Blog Feed

In the second  quarter of my art class, we were giving 5 major assignments and these art pieces resulted in the finishing of blind finished contour drawings, creating my own art piece, remaking of a famous piece of art, illustrating from a piece of writing, and photo editing . During the process of this task to complete, my creativity was unleashed. From these assignments, I was able to truly have faith in myself as an artist and test my resourceful talent that has been hidden for so long.

My artwork is about the excitement of exploring with your eyes, mind and spirit the unique and the mysterious. The work that I create in Mrs. Hull’s room is created to have immediate impact and long lasting power, personally for me, atleast. My art pieces are very meaning for to me because its about  doing what I never thought I could do that I never thought I would actually had the time to do before. And from the process I completed in every class period, the paintings and art pieces had  engaged me  by their power of color, motion and imagery and  eventually moved me  into a sense of wondering and curiosity. Right then and there, I was beginning to be pulled in--to be involved in the process of discovering all the variety of shapes, the dark and light spaces in between them, how they're connected, float or seem to move fast across the paper. And to my surprise, I would return the next class period  to the painting and find new insights and associations with the imagery that I would then add to me  overall sense of experiencing the original beauty of the creative process. When completing I knew once placed in my room, that they would  energize it and me as well.

Looking past the obvious, close observation and engagement is major key during the process to making art work.  The challenge is to see beyond the distraction of  self- doubt and to just go with flow. Capture the  uniqueness within yourself and your work. The advice I have for others is enjoy your experience and don’t deprive yourself from greatness. Even if your spend an entire class period just pondering multiple ideas of what you want to create in your assignment, that's fine.  It may not seem like its progress, but let me tell you it is. The process of creation is in a constant state of decay and renewal. I say this because you won’t have anything unless you bring your artist side to life. Set it free to explore and be open minded to trying new things. Even if it may seem unusual.  My goal is to inspire those who to discover beauty in unusual places.

For this quarter I created from recreating a piece of artwork to photo editing. I recreated two types of flower, cherry blossom and a read morning glory flower. In the photo editing I used photos when I went to Venezuela. I got pictures of myself with the background with the sky on top of The Avila mountain in Caracas. I also have a picture of my uncles because they perform for the people, and tourist that go there. The important source is being observant of what you are trying to do because you can’t just do whatever. Well for my experience I need to be observant to recreate something or take a good picture. I used snapseed to edit my pictures, and it’s a very useful app because you can select points in the picture to make it better in that point you picked. Also my phone was a good tool because it has cropping pictures and adjusting brightness.

My preferences is editing pictures to submit a work if you need to take a picture because you can edit the brightness, contraction or anything else. The material I prefer is color pencils and markers because markers are great to mark lines and coloring in with color pencils. I did learn a new technique, using the projector to copy a drawing. It’s the best thing ever because you can be a skilled drawer or not and still us it  it’s so helpful. I didn’t use special tools this quarter but I learn about a eraser that is used to decrease or blend a drawing. The studio time was spent productive even if it wasn’t art, I would be doing work from another class after I was done my artwork.

My important thing happen was communicating with the teacher because if I was communicated with her I wouldn’t been marked late. I try my art pieces  to connect with me some way, the photo editing was about me and my country Venezuela and my uncles that have been there for me and trust. The artwork is from an anime I used to watch and my uncle has a cherry blossom flower tattooed on him so that inspired me. When I chose my own painting I wanted to do something from my childhood so I did Mickey Mouse and the gang when they were babies.

The unofficial but official board game known as “To the Death” is based on Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. There are a lot of references to the play as well as third-party references that aren’t.There are four playable characters in the play, them being Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, King Duncan, and Banquo. They all die in the end, but the objective of the game is to be the last one standing. All four characters have their own unique path to take around the game board, and the game will be finished by the first two players to enter the center of the board (the other two are just out). While in the Battle Zone, the two players fight with different kinds of cards they collected on their way to the center.

