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Luke Risher Capstone
For my capstone I ran the Student Union chapter for a year. I choose this because I wanted to put my energy into an organization that will continue when I’m gone and continue to impact positive change. Over the course of the year Student Union was involved in many different things, we started of the year involved in recruiting, especially juniors, and building up our base and continued to do so over the year. We continued to take action around reforming school policing on a citywide level and gained a complaint system for School Police officers. Also we worked to learn more and bring student voice to the decision around our school location moving. We had weekly chapter meetings, frequently attended or held actions, attended citywide meetings, and did daily outreach. Over the course of the year I ran the instagram, facilitated meetings, communicated with citywide organizers, sent out emails and reminders, did constant outreach, and generally ran the chapter. But at the same time I was working to raise the organizing skills of other younger members so they would be able to continue the work. People got involved in citywide and also began to facilitate meeting. Through building up a leaderful organization my capstone was complete in ensuring that the Student Union would continue the powerful work.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1fscUw91tR-bI0gE66NgMt5qfgxbDYG1CuHcA5woe1G0
Luke Risher - Capstone 2017 - Bibliography
1.
Dream Defenders. “Blacked Out History Rebellion.” Scribd. Dream Defenders, 4/1/2016. Online PDF. 10/16/2016.<https://www.scribd.com/doc/302090495/BOHM-Rebellion-Curriculum>
This source is a specific workshop/lesson plan that was put together by the education activist collective Dream Defenders. It teaches the students about several different organizations that have done revolutionary work to impact the world including the Black Panthers, Brown Berets, and Left Roots. All of these organizations and movements are often taught in a negative aspect in schools and society. This helps Student Union gain knowledge from other active groups in history which can inform our tactics and strategies to create change. As a movement it is important to understand and draw from our history. Also these stories inspire us to action. This resource overall provides a great workshop to run in a chapter meeting.
2.
The City of Philadelphia. Open Budget. The City of Philadelphia, 12/31/2016. Online Visual Chart. 9/26/2016. <http://www.phila.gov/openbudget/>
This is the City of Philadelphia’s budget page where it has a visual graph with the budget breakdown as well as a written breakdown to the right. It shows what major divisions got what money and the subsets within those categories that got what funding. It’s a comprehensible way to visualize and understand the budget of Philadelphia. This is very useful to Student Union because as we try to educate ourselves about the local policies and how the political systems work we can draw on this understandable reliable source. Using this we can make informed and rational analysis and advocate for changes to this spending.
3.
Mitchell, Dave. Beautiful Trouble. OR books, 2012. Paperback.
This source is an activist handbook that focuses on how to create change and build a movement. It is broken up into different sections that each contain different essays from many different authors. Each essay addresses some aspect of organizing and movement building. We plan to use this in the future and it has a been a part of the training of the citywide organizers for a long time. Each chapter can be taught through a workshop to build our collective knowledge. These resources are very relevant for the work that work that Student Union does because they give us the practical steps to create change.
4.
C, T. “Brown, Garner and other tragedies under the Michael Jackson Microscope.” Parents United. 2014. 3. Parentsunitedphila.com. Online, 7/15/2016. <https://parentsunitedphila.com/2014/12/09/brown-garner-and-other-tragedies-under-the-michael-jackson-microscope-true-story/>
This is an article that discusses the racism and explores the influence of intertwined oppressions that impact our education system. It is a first hand account of a parent who describes her experience raising two children of color. This is relevant to our work because it is provides a non student first hand experience in explaining these issues that we also discuss and work on. Also this is a point of connection between students and parent and other members of the constituency that are impacted in Public education. This is one of our peer groups in the sense that it is working on the similar issues we are and there’s a lot of room for collaboration. This source is both useful as an individual article shedding information on a certain issue, and also as a group we can draw on and work with.
5.
Dream Defenders. Dream Defenders. Nation Builder, 11/09/2016. Online. 2016. <http://www.dreamdefenders.org/>
This source is the website for Dream Defenders. Dream Defenders is a group that does organizing work around racial justice. Their work and strategies range from on the ground meetings, to clothing campaigns, to resource distribution. As Student Union we can draw from these tactics and learn how to better address the issue of racial justice in our work as well. Dream Defenders is a useful organization because a fair amount of their resources and strategies are published online and easily accessible. In the future also a collaboration could be possible on some larger scale projects we work on.
6.
"National Popular Vote." National Popular Vote. 22 Jan. 2017. Web. 02 Feb. 2017. <http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/>
The National Popularity Interstate Compact is a legal movement that would ultimately rid the U.S of the electoral college system. It is a compact where states agree to give their electoral votes to the winner of the national popularity count in the presidential elections. This compact was a concept and movement that Student Union evaluated and is continuing to advocate for after the results of the election. This website is a place to get information and gain connections relating to the compact. We used this in the past to gain more information and out together workshop and strategy sessions with it and we will most likely continue to do that in the future and draw from this source. This is also a model of how we can frame and spread awareness of and issue or policy we would like to effect.
7.
Backpack Full of Cash. Dir. Sarah Mondale. Perf. Matt Damon. Turnstone, 2016. Film. Backpack Full of Cash. Web.
This is a film that came out recently (last year), which focuses on the privatization of American Public Schools. A large part of the film was filmed and based in Philadelphia and overall the film has a lot of information about the Philadelphia School system. The interviews and facts provide a greater understanding of the policies and how they impact students on the ground. This is useful for Student Union because it gives understanding of our own city and schools. We haven’t had a chance to watch it as a group yet, but it would be a great structure for a chapter meeting or citywide. Also the local based connections that put together the film could help Student Union with the media and promotion that we need.
8.
Https://www.facebook.com/6abcJeannette/?fref=ts. "Group Plans Daily Protests until Trump's Inauguration." 6abc Philadelphia. 14 Nov. 2016. Web. 02 Feb. 2017.
<http://6abc.com/news/group-plans-daily-protests-until-trumps-inauguration/1605348/>
This is an example of a successful action put together in Philadelphia relevant to issues that impact our communities. From this we can draw strategies and techniques that can help us build our own actions. Also Student Union attended this event so has a perspective on how the media may cover and address an event. Using this knowledge we can be aware of how to address and present our events and releases to the media and what we will get out of the media. Because media is such a crucial part of organizing work we must use articles and stories like this to understand how to use it to our advantage.
9.
"PA General Assembly." The Official Website for the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Web. 02 Feb. 2017. <http://www.legis.state.pa.us/>
This is the home site of the PA general assembly. This is a site where we can see the policies and the people that make decisions that impact our local community. This source is the most up to date information which makes it a great primary source for Student Union as we learn more and explore the policies and political landscape of the schools. In our city the school district is run by the state so the policies are directly impacting us as students. From this data based we have a solid source to build our arguments and back them with facts.
10.
Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum, 2000. Print.<http://faculty.webster.edu/corbetre/philosophy/education/freire/freire-2.html
This source is the writing of Paulo Freire. This writing is a philosophy on education and society, it is basically addressing how education is done vs how it should be done. It breaks down what is wrong with the current set up of education and offers many solutions to the problem. This large scale visioning and philosophy is very important for us to understand as background. This is the starting point for building our grand imaginative vision for education and from there we can take the real world steps to build that. This source is still very relevant and Student Union teaches the concepts conveyed in this pedagogy through workshops and activities.
