The beginning of something great

     the summer leading into sophomore year was my first year doing cross country and didn't know what to suspect. The team has won the state championship the past two years, and were chasing it again. I had to Wake up nice and early to meet with the team on hot summer days. Then the school year started and so did the meets. With the meets, comes the pasta parties. They were a lot of fun and helped us bond more as a team. My time continued to improve, due to the brutal workouts I was put through. I went through the season continually improving and earning a few medals along the way. My personal record was set at our home course, penny packer park. I remember coming close to the finish where my coach was shouting "Come on Mike almost there! You're looking good you are on track for a PR!" I picked it up and succeeded in setting a personal record. Then the championship season was beginning. First was sectionals, which we won. Then came the state championship. I remember running around the course to cheer for the team. I ended up having to sprint to the finish and saw them coming in one after another. They announced our team name and we received the trophy. We were state champs. 

Pop Art Print

The pop art print was a very fun project. It involved many steps. First we had to choose an object to draw on a small piece of paper. I drew my running watch and a pair of 3d glasses. Then you had to press it onto a rubber stamp. Then the fun part came. You had to carve to stamp to make you print show up. Then you had to choose colors and put it on the stamp, then stamp it on the paper. I enjoyed to entire process and thought it was one of the most fun projects so far. 

Fortune Cookie Collage

I enjoyed the fortune cookie project. We received 6 fortune cookies and had to make a collage about them. I focused on one specific fortune which was, "You have an active mind and keen imagination." I took that fortune and composed my collage. I enjoyed the process and am satisfied with the way my piece finally turned out. I enjoy making collages. They are a fun way to express yourself through art. 

Art x3

The art x3 project was an interesting one. We had to make a collage and the them was celebrities. We started with one project for 2 days and then gave it away to an anonymous person. You then received a second work from someone else and did the same thing you did with the first. Then you received a third one which you had to finish. I enjoyed the switching. Although I got a bit attached to my first 2 works and didn't really want to give them away, I am happy with the way my final piece turned out. 

Blue collection

The collect of blue things we created in art say a lot about us. It reveals the time we live in and the interests of this era. There is an iphone case that I can see, which reveals the time. If you were to show this picture to people who lived 100 years ago, they wouldn't know what half the things there are. It also shows we are diverse. Everyone has their own their own interests and I don't see any two of the same thing. This partially reflects my personal taste. I like to keep things in order and what a better way then to order things than color. Also I have a lot of junk lying around my house like the table. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bunch of junk, it's art. Portia Munson will agree with me on this. That is her collecting of blue things above. She inspired us to make this collection and is a good artist. 

Collecting vs. Hoarding

     There is a difference between collecting and hoarding. A lot of people believe that the things hoarders keep things that mean nothing, but they have some meaning to them. Most of the time there is a similarity between the things people collect. The things hoarders keep have a small correlation with each other. They have mostly trash pilling up that have nothing to do with each other. Collectors also can give certian things away while hoarders cannot.

Candy jar and bike drawing comparison

Although I enjoyed drawing the candy jar, I enjoyed the bike drawing more. I found it easier to make the metal on the bike look metal than making the candy wrappers look like candy wrappers. I liked making the drawing in color though. It is harder to shade with the color pencils than graphite. They were similar in getting down the basic lines than going back and adding value. I like how my bike drawing turned out more than how my candy jar did. I liked drawing both of them though.