the things people say and assume about us.

This is my mood board of the artists in my area of work, painting. These are all under the 'equality' umbrella. The artists I'm using for my inspiration are Frida Kahlo, Miriam Schapiro, and Shane Cotton. 

Week 7 Art

My LO is to make a portfolio around the struggles of transgender people, specifically FTM.

This week I have done 2 works based on Henri Matisse's cutout silhouette-styled work. The first is based on a previous watercolour I did on a silhouette in blue falling into a pink 'ocean', and the second is the same silhouette with their arms across their torso.

Matisse's original work

 

I relate to the pieces quite personally because I feel that, as an FTM trans man, I have the gender roles of a woman forced onto me by those who don't accept my identity. The pink 'ocean' around the blue figure of the silhouette represents the pretty-in-pink stereotypes that are forced onto trans men by transphobic friends and family.

Jaden Barr: DVC Standard AS91066

 https://www.nzqa.govt.nz/nqfdocs/ncea-resource/achievements/2019/as91066.pdf

This standard is all about rendering. A client wants us to draw our drink bottle designs in three different materials as a way to experiment with materials and shading.

This is a clear blue bottle and an unfinished metal bottle. The final uncolored bottle is going to be solid red plastic. 

I enjoyed learning about highlights and shadows in this standard. However, this is a very tedious standard to do and it's very repetitive. 

Art - Series & Sequences

On Monday, we did an exercise on series and sequences in our portfolios. 

These are exercises around finding the series and sequences in a portfolio, as well as rearranging the folio to look better with their series.

Visual Art - Term 3 Week 2

Kaupapa: Transgender equality and discrimination

What worked?

I enjoyed doing watercolour works and experimenting with a silhouette-like style.

What didn't work?

I'm struggling a little with drawing realistically. 

What is my next step?

Going onto the 1.2 slide and seeing what the next medium to use is.

Term 2 - Portfolio Update

My portfolio so far only has 2 works on it; both done with charcoal to work on toning. Charcoal isn't a very good medium for me personally, as I drag my hand across the page while I draw, which smudges the charcoal. It's also quite difficult to erase if you make a mistake.

Mini-Writing: The Bystander Effect

The Bystander Effect is a psychological phenomenon that occurs in a group of people. If someone is in need of help, other people are less likely to offer assistance in a larger group than in a smaller group. This has many factors associated with it; the number of people in the group, what the issue is, etc. One of the main reasons this occurs is because people often wait for others to act first before they take the initiative to do it themselves, causing a long pause between when the problem starts and when someone offers to help. This is the diffusion of responsibility, what happens when you’re not the only person capable of taking responsibility. Humans are pack animals and are used to having an authority figure, so when we see something that needs doing but we’re not the only authority figure nearby that can do it, we often become confused and wait for someone else to do it. This situation is almost nonexistent in one-on-one situations, as only one person can help, meaning that diffusion of responsibility doesn’t exist.

L1 Art

This year I am doing NCEA Level 1 Art. My kaupapa, or topic, for this year will be LGBTQ+ equality.

I'm choosing this topic because I am very openly LGBTQ+ and feel that the treatment people like me get in school and in our general community because of our sexuality and gender identity is unfair.

I will be working with painting and design media.

From line one, I choose Sofia Minson and Tony Fomison. From line two, I choose Claude Monet and Jacob Yikes.

I'll be studying John Heartfield out of the artists from my kaupapa.

This is the brainstorm of things I could do with my kaupapa:

(Sorry for the hard to read handwriting, there's writing on the back of the page)










My subject matter is going to be nature. I feel like I can do a lot with natural scenes in regard to the topic I picked.

Composition

Composition is writing music with an original array of notes and sounds. The composition style I'm doing, film music composition, is a composition style meant to fit the theme of a scene and has no lyrics. I'm doing film music since I'm not good at writing lyrics, but I tend to find very good combinations of chords to fit the occasion.

So far, I've worked out a combination of sadder chords for a piece. I need to work on making them sound more harmonious with harmony chords.

Creative Writing - Two Wire

Having to face your fear in a compulsory activity sounds pretty scary, right? Well, that happened to me on the Year 10 Camp. My group and I were hiking through the forest along wet, muddy trails. The mud squelched under my shoes, which were getting dirtier by the second. The rush of river water got louder and louder as we approached an activity I thought I was prepared for; well, I was wrong.

A big phobia of mine is potamophobia - the fear of bodies of running water. Y’know, like rivers. You could easily get swept away, then who knows what’ll happen to you. At the activity we’d arrived at, we had to cross a large river. Using only a wire for our hands to grip and a wire under our feet. While sure, we were harnessed, it still felt dangerous.

