My Poetic Final Reflection

As my art career at Haddon Township comes to an end 

Without art I would may my only friend

I have the ability to draw whatever's on my mind

With art my imagination I shall find 

I have expressed my feelings through pencil and clay

Art class has always made my day

I'll miss the projects and awesome times

Which is why I'm creating these flowing rhymes 

The memories of these past two years I will never forget 

Leaving this class forever will be my only regret

These past few months I've compiled posts on this blog

Posting is much more fulfilling than being a bump on a log

My favorite moment was sculpting the last project 

Art was by far my favorite subject 

I finished my year by sewing pages in my book

Taking this class was definitely the look

When I scan the world I now see in new eyes

I've grown up and I'm ready to gaze upon new skies 

With art in my life a better person I will be 

I will be more creative living my life by the sea 

Mrs. Kiick I wrote this poem for you 

For I will always remember Haddon Township and Art Class too 

Underground Memories

This time capsule project was a perfect art project for my senior year of high school. I have been feeling very nostalgic during these last few months at Haddon Township High School and this project helped to seal all of my favorite memories up, both physically and mentally. My time capsule although not finished on the outside yet holds a lot of memories from within. Inside have some of my favorite memories from school, track and cross country, my friends, and much much more over these four years. I plan on opening it up in somewhere near 20 years, rehatching old memories, and looking back to this awesome blog that I have made over these past couple years of art. I'm very glad that the time capsule was part of the art class this year. 

Life

I wake up to the sound of my alarm. It's an early August morning and it is 6am. Normally I wouldn't even wake up for school at this time but this was different. There was an unusual summer swell coming in this morning. I ride my bike down to first and boards to check the waves. It's chest to head high and clean and the sunrise is almost just as good. The next few hours is just barrels after barrels and some slashes at the lip. All of the First Street Crew was out and we all were super amped throughout the entire session. I get out at 10 change into my work boardies and head to work. The waterpark was busy and there were tons of people on the slides all day long. I half lifeguarded and half watched the waves at 7th street from the top of Serp. The waves died down as the day went on as many summer swells do. I was blessed that I paddled out as early as I did this morning. I got off work at 6, went home, threw on my shorts and trainers, and went on a run. I hyped over the season ahead while I strided over Longport Bridge and enjoyed the cool early evening breeze. I cut through the Gardens and headed right back to first street beach. As I got there I popped off my shoes, darted toward the ocean, and went for a dip. It was amazing to think about how calm the warm ocean was now, as it had been so big earlier in the day. I got out and watched the sunset on the beach while I sat on the jetty. After a quick shower and dinner I was getting calls from all of my friends who were stoked over a party that night. The night was very similar to many others. A bunch of brothers with a similar love for the sea, having a great time just living life. 

Days like this blend together each summer and hold a special place in my heart. They make me who I am and lead me toward the life I want to live. They keep me working hard and set me free. 

Fortunes of the Future 👽

Our last project of the marking period and currently still a work in progress for me is the fortune cookie project. Each student was given 5 fortune cookies and we had to interpret our fortunes and make a collage/painting based on our fortunes. Two of my fortunes said I would be expecting a pleasant surprise in my future. The other one said I am versatile and can balance a lot of different things. Shortly after I got accepted into all of the schools I had applied to. Hopefully my next surprise will be that I will figure out where I am going to go to school soon. My collage is weak right now but I hope in the end to include the schools I want to attend, have some aspects of the beach in it, and tie it in with running too. 

Stamps

The stamp project we did this marking period was something completely different than anything I have done before. We created our own stamps and then made artsy prints with them. We took our inspiration for our stamps from the blue collection we made in the center of our classroom. I chose a 1st place ribbon because awards and winning races is really important to me. I get this drive to win and I don't know where it's from but I thought it would be the perfect thing to make my stamp of. The carving of it was difficult and it turned out not perfect but it made it look pretty cool. I made tons of prints with it but liked this one the most. It's simple and that's why I like it so much. 

Collage, collage, collage

This year for our collage project we went off the path of what's "the norm". Our topic was to visually express the theme "celebrity". There were many ways to go after this theme and everyone had a different view on the topic. What was
so different about this project was that after the first two days you a handed your project in and got another students at random. I was pretty attached to my first one and was pretty upset to have to let it go. The progress I made in the first two days was remarkable. Then we got the new project and I was dealt a good hand. Again we worked for two days and after putting my signature final touch on it I handed it off and got my last and final collage. The interpretations that the people before me had on the theme was a lot different than mine. I did a complete 360 on the theme and did the best I could to turn this collage into my own work while still keeping parts of theirs in it too. It didn't end up how I had once hoped it would but overall I'm satisfied with my final work. I thought the concept of this project was cool because it taught me a couple life lessons. The first lesson is that everyone has different views on different things. The second one was that you may not always be happy with the hand you are dealt in life, but you need to do your best to turn it around and make it how you want it to be 

Our Lives on a Table

Our collection to the eye may seem like a pool of blue. Perhaps even a blue jumbled mess with no organization. But as you look at each individual item, you start to see all of the classmates lifestyles all sort of placed onto one table. There are countless blue school supplies on the table, such as pencils, pens, and markers. These utensils are used every day in the classroom and at our homes when we are doing our homework. Some people brought in blue balls and first place ribbons. Showing the class how important athletics are to a lot of the students. There were rappers and bottles of both food and drinks that the students enjoy and eat daily. Someone brought in a Vans shoe. A fashion statement in today's world and a symbol of the laid back lifestyles of some of the students in the class. What seems a disorganized and random display of objects ends up being much much more. It is a symbol of how us art students live our lives. 

Portia Munson does the same thing when she does installation artwork. She adds important objects of her life into her amazingly creative installations. This is one of the reasons that she is as popular of an artist as she is and one of the reasons she is so successful. 

http://portiamunson.com/installations/reflecting-pool.html