In our board game, there are three (motif) kinds of cards to select, the first type being the attack cards. They will be used once two players enter the Battle Zone, which is in the middle of the field. Every attack card represents a weapon, and weapons include Swords, Axes, Bows/Arrows, and Spears, which were all used in the 1500s, if not specifically in the Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. There are two one of a kind cards, one that says ‘Skin them from the Nave to the Chops’, which is a reference to Act 1, Scene 2 of the play. The other card is like the opposite, and it says ‘SUICIDE’ in big letters. This is a reference to Lady Macbeth’s demise in Act 5. It is exactly what it sounds like; whoever picks up the card has to use it right away, and once they do, they’re out the game.  

There are also some health cards in the game that increase players’ defense. Health cards include (but aren’t limited to) horses, wine, and Chain Armor. Chain Armor was worn by Macbeth and Malcolm during the final few scenes of the play, because of the war between Scotland and England. Horses were occasionally ridden in the film. There is no direct reference to wine in the play, but it’s been around since 1500 BC and has some health benefits to it as well. The last type of cards are called movement cards, which are used before two players enter the Battle Zone. The cards don’t just say ‘move x spaces forward’ or ‘move y spaces back’. There are references to major or minor situations from the actual play, like how Macbeth became mentally unstable etc. The cards also include certain motifs from the play like death and sleep.

Instructions:

Winning the Game

The winner will be whoever beats their opponent in the Battle Zone, after the first two players get there.  

Losing the game

There is more than one way to lose. The first way is picking up the SUICIDE card in the health card deck. You’ll have to use it instantly.

The second way is when someone uses the ‘Skin Them From the Nave to the Chops’ card on you in the Battle Zone. That card causes instant death on the one it was used on.

The third way is to lose the race to the Battle Zone, finishing in third or fourth. You then won’t play anymore.

Playing the game

1. Race to the Battle Zone

The game starts with all four players at the beginning of their labeled paths to the Battle Zone. Every character has their own path to follow, and they’re all designed differently. The players take turns picking up movement cards from the deck, following whatever the card says, and picking up attack and health cards on the way.  If you’ve picked up a card that says to move back when you’re at the start, then just put it at the bottom of the deck and pick up another one. The first player to enter the Battle Zone will have to wait for the second player, and the game will continue with those two players.

2. Battle in the Battle Zone

   The two remaining players use the attack and health cards they have collected to fight each other (if you have somehow managed not to take any card at all, just take five of both kinds of cards). Both start with 30 health, and every card says weather it reduces or increases it. Attack cards reduce your opponents health, while health cards increase your own, and also have a ‘tag’ in the corner that says ‘health’ so you’ll know which  ones are which. You can only choose one card to put down every turn, so choose wisely. If the card allows more than one use (it will say so in the bottom right corner if it does), then you can take it back after you put it down and it goes into effect. The game ends once someone’s health goes down to 0.  

Our Macbeth Creative Project was a playbill. Jakob and I decided on a playbill because we felt that we could operate most effectively with a project that had writing and visual aspects. We knew we wanted to have the most significant image in the play be our cover art, so we chose the crown. We also wanted to signify the violence in the play so we added a sword going through the crown with blood dripping off of it. We decided to create our own cover art because we wanted to have an original project.

An important part of our playbill is the color scheme. We decided to make the background red because of the bloody themes that are in Macbeth. The red also matches our cover art. We also thought that the linear style of coloring the background was very appealing and added a little variety.We also decided to do an act-by-act summary to inform the audience about the play they are about to watch.

We chose Kevin Hart to act Macbeth because we thought that he would be good actor for the hallucination scenes and would be somebody funny to watch when sad and going crazy. Chris Rock in our version is the Porter. This decision was made because the porter's role in the play is for comic relief. After a heavy death scene, Chris Rock is a funny person that could bring the audience back to relief with his funny humor and personality.

In our English 1 class, we read Macbeth for a majority of our second quarter. My partner,Tyria Brown Smith, and I decided to make a theatrical playbill to display what we read in the play. On the front page is the cover. I drew three mouths to represent the three witches, who influenced Macbeth’s decisions throughout the play. There is an ear ,at the side of the cover, that is a symbol for Macbeth’s ear . I drew the words “Macbeth” in a speech bubble starting at the ear to the mouths to indicate the witches whispering to him. Tyria did the summary of the plot. She explained how Macbeth went from being one of the most honorable person in Scotland to the most hated tyrant.

