Habits of the Creative Mind

 

Boredom & Curiosity

I am the wick of a candle, waiting for my light to be ignited by something greater than myself. There are days where I melt away, put to sleep by the ordinarity of a world too regular to light even the weakest of flames. In my experience, boredom is a concoction created with only a few simple ingredients: depression, exhaustion, and lack of stimulus. Depression is self-explanatory, it pursues an alternate and dark view of the world once our minds or life becomes too complacent. When we suffer depression, the result is pure exhaustion, a physical and mental block from seeing the world for what it could be. Stimulus, or desire to rise again from the depths of boredom is lost when one can no longer draw inspiration from their world and instead, are drawn into it. However, occasionally the smallest flame persists even after when we blow out the candles and call it a night. Curiosity is what brings us back full circle when we believe there is no place left to explore. There will forever remain a tiny spark hidden deep within each of us that questions authority, drags us out of bed, and cultivates magic. This spark, this curiosity is what makes us human, soaring out of our funks again and again. It is what keeps us expressive and physically and metaphorically alive. May we all someday, ignite our lights and burn deep rooted change in a world drowning at its core.

 

 

Paying Attention

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reflection

For me, drawing is the malicious twin of writing, a plague that tests my coordination and ultimately, humiliates it. When I was young, I used to cower in art class, knowing I struggled with basic left and right directions as well keeping my hand focused. As I aged, I realized that I had difficulty with basic tasks, such as driving, walking, and drawing. The only talent I had was writing. As my fellow classmates, maintained high marks in required Arts classes and learned to maneuver vehicles, I sat in my bedroom writing stories, poetry, and prose into existence. So, this year when I found out my hard work paid off and I was eligible to take the course English206, I was ecstatic to delve into the world of rhetoric. What I didn’t know was that this course was heavy in visual learning, analyzing art, and often, creating our own pieces. After a few failed attempts at practice, the class was tasked with recreating a famous drawing. The catch?  We had to “pay attention” and draw upside down under a twenty-five minute time limit, focusing on the individual lines and shadings rather than the image as a whole. Daunted by the assignment, I began to draw, attempting to connect writing and drawing. Each line was a metaphor, each angle a model of personification, free flowing and my own. Falling into a steady rhythm, I found myself letting go and paying attention to the varieties in my drawing to the original. Art is art. Whether it’s poetry, art, or painting, we strive for originality, laying societal expectations at rest, and rewarding a chaotic world with something brand new. Even with a time restraint, I was able to transfer my strengths to my weaknesses. The drawing? For a lack of a better word, it sucked. That wasn’t the point though; this piece, this rendition of Schiele’s work was my own and my own only.

The obvious question lays awake, desperate to be answered. Will I investigate drawing as a new medium? Hell no. However, I now see the visual arts differently. They don’t have to be frightening, a daunting problem to run away from. Instead, they are one and the same. Both artists and writers take a piece of wisdom from this universe and drop our expectations and standards. Like a spider crafting a web from scratch or a snowstorm dropping snowflakes unique to one another, we are the same, but different. Consequently, we transform our worlds one stroke at a time.

What is Visible (and Invisible) To The Eye

What do others see when they gaze at your reflection? Do they see your hair first, the way it tumbles to the ground in long chestnut corkscrew curls? Is it your glasses, that slight gap between your two front teeth that they initially notice? What conclusions about you do they make from analyzing your image? Finally, what stories do they miss out on?

There is a tale in every person that longs to be read first before biases are configured and set in stone. A person might marvel at the length of your hair, but what they don’t know is you’ve been growing it out for charitable cause. One may grimace or make unfounded perceptions of the gaps in your teeth without your being able to tell the story of how you were never able to afford orthodontic care.

Art, like people is multifaceted and can either be taken at face value or explored to find a much deeper meaning. You cannot simply look at a portrait or photo; you must notice intricate details and harvest clues to truly “know” a picture.

This week, I studied the 1600 and 1953 portrayals of Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Elizabeth II on their coronation days. On the surface, these images may seem simple; plainly two queens of England receiving their respective crowns. However, in Queen Elizabeth I’s portrait, our main vector of attention is the Queen herself. She is posed rigidly, so rigidly in fact that we cannot quite make out whether she’s standing or sitting. Adorned around her are the orb, ermine, and scepter, items symbolizing great power, tradition, wealth, and influence. One may speculate that in an era dominated by the male figure, the Queen must’ve had to seem fearless, prepared. Even the mannerism in which she stares at the viewer head on, conveys heavy Ethos. She barely seems human and is focused on her task at hand. She is transforming history and reshaping society, creating enormous pressure. Nobody can visualize her stories; the only way she can give off her chosen energy is through small gives, details such as her expression, props, and glare.

Similarly, the photograph of Queen Elizabeth the II illustrates great power, wealth, religious influence, and stability. However, utilizing Logos, we can infer that she might feel that systemic sexism is less of a pressure and analyzing her soft expression, it is clear that she feels comfortable expressing some vulnerability. A contrast from the first Queen, Elizabeth II’s lack of modesty and cradling of the orb instead of dominating it, provides Logos for the decline of England’s strong monarchy and social standards.  Her crown and scepter are more embezzled than the former Queen’s, hinting at a monarchy aimed more for show than rule.