Alicia Jones Capstone
For my capstone I held weekly discussions every Tuesday during Y-band titled, Makeup Conversations. The slogan for the weekly discussion was, There is Diversity in Beauty. In order to cultivate these discussions I created lesson plans to research the origins of makeup. Inclusive of the historical connections of cosmetics to geography and related concepts we live by in the makeup artistry realm. Additionally, examining the conceptualization that makeup has on society today, both positive and negative. Also, including the social implications of using makeup and why we follow certain trends. The evidence of these discussions were my blog posts which are uploaded on my website.
The most challenging process of my project was completing the research. Furthermore, to come to an understanding of how we have transformed certain ingredients into our cosmetics. My goal for holding these discussions was to learn more about the significance and role that makeup plays in the life of an average SLA student. For clarification, anyone was allowed to participate in my capstone, whether they wore makeup or not. We discussed a range of topics, from the new “natural” look with using filters and touching on cultural appropriation: hair and beauty. Although, there were some difficulties with staying consistent with conversation dates, when the group would come together there was a highly resourceful amount of information to take away. My final presentation for the Makeup-Conversations is linked to my personal brand, Face By Lí, where you can find more details on my website.Annotated Bibliography:
Britton, Ann Marie, "The Beauty Industry's Influence on Women in Society" (2012). Honors
Theses. Paper 86. Accessed February 2, 2017. http://scholars.unh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1085&context=honors
I found this source useful because it provides connections between women and the cosmetics industry. There were many scholarly resources such as experiments referenced by the author such as studies done between the influence of cosmetics and self-esteem. This source was highly reliable. Furthermore, the findings in the document were insightful, believable, and easy to understand. There were both positive and negative relationships explored in the research that were referenced. Providing an excellent scope on how cosmetics, women, the consistent use of makeup, and most importantly self-confidence are linked. In addition, the statistical result data given at the end of the paper.
Davis, LaPorchia C. "African American women's use of cosmetics products in relation to their attitudes and self-identity." Graduate Theses and Dissertations, 2013. Accessed February 1, 2017. http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4215&context=etd.
This source was highly reliable to my research because it explored a number of theories and issues within their cultural indifference that could connect to self-image issues. Using the source struck out to me as important because all of the other sources I researched were surveying white women and there was no cultural range that could be a variable in the results. It provides information about the subjects memories and early experiences of using cosmetics. Which was highly unexpected to find in a graduate level research paper I thought. This made me want to continue to read and understand the text even more.
Dootson, Kirsty Sinclair. "“The Hollywood Powder Puff War”: Technicolor Cosmetics in the
1930s." Film History 28, no. 1 (2016): 107-31. Accessed Feb 1, 2017. doi:10.2979/filmhistory.28.1.04.
This source was very reliable because it details how the art of makeup being both on and off screen was complex to make sure the models were correctly shaded. Reading this also helped me understand the unpleasant shade range we already have and how it’s still expanding. It is a complication of being more than just a technical problem but a “ideological” one. Using this source provides a better understanding of what Max Factor and Elizabeth Arden were working on, rather competing to accomplish. When reviewing this I didn’t think it would explore so much such as naturalism in cinema, Pan-Cake Make-Up, nor provide so many examples of movies that has this problem.
Factor, Max. “How to acquire Sylvia Sidney’s Beauty Perfection,” Hollywood Magazine (Jan-Oct 1934), May 1934, 44. Accessed 1 Feb 2017. http://archive.org/stream/hollywood23holl#page/n275/mode/2up
This source helped me learn more about Max Factor’s techniques when it came to television productions. This source was reliable because it was written by Mr. Factor himself. Also, it has a example of what eye makeup should look like on different shaped eyes. In addition, this source is in a magazine about the trends of fashion and makeup in hollywood. One limitation of this source is that it is focused solely on Sylvia Sidney’s application of makeup. This article however does not exactly serve as a guide to “Beauty Perfection” because of the small window of certain styles look best on different eyes. Yet, considering the time period the application of makeup was still fairly being figured out.
Kaplan, Alyssa. "SiOWfa15: Science in Our World: Certainty and Controversy." Makeup and its Affect on Self Esteem. October 5, 2015. Accessed February 01, 2017. https://sites.psu.edu/siowfa15/2015/10/05/makeup-and-its-affect-on-self-esteem/.
Using this source helped me look deeper into more social experiments. I don’t think this source was completely reliable but it was helpful in understanding the social ramifications of wearing makeup in different environments. Plus, the anxiety that can follow with wearing a full face to certain places, such as school, over elsewhere such as a party. Also, it can make a woman feel like she isn’t pretty enough but this experiment draw conclusions to acceptance after not using makeup for a while. Although, there was no exact answer to have confidence effects makeup this study was made very similarly to the Ann Marie Britton honors theses paper on “The Beauty Industry's Influence on Women in Society”.
Poitevin, Kimberly. "Inventing Whiteness: Cosmetics, Race, and Women in Early Modern England." Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies 11, no. 1 (2011): 59-89. Accessed 2 Feb 2017. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23242188.
Using this source helped me identify how the art of makeup circled into Europe in around the 1500s. It also assisted me in understanding the crucial work of “whiteness” and how lighter shades were always over other shades (ignoring the aspects of racial disparity when it address class). However, when considering other races such as the Welsh the reasoning behind skin darkening were solely for entertainment. This source is highly reliable and serves as a timeline of the art that comes to whitening and darkening skin. It also provides specific terms for the products used back in history to “paint” their faces.
Korichi, Rodolphe, Delphine Pelle-De-Queral, Germaine Gazano, and Arnaud Aubert. "Why women use makeup: Implication of psychological traits in makeup functions." Journal of Cosmetic Science 59 (September 27, 2007): 127-37. Accessed February 2, 2017. http://journal.scconline.org/pdf/cc2008/cc059n02/p00127-p00137.pdf.
While reading this source I found it to be very scientific, with the use of its language and the structure of the article was set up much like an experimental paper which I did not expect. This source was helpful because reading the text may have been difficult but examining the tables of data results made it easier to follow along. Although this document was a a little more advanced than expected, it provides a clear conclusion following all of the data. One additional piece from this source that was also helpful was the evaluation of the subjects on their experience with makeup and how they gathered their qualitative data. Using an interview and different scales with a generous number of subjects provided a large range distribution of their data.
Schaffer, Sarah. "Reading Our Lips: The History of Lipstick Regulation in Western Seats of Power." 2006. Accessed February 2, 2017. https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/10018966/Schaffer06.pdf?sequence=1.
This source when first reading it did not come across as being completely reliable. Yet, as I continued to read it I understood the language being used about the purpose of regulations in different regions of the world with the connections to the time periods. It provides as a document that explains the objective of regulations in makeup. I selected this source because it provides a clear timeline of what was happening around the world with lipstick useage. In addition, it details the laws and acts that were passed or even failed in making the the mandates of what could be in lipstick.
Silverio, Lauren. "Makeup's Effects on Self-Perception." OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers, 2010. Accessed February 3, 2017. http://digitalcommons.odu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1048&context=ots_masters_projects.