We made this project because we thought it would be easy to understand and we could do alot with it creatively. There was much room for us to be imaginative. For example our character list had pictures next to every character, Some characters looked more serious and some were completely goofy. All the characters had different shaped heads to make it more interesting.  We also used word play for the advertisements to make the playbill more commercial.

   Chris Jacobs and I, had a great time doing this project. Our video project is a “vlog” or “video blog” based on Act 5 Scene 1 of the play written by Shakespeare’s, “Macbeth”.  Act 5 Scene 1 is the scene that has Lady Macbeth's doctor and her gentle woman watching as she sleepwalks around and talks about all of the many murders Macbeth and her have been responsible for. We decided to make this parody scene a video because we feel as though that's the best way people will understand it and take it in. Adding comedy into the scene will make it more interesting and understandable compared to if we just read in old english, verbatim from the book. This scene is very important because it shows how Lady Macbeth switched up from being nonchalant about the murders to been guilt stricken in her sleep walk. It's also the scene that she confesses her murders accidentally. The scene takes place in her bedroom where her caregivers are watching afar as she walks around talking to herself about the murderers and goes to wash her hands of all the “blood” that is there in her mind, which is a call back to an earlier scene where Macbeth was trying to wash his hands of all the “blood” that represented his guilt about the murders. The blood isn’t physically there, but metaphorically because they feel as though the sin of murdering those people will never go away and they’re stuck with the guilt forever.  This scene affects the rest of the play in a not so significant way in the actual book, but shows the audience why Lady Macbeth committed suicide in the movie even if its skimmed over in the book.  

We decided to do a parody because we found that if we read the lines verbatim it would honestly seem really boring and nobody would want to watch someone just read that considering that scene in general isn't all that visually appealing. We will give the scene a comedic effect so it can actually have something for people to look at and really understand deeply. We tried our best with the environment and props to make the scene as realistic as possible. In drama we learned the different skills of acting so we applied it to the scene. Some of the skills are facing the audience, establishing the environment, having a goal, and projecting our voices. Our favorite part of filming this is how we completely changed the language of the scene from old english to modern American English. We switched up the words a bit so that it still made sense in the context that the original version was, but in a way that more people would understand without it having to be explained. We designed it in a vlog type of video because that’s what a lot of people are doing these days and we feel as though it would be a lot funnier that way.

Justine and I made a board game that related to Macbeth. In Macbeth, many characters are fighting to be king. Some make noble decisions, while others take the dark path to the top. Macbeth chose to take the sinful way to the top which resulted in his downfall. Macbeth heard of the prophecies and decided to force his way up. He felt that he had no choice because of his “vaulting ambition”. So he went down a horrible path which ultimately resulted in his downfall. He killed the prior king, King Duncan, and blamed it on his servants, then killed them too. Duncan’s sons decide to flee because they were afraid for their lives and they thought they would be next on the murder list. No one suspects Macbeth and he is crowned king. Of course, there are always repercussions for evil choices. So, Macbeth realized that although he would be king, his children won’t be king because Banquo’s children are destined to be king. Again, Macbeth decides to do a sinful thing to get what he wants. He kills his best friend Banquo. As Macbeth was doing all these things, he failed to rule his kingdom properly which resulting in his own people rebelling against him. He loses the fight and dies. This is one example of what could happen after making bad choices to get what you want. This is the whole objective of our game, as six players race on the way to Dunsinane. Malcolm, who was the king’s son, and next in line, became king because Macbeth was killed. He did not kill anyone to become king, and he was more noble about being king. So, in our game you can either be more noble, somewhat like Malcolm, or you can be evil, like Macbeth and kill everyone in your way.