As you can probably guess, I was shaking like a frightened puppy, though a few of my friends reassured me I would be fine. A wave of anxiety crashed over me as I offered to put on one of the first harnesses. Why I thought this was a good idea, I don’t know. I stood upon the wooden platform as the leader clipped my harness to the upper wire.

Don’t look down, I repeated to myself as I started to walk on the wire, don’t look down. The crash of the water against the rocks was overwhelming, as was the smell of fresh water mixed with the forest aroma. Despite my own thoughts, I looked down to see where my feet were - and man was that a long drop. Even though I knew otherwise, I felt like if I fell, the harness would snap clean off and I’d plummet into the water. Well, until I actually fell, that is. I sat there dangling for a moment as I processed what just happened, before doing what the instructors had told me to do if I fell. I sat back upon the cold, rough surface of the lower wire and put up one of my feet. The only problem is that sometimes my feet have a habit of literally dislocating themselves if I put them in the wrong position. Pain like a knife stabbing through my foot hit, and I quickly put my foot down and rose the other one back up to the wire. That one, thankfully, didn’t decide to dislocate on me and I managed to pull myself back up to a standing position.

After what seemed like an hour - in reality, it was only around a minute or two - I finally made it to the other side of the river. An instructor unclipped me, and I waited patiently for my bag to be sent across on the pulley. My gloves were in there, and my hands were icicles at that point from holding onto the cold metal wire for so long. I watched the others come across until a few of my friends had made it, then we began to talk while my hands warmed up. After everyone had made it across, we began on our next trek through the forest.

I handled this situation much better than I thought I would - maybe I’m not so scared of rivers after all. Even so, it felt nice to know that it is possible to conquer fears, no matter the irrationality.

Creative Writing: Risk or Challenge

WALT: Identify and organise ideas for our 'Risk or Challenge' creative writing task, as well as the physical sensations associated with it.

R/C
Camp - 2 Wire, Solo, Swamp, Nightline
Sports - Competitions, tournaments, trials
Project K
Abandoned house

Physical Sensations
Sweaty - Palms, feet, back, forehead, backside, armpits, nose, upper lip, back of knees
Weak knees
Shaky
Heavy breathing
Looking around
Pacing back and forth
Need to use the bathroom
Leg bouncing
Pins and needles
Dry mouth
Pounding heart
Butterflies in stomach/blood drop/fluttering

Halloween in Drama!

For Halloween, 10Drama had planned to make a scary backstage area for the Junior Social (which, unfortunately, got cancelled). It was a winding path leading from the entrance of the auditorium, through the backstage area and out behind the auditorium stage. We'd all planned to do different Halloween looks - Joey being a scary tour guide, myself being a zombie, Kaiden being a stalker, you get the point. We used the layout of the backstage area to our advantage - using things like the doorways and rafters to do different effects. The path went past Kaiden (who was in a box) and Meagan (who was in a cupboard), then around a corner and past Sam (by the lockers) while going up a set of stairs onto the platform Miji sat on. It went down again by the piano, where someone would be playing, then around another corner to the far exit into the auditorium. I started slumped against the closer entrance to the auditorium, playing dead, then standing up and following them slowly. There were lots of smaller details, like small lights and a hanging skeleton. We used things like screens and wooden walls to direct the path.

40 Minute Writing Challenge - Are Movies Better Than Books?

Visual media and textual media are often regarded as similar things. When they cross paths, things can get confusing. When a book is turned into a movie or television series, there are often debates on how good the movie is compared to the book/s. My take is that movies are seldom as good as the books. This is because movies tend to leave things out, they don't feed the imagination as much, and you can take as much time as you need to finish a book.

The main downside I can see to a book being made into a movie is that movies can't leave in all the details. For example, in Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, quite a few details about the time between Bilbo's birthday party and Frodo's leaving are left out in the movie, such as Frodo selling Bilbo's house. This is because it's very difficult to fit the content of an entire book into between 90 minutes and 2 hours, meaning a lot of minor plot points and scenes must be removed to fit in the time frame. This can cause a few plotholes in the movies that aren't present in the books.

These plotholes can stop the watcher from getting fully immersed in the story. Books let the reader's imagination run wild and let them picture for themselves how characters would look, scenes would play out, and areas would look. It creates an entire movie-like sequence in the reader's head that matches their tastes. An example of this is when I was reading Divergent. Though I haven't watched the movie yet, one part of the book - I won't disclose which, for spoilers - made me stop reading in anxiety for a few moments, something that is very difficult to pull off. I could feel the same feelings as the main character herself, making the entire scene much more engaging.