I selected this particular source because it was a graduate level paper and I was curious to how the author’s findings compared to others that I have already read. Some limitations of this source compared to others I have read was that the author left out a guiding question on how confident the subject feels not wearing makeup. Also, they all attended the same university in The Fashion Industry course. Without comparing this source to the others, it is more specific in its language. This source provides a precise definition of terms section which is different than what was expected. The findings in this source were very reliable to my research.
Russell, Richard . "Why Cosmetics Work." In The Science of Social Vision. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. 2011. Accessed February 3, 2017. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/92a2/4b62927d0f438258c4f9f0bd16c00955ec31.pdf.
I chose this source because it provided a very specific context in the introduction. This source also provided paradox of cosmetics which is something I’ve also wondered about and wanted to touch on in the discussions during my capstone. Also this chapter goes in depth about sexual differences within facial recognition. In which, to draw connections and conclusions on how makeup is to facial attractiveness, not much by sex. However, the relation can still be made because of women using makeup over men. This source wasn’t all that I expected it to be but it was highly useful and very reliable to understanding some paradoxes in cosmetic usage.
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Radio ad:
Written Explanation:
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Juliana Concepcion Capstone
During this past year, I began to gain a love for all things sound design. I loved recording and editing the sound in my film projects, listening to the beats playing in Mr. Herman’s classroom, and seeing many of my friends make their own music. A month into my senior year, I knew that for my Capstone, I would produce an EP, and score as many short films as I could.
By exploring sound design through film scoring and music production, I opened up a whole new world of possibilities for myself. I made it my goal to learn the music software “Logic Pro X,” which I had not previously used before. I did not get as far as I’d hoped to be in learning the software, but I surely know a whole lot more from when I first started. Considering it’s a heavily loaded software, I’m proud of the progress I’ve made with it, and I am motivated to continue learning how to use it.
It was difficult a lot of times to find a good balance between my capstone, school, and career work time, I have learned that that is just a part of life, however, and if I really want to master the craft of sound design, I’ll have to put in a lot of extra work, which means a lot of extra time. My EP, which includes six songs, and website, which includes a full portfolio of the work I did this year, are linked below.
Works Cited
Carter, Tiann "Shaking off the Dust - Sampling Vinyl." DJ TechTools. March 12, 2015. Web. January 30, 2017.
http://djtechtools.com/2015/03/12/shaking-off-the-dust-sampling-vinyl/
This source was useful to me because it provided me with a basic breakdown of sampling in hip hop. It showed me where I should look to find specific kinds of samples, giving me specific genres of music to look out for if I’m trying to give me music a certain kind of sound. It also pointed me towards looking at vinyl to sample from, and I have a couple old records that I can use, but I don’t have all of the equipment. So I will probably stick to digital sampling from youtube from funk, soul, jazz, and classical genres of music. For good drum sounds, it says I should look into “classic tribal tracks or 90s tribal house.”
Caswell, Estelle. “Kanye deconstructed: the human voice as the ultimate instrument.” Vox. September 1, 2016.
http://www.vox.com/2016/9/1/12735222/kanye-west-human-voice-instrument
I watched this tutorial back in September and was very fascinated with the breakdown of Kanye West’s use of the human voice as the “ultimate instrument” in his music. I learned how that earlier in his music, he often used the actual human voice from different samples, and then he transitioned to using synthesizers somewhere in the middle of his career, and now he uses a good combination of both. I think what I’m trying to do is to start out using samples of people’s voices, because I haven’t quite figured out how to make use of good synths yet. So, I am probably on the same track, and it’s interesting to see how that process plays out for producers.
Fox, EJ. “How to use samples to make a beat with Logic X, Ultrabeat, and EXS24.” Youtube. October 2, 2013.
https://youtu.be/I7Si3DKkF0Q?list=PL6CG7jEhI9V4qd9T5ObZl2dLSOhvedb5E
This tutorial introduced me to the Ultrabeat plugin, which has become so useful for me in loading up samples so that I can create beats from them. It also gave me a refresher on using the EXS24 plugin to load up my sample to first. Ultrabeat lets me have a smooth workflow though, and it has a lot of good presets as far as drum kits go; they’re more diverse than what’s in the standard logic library it seems, for some reason. I’m not sure if I’m going to use them because I’ve transitioned into using sampled drum sounds, but it’s a good backup option to have. This tutorial was also useful in helping me see how to play samples over a loop.
Goodz, Piffery. “Chopping Samples, Time Stretching & Sample Pitch (Transpose) In Logic Pro X #DailyHeatChecc.” Youtube. August 4, 2013.
This has been one of the most useful tutorials I’ve watched on youtube for getting acquainted with Logic Pro X and its features so far. This tutorial taught me how to chop up a sample properly, and it showed me which settings I should use if I’m trying to achieve a higher or lower pitch with my sample. I also figured out how to control the different parts of my sample in a multi-output mixer at the bottom of the DAW, so that might be useful for me so I can keep my sample organized as I’m editing and adjusting it.
Heal, Michael. “Every Sample on Kanye’s ‘The Life of Pablo.” Genius. February 16, 2016.
https://genius.com/a/every-sample-on-kanye-s-the-life-of-pablo
Watching this short video helped me to get a feel of how Kanye samples old songs in his songs. Kanye West is pretty much a master at the art of sampling, so that is why I looked to this video first as opposed to sampling techniques of other artists. The article also broke down how many times he’s sampled a certain artist, and gave a breakdown as to where each sample came from and how Kanye achieved the sample in editing. This will be very helpful for me in my search for good samples and sampling techniques.
Moseley, Roger. “Play Again?” Keys to Play: Music as a Ludic Medium from Apollo to Nintendo, University of California Press, Oakland, California, 2016, pp. 236–274, www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1kc6k47.9.
In reading this source I was given a different perspective on how music connects with us on more than just a surface level. Sometimes sound is meant to emulate a certain picture in our minds, or it reminds us of something in our childhood. This source even points out that the ways in which a lot of music is being made now (electronically) is almost like this childlike way to make music, because it’s not “sophisticated.” However there is something to be said about new keyboards/music machines having a similar look and feel to toys. It evokes the childlike, creative parts of us, and takes us back to primitive ways in a sense with the simplicity of it, but at the same time such machinery really is sophisticated. It makes me think about my MIDI keyboard and how I feel using that rather than the computer keys to make music. It’s helped my creative process so much more.
Patteson, Thomas. “‘The Joy of Precision’: Mechanical Instruments and the Aesthetics of Automation.” Instruments for New Music: Sound, Technology, and Modernism, University of California Press, Oakland, California, 2016, pp. 18–51, www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1ffjn9k.6.
This is an article about instruments being seen more as self-creating machines, rather than a tool for musicians to use. It tells of how instruments fell victim to the aesthetics of machinery. One quote that really stuck out to me in it is, “If today’s arts love the machine, technology, and organization, if they aspire to precision and reject anything vague and dreamy, this implies an instinctive repudiation of chaos and a longing to find the form appropriate to our times.” I’m thinking that I can use this quote somewhere within my capstone, and form some more opinions and thoughts around it.