Some of the cards that we have in our game, relate to many things from the book. Someone of the cards relate to 3,because 3 is a recurring theme in Macbeth. There are also a lot of cards that can hurt or aid you in the ways of slumber. There are also more exact cards that relate more towards the book. One the of cards talks about the porter and how he was drunk and how that related to the player. Most of the repercussion cards (the cards you have to pick up if you choose the evil path) are all something that might have happened to Macbeth. Macbeth saw the ghost of Banquo, someone he had killed, he that is somewhat similar to one of the cards in our game.  All of the cards relate to the play in someway. It might be a bit more abstract than others, but they are related. Also, the idea of fate cards are related to Macbeth, because Macbeth is either letting fate lead him or he is fighting fate. Some in our game, the fate cards lead you in the way it wants to lead you, because it is fate. Our game is related to Macbeth, because of the overall idea of the game, to become the king of Scotland first, and all of the cards that come from something in the play.

In this project I worked with Karima  and we decided to make the cover the way it looks because we wanted to symbolize important parts of the play. We were inspired at the fact that the best playbills always have one of the important parts of the play as a cover page.We put a bloody sword through a crown and that symbolizes one of the most important parts of the play which is when Macbeth killed King Duncan and took over the kingdom. We also chose to put a crown because the crown symbolized  Macbeth's goal in doing all the crimes he did. Our rough draft had too much design (even though it was great) but we thought about it and came to understand that too much design, although it symbolizes a lot of stuff, it should be basic enough to tell a big part without giving too much infor of the play. The purpose of this project was to chose what project you wanted to do and we chose to do a playbill because me and Karima decided that a playbill would suit us perfectly. We chose to have play be performed at the Globe Theater because it's Shakespeare's theater and since Macbeth was written by Shakespeare's then we might as well have it be performed in his theater.

Summary

The play Macbeth is about,  A loyal man who fought under the king of Scotland named King Duncan, life turned around. This man was known as Macbeth. He became the opposite of what he was after 3 witches had given him and his friend Banquo prophecies that fortelled their future. Hearing that Macbeth would be king gave Macbeth a greed for power. After telling his wife the prophecies given to him, they decide to kill the king to have the power for their own. They take over the kingdom but, can they maintain it for long?

Characters Costumes

In the play Macbeth we will have characters wear amazing costumes that will make them look like the character they are meant to be. Macbeth at the start as a warrior will have a cape and grey armour with some leather boats. He will have his sword on the side. When he becomes the king Macbeth will wear a crown and long heavy clothing with the color of black because the black represents the bad king he is because of the way he achieved his position. Lady Macbeth will wear a dark color grown, since growns we're common use for the queens. The color of the grown would be black as well because she was the reason Macbeth did what he did. Since Banquo is a soldier he will wear grey armour and some leather boots, black pants, and will have his sword at the side of him. King Duncan will wear a crown, armour, and a cape of the color bright red. His cape will be bright red because the bright red will represent King Duncan's death. MacDuff will wear gey armour, black pants, leather boots, and will have his sword on the side. Macduff will wear this because since he's one of the thanes, he is like Macbeth right man and is a soldier. The three witches will wear black robes and will be bare foot because since they are witches they have to be spooky and scary looking. Malcolm and Donalbain will wear green robes and will have a sword on the side of them. The reason I say that they will wear green robes is because since they are princes they have to look fancy but not too fancy to which they look scary, they have to look nice.

Casting

Jason Statham will play Macbeth because Jason Statham is known for playing as the bad guy.

Dwayne Johnson will play as Macduff because he is always the hero who creates justice.

Paul Walker will play Banquo because he is a good friend and died.

Beyonce will play as Lady Macduff because she’s a lady and she is liked by everyone.

Kevin Hart will play as King Duncan because he is a likeable guy and everyone thinks he's great.

Vin Diesel will play as Fleance because he skilled and he escapes from places all the time and doesn’t get caught.

Adam Sandler will play as Malcolm because he acts like a coward but at the end he redeems himself.

Steve Carell, Will Ferrell, and Ben Stiller will play as the three witches because they are weird.

Will Smith is Young Siward because he is a character who has to build up their life again.

Tom Hanks will play as Donalbain because he has a good voice for someone who seems afraid.

