Walter Disney: The Truth Behind the Magic

By Natalie Sanchez

​Link to Website.

Everyone has seen a Disney movie at least once in their lives. The movies "Cinderella", "Sleeping Beauty", and "Bambi" opened a portal to a magical world far beyond the reality in which we lived. Princess dresses and tiaras were out of stock in children department stores and girls everywhere would dream of living in a castle one day. This was the footprint that Walter Disney left on my generation's childhood memories- these were the dreams that stemmed from Disney productions. For my first quarter English benchmark, I have chosen to create a website about Walter Disney, the master behind the magic.
Disney website glimpse
Disney website glimpse

Gandhi

This is a presentation about how Gandhi is misrepresented to be a perfect saint. In reality he is simply a human being who has the same vices that all of us have. The viewer should, after seeing this presentation, understand that no human being was, is, or will be perfect and should focus on individuals as a whole rather than what they are known for. However, people should not look at Gandhi as a complete failure, but should understand that they most likely would have done the same if they were in Gandhi's situation.
YAM_Gandhi RWR Project

The Templar Truth

The Knights Templar have been depicted through popular culture as a secret society which practiced paganistic and satanic rituals, though they were supported by the Vatican and the Pope himself. In other modern portrayals, especially due to the popularity of The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, the Templars are depicted as a group which sought the Holy Grail, the Ark of the Covenant, and other legendary relics. Some believe that the Templars still exist, protecting and hiding these secrets from those who would seek to defile them.

But what no one portrays is the events that actually occurred. The events in which the Templars played important roles and for which their are numerous accounts.

That is what this video aims to do: portray the Templars as they were, not as they are theorized to be.

Clear object

For this photo I first created a shaded background so that the clear object would stand out. Next I drew exactly what I saw. once I created something for the object to sit on I then drew the object and I used the eraser to create the clear part of it. It was hard to get the roundness of the object exact. Overall I did pretty good.
2011-10-31 09.23.59
2011-10-31 09.23.59

Quakers 1644

I have a personal connection to the roots of Quakerism because my family "converted" when I was in 1st grade because I was attending a Quaker school and would ask my parents, of my own volition, if we could go to meeting for worship. What shocked me when I went to public school in 5th grade was how surprised people were when I told them I was Quaker. Then we would open our text books and read about George Fox and William Penn and the Native Americans and the idea of Quakerism would fade into colonial America. Well, I clearly used electricity, much to many people's shock, and I did not use the words "thee" or "thou" so I began to realize that there was some sort of miscommunication going on with these kids that they could assume something was dead and also a certain way because a text book only mentioned it once. My goal was to shed new light on aspects of Quakerism that are often overlooked as well as making it clear that Quakerism as still as much of a religion as any other that was present during Colonial America. 

I used the form of a podcast because I know that I learned best when I am spoken to and also am best at relaying information verbally. With those qualifications understood I created a skeleton of a script and then spoke as though I were presenting to a class. I find this to be the most helpful way to hear new information because inflection and interest does not sound dialouged but engaged and loose.



http://soundcloud.com/emmahohen/quakers-1644/s-nOrdu

Still object

I did this drawing because I was assigned this drawing. during this drawing I 1st outlined the way I seen this person standing. Once I outlined the way this person was standing I then added a little more detail by drawing the  clothing on to the person and using the colors that look like the colors she was wearing. Last I added detail to clothing and finished drawing her face and hair.
Screen Shot 2011-11-07 at 8.43.37 AM
Screen Shot 2011-11-07 at 8.43.37 AM

Morgan Taylor


      I did these two drawings because it was an assignment for my advanced art class. Ms. Hull told the class that we had to draw a life size drawing of one of our classmates. When I started this class I knew nothing about drawing a person at all. I was nervous the drawing would not look like the model. I tried my hardest throughout the entire process and it turned out ok. It might not like look exactly like her because in my drawing she is a little thicker than in real life. The second drawing we had to do for this class is a clear object drawing. This was especially hard for me because I didn't get how I could make a drawing of a clear object actually look clear and 3D. When I finished this drawing I could see how it looked like a clear object. When i first started this class I never thought i was capable of such fine work. I am really proud of myself.

