The Lazy Artist

So, I've been working on my abstract plaster sculpture. And I find myself coming across a bit of an ethical dilemma. The sculpture will be passed on to one of my classmates to be re-worked. So, now that I'm at a decent phase, I want to throw the towel in and call it quits. I mean, it's going to get changed anyway, right? But then.... then comes that still small voice, saying "Do everything as if you were doing it unto the Lord and not men." So then, I did the human thing and.......... re-read the project rubric to find a loophole!.... Nothing. So I turned to you.... the blank page... At this point I'm really just trying to get my thoughts out. (And fill out my 100 word limit for the week. Ho ho ho!)
The way I figure it, this project is preparing me for the brutality that comes with submitting art into the system. Whether it's a gallery, a publishing house or even a mail in postcard competition, SOMEONE is going to tell me that my work can be better. Or, in the case of the publishing house, will want to change it.
Actually... that was written in the rubric. "Practice letting go of ownership and specific outcomes in the production of an artwork."
Darn you rubric!
So, this brings me back to my dilemma: Work long and hard to have your work smashed up and turned into something else, or put in your best effort, long into the night, sweat and tears pouring down your face- okay I'm just being dramatic. I know the answer. "Serve as if you were serving the Lord and not men." Even if it's going to get changed again, I won't develop unless I put my best effort into what I'm doing EVERY time... Every... single....time. This is a character building exercise!
OKAY, I'm going back to work.
Thank you blank page! Thank you people who are reading the now full page.

There it is.... good but not great.















I want to be great.

Copy cat.

So, here's me. And, here's my haircut... and my dirty mirror.
Can I call this art? Well, not really. I cut the bangs, but my mom did the major body of it, and I don't really take good care of it, and I didn't brush it and it's 9:00pm and.... Anyway, that's not really the point. 

This is my hairstyle... Why? 

Simply because it's on my head.

But the truth is, that this is (an attempt at) Nocchi's hairstyle! ->
My favorite singer/dancer from my favorite J-pop unit, "Perfume"!

 That aside....I got thinking about style.

As an artist, and especially a comic artist, I believe that it's majorly important to find one's own "style". Yet, I always find myself copying people. This was especially true when I first started drawing my own characters.

This screenshot is from one of my favorite shows. 

Note the incredibly large cow-licks........ Now see mine.

I think the comparison speaks for itself.

But when I look at my work, I can honestly say that I do have a distinct style. And you can look at this and say, those characters look nothing alike! Of course one can see the little bits and pieces that I've stolen from other books and shows but because those aspects are being filtered through my mind and translated through my hand into my characters they become mine. Much like Nocchi's haircut on my head becomes MY hair style.

Another way to think about it is like the development of a child. From the moment they are born they see the world around them and they see how people eat, walk, talk, etc. If babies never copied the actions of those around them, they would not develop properly. Either that, or they would develop much more slowly. So, coming back to style, I think that myself and others naturally want to be or act like the things and people we admire and that's okay, because style will develop when we emulate what we like, adapt it to what we're working with and make it our own. Style is our mind's translation what we've already seen. 

⁹ 

"The eye never has enough of seeing,

     nor the ear its fill of hearing.

    What has been will be again,
             what has been done will be done again;
                  there is nothing new under the sun."

            Ecclesiastes 1:9

The launch pad!

Since a blog is basically a diary/journal that everyone can look at, and since we're talking about change here... I thought it would be a good idea to go back and look at the changes in my life so far. Soooooo...I went and found my journals from when I was 14! I have no idea why I started keeping a journal, but when I read it I really think it should've been a blog... because it really was like I wanted someone to read it. It even had an invitation on the front!

Apparently I wanted attention. 

Anyway, it was interesting to read because I had started writing at a point when I was thoroughly into animation, but hadn't discovered anime yet and had no idea what I wanted to do with my life... and I couldn't spell for crap.

For example, 6/12/2004 "Melanie (my little sister) came home today and told us all about Tera (an episode of the cartoon Teen Titans). We (My big sister and I) did research on the episods to come, and boy are we excited. Ashly (Neighbor) came over today and we played DDR ("Dance Dance Revolution"). She's geting better. Neopets still isn't working"  
........................ I really wish I had that kind of free time anymore. =.=

So, my analysis of myself from then to now, is that I've Japanified myself, set goals, gotten a job and proper schooling (I'm not griping about it anymore anyway), that my personality hasn't changed at all and I have no more free time. However, the interests that had at that time haven't died away. Rather, they have developed into skills and ambitions which I am constantly working towards attaining excellence in! This is something that I'm very happy about. And I suppose that from here on out we'll be seeing how this thing will continue to unfold together. Let me end this blog with my last journal entry from 2/23/2005:

"This is the second note book I have completely filled with my life. I hope you enjoyed it. And not in that 'Hahaha! What a Loon!' sorta way. 'Cause I'm not a loon!"

(Here are some of my old drawings I dug up as well between 2004 and 2009. Apparently in 2007 I thought I was amazing and afterwards I stopped caring if my name was on it.)

 2004 (TEEN TITANS!)

2005

2006

2007

WHAT HAPPENED TO 2008?!?!

2009 (only dated one I could find)

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9...........10!

Though it may seem like I'm an incredibly mysterious and intelligent person, the truth is, this blog is a project for my 3D design course in college and I'm actually a huge dork. But I'm taking it seriously! This blog is a challenge for me to "...explore how artistic manifestations of the self relate to social constructs, and... explore how [I] choose to present, define and explore [my] own sense of identity." So, essentially I'm finding myself, right? Hence the title, "Hide and Go Seek". I do love a challenge and I also love to create, write, talk and show people my artwork (Artists's blog, yay!). So I'm very excited! However I hope my teacher doesn't regret giving me this assignment. Because, outside of class... here... in my room... on my own.... I tend to ramble. I'm very sorry in advance, Danielle! But, I hope you can bear with me, and you too.... whoever you are.
Ready or not, here I come!