Mark Strong will play as the Third Murder because he is an evil guy.

Jennifer Lawrence is Lady Macduff because she is nice and likable.

Driven to Death

  Answer Key

Duncan “Dismayed not this our captains, Macbeth and Banquo

Macbeth “From this moment the very firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings of my hand.”

Malcolm “Let us seek out some desolate shade and there weep our sad bosoms empty”

Donalbain “What should be spoken here, where our fate, hid in an auger-hole, may rush and seize us?

Lady Macbeth “They met me in the day of success, and I have learned by the perfect’st report they have more in them than mortal knowledge.”

Banquo “If you can look into the seeds of time and say which grain will grow and which will not.”

Fleance “The moon is down. I have not heard the clock.”

Macduff “What concern they? The general cause, or is it a fee-grief due to some single breast”?

Lady Macduff “He had none; his flight was madness. When our actions do not, Our fears do make us traitors.”

Lennox The night has been unruly. Where we lay, Our chimneys were blown down.”

Ross “Your castle is surprised, your wife and babes savagely slaughtered.”

Mentith “The English power is near, led on by Malcolm, his uncle Siward, and the good Macduff.”

Angus “Near Birnam Wood shall we well meet them”

Caithness “Great Dunsinane he strongly fortifies. Some say he’s mad”

Siward “This way, my lord. The castle’s gently ‘rendered. The tyrant’s people on both sides do fight,”

Young Siward “No, though thou call’st thyself a hotter name than any is in Hell”

Rules:

1. Nobody is allowed to reveal their character until the time of that characters departure from the game announced by the moderator.

2. The players have to tell the Moderator their character based on their quote and if they guess wrong they are out of the game.

3. Everyone in the game has to follow the timeline read by the moderator.

4. The goal of the game is to guess who Macbeth is. If you guess wrong you will die. If you guess right the game is over. You report your guess to the moderator. If Macbeth guesses wrong the game is over and the other players win.

5. Once a person is out the game they will announce their character.

6. Minimum players is 10 in addition to the moderator. Maximum players is 17 moderator.

7. Ages 12-99

8. Reading or watching the play is heavily advised.

9. Macbeth, Siward and Macduff will carry a sword at all times during the game.  

10. The dots on the cards mean how hard the quote is.

For our project, Isabella and I decided to make a diorama of one of the most important scenes in Macbeth: the soldiers from Malcolm’s army marching up to Dunsinane castle using Birnam wood as camouflage. Throughout the play, Macbeth repeatedly makes his decisions based on prophecies that three witches give him. After Macbeth becomes King of Scotland by murdering the King Duncan, he worries that his rule might be taken from him by King Duncan's heir, Malcolm. He confronts the witches and demands they give him the answers he seeks, and the witches tell Macbeth "be lion-mettled, proud, and take no care who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are. Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him.” (IV.1.103-107) When Malcolm’s army uses the forest for cover, Macbeth sees Birnam Wood come to Dunsinane castle and knows that his time as King is now limited.

We decided to recreate the scenes with the soldiers holding trees marching up the hill with tiny trees and gluing some foliage onto their backs. The hill is made out of styrofoam, play doh and felt. We decided to make the background get darker as it neared to the castle to symbolize that the castle was an evil place.

recently finished reading Macbeth in English Class. Once we were finished with Macbeth we were assigned to do a creative project. For our project we chose to make a playbill. This playbill would be pretty simple so that we would have time and room to add on some extra elements to make it more realistic and convincing.

I mostly did  the written elements while my partner Jasir did the artistic components. To make the cast list I looked for actors who were known for playing characters with similar personalities to those of the characters of Macbeth. One exception to this rule was casting Ian Mckellen as Macbeth. I chose to do this because he is an actor who is known for his spectacular portrayals of Macbeth. The summary of the play is pretty self explanatory, I just gave some background information about the show. I omitted any pieces of information that could ruin the ending of the show. The artwork for the Macbeth playbill came with great ease when picking the cover I wanted to in capture the true meaning of the play and what better way for the title to be the star of the play.