photo-3
photo-3
photo-2
photo-2

Amber Altomare Q1 Benchmark

art class

I did this drawing because I wanted to capture the 3D essence of the object. I wanted to capture the shadows because of the sun rising in the background. I wanted to show the vases nature when outside. The vase shows that even a clear object can have shadows influence how it looks. I think that i successfully captured the vases 3D environment.  
IMG_0418
IMG_0418

The Story of a Bill: The Clean Water Act

Reflection

In the beginning, right when Ms. Laufenberg mentioned this benchmark, the first thing I thought of doing for my bill was the Clean Water Act. Not only does it relate to my lobbying topic of fracking, but I also learned alot about it when I actually worked at the EPA over the summer. It seemed very interesting and I had heard that it was actually vetoed which made it seem like it would be an interesting story to tell. I chose a Prezi for my presentation format because it makes any presentation look great and keeps the attention of any viewer. Also it has great transitions from zoomed in to zoomed out to tilted right or left. I have used Prezi in the past, and I basically knew how to use it well. I would change up my project differently in the way in which I would change up the presentation format. I would probably make an iMovie that is sort of a skit and plays out the whole history in one little timeline, as I saw a classmate do last year. The research and investigation told me that the process from idea to bill to law is actually a hard, complicated one. Many people disagree or agree and many other people have their own opinions on things and it takes a long time to settle those disagreements. Also it takes time because the idea has to pass through so many different processes and stages until it finally becomes a law. The research was actually pretty easy, especially since I basically had the whole process in which it was passed. The only hard part was finding out background on when the Clean Water Act was vetoed, but later on I found it out. Overall, it was interesting finding out more about the Clean Water Act and the true insight to how a bill becomes a law.


Sources:


http://greenlaw.blogs.law.pace.edu/2011/04/01/cwa101/

www.epa.gov/lawsregs/laws/cwahistory.html

http://www.thecre.com/fedlaw/legal14water/cwa.htm

http://www.fws.gov/laws/lawsdigest/fwatrpo.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_Water_Act

Pictures:

http://www.brevardgreenhomes.com/images/clean_drinking_water.bmp

http://us.123rf.com/400wm/8/215/livinglifephoto/livinglifephoto0912/livinglifephoto091200011/6076679-young-boy-swimming-in-ocean-during-the-summer-in-florida-with-a-big-smile-on-face-fort-desoto-park-f.jpg

http://c0365781.cdn2.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/datas/21202698/original/701px-Puffer_Fish_DSC01257.JPG

http://images.politico.com/global/070626_thisday6-27.jpg

http://limitlessdroid.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/shaking-hands.jpg

http://www.iphonebuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/spglascampanaseccheck3e04e.jpg

http://www.aph.gov.au/house/pics/chamber.gif

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB195/photo1-350-drop.jpg

http://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20091015/470_great_lakes_091015.jpg

http://www.downloadwinzipfree.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/I__m_just_a_Bill_by_kilroyart.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1412/1272200949_d4f811978e.jpg

http://www.manversusfish.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/dirty-lake-water-bass-fishing.jpg

http://images.google.com/hosted/life/f?imgurl=f69baf8c0d7f7dc1

Q1 Art

​This quarter in art I think I have been able to identify the things I need to improve on as well as have improved on since last year. Normally I would just take the easy way on or do what I am used to in order to get the project done and enjoy at the same time. My original idea was to write poems instead of draw because I was caught in my comfort zone. Ms.Hull encouraged me to try and get better at drawing. Ms.Hull said to me "I can teach you how to draw." I have gained the patience and understanding on what shadowing as well as 3d objects look like. 

