Entry#7

Reflection

This is it.This is the last entry to the short-lived life of my firstborn blog. Today I experience the feelings of joy as well as sadness. Today I and my blog will part ways. And this last entry for many of us will be goodbye, (that is if anyone is still following me). I do have to say, I  have become fond of blogging. It ironically has helped me find the beginning of my voice as a writer. The irony you may ask? Well the irony is I thought it was pointless at first. I thought it was a giant waste of time. In-fact I thought I hated it and felt that it was stupid. Now I realize I was throwing a temper tantrum and acting as if  I was 5 years old, I was up against something new and I was afraid of doing it wrong.  So naturally I did as any mature male would do, I bashed it until I got good enough at it, and now I'm actually liking it. So the idea of a blog is pretty cool actually. My favorite part is that you can use it as a platform to launch ideas and other self imported opinions on the unsuspecting public, Which is pretty cool if you ask me. Also you can use it to showcase things such as : art , poetry, photos, or your fancy new writing skills. Whatever it may be, I'm sure you get the idea. So this last entry I am going to post one last painting and that will be it folks, unless of course somewhere down the road I decide to do another blog. This would also be happenstance if you stumbled across said possible blog, but hey who knows the world is smaller then most tend to believe.I have enjoyed my time exploring the other blogs in our network also, so I would also like to say thank you to all of you for sharing. Farewell and remember that the sky is the limit.

Different

So this pigeon was different then the rest.It like myself was sitting at a bench in the middle of a downpour. I found it odd because unlike the rest of the birds that had flown for cover this one decided he/she was going to sit the rain out. I myself was doing the same as I am strangely drawn to the rain, instead of running from it as most. I oddly find it comforting and look forward to it. I have not come across many other creatures , humans or birds that do. So I decided to move as close to it as possible and sat less then two feet from it. We sat together for about a half hour until the rain ended and then I left. Afterwords cleansed by the rain I felt refreshed and painted this painting. I just like the impression the day gave so commemorated it with a painting.

Entry#6

Mactanite

This painting is an abstract piece that I painted  titled  Mactanite. The story behind this painting is rather  boring actually, but its saving grace is something most people miss. The  thing I like the most about this painting is what motivated me to paint it. And that is the tree. This tree in particular  had just been shaped, but it was a rather hasty trim job that was lacking in a couple of areas. It was supposed to be round, but ended up looking as you see it here. To my eye it was a blow-fish  with a face. The face , was that of the character McDonald"s  created ,( some of you may remember it ) its name was Mactanite.  This tree stood there looking very much like  what I saw and in and out flew several blackbirds  adding to my  intrigue of it.  Being the person I am I  found it interesting enough to paint after deciding to place it underwater. I myself was satisfied  with the finished product as were some others who asked me to put it as a mural on a lobby wall for kids, this I did for free as it was for children to  enjoy. Unfortunately the quality and colors are not the best due to the fact it is a picture of the painting, but nonetheless I hope it is as enjoyable to view as it was to paint.  To anyone out there following me, see  you next time around.

Entry #5  

Food Inc. Review
Food Inc. Is a very informative film about factory farm food, and the way that it is created. If you have not watched this film you probably won't understand this blog post, I highly recommend watching it first then reading this blog. I will provide a link at the bottom of this page for those of you that would like to watch it. If you are on the fence about committing your time to a complete movie without first having a visual idea of what it is about I have provided a link to the trailer at the end of this paragraph.
trer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eKYyD14d_0

                           
Okay so for those of you that have watched it, I personally was appalled by the actions of corporations and their greed, along with government deception. It is a complete outrage that the greed of industry is allowed and even protected by our very government . Worse yet the individuals we put in place to protect us put corporate bigwigs from the companies they were meant to keep in check and balance in charge of what is allowed and what is not. Clearly a conflict of interest a child could spot. Yet there they are.