Sometimes being too engaged in a book can be exhausting, which is why taking a break can be very helpful. Unlike while watching a movie, where it's difficult to bring yourself to pause the movie to do something else, you can read a book for as long as you need, then put it down while keeping your page. No one can sit down and read an entire 150-page novel in one go, right? Unless your mind is completely set to finishing it all at once, which can break the immersion, having a break is crucial to the reading of a book, but a disadvantage to watching a movie.

In conclusion, I believe that books are far better than movies. This is because they're more contentful, immersing, and pausable. So next time you go to watch a movie that was made from a book, read the book afterwards and try to see how much better it is.

Volcanoes

I will be studying a volcano.

I chose Mount Fuji in Honshu, Japan. It's an active composite volcano, meaning it's a cone-shaped volcano with sills and pikes branching from the main conduit. Some of the rocks found include andesite and basalt.


I didn't do the experiment involved in this research, however, many groups chose to use a chemical reaction known as elephant's toothpaste - a reaction involving hydrogen peroxide and potassium (most people use potassium iodide, but we used potassium permanganate) - to erupt the model volcanoes they had built. Most of the volcanoes built were cinder cones, similar to composites but without the sills and pikes. One group tried to use the coke and mentos reaction (a physical reaction caused by mentos creating nucleation sites for the bubbles of carbon), but the coke turned flat before the experiment could take place.

40 Minute Writing Challenge: Are Team Sports Better Than Individual Sports?

PLANNING
Argue for both sides
1. Less worry about others' skill levels (Individual)
2. Teamwork makes things easier (Team)
3. Both have similar properties

Sports aren't everyone's cup of tea. However, individual sports and team sports are highly debated over, mainly about which is better. But is one truly better than the other? I don't believe that's the case. Individual sports don't harbor any worry for other team members' skill levels, team sports can be easier due to use of teamwork, and both kinds of sports can have very similar properties when analyzed.

In individual sports, you don't have to worry about lack of skill bringing your 'team' down. In games like golf, you are the only one playing for your side, meaning you only have to think about your skill level and your opponent's. Not having to think about things like that can make individual sports much less mentally taxing, meaning you can just focus on the game. This makes playing solo much more enjoyable.

Although individual sports don't require teamwork, team sports do, which can make playing the game easier. Team sports require everyone to help to get to the objective, whether it be kicking a ball from one side of the field to the other or hitting a ball as hard as you can with a bat. In games like rugby, passing the ball from one player to the next can help to avoid the other team, making a try much easier to get. A range of different skills in one team can help too. For example, evening out a person who's amazing at passing but horrible at shooting with someone who's terrible at passing but a magnificent shooter can bring balance to a team.

So we've covered both kinds of sports, but they are wildly different. Or are they? Both sports have similar properties. Games that are normally team sports, like soccer/football or basketball, can be played as individual sports by themselves, and vice versa for games like tennis or wrestling. Even without that, they can have very similar properties. Tennis and cricket both require hitting a ball with an object, both with similar objectives - don't let the other person or team get the ball. This makes comparing the two seem more pointless.

Conclusively, there is no better type out of team sports and individual sports. They are both easier in different ways - individual sports being less mentally taxing and team sports having more members to make things easier - but either way they're very similar.

40 Minute Persuasive Writing

Is the South Island better than the North Island?
Opinion: Disagree
Points:
Tourist attractions (North)
Danger risk (South)
Nature (Both)

Aotearoa is a country consisting of many islands. However, the two main islands, North and South, have stark differences that can be difficult to recognize from an outsider. While some believe that the South Island is better than the North Island, I can't help but disagree. I have this opinion due to the North Island having a few more tourist attractions and risk of danger in the South Island, but both of these islands have interesting natural views. These all make me believe that the North Island is better off.

The North Island has many tourist attractions that make people want to visit. Even people born and raised in New Zealand, like myself, must admit that there are many attractions in the North Island they've wanted to visit, especially if they've never been to the North Island. There are buildings like Te Papa and the Auckland Skytower, as well as natural occurrences like Lake Taupo and Aoraki/Mount Cook. This, plus the relatively safe environment, make many people come to this small country.

The South Island has many dangerous factors for visitors. From devastating earthquakes that have brought down buildings and cast large pieces of land into the ocean, to the more recent mosque shootings that have still left everyone in shock, the South Island is a cause for concern worldwide. These occurrences have damaged the South Island's reputation, making tourists less likely to come here and more people that lived here to move elsewhere. But even then, there are things that people do come here to see.