My first drawing was the first body portrait of Sammy. I do not have a picture because it was destroyed in the hallway. I think that my portrait was better last year because of the angle I was standing at last year. It was a front view of my model. I had to draw the side of her which was a challenge. I wish I had a visual to show the difference between last years to this years. I always enjoy doing the full body portraits because it tests my creativity and my ability to tackle the project accurately.  The second assignment of the quarter was drawing a clear object such as glass or bottle. I think this os the assignment that gives me the most trouble i redid my object three times. I didn't want to look at the tutorial that was provided for us because it would put a damper on my creative thought process and I would try to duplicate what was shown to me, not what I actually see.I enjoyed this quarter once again it is always a enjoyment learning new techniques.
Screen Shot 2011-11-06 at 9.32.12 PM
Screen Shot 2011-11-06 at 9.32.12 PM

Q1 art

​This quarter in art I think I have been able to identify the things I need to improve on as well as have improved on since last year. Normally I would just take the easy way on or do what I am used to in order to get the project done and enjoy at the same time. My original idea was to write poems instead of draw because I was caught in my comfort zone. Ms.Hull encouraged me to try and get better at drawing. Ms.Hull said to me "I can teach you how to draw." I have gained the patience and understanding on what shadowing as well as 3d objects look like. 

My first drawing was the first body portrait of Sammy. I do not have a picture because it was destroyed in the hallway. I think that my portrait was better last year because of the angle I was standing at last year. It was a front view of my model. I had to draw the side of her which was a challenge. I wish I had a visual to show the difference between last years to this years. I always enjoy doing the full body portraits because it tests my creativity and my ability to tackle the project accurately.  The second assignment of the quarter was drawing a clear object such as glass or bottle. I think this os the assignment that gives me the most trouble i redid my object three times. I didn't want to look at the tutorial that was provided for us because it would put a damper on my creative thought process and I would try to duplicate what was shown to me, not what I actually see.I enjoyed this quarter once again it is always a enjoyment learning new techniques.



Quarter 1: Life size model drawing

This was the first project that I was assigned to do and I first thought there is no way that I can ever draw a life size human being and I have never done this in my life. That is when my insructor (mrs. Hull) told me not to say I can't do it because I,can but I just have to try and from there I started. when I first started out I had one model but them that drawing got thrown away so I had to start over once I stated over I was bot completely happy with what I had but I thought with a little tweaks here and there it would get better, until that one got thrown away by someone, needless to say at this point I was beyond frustrated because now this is my third time drawing, but I did not give up I started one last time but this time with a different model because the one I had started with with not there that day. The tool that I used to draw the life size drawing it called pastels. I am happy thati got threw it and drew what I could to the best of my abilities, I was very inspired while drawing to music and looking at how other people approached drawing their life,size drawings. Thank you for reading my blog post and viewing my art
Photo on 11-10-11 at 1.33 PM 2
Photo on 11-10-11 at 1.33 PM 2
Photo on 11-10-11 at 1.33 PM 2
Photo on 11-10-11 at 1.33 PM 2

Quarter 1: Clear Object Drawing

I would like to welcome you to look at my first clear drawing. I am in advanced art and one of the assignmets we were assigned to do is to pick a glass object and draw it as you see it. The object should appear from your point of view and should be as detailed as possible. The object that I chosr to draw was the one I thought would be the simplest, I was wrong but I chose a sort of bowl shaped object. When I first started the object I was hesistant to start becuase I didnt want to mess up, I soon got over that and decided thst I would start,from the simplest task and draw lightly. We were insructed to use a tool called charcol which is a skinny black chalk like tool and it can break very easily. My first step was some thing called shading, to do this i just took the charcol on its side and move the tool up and down left and right and then take your hand and kind of smear it in just a little bit. After I had my background all set I move on to the bowl. I first drew the top of the bowl how I seen it and then I drew the aide of the bowl and tried to make them as even on both sides as possible because the bowl is wide this was at times frustrating but I would shade again and start over. The next part is the inside of the bowl on the bottom is a circular part of the bowl but to the eye it is invisible so I had to draw it and then shade the inside of it, shading is my favorite part of the art process by the way with this project. After I drew the object the best I thought it looked it was time to put what I call the glare into the bowl where the light hits it. When I did this I had to use an eraser to give it that affect. I loved this part to I found it interesting that just with little tweaks here and there you can really make a picture come alive. After I drew this object I felt really good about it and it also made me feel more confident about doing other art in the future. I n this process I really got most of my inspiration and motivation from watching everyone in the class and watching,how their art hhas changed witht the drawing and re-drawing and changing thier perspectives and starting over. I like yhe fact that with this perticular piece we had time to think about what,we wanted to draw, and how we wanted to draw it. This gave this project more or a free independent feel rather then an assigment that you have to get done and over with. I hope you enjoyed reading my blog post about my spectacular clear art.
Photo on 11-10-11 at 1.17 PM
Photo on 11-10-11 at 1.17 PM
Photo on 11-10-11 at 1.18 PM #4
Photo on 11-10-11 at 1.18 PM #4