Who will watch the  watchers ?  That is my question. The people that's who. While we stand by believing our best interest and health is being protected by officials we put in place to protect us, we have been and are being deceived. Why? For the interest of a few rich corporations. As a society we have become so complacent that we stopped watching long enough to allow this outrage. The methods being used by these factory farms are dangerous and unethical. The treatment and genetic modifications of the animals is very despicable and utterly disgusting. I currently eat as fresh as possible for health benefits, but now I am  going to do my best to eliminate any food that promotes this madness. I find the actions taken to make this type of "food" sickening. The modifications of DNA to promote rapid growth is in itself alarming combined with the treatment of the animals and the antibiotics used is appalling. The excessive amount of antibiotics used for health reasons or benefits of the animals is reckless . This practice has caused an influx of super bugs immune to treatment from traditional antibiotics. And the inhumane act of cutting off beaks of chickens and tails of pigs, along with the unsanitary, confined, cruel,crowded, conditions is just wrong. The whole life of farm factory food is a dismal  sad affair. This is an atrocity that we are all responsible to change. We are all guilty of the neglect that allowed this, so we all should stand up and do our best to fix it. I believe we need to start boycotting the purchase of these " Foods ". I hope that some of you that read this will agree with me and join me in an attempt to rectify this very real problem, and thanks for your time.

 Food inc.link -(https://libprodweb.maricopa.edu/uhtbin/cgisirsi.exe/x/0/0/57/5/3?searchdata1=205985{CKEY}&searchfield1=GENERAL^SUBJECT^GENERAL^^&user_id=WEBSERVER)

Entry#4

This painting I did was my first abstract piece. It started as a sketch on a napkin. I have since done several pieces of abstract. i do believe this one to be my favorite though. Abstract is my favorite type of painting because there are no rules. At any point in time you can change your mind and go in another direction,this I believe is in a sense  freedom. It is not often in life that we have the freedom to do what we want without having to worry about consequences. That is the beauty of abstract painting ,and painting in general. You are free to do what you want and change it whenever, There are no rules to what you have to produce,there is no one to tell you that you are wrong. Your emotions can flow freely and you can express yourself however you want.

Entry #3

Naturally I questioned the topic of our blog on the heals of our discussion in our respective classes.on Thursday. The assignment much like our discussion centers around human dependency of technology and the effects it has on personal relationships and human behavior in general. The excerpt we watched from the movie Wall-E is a prime example of what I feel we are headed for. The clip ( you will find a link for this at the bottom of this page) for those of you who haven't viewed it, shows humankind in what I believe to be our natural progression. The entire population is in a type of hover chair vehicle, much like a recliner that flies. Essentially we'll never leave our chair. The chair is mobile, sleek, and has a hologram projector on it. The projector in the futuristic clip is a more advanced version of the cell phone of today. We essentially are already seeing the actions we see in this clip, just not as a driver. what we see already is the passengers in this type of engagement, We have yet to develop the ability to be actively watching a screen as were being drove by a machine. I do believe we are not far from this though. If you noticed that in the clip everyone in the population is overweight and no one is capable of doing for themselves. This I believe would be a great tragedy, but is not far fetched.  I have myself been guilty of getting in a vehicle as a passenger and engaging my phone to the point of never looking up once until I reached my destination. This is something I have not done often but have done. It is also something I feel I see way too much in restaurants and vehicles or even at home at the dinner table.  With the progression of technology I see the death of humanity . I feel that the way people interact has been skewed by the way we interact on our phones or on Facebook with each other. As I feel these are great technological advances, I also feel as a society we are obligated to grow with this technology. As it is I now feel our technology has outgrown our ability to use it responsibly. I am hoping that at some point in our near future we adapt, and become the masters of our advancement, opposed to being babysat by it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1BQPV-iCkU 

Entry #2

Reindeer 

This is a photo of a painting I did. It is of a reindeer in the desert.Its representation signifies my grandfather who was born on an Ojibwe Indian reservation in Minnesota.His totem animal in his clan is the reindeer.My grandfather has lived in Arizona for about 50 years ,This painting symbolizes his living here by having his animal totem out of its element,as we all know there are no reindeer in the desert.This is something I painted as a birthday gift 2 years ago for his 81st birthday.

