Today is a sad day. The day has finally come. My last days of high school are here, and I will be graduating. This year was fun, and the blog posts were also fun to write. At first I didn’t like doing it, because it was just more stress to add to the pile of work. As I moved along with it I found peace in the rush to complete this in under an hour. As you start to write about something you enjoy, the writers block seems to fade, and your mind opens up. You begin to just start spewing words onto the post. Sooner or later you end up finishing, and you feel relieved that you have one less thing to worry about. I chose to do art, because it was something I really found myself enjoying. I had an amazing teacher who had the most patients. She never got mad, she never was never passive aggressive towards you, and she never let you feel behind or stressed. A lot of teachers don’t understand this concept. Shout out to the teachers who do. She taught me a lot about art and the history and works of it. In her class I was always respectful and quiet, because she treated me with respect. Learning art isn’t hard you just have to put in a little effort. An hour a day could better you year by year, Art isn’t just a hobby, but also a high income skill if you know how to market. I say take time, and learn to love art. It can be meditative, stress-reliving , and fun. A huge thing to remember is most people quit in the beginning, because it’s either too hard, boring, or just not your thing. My biggest tip to you ( and this can be applied to almost any new skill you want to learn) is put in a little extra effort, work, and time. The people who do this are usually the more successful ones.

I’m choosing this painting to represent the end of this blog. All in all, I loved doing this project. It was fun and reliving. I encourage everyone to try and write about something they love, like, and or are passionate about. It helps keep you motivated on the subject, because it constantly reminds you of what you like. you will think about it throughout the day.

Today I did a self portrait whilst trying to add glass in the project . Personally I love doing these, but I like a variety of different subjects. It is hard to choose what to do. That is why I like specific projects more, but I do like self portraits. From my many different subjects I chose cars. I love cars I like everything about them.

Self portraits go back to the renaissance era in the 15th century. The first known portrait was made back in 1433 by Jan Van Erick. His art was called “Portrait of a Man”. If you didn’t know, Portraits are very important in history. They tell us what people used to like. They also offer incites into their surroundings, their lives, and state of mind. Portraits allow people to express themselves in their own point of view. They also give a reputation to the public. Self portraits were known to be a luxury in the early 1500’s. They were to keep an impression on history so “Nobody would forget you”.

I started with a small canvas. I also had a small square mirror. The mirror has to be in the project. At first I didn’t know what to make. Then The idea of cars popped in my head. I really love watching and racing modded vehicles. Then the idea of a drag strip popped in my head. I started by painting the medium. I painted the sky blue with the sun in the corner(super original lol), and some clouds. Then I painted the grass and made “texture”. I then started on the road. I made it like a drag strip. I put a “Hoosier” tire on the grass to represent a drag strip. Then comes the hard part. I had to etch out a car in the glass. This part took a while, and it didn’t come out like I wanted it to. The car looks okay though. Last I hasd to glue the glass in the middle of the canvas. I did this so it would look like the car is driving.

In conclusion, I liked this art piece, but I could have done a lot better. I also love self portraits. I like how you are able to express yourself. I give this a 10/10 go try it out be creative.

Have you ever seen a bowl that was uniquely made with many bends or turns an wandered how it was done?

Well, today in class we made a piece called an “origami bowl”. It has many unique features and can be molded and shaped how you want it to look like.

The porcelain or ceramic bowl was used widely around China. These bowls have been around for centuries. They were always simplistic with crazy designs on them. sometime they had beautiful designs. For an example if you have a China cabinet that is a ceramic or porcelain bowl. Later on people found that you could manipulate the bowl before it is fired and hardened. They usually use porcelain and glaze coating. These bowls would be very popular for a long time even to this day China is still found in peoples homes. Some of those plates or bowls could be hundreds of years old. These pieces were also used and passed down as a family heirloom. For generations they would make these bowls. As the years went on the art and the form of the bowl became more complex.

Making my bowl was hard I won’t even lie. The bowl itself was hard to make symmetrical. We started off with a slab of clay. It was rolled out smoothed and kneaded. Then we had a piece of paper we used as guide lines for the bowl. After I cut the paper to the size of the slab I placed it on top and began to fun out the flaps and folds to the bowl. I then folded the lips of the clay slab to form a bowl. Personally this part was hard for me. Then I continue to smooth the edges and creases using extra clay. I did this till it started to dry a little. Next I glazed it over and over while continuing to smooth it out. next I pick little glass marbles to place at the bottom of the bowl to melt into it. Last the bowl was put in a kiln to be fired and made firm.

All in all, The bowl was very difficult. Mine didn’t come out even as i want. My marbles also didn’t melt all the way either. I suggest try this, but becareful with it becasue it will fall apart. very fun I give this a 8/10

You ever wondered how those very beautiful pieces in the church windows were made?