Patriot Act


SOURCES:

http://www.fincen.gov/statutes_regs/patriot/index.html

http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=patriot_act


REFLECTION:

I chose this bill mainly because when I first heard about it I was really interested to know how the process of it becoming a law went. I knew it's process was one of the fastest to becoming a law but I really didn't know about the details of the process and thought it would be an interesting bill to research and talk about. When I get different projects I usually transform them into a little movie since that is what I love and it makes the process more fun but for this I wanted to tell a story like if it was a children's book so I kind of found a way to put two and two together making it like a storybook but adding different effects and music to make it kind of like a little film. For the most part this project wasn't to difficult since I was kind of having fun doing it but some of the challenges I faced was probably trying to find a good source to explain some detailed parts of the patriot act since most sources just told the main stuff and it would of made the video way to short so I wanted to make sure I could get some good details so the video/storybook would be better. So finding a good source and then incorporating it into the video/storybook was I think the biggest challenge I faced. If I did this project again I would probably make sure I used my time more efficiently and probably add more to the story like after it became a law as well. When researching the process of an idea becoming a bill and then becoming a law I learned a lot about some of the reasons why it truly takes SO long for a bill to become a law. The idea becoming a bill was a fairly quick process but the process of a bill becoming a law was the long one. When a bill is being introduced and such if just one person says no, depending on how high he/she is in ranking, they will have to pause the bill and review it again in a later meeting. So for this law since at first it wasn't very popular within the committee it was paused and brought up later and then throughout the process there was always someone who would disagree and then slow down the process once again. So one person can really effect the process of a bill becoming a law. I didn't really have any expectations for this law just because I chose it because I wanted to learn more about it so I didn't think about whether it was going to be really hard or really easy. But overall I think the process was kind of in the middle, in a lot of ways it was simple but gathering all the info was difficult at times. But in the end I believe it came out well. 

Clear Glass Beaker

Ms. Hull assigned to us that we needed to make a clear 3-D sketch of an object. The video she showed us for an example, had a perfect drawling of a clear object. It looked like difficult process in the way it was drawn. The first thing I did was get my background color in first on my paper and then thought how will I create this object and make it clear. I started with the rim of my 3-D glass beaker.

       I drew dark strokes where I saw solid glass and erased where I saw light in the glass, which started to form the beaker. Then I started to blend the color outside with the lighter inside of my beaker. I tried to The difficult part was when I was trying to draw light in the beaker, because sometimes it was hard to find. So when I was done my beaker i found little details that i found along the glass like the line on the object. I really like this project because it dealt with perspective.

imagejpeg952
imagejpeg952

"Left By The Ship"

​My educational resource is a curriculum that provides guideline for lesson on the topic about the impacts of US's war and military's presence on other country. It examines the missing narratives of this topic. The curriculum was developed around the documentary called "Left By The Ship", which described the experiences of Filipino Amerasian Children in Angeles City where the former US's Subic Naval Base once located. These children were "Left By The Ship" when the Naval Base inactivated. Typically, war and military forces are viewed as destructive, which became the scapegoat for economic lost and human casualty, rather than the results of a dehumanizing structure. But more importantly, the conversations about the impacts of wars and military forces are usually left out those who born as Bui Doi [Vietnamese term means Children from the ashes], and who have to live their lives being seen as a mistake. 


Tong Q1 Benchmark