Schmidt, Patrick. “What We Hear Is Meaning Too: Deconstruction, Dialogue, and Music.” Philosophy of Music Education Review, vol. 20, no. 1, 2012, pp. 3–24. www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/philmusieducrevi.20.1.3.
I was introduced to the idea of “listening vs. mis-listening” in this source. The author claims that they are not opposites of each other, but rather that “mis-listening” is just a different form of listening. The author claims that mis-listening is essential for deconstructing music and creating a dialogue for music, and dialogue is essential to music. Music is like a language itself. By mis-listening we can open our minds to different ways to hear or create things, and different ways in which we interpret sound. This is an important thought for me to keep in mind during production, and it is an idea that I will come back to every time I listen to what I’ve made.
STEEZYASFUCK. Youtube. Web. February 2, 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsIg9WMfxjZZvwROleiVsQg
This youtube channel posts beat tapes almost daily, and I listen to a new one almost every day, or at least every week. Looking out for what other artists are doing and listening to the techniques they use is crucial for the process of production. I take a little bit of inspiration from each track I listen to. This channel consistently helps keep my creative process on track, and it ensures me that I will not fall into a creative slump- which I did find myself in earlier this year. Since I’ve discovered this channel though, I’ve been on top of my creative process.
Vanilla. “Sweet Talk.” Bandcamp. September 6, 2014.
https://vanillabeats.bandcamp.com/album/sweet-talk
This album has served as a lot of the inspiration for my deciding to make my capstone about music creation. I began listening to Vanilla last year and this quickly became my favorite album of his. He expertly cuts up soul samples and creates a tape that is interconnected with itself; each song leads into the next one. I’ve spent hours studying this album for it’s smooth beat transitions and high pitched samples. Piano intros and outros are weaved in so smoothly. The producer also uses nature sounds, such as rain, to enhance his beats. I take a lot of inspiration from this album, especially with how all of the songs feel like they fit perfectly together with one another.
Negative Space (many days late)
Negative space is complicated. It’s kind of a hard concept to get but once you get it into your mind and think about it’s pretty simple. Negative space is the space that is in between and around the subject of whatever you are looking at or trying to show. For me real-life examples are the easiest so I will give you some. In this photo for example, my camera is focused on the heart and the background is my kitchen table but if I were to take a picture of my table from the ceiling than the floor would be the negative space because the subject would would the table and the floor would just be the backdrop.
Since this picture was pretty simple it was easy to find the negative space as you have the cut-outs in the heart which make them no longer the subject so that was pretty simple to find.
It definitely helps an artist to see negative space because, if you’re good, you can manipulate it to make things pop out of the image. Like those photos where the picture is focused on something but then you see something tough in the background of the photo and it’s really cool so I can really add another layer to art.
Seeing negative space in art definitely helps as it allows people to get a whole picture because you can definitely focus on something but then to see the surroundings of what you’re trying to show that’s really good and, I think separates the good artists from the great ones.MRJ Rubber Stamp
This was my final result for my rubber stamp. It took me a while to eventually end at this as I tried and failed many times. At first I fell into the easy trap of trying to put too much into a limited space and platform. Overall a good stamp gets a quick message across that doesn’t take too much though which I struggled with. I was trying to make stamps that portrayed a story rather than a billboard which you can look at and just understand.
Another problem that came with me trying to convey too much was a lack of positive and negative space. I made a ton of lines which I think is also indicative of how much I was working harder and not smarter. So after finally ditching my idea of making an incredibly complicated staircase with no negative, positive space, nothing I came to this heart. It pretty much my heart with the marks of a basketball, which I know is a shocker!!!! But I mean it. I wanted to get something in there about my family but I think I did a good job of getting my message across and realizing that it is just a rubber stamp. Not my life story. One problem I had with negative space was really separating everything from each other. You can have the background be intended to be negative space but not really be. Also the concept of no lines kind of messed me up but also helps in a way. It kind of stops you from going in too deep on your message like I was trying to do especially with the only possible letters having to be of the bubble variety that helps.Breakdancing // Kyle Thomas
For this assignment I had to think of three words that describes me the best and make it into a stamp. During this assignment I worked really hard on it. So, three words that I describe myself is hard working, talented, and smart. I choose them three because they are the words that best describe basically who I am and my personality. My image is a person who is breakdancing. I wanted that type of image because I am a really good dancer and it something special about. My image goes in a out of negative space. I know that because my teacher help me figure that out. It was hard cutting out my image because it wasn't easy. It wasn't easy because I had to make sure that I wouldn't cut out any positive space. But I mange to overcome this obstacle and I hope that you like my image.
Printmaking // Kyle Thomas
Printmaking is an art where you put ink on a certain material that has previously been carved and ink has been put on it then printed onto paper. It was originated in China around AD 105.The following print is by Samantha Moody. I find this piece interesting because of the simple black and white contrast. Another reason it's pleasing to me is because I like how the dinosaur looks and how it goes in and out of negative space. . I wonder what was the inspiration of this creative print.
Isabel Medlock Capstone
Over the Summer and Fall I wrote a research paper on the access to mental health care of undocumented immigrants as part of the Drexel Student Fellows program and presented my research at a conference. I became pretty invested in this subject so I decided to continue on this topic for my Capstone. My goal was to raise awareness of the issue and to try to find someway to alleviate the issue in my community. Throughout the year I continued my research and I thought about what would be the most effective way I could create a positive impact on the undocumented community. I had some trouble figuring out what my final product should be and my ideas went through several stages. First I thought I would create PSAs to raise awareness and then I thought about hosting an event. I finally decided to create an online resource guide for young undocumented immigrants that would help lead them to information that could assist them with any issues surrounding mental health and the college application process. Most of my process was spent on the research on the subject itself as well as finding relevant resources. It was hard to find resources meant for immigrants concerning mental health which made me even more aware of the change that needs to be made. Overall, the Capstone process taught me about what it is like to lead your own independent project and difficulties that come with it.
Here is the link to my website:
http://undocumentedmentalhealth.weebly.com/Annotated Bibliography
Baker, Bryan, and Nancy Rytina. Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: January 2012. Rep. Homeland Security, Mar. 2013. Web. 1 Nov. 2016. <https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/ois_ill_pe_2012_2.pdf>.
This report from Homeland Security provided me with information on the numbers of undocumented immigrants residing in the United States and the specific demographics of these undocumented immigrants. This report provided me with a more formal definition of what it means to be an undocumented immigrant. I will be using this source to create a brief overview of the population of undocumented immigrants and what the current state of affairs is in my resource guide/website. This source provides very detailed and comprehensive statistics that allowed me to better understand where undocumented immigrants come from and how that might affect their experience with health care services. This source also analyzed trends within recent years in the population, which was pretty useful in understanding the general status of the undocumented population.
Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. (2015). Behavioral health trends in the United States: Results from the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (HHS Publication No. SMA 15-4927, NSDUH Series H-50). Retrieved from http://www.samhsa.gov/ data/
This is a government report that details trends in drug use and mental health disorders in the United States. It gives statistics of mental health disorder for various different demographics. I used this source for basic statistics of mental health prevalence in the United States based on socioeconomic class and ethnicity. This source also allowed me to have a general understanding of mental health disorder prevalence in the United States. I chose this source because it contained a lot of statistics that will allow me to establish to others the general landscape in regards to mental health and then compare that to the mental health of undocumented immigrants.