Well, today in class I made a stained glass piece. Stained glass is a type of art that dates back to ancient civilizations. It has been used in a variety of contexts, including as a decorative element in architecture and as a medium for storytelling and religious rituals.

One of the earliest known examples of stained glass can be found in the ancient Egyptian temple of Karnak, where colored glass was used to create decorative patterns in windows. In the Middle Ages, stained glass became a popular medium for creating beautiful and ornate windows in churches and cathedrals. These windows were used to tell stories from the Bible and other religious texts, and to depict the lives of saints and other religious figures.

The technique of creating stained glass involves cutting pieces of glass into specific shapes and fitting them together like a puzzle, using lead or copper foil to hold the pieces in place. Different colors of glass are used to create the desired visual effect. Stained glass windows are created using this technique, as well as other decorative items such as lamps and suncatchers.

Stained glass continues to be a popular art form to this day, with artists creating both traditional and modern designs.

When I started my own piece I didn’t exactly know what to do. I had an idea for the project. A little spin on it if you will. I couldn’t exactly make a window so I improvised. I started off making a diamond in the middle of the rectangular glass with a sharpie. I then drew four lines connected to the points of the diamond. The lines separated the piece into four quadrants. Then ever so carefully I cut the diamond out of the glass whilst also separating the 4 quadrants. Next I took copper foil and wrapped it around all the edges of the 4 pieces, but the diamond can go in the trash (that will be the “window”). Next I sauntered all four pieces together like a puzzle except the diamond was missing. Last I added a barrier to the outside of zinc a squishy and malleable metal.

All in all this is the final piece. I work hard on the glass cutting but, I did fail. This piece is difficult so I do pre-warn you if you try it. I had fun as always, making this piece. To be continued…

You ever wonder how they do frostings on glass? Well it’s actually a cream that is acidic.

Today I made a project. I used the style called glass etching. Glass etching is an older style of art dating back to 1700’s. Glass etching was discovered by a Swedish chemist. His name was Carl Wilhelm Scheele. He was known as “The father of glass etching”. Carl was the guy who showed that the chemical hydrofluoric acid would mark glass. After his discovery glass etching blew up to the mid 1800’s. Back then glass etching was really popular in southern Germany. The art that people make with this is amazing. It is an easier project for sure. I like how it came out it looks really cool. The process wasn’t to long and i got through it really quick. I’d love to see creative glass etchings that incorporate the mirror as part of the art piece.

I started this piece with these things. One, a packet that made me talk about the piece. There were some questions about what it represents. Then on the next page it is an open box where I make my sketch of what I am going to do. Two, I got a glass mirror for when I am ready to make my sketch final. I started thinking of what to do. We were still in the Halloween area so I though ghost face would be fairly easy. I started sketching out his mask on the paper. Once I finished I had to get masking tape to transfer from paper to mirror. I covered the mirror in masking take then took a sharpie, and I sketched out what I drew on the paper. After the sketching I used an x-knife to carefully fut out the eyes, hood, mouth, and nose. After that was finished i smeared etching cream over the exposed areas I carved out. I let it set for 20 minutes. Last, after I let it sit I clean it off and rip off the rest of the masking tap. Tadaaaa and just like that art was made.

In conclusion, I liked the simplicity of this project. It was fun and easy to do. It came out looking good, and I enjoyed learning about it and how to make it.

Do you ever struggle to find inspiration to when making art?

Well in the month of October we have this thing called Inktober. Inktober is a tradition where each day has a specific word. With that word you make a art over it. For my class each person was given a word. I got the word “empty”. At first this word stumped me, but later after I thought about it it hit me. To be honest it didn’t take long for me to get it all I had to think about was nothing. I then thought of the giving hands, but empty giving hands. I decided to capitalize on it. Back in 2009 a man by the name ” Jake Parker” came up with Inktober to try and improve his art skill, and challenge his thinking skill. Over time this became a world wide challenge that many artist participate in.

I already told you how I started this art piece, but I am going to take you through a step by step processes. You know how I got the inspiration, so I will skip that part. I started to sketch Out the hands on paper. At first I liked the hands, but realized that I need to fill more of the paper. I then drew out some patterns on the side. I finished the sketching then got a picture frame. I used that picture frame, because I was going to dremel it on the glass. I got out my felt and laid the piece of glass on the felt. I then began to trace out my sketch on the glass with a sharpie. Next I sprayed down my glass piece with water, and I began to dremel on the glass. I kept the glass piece to prevent it from shattering. When I fished the piece I was happy with it. Last I cut out a big black piece of paper out to put in the picture frame.

In the end, I loved doing this project. It taught me to exercise my mind. It wasn’t as hard as my other glass project, because I’ve done it before.

Do you ever see memorizing art that really catches your eye? Maybe glass art that has been scratched in?