The local nature in both islands is breathtakingly beautiful. From vast ocean views, to thick forests, to tall mountains, this little country has it all. The large array of native plants and animals make coming into the New Zealand bush a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, prompting people that even have already seen these sights to go out one more time and get a closer look. It really goes to show how beautiful the wildlife in this part of the world is.

In conclusion, while both islands have their flaws, the North is objectively better. Its higher amount of tourist attractions and lower rate for danger, combined with the already breathtaking natural beauty of the country, really make the North Island the ideal place for a visit. And while the South Island has its fair share of appealing aspects too, it doesn't quite compare to the North Island.

40 Minute Essay Challenge - Should Zoos Be Shut Down?

All zoos should be shut down and release animals back into their natural habitat

DISAGREE

Points:

• Breeding endangered animals
• Keeping animals safe
• Educational

Zoos are magical spaces where animals are displayed freely. However, some believe that animals are abused in these places, and these zoos should be shut down. I believe this isn't the case. I hold this belief due to zoos breeding endangered animals back to a healthy population, keeping animals that are in danger due to their natural habitat safe, and providing education about wildlife to children. 

The breeding of endangered animals is a very important aspect of zoos, as otherwise these animals would go extinct. Golden lion tamarins, for example, are a species in danger and have been bred in captivity to ensure they can go up to a safer population before going back to the wild; without this procedure, it's likely that these animals would go extinct due to hunting or predators. Until their habitat is safer to live in and they will be protected, these animals will continue to be bred and trained for the wild in the safety of zoos.

The habitats of some animals are extremely dangerous in their current state, so they are captured and kept safe until the coast is clear. In a similar vein to captive breeding, these species are kept safe in zoos to prevent other animals from being able to hunt them. Many bird species undergo this treatment, as the amount of egg-eating predators on the prowl means their young can never be safe. Unless they are held in captivity safely, they will surely go extinct.

Education about the effects of humans on wildlife is extremely important, and zoos help to provide this. Many zoos have explanations about the reason a certain animal is held there - though sometimes it's not for a too serious reason - and these blurbs have the effects of humans on their habitat if applicable. Orana Wildlife Park is an example of this, having short paragraphs about the habitat of an animal and what can be done to improve their living situations to have a safer future. Children and adults alike can learn a lot from visiting zoos, further providing assistance to a range of different animals.

In conclusion, I believe zoos are beneficial to the diverse range of wildlife on this planet, due to the breeding of endangered animals, the safety of animals in similar situations, and the education they provide. Though people can have their beliefs, sometimes they can be misguided and manipulated into being wrong. This text was to prove that zoos do provide good.

Persuasive Writing: Swimming Lessons

Swimming lessons should be compulsory for all students: YES

Points:

• Dangers of not knowing how to swim
• Career opportunities
• Entertainment

The beach is a very popular place to go on a hot day. But if you want to go in the water, what's the point if you don't know how to swim? I think that swimming lessons should be compulsory for every student from Year 3 to Year 7. It can be a very dangerous thing if you don't know how to swim. Knowing how to swim can open up job or sports career opportunities, and it's just plain fun to go swimming with your mates in summer.

Not knowing how to swim can be dangerous in many situations. Swimming is a vital skill to many species, including humans, due to the dangers that lurk in the waters. Going to the beach, for example, and getting out farther than you expected can be deadly if you don't know how to swim. That applies for any body of water you can swim in, although it's not as bad for places like swimming pools as there are typically people that can help you. Not only that, but if you're in danger of getting attacked by an underwater animal and you can't swim, how can you escape without help? This is why swimming is such a vital skill and should be compulsory at schools.

Underwater career opportunities are more abundant than it seems. Professional swimmers for the Commonwealth and Olympic Games are always on hand, and the right skill level for swimming in these events can start at school. There are also normal paying jobs, like underwater conservation or aquatic center jobs. The training for these kinds of jobs and careers starting at school is crucial, as the right level of skill is required by the time they leave, as with any job. Swimming can not only be used to get jobs, but fun ones.

What's better than going swimming with your friends on a hot day? It's always a fun experience to splash around in the cold water during the hot summer. Though it's just as refreshing to sit with your feet dangling in the water, it's nowhere near as fun as swimming around. Beaches, lakes, and swimming centers are all open in the summer, and they're for people to have fun and cool off. What's the point if swimming isn't an option? If swimming is taught in schools, it will help children have more fun later on in life.

In conclusion, every student should undergo compulsory swimming lessons paid for by the school. With these lessons, they will be out of danger, can find more jobs, and will have fun later on. Every child has a right to learn basic life skills, and swimming is one of these skills.