Estrada, Sheryl. "Children of Undocumented Immigrants Face Mental Health Crisis."DiversityInc. N.p., 6 Apr. 2015. Web. 1 Nov. 2016. <http://www.diversityinc.com/news/children-of-undocumented-immigrants-face-mental-health-crisis/>.
This article discusses two studies which I couldn’t gain access to. The first study is about anxiety and PTSD in undocumented children. The second is about mental health in general in undocumented children. This source is limited in that it isn’t the direct source for the data and just cites parts of the studies but it allowed me to gain a general understanding of mental health disorders in undocumented children. It also provides quotes from experts in the field that I could perhaps use in my project. I used this study to gain a general understanding of mental health in undocumented children to be able to compare that to mental health in the United States in general.
Hacker, Karen, Maria Elise Anies, Barbara Folb, and Leah Zallman. "Barriers to Health Care for Undocumented Immigrants: A Literature Review." Risk Management and Healthcare Policy (2015): 175-83. PMC. Web. 12 Aug. 2016.
This is a paper that provides a general overview of previous research within my topic, health care access for undocumented immigrants. The paper cites several studies that provide information about barriers to access, lists these barriers, and analyzes them. I chose this source because it provided me with a comprehensive understanding of what exactly prevents undocumented immigrants from getting general health care. The paper also provided a comprehensive list of recommendations to solve this problem. These recommendations could definitely be included in my resource guide. This source doesn’t really talk about mental health specifically and is limited in that regard.
Nandi, Arijit, Sandro Galea, Gerald Lopez, Vijay Nandi, Stacey Strongarone, and Danielle C. Ompad. "Access to and Use of Health Services Among Undocumented Mexican Immigrants in a US Urban Area." American Journal of Public Health 98.11 (2008): 2011-020. Print.
This paper is similar to the Hacker paper in that it also is centered on access to general Health services for undocumented immigrants. However, this paper presents original research and gives specific statistics of the number of undocumented immigrants who have access. It breaks down this information by different demographics such as income and education. It is also gives statistics about instances of discrimination. It analyzes this information and specifies which characteristics mean less access to health care. I used this study to gain an understanding of what types of things stop undocumented immigrants from gaining general health care. Like the Hacker paper it does not mention mental health services in specific so it is not useful in that regard.
Perez, M. Carmela, and Lisa Fortuna. "Chapter 6. Psychosocial Stressors, Psychiatric Diagnoses and Utilization of Mental Health Services Among Undocumented Immigrant Latinos." Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Services 3.1-2 (2005): 107-23. Print.
This paper posits that undocumented immigrant latinos face a unique set of circumstances that increases the likelihood of certain mental health disorders while also lessening their opportunities to gain access to mental health care services and adequate treatment. This is one of the few sources I could find focusing specifically on mental health and not just general health care. It provides specific statistics on the mean number of mental health related appointments those who gained treatment planned as well as the prevalence of specific stressors and psychiatric disorders. I will be using this source to explain the general situation of mental health care for undocumented immigrants.
"Prevalence." Youth.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2017. <http://youth.gov/youth-topics/youth-mental-health/prevalance-mental-health-disorders-among-youth>.
This is a collection of statistics compiled by youth.gov encompassing the prevalence of psychiatric disorders and the demographics with higher risk of psychiatric disorder. Although this website is not the original source for these statistics I feel confident in the reliability of the information due to the number of citations from other reports and papers. I will be using this source for its statistics regarding the disparity of treatment opportunities between white children and minority children as well as the difference in prevalence between these two groups. Additionally, this source reveals disparity in the prevalence of psychiatric disorders between children from families of different socioeconomic status which I will use to further prove how income greatly affects access to treatment.
Pumariega, Andres J., Eugenio Rothe, and JoAnne B. Pumariega. "Mental health of immigrants and refugees." Community mental health journal 41.5 (2005): 581-597.
This paper reflects on the mental health of immigrants and refugees in general, providing an overview the stressors this population faces, the process of acculturation, the needs of the population, and the current access to mental health care services. Although this paper does not focus on undocumented immigrants it does offer insights into feelings all immigrants feel, whatever their legal status, such as alienation. The paper also talks specifically about immigrant children who may feel alienated from their native culture. I will use this source to provide information about the stress immigration can bring and how children are affected by this in particular.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2012). Mental Health, United States, 2010. HHS Publication No. (SMA) 12-4681. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
This report details trends in mental health service use by demographic. Although this source does not have data on undocumented immigrants specifically it will still be useful in creating a comparison between normal use of mental health care services and that of undocumented immigrants. I am using this report to provide information on my resource guide as to how many people use mental health services, how many people who need to use mental health services actually do, and how long their treatment time usually is. I will then compare this information with the data I learned from the Teunissen paper and the Fortuna and Perez paper.
Teunissen, Erik, et al. "Mental health problems of undocumented migrants (UMs) in the Netherlands: a qualitative exploration of help-seeking behaviour and experiences with primary care." BMJ open 4.11 (2014): e005738.
This paper details mental health of undocumented immigrants in the Netherlands and contains an analysis of a series of interviews conducted with this population. This paper has information on the common psychiatric stressors as well as barriers to treatment. I will be using the clips the paper provides from the interviews in my project to showcase the fears immigrants have in regards to health care. Although this study was conducted in the Netherlands were the situation for undocumented immigrants is not exactly the same as it is in the United States I am sure that many of the same feelings and fears are present in the US.
Warren, Robert. "US undocumented population drops below 11 million in 2014, with continued declines in the Mexican undocumented population." J. on Migration & Hum. Sec. 4 (2016): 1.
This paper analyzes the population of undocumented immigrants in the United States. It breaks down the recent trends into separate demographics such as country of origin and population by state. This source does not discuss the reasons behind these trends but does mention that perhaps the decrease overall in the undocumented population is due to immigrants becoming legal citizens. I will be using this paper to explain the status of the population undocumented immigrants in the United States and explain where a majority of these immigrants come from. This will allow me to connect the origins of the undocumented population to potential cultural barriers to mental health services.
Zamosky, Lisa. "Healthcare Options for Undocumented Immigrants." LA Times. N.p., 27 Apr. 2014. Web. 1 Nov. 2016. <http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-healthcare-watch-20140420-story.html>.
This article tells the story of an undocumented immigrant and her experience with mental health care. I will be using this source as an example of one person’s experience as an undocumented immigrant in the United States. I can perhaps link this to my website for guidance counselors to read so that they can better understand the issues undocumented immigrants face when contemplating health care and the future. This isn’t the most reliable source but it is useful for creating an emotional appeal to those who don’t have a full understanding of my topic.
Printmaking/ Importance of Printmaking
What is printmaking?
Printmaking is the form and process of applying a work of art to another surface. Printmaking can be done on paper, but can also be done on fabric, plastic or other materials. In printmaking, more than one version of it's original is made. Printmaking is important because of its unique techniques. There are different types of printmaking such as: intaglio, lithography, serigraphy, and mono-printing. Printmaking was revolutionary because it had great affect on various artist. It was another way to be creative. The roots of printmaking ran far back and since then has collectively grown with more types of printing. This type of art had also made it possible to capture moments of history from centuries ago. Chinese were the first to use this process of relief painting. This type of artwork can even be found in the caves of Sumerian civilizations.