Well, I just finished my own glass art piece. I did a piece on a mandala design. Mandala art originated from a religion called Buddhism. These master pieces of complex art were made in Tibet, India, Nepal, China, Japan, Bhutan, and Indonesia. This art was most prominent in the 4th century all the way up to today. These art pieces are now made world wide and their origin has been mass forgotten. Mandala was also used as a spiritual and ritual symbol in Asia. They use mandala in two different ways one as a visual representation of the universe. It was also used as a internal guide in many different religious practices. Technically the mandala was not just for one religion, but many different types of people religions.

When I first started I was nervous because it had to be done on glass. We started off with searching for a design. since I just started I wasn’t going to go to complex with it. I settled with a simple design of the sun. I started sketching the design on paper one or two times to make sure it would look good. After so I got to choose a little square of colored glass. Then I took a sharpie and started copying the design that I came up with onto the glass. After the design was finished I got a dremel to start engraving my design in. The glass had to be put on a piece of felt so it wouldn’t break due to vibrations. I also had to keep that piece of glass what constantly spraying it with water to it wouldn’t take a temperature shock from the dremel heating it up. It was a lot of tedious work, and I couldn’t mess up it was the only piece of glass I got.

In the end the piece was difficult, but I would definitely recommend it to anyone. It is hard so keep trying you will get it. This was my first time. I didn’t do bad, but I didn’t do good either. I would rate this 9/10.

Mosaic art is a very old art style. This art style dates back to almost 4,000 years ago. That would be all the way back in the Mesopotamia times. Mosaic art is considered to be one of the oldest forms of art. You would usually see this art in churches, cathedrals, doors . Mosaic art is a complex art. It requires small colored glass, stone, and other materials. I loved doing this project. I did a coaster and I also did a sunset. These took me 2 weeks (one week for both). This project was tedious but fun.

Like every art piece, doing this project we started with a sketch. We got a 6X6 piece of wood. First I took my idea and sketched it on the wood. Second I garbed colored glass and started to make color groups. Third i cut the glass up into small pieces. Fourth I took the glass gluing it to the wood trying to fit them together like a puzzle piece. I had to let it dry out for an hour. Fifth I took grout and smeared it in the cracks and over the glass. I then had to let that dry out too. Last I cleaned off each an every piece of glass. That is how I made the mosaic and the coaster.

All in All I Enjoyed this project. It was tedious, but it was fun. The glass cut me a few times so wear gloves. I highly recommend trying this and making something.

Do you like fun and challenging art? Do you like to make cool and visually appealing art?

Well, pop art is a very fun art. Pop art was one of the more popular types of art. This started happening in the late 1950’s. Pop art started to emerge from the U.K, and then in the U.S. . Pop art is a fine art that challenges people to make fine art. The art took a lean to be more pointed towards popular topics, and symbolized artists, or celebrities, or popular “Gifs” . A lot of the pop art you see was also inspired by comics, books, and onomatopoeia. Like when they say “pop”, “boom”, or “pow” those are all forms of onomatopoeia. The picture of Marilyn Monroe in 4 different colors is an example of pop art for celebrities.

I started making this start piece of mine in a picture and picture frame. I took the picture and picture frame apart from each other and set them aside. I then sketched out what i wanted to draw. I decided on the iconic lips and tongue “GIF”. When I finished the sketch I used a sharpie to trace the sketch on the front side of the glass. Then on the back side I used paint to start painting my picture, using the sharpie outline to assist. After finishing the painting I let it dry and painted over the whole backside black. This allowed there to be no open white spots and to darken up the painting. Last I put it all back together and finished.

In the end of finishing this piece I was happy with the results. I like the process of making it. The tedious part was making sure the paint was dry, and not having the paint smudge. I enjoy this style of art and I recommend it.

Did you know that people have been making art for thousands and thousands of years. Well a form of art also known as Aboriginal art. it’s probably one of my most favorite old styles of art.

Aboriginal art is a very old art style. It dates back to almost 80,000 years. It goes so far as to be engraved in rocks. Aboriginal art consists of dot paintings, bark painting, rock engravings, and weavings. The art represents the dream-time. Dream-Time is also known as the beginning or creation of the world/universe. They would paint on trees and cave walls and dirt to show how the thing was made. Can you believe that, I would have never guessed.

The art piece I made was fireworks in explosion. The art piece itself wasn’t too hard to make, but it was very fun. I started by sketching out some fireworks till I drew the one I liked. I then used a sharpie to draw out the fireworks (on the front side). On the back side I then started dotting out the fireworks. This process took forever. After I finished I let it dry for a day. I then painted the backside white with 3 coats of paint. Finally I put it in my picture frame and it was done.

In conclusion I really liked this art style. It was pretty fun and challenging. Actually it was more than challenging it was tedious. All in all, I recommend trying this and see how good you can do.