Entry #1

I am very new to this blog thing, i'm slowly getting the hang of learning and exploring new blogs. All of the blogs i have came across are very different in all aspects. I have reviewed and gone over many blogs and not many have caught my attention. But here are a few that I have researched and reviewed

Review- John Teti, The Gamelogical Society- This blog reviews games and gaming items. Also there is a lot of commentary about how video gaming could be the next big thing. I feel I do not relate to this blog its mostly about a guy who sits at home and plays a lot of video games.I don't necessarily have the time or interest to play video games anymore. I neither liked or disliked this blog I would say I am neutral or uninterested.

Review- James Follows The Atlantic-this blog reviews a man following american politics and Chinese  relations. together we are making software that appears to be a hover craft of some sort. There is a lot of controversy over NASA surveillance matters and if they should be spending time and money on this project. I feel NASA should be involved in overseeing, I also  think the relationship between America and China is great. hopefully it will make a ground breaking change in our world, It may help us become a more technologically advanced society. That being said it will take everyone being on the same page.I found this blog mildly interesting.

Review- Theron Humphrey,Maddie on Things-  This blog discusses a man and his dog  Maddie.In his view point it is not the typical blog about cute animals that you see on the internet. He takes her on daily adventures with her superhero cape and makes sure shes in the best condition possible. You can see he loves his dog and enjoys Maddies companionship. This is something I can relate to because I feel dogs are loyal protectors and deserve to be loved in return. I enjoyed the companionship aspect of this blog, Even though it was a little different than the way I personally interact with my dogs.

An Exploratory Journey into the Expression of Ones Self Through Art 

My name is Larry,and I am from Maryvale, (west phoenix). I am an artist and also a poet. I use my art as an expression of my feelings and opinions. But most of all its an outlet, honestly art is life too me. I hope to become a successful artist instead of the commonly known starving artist. This is why I have decided to enroll in school for fine arts. I am hoping to learn as many types of expressiveness as possible. I am self taught at painting, I have done murals with brushes and also spray cans although that was many years ago. I enjoy painting because I get to see my vision come to life. I enjoy writing poetry as an outlet for many ranges of emotion. 

I feel art is life because it makes you feel like there's something beautiful in the world. Music is art and I would not be able to live without it. My poetry is art and when I write it makes me feel alive. I feel that painting my thoughts and visions is me living through the eyes of others. So I feel that in  every aspect of life we are exposed to art, therefor I feel it encompasses life!

I would love to do art as my career, I want to do what I love. Being from a less than prosperous family in a rough neighborhood, I've had to survive by working jobs that I have dreaded. I also would like too eventually be able to use my degree to help young aspiring artists from diverse areas hone there own artistic skills and be able to become successful at a younger age and not have to experience the struggles I have known. I believe that the poorer neighborhood kids who do not have those traditional art skills are being over looked and are falling through the cracks. I myself experienced this. Aspiring rappers, graffiti artists, and other talented youths are not learning how to channel their talents into a productive and marketable skill.

This I'm afraid is a great disservice to us all as I feel that art is something that touches us. We are missing out on so many enlightenment's and enjoyments. I will during our course post some of my own work and would love to hear feedback and opinions or interpretations. for those or you who decide to join me, I hope you enjoy the journey into the expression of myself.

This painting is titled 'Addiction' and is something I did as a way to cope with the loss of my uncle who was an alcoholic.He died as a result of his addiction.It is also relative to other family and friends I have lost over the years.The painting has the words "one more " in the background. This represents the constant chase of the high they seek, because they always want to get high just one more time.The birds are crows that are representative of death because they are carrion birds. The cracks represent the cracks in our society that addicts fall threw constantly. Most never see a rehab and are locked up as criminals for there sickness.I chose coffee for the centerpiece because it is the most acceptable and most consumed drug ( being a stimulant ) , in the world.The letter o is smoking , another accepted drug.The birds are forming from the steam as a symbol of death rising from addiction. The sweetener and stir straw on the table are meant to be left up to perception depending on your own personal life experiences . For me being exposed to addiction in one form or another my whole life it represents a darker meaning, it is actually narcotics waiting to be consumed,and bring more death and destruction. And it is all centered on a glass coffee table, I am not sure if from the photo that is clear.