I found this piece of art very interesting. I noticed the facial expression that the artist caught in the woman’s face. Her expression is almost as if she is looking down on someone or perhaps in a bold photoshoot. I wonder what the woman was thinking when they decided to draw the woman’s face. The values of colors helped me see the side of the face that the light was captured on. My interpretation of this picture is a strong minded, and independent woman.
Boys Ultimate Beats Masterman
The SLA Boys Ultimate team beat in-town rivals Masterman on Monday in a thrilling 15-12 tune-up for the State Championships. SLA and Masterman are the two school representing Philadelphia at the State Championships on Memorial Day weekend, so this match-up featured two of the top teams in the region!
The game was a see-saw battle with the lead changing six times before SLA took the half at 8-7 with a quick strike two-throw goal - with junior Eli Block throwing to junior Nate Little who threw the goal to freshman Elijah Washington. Masterman kept fighting and looked like they might have momentum on their side when they took the lead 11-10.
But Rockets were determined to take the game, and the team's zone defense - led by juniors Saamir Baker, Jori Gerveni and Malachi Johnson - created turnover after turnover as the Rockets went on a 5-1 run to seal the game 15-12.
The boys have one more tune-up game before the State Championships when they face off against North Penn on Wednesday, May 24th at 4:00 pm at their home field of 31st and Chestnut. Come out and cheer on the Rockets!
Final Stamp Design
The symbol(s) that I created were a pair of headphones and a peace sign. The headphones represent me for my passion of music. It is a motivator for me and a lot of times calms me down. The peace sign represents my personality. Wherever I go and whoever I talk to I try my best to make peace in the situation. When I am in a situation that is not peaceful, it stresses me out which often times leads to anger.
The words that I used the most in brainstorming were
Final Stamp Design
Our class spent most of the fourth quarter learning about positive and negative space. In this assignment we were asked to create a stamp that represented us best. The first thing in my stamp that is important to me is baseball. This is represented by the baseball. I have been playing this sport for as long as I can remember, and it has helped shape who I am today. The second image, is the hat. Hats are very important to my sense of fashion, and has become a part of me. The last image is actually the hat and ball together. This symbolizes unity and togetherness. These are two of my most important values. I wanted to represent that by leaving no space in between them. All of these things shape who I am today, I wouldn't be the same without them.
Negative Space Reflection
Negative space is the space around and between the subjects of an image. Negative space may be most evident when the space around a subject, forms an interesting or artistically relevant shape. Such space occasionally is used to as the subject of an image.
I found negative space by, first, cutting everything out. Then I took the background and the wing of the owl, and flipped them to the other side. This created a coherent image. The positive space is the purple, and the negative space is the black.
Seeing in negative space can help an artist make the image focused on one thing. Negative space can be helpful for making the subject a specific size or distance away. It can also allow for a more interesting design.
Yes, negative space does enhance the drawing. This is because without negative space there would be no subject. Without a subject the piece would have no meaning. Also negative space makes the image clearer.
Sheild
The artform I used to make my picture is called relief printmaking. This type of art uses positive and negative space to create a compelling image. Positive and negative space is also a method in art. Positive space refers to the main focus of the picture while negative space refers to the background of the picture. My image is made from colored paper to make the negative and positive space pop. The image I created relates to me which is a shield. I chose to make a shield as a rubber stamp because I'm protective of my friends and family. The shield represents defense and protection, which is fitting for my protective habits. Before I decided to cut out a shield, I made multiple sketches beforehand. This was done to create a clear image. Making a rubber stamp can be difficult at times. I would get stuck trying to cut a difficult shape with a knife. To get past this problem I cut a bigger shape to make things easier. I ultimately learned that the use of negative and positive space can make complex images using just space.
Tahmidul Bhuiyan's Capstone
Abstract
Coming from a developing country, child marriage was always something that I couldn’t fully understand. For years I’ve believed that it was appropriate and if it was not, rules and regulations should have protected it somehow. But no, I was wrong all this time. To correct myself, I started designing my capstone during the month of January in 2016. It all started from an average research project from Mr. Baird’s American History class. From there, the overall idea escalated as time went by. During April of 2016, I was chosen as one of the candidate for Internation Conference on Urban Education. This conference advanced my capstone by making me eligible to hold a seminar on the topic of child marriage and introduce other civilians to this idea that many are not aware of. After the conference, I began to do extensive research and plan out a literature review on my topic. Soon after, one of my close friend was pushed to edge to get married early without her will. Tis set me back a little while not knowing what my next step should be. So as an advocate of child marriage, I decided to stick by her side and help with any necessities to recover from that position. So my capstone highlights the educativ site I’ve created to help others understand this issue and also write the journey of my closest friend who went through child marriage. Many things were learned through my capstone but the most important one was how helpless and vulnerable the younger generations are.
Capstone Website
Story Website: N/A
Educative Website: http://tbhuiyan6.wixsite.com/childhoodmarriage
Brides, Girls Not. "About child marriage." Girls Not Brides. Idea Bureau, n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2017. <http://www.girlsnotbrides.org/about-child-marriage/>.
The website, Girls Not Brides, carries a historic explanations of child marriages and it has/is affecting both the past and the present and even maybe the future if the problem continuous. In addition to that, the website also carries bunch of statistics that can come in handy while I prove my point about child marriages. In a broader sense, this website is a building point for carrying statistics. In my opinion, I believe this website have a strong stance point on child marriages and how it will continue to affect us and the environment if this epidemic is not immediately prohibited. I wish to incorporate this in my project by pulling out interesting and informational statistics which I can easily implement in my future paper. In addition to that, I wish to draw out their hypothesis and compare with my hypothesis to draw out differences.
2. "The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006." The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006. State of Himachal Pradesh, n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2017. <https://indiankanoon.org/doc/790355/>.
This website clearly portrays the act of banning child marriage in india in the year of 2006 and forward to follow. While clearly listing what counts as child marriage, it also portrays punishments one much receive from the governmental side if anyone has committed or is willing to commit the act of child marriage. In addition to that, the website also portrays the girls as reducing social power and empowering them so the ideology of child marriage can be banned. In my opinion, I believe that even though this website clearly portrays lots of good news, the society lacks the capability of capturing that information and implementing that in real life. I will be using this website as a source to inform my reader that the prohibition act for child marriages exists, but lack of consideration are being played by it.
3. Huda, Taqbir. "The Problem with the Child Marriage Act." The Problem with the Child Marriage Act | Inter Press Service. The Daily Star, Bangladesh, n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2017. <http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/01/the-problem-with-the-child-marriage-act/>.
This source provides informations regarding to child marriage act and how there’s some severe problems behind the act that are unknown. In addition that that, this source provides several example behind the nonsense of child marriage act. I selected this source because it empowered the negativity behind these acts and how they are not promising by any sense. I believe that if a act have to be implemented by any means, it should have the capability to hold enough waters to ensure itself to be yourself. One limitation of this source was that it wasn’t so in depth that I was looking for, but rather gave brief explanations which can work I believe. I will be implementing this in my project on the sources section and my research part as well where I explain the downside of these acts.
4. Raphael, T.J. "The US has a forced child marriage problem, too." Public Radio International. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2017. <https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-12-29/us-has-forced-child-marriage-problem-too>.
This source provides reasonable understanding of how child marriage is not a problem in the developing countries, but in a country like U.S. as well. Many interviews and talks were collected from researchers about the child marriage and many had the same opinion; being unsure about the growth of marriage. I selected this source because it shows the uncertainty and the unknown of why child marriage is actually a problem in our society. I feel as if the uncertainty about the child marriage is not discovered soon enough, girls at U.S. will have have to face the same problematic as other third world countries girls. I found this source useful because I can potentially use this source to explain my hypothesis that there seems to be a hierarchy that is controlling these kinds of problematic situations and the average public is surely unaware about them.
5. Reiss, Fraidy. "America's Child Marriage Problem." The New York Times. Op-Ed, n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2017. <https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/14/opinion/americas-child-marriage-problem.html>.
Significantly different from other sources but with a similar concept, this source provides the reader with necessary information behind the law systems that protects child marriages in the U.S. specifically how that seems to be one of the biggest issues. I selected this source because it goes in depth behind the systematic of law and “parent consent” which gives the judge permission to conform marriages for anyone under the age of 18 in U.S. This source will be critically helpful when I explain the reason behind child marriages in the U.S. and how the parents plays a HUGE role behind this issue. One limitation of this source is the lack of example but I believe it is already strong enough with the interviews that it carries.
6. Male, Chata, and Quentin Wodon. "Basic Profile of Child Marriage in Bangladesh." Open Knowledge. The World Bank, n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2017. <https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/12/11/06-0510.htm>.
This website provides couple of significantly important infographic that goes to show the percentage and the prominence of child marriages in Bangladesh. In addition to that, it also provides good useful informations about the reasons behind the marriage while highlight the poverty rate that lasts there. I selected this source because it can be useful to see the number and analyze them in my research paper. One limitation of this source might be the actual information of how these numbers were gathered but I believe this should not be the problem since it was published though CDC. I wish to use this on my project while I talk about my country, Bangladesh, in general and explain the main base which still holds child marriages up.
7. Raj, Dr. Anita. "Prevalence of Child Marriage and Its Effect on Fertility and Fertility-control Outcomes of Young Women in India: A Cross-sectional, Observational Study." Science Direct. RELX Group, n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2017. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673609602464>.
The website provides information behind the issue of healthcare in child marriages. To be more in depth it specifically talks about the non fertility rate than can occur in addition to the problematic situations with abortions. Abortion rates rises as the marriage is happening at a much younger age. I selected this source because it clarifies any confusions behind the scientific path of a child marriage, abortions and fertility rates. I found this source useful because it empowers girls by inputting their health consequences while stating the medical side effect behind early marriages. There seems to be no limitation to this source since it clarifies any confusions readers might have while understanding the consequences of health issues and early marriages. I will be using this source to empower my research paper and I mostly plan to out this informations under the medical side of this paper.
8. Larsen, Dana. "DIVORCE IN ETHIOPIA: THE IMPACT OF EARLY MARRIAGE AND CHILDLESSNESS | Journal of Biosocial Science." Cambridge Core. Cambridge Press, n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2017. <https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-biosocial-science/article/div-classtitledivorce-in-ethiopia-the-impact-of-early-marriage-and-childlessnessdiv/70D971AFFDA1DB89863669873A16B050>.
The source provides useful informations regarding child marriages and the divorce rate that carries with the marriage, Which immediately brings up the topic that child marriage is not something that is sufficient or guaranteed for lifetime, but the marriage can easily break anytime. In order to stop that, many forces the couple to have a child at their early ag which immediately puts the girl in danger of harming her internal body systems and putting herself in great danger. I specifically chose this source to use in my project because it shows and aligns with my hypothesis and my beliefs. In addition that, the sites COX models analysis would come great in handy when I show my reader the downside of child marriages and how the divorce, abortions come to play with it.
9. Vikram, Patel. "Poverty and Common Mental Disorders in Developing Countries." Poverty and Common Mental Disorders in Developing Countries. World Health Organization, n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2017. <http://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?pid=S0042-96862003000800011&script=sci_arttext&tlng=es>.
This source provides tons of information about poverty, education and other necessary details regarding developing countries. It also does a well job with giving several example of scenarios where a person or a family in developing country have to go through those poverty situations. I believe that this is a strong website for my project because I can use this to show that child marriage doesn't automatically happen, but here are many different factors that are related to the marriage, and most important one is poverty. I will be also able to portray how child marriage destroys the child's education, income and future career in general since they are early at an young age which can automatically take their freedom away. I hypothesize that education is one of the biggest issue of child marriage since loads of children miss the chance of receiving a proper education and this website will help me aid that goal to portray on that paper.
10. Ravallion, Martin. "Can High-inequality Developing Countries Escape Absolute Poverty?" Can High-inequality Developing Countries Escape Absolute Poverty? Elsevier B.V., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2017. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165176597001171>.
I selected this source because it provides the background informations that someone needs to know to understand how economic situation and poverty in developing countries actually work. This website and the article followed will be one of the main resources to which I can refer back to and understand the economic and political side behind developing countries which can aid me to better understand the development of child marriages and its roots. I found this source useful because this can eventually teach me the politics behind child marriages in developing countries especially. One limitation will be that it directly doesn’t count child marriage by any chance but it gives broad understanding of the economic positions and questions the great inequality that pay exists to create the poverty situations. I hope to implement this in my project by explaining the broad field and remove the main facades that relates to child marriages in developing countries.
Printmaking
Printmaking is the process of making a stamp or press, that allows you to press ink into an image onto paper, or burn something onto wood. It varies in possibilities for printmaking. Printmaking had allowed people to mass produce, and make books or papers in a matter of seconds rather than minutes or hours.
I notice that the image uses many of images of animals, to make a full image of a monster. I notice that they use negative space to outline the monster instead of making the monster fully. I wonder if they made the whole image from one print, or if they used individual prints for the animals and monsters in in the main monster. What if the artist had used colors in the image, would the context be changed?
Final Stamp Design
The three words I started with to describe myself were loving, funny, and outgoing. I was stuck in creating a design that fit in those characteristics until I did some research. I looked up personality traits for my zodiac sign, Cancer. Cancers are described as someone whose hard on the outside, but soft on the inside. That is why Cancers are represented as crabs.
The next step in created the design for my cut out was difficult. I ended drawing a crab a total of 4 times. In the beginning my crab was too big. The assignment required for the design to be within a 7x7in. square, so that automatically cancelled out drawing number 1. My next sketch was incorrect in providing negative and positive space, because of details I put on the inside. Finally my last sketch gave me the correct work because it was just the perimeter of the crab and no lines in the legs of the crab.
Positive and negative space are very important in any design, because it helps to identify the object much clearer.
Final stamp Design
Our class spent most of the fourth quarter learning about positive and negative space. Then we were expected to find things that described ourselves, we wrote down words on a list, on the list were hobbies, and adjectives. One of my biggest hobbies is eating and a common food at SLA is ramen. In the cup of noodles I put adjectives about myself (ie, curly headed, quirky, Sanaa Niara Scott). All of these thimgs, and more play into who I am.
Negative space cut out
Negative space is the part of an image that is empty and works with the more full parts of an image (positive space) to draw your attention toward something. it helps compliment a part of the picture to give the picture more meaning and emotion. in my image, both negative and positive space is shown. on the left side, the black is negative space because it's the surrounding image while the main image is the positive and is the focus point. same with the right side, the blue is the negative space.
Negative and positive space is important because it allows an artist to draw attention toward something that wouldn't be noticed right away. for instance, if you wanted to get a point across, as an artist, you wouldn't use only positive space because there would be too much to look at and nothing would stick out most. but if you use both positive and negative and used the negative to surround your main point, it would stick out more. it can also add meaning to the image.
The Power of Obscenity in Hip Hop
“Hip Hop has done more damage to African Americans than racism in recent years.” - Geraldo Rivera, FOX News
What does rap music tend to be about? First thing that comes to a person’s mind: sex, money, murder, women, drugs, and anything illegal you can think of. But, what’s ignored is the content which surrounds the swears and inappropriate deeds. Tupac said it best. In a 1994 BET interview on the topic of black on black violence, Shakur spoke of scenarios in which young black men are situated in the ghettos of America, “It’s not that he wants to kill. He does not want to die”. It’s this desperation that the media construes to people that is left unheard.The importance of vulgarity is the immense power it carries. Unfortunately, this is something The impact of these dangerous words and things hit harder than anything else, and that’s exactly what they’re putting out there.
In Dead Man’s Tetris by Flying Lotus, Snoop Dogg says “could’ve been the drink, might have been the smoke, in light of all that he was considered dope”. The usage of contraband in this sense is speaking of a man who is no longer alive, either from alcohol poisoning or drug overdose. Regardless, in the end, he was “considered dope,” which has multiple meanings. Dope is a (usually derogatory) term to refer to relatively strong drugs. This puts on the assumption that all this man was remembered for was doing drugs. Dope could also refer to his intelligence, not only because he is dead, but because of the situation in which led to his death was all his own. Drugs destroyed him. Dope could also mean he was remembered well by his people for doing these “dope” things. This meaning highlights this trend of fear in black communities. Thug behavior is embraced because the guys who do what the dead man did are afraid. They’re afraid that their actions have consequences, so they relish in the fact he went out in this way. It’s dope to run away, and regardless of how it may seem at first, this is lighting substance abuse in a negative light. It’s not the first song to hit this note.
Kendrick Lamar rocked the charts a few years ago with his hit single “Swimming Pools (Drank)” The hook of the song glorifies drinking with catchy lines like “I got a swimming pool full of liquor and they dive in it”. From the chorus, Lamar sets off a song with the anthem of the glorification of alcoholism, but indeed proves the opposite. The song takes place at a party Lamar’s at in his teenhood. There is so much alcohol it overwhelms him. If he drinks anymore (which is apparently “only 2 or 3 shots”) he thinks he’ll “drown in the poison”. Already the song explains through its verses and marketing that it’s all about facades. Kendrick, wanting to impress his friends and party-goers, pretends to want to get intoxicated, but actually doesn’t, much like the song’s presentation. This is reaffirmed with the next line, where Kendrick says “I think that I’m feelin’ the vibe”, referring to the party through alcohol. The key word is “think” which highlights the theme of uncertainty this song associates with drinking, not even close to encouraging it.
To be more recent, Future’s recent “Mask Off” is something most old white people want to avoid. Immediately, they are met with the obnoxious barraging of unintelligible lyricism and vulgarity. Less than half of the song are unique words, with the most prominent noun used on the track being “percocets”, a hard drug. But within these words most interestingly is the line “chase a check, never chase a bitch”. Simplicity aside, the meaning of this line is to go after money and quantifiable things over the subjective. Things like love and a woman are no match to a lot of money and a lot of women. Future teaches his audience how to count, and his blunt, but telling vocabulary shows the other side to the melancholy of black culture, accepting it as it is and the importance of having more. The simplicity is accepting all of these drugs and violence in the world these rappers grew up in.
In conclusion, it is to be known that point of the so called “bad influences” that rap adorns are just seen through the wrong lens. The place these rappers came from, their experiences living in poverty, in gang fights, substance use, and racism should not be viewed under a lens of the protective quality, but one seeing strength, impact, and reflectiveness.
“I’m not on the outside looking in, I’m not on the inside looking out; I’m in the dead fucking center, looking around.” - Kendrick Lamar, “Ab-Soul’s Outro”
Works Cited
“FUTURE - Mask Off Lyrics.” Directlyrics,www.directlyrics.com/future-mask-off-lyrics.html. Accessed 13 May 2017.
Flying Lotus. “Dead Man's Tetris Lyrics.” Azlyrics, Azlyrics,www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/flyinglotus/deadmanstetris.html. Accessed 13 May 2017.
Kendrick Lamar. “Ab-Soul's Outro.” Azlyrics, Azlyrics,www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/kendricklamar/absoulsoutro.html. Accessed 13 May 2017.
Kendrick Lamar. “Swimming Pools Lyrics.” Azlyrics, Azlyrics,www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/kendricklamar/swimmingpoolsdrank.html.Accessed 13 May 2017.
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This is my best 2fer because I'm very passionate about it, much like my other one. It has more of an argumentative tone, but does not slip into the personal. It hits harder. I like it.
Rubber Stamp
Our assignment was to create a stamp or logo that represented us. The point of having this logo was so that we could then have a symbol for which we could be recognized by. We had to figure out ways to use negative and positive space to our advantage.
When I was thinking of my logo I thought of things that I like, feel strong about and do. In the beginning I was thinking of do something more complex like a surfer and palm tree forming a K but I am not a very good drawer and it was hard to tell what it was. I then thought of using the sign language sign for K because K is the first letter of my name and because the sign looks like a peace sign. After looking at my teachers logos, Marcie Hull and Steven Herrera, I was inspired to create a more simple logo that involved my initials, like theirs. I first started by sketching and trying out anything I could think of. Eventually I came across the idea of having the B and K be next to each other. After thinking some more I thought I could put a T across the center making the B and K clearer. I decided to use negative space for the T as it allowed me to include meanwhile being discreet. After looking at it for a bit I decided to add a rectangle above the top of the T in positive place to make it more clear and because I thought it looked nice. By now I had it all on my computer because I found it easier to navigate negative and positive space this way. I finally decided that I was going to add the G in positive space at the bottom part of the B. I finally liked my logo so I decided that I didn’t want to change much so I just cleaned it up to make it look nicer.
It was a hard process to understand negative and positive space for me as I had never thought of images and things in this way and it was a bit mind boggling. I got stuck a lot with trying to understand how you could fit another image inside one however I was able to solve this when I saw the arrow inside the FedEX logo. For some reason this example, after already seeing so many, made sense to me and made my mind click. I was able to learn a lot about negative and positive space but the biggest thing that stuck out to me was that their can both be used to your advantage if you know how too and by knowing how to use them it can change the way you design/create a image or logo.