The next time you read a piece of literature, visit an art expedition, or even meet a stranger, remembering that there is more invisible to the eye than there is visible. Ground yourself, reach deep within, and paint a new portrait.

 

I chose a propaganda film concerning homosexual activity in the 1950’s for this assignment. It is extremely interesting to me how far the LGBT movement has progressed since these early days when it was considered to be a form of mental illness.

Looking At War (Part 1)

Try as we might to erase ourselves from a story, poem, or narrative, it truly is the author that makes the content.Put aside the overall message and ideas that stem from her work, “Looking at War”, Susan Sontag’s usage of voice, persuasion, and personality drives her message forward.

First and foremost, we delve into this heavy read with an unusual tactic. Sontag unifies a group, rather than divide them by social class, gender, or occupation. She treats all people as one, somehow urging us to cross a line and rid of classification. We begin to think of our fellow reader as an equal, someone who feels empathy, pain, and can relate to us on a personal level. No more are we man and woman, lawyer and grocery store employee. The issue of war impacts us in a way that renders us human. We are infallible.

Try as she might, Sontag could not continue to group us altogether. She focuses on images (sound familiar?) and how they make us feel individually. Someone who is Jewish might have a greater reaction to images of the Holocaust than someone of a different descent. She then brings us together again, counting on our humanity to unite our disdain for wear yet our drive to view such carnage as some sort of intense, can-not-look-away moment.

In my view, Sontag’s strength in literature is how she inserts her dominance as an author on us. She has knowledge; she has the research. The one thing she needs to be successful is us. And what better way to our us in than to appeal to what drives us most: our humanity.

 

Organic Object-Day One

The subject that I have chosen to analyze for the next five days is a single peppercinni. In preparation for this experiment, I ventured to TOPS and bought a jar of pepperccini, to organize the rest as a control group.

Peppercinni are a tad bit like people. They have completely different physiques from each other. Like snowflake, every pepperccini is alike, but not identical to its neighbor. However, the one I have chosen occupies the ideal shape and color according general commercialism. It is a combination of neon yellow and green, mirroring the juice it had been purchased in. It is also averagely shaped; not too round, not too boxy. It curves downwards just as a pear does. Finally, it is plump and large inside, indicating that it has good taste. If I squeezed it one degree too hard, the subject probably would explode. Lastly, its stem protrudes from its body at a slight angle, just as a healthy apple stem would curve just a bit.

My hypothesis for this experiment? The subject is apt to dry out a lot due to lack of natural environment and lose the smooth texture of its skin. However, I do not wish to bombard this opportunity to write with endless guesses and answers. My one aim is to sit back, relax, and enjoy this show! Part of me thinks by doing this, I’m wasting food and energy. I do know though, that being able to free write for five days instead of strictly sticking to structured writing will be very worthwhile. I plan to experiment with different writing styles; poetry and prose in order to illustrate the time of events!

For now, all I can do is close my eyes and wait for in my sister’s words, “something interesting to happen!” Well, in my opinion, I think sleep is very interesting so I’m off to dream! See you tomorrow!

Day Two

You changed.

Just as a newborn flexes her limbs

and threatens to roll over,

your stems browned

and you turned a bit more weary with age,

skin rough to the touch.

Still your color remains.

Like hair that refuses to grey over before

life changes course,

you greened with the luminance of a million candles,

reminding us that until we whisper our last hope

we can remain whole before decaying,

fall asleep without praying to be renewed.

Renewed.

I see your natural mechanisms renew

as you fight tooth to nail to be awarded glory

and here we are after all of this time,

still documenting your story.

Until tomorrow,

live another day.

Stay green, Pony-boy, stay green.

Please stay.

 

 

Today, the subject looks a bit wearer than yesterday. As exemplified by the poem, it has browned just the slightest bit but overall, has maintained its green gloss. The only aspect of the subject that has drastically altered its texture. It without its usual environment, has grown dry and has lost the gloss it occupied when I purchased it.

I am a helper thus, I feel terrible that I cannot save the dying subject. However, my position is to merely observe and not distract the experiment.

Until next time!

 

Day Three

Today, not much has changed for the subject besides an ongoing drying of the skin. Examining the specimen by rotating it three hundred sixty degrees counterclockwise, I notice that its color I still in tact as well as shape. However, I suspect there might be a change coming. They say there is usually a calm before the storm and I believe Day Three is this exactly. On the surface, it appears nothing has changed but I know within the fastens of the subject, exposure to this unusual environment is taking a toll on how long it can stand.

I thoroughly believe that as much as this is a test for the subject, it is a test for me as well. I always aim to fix things, make situations as comfortable as possible. I’m not used to standing by and letting nature take its course because I’m not accustomed to doing that. I believe in the good of human beings to fix wrongdoings around them and perhaps that instinct I have, is showing its colors within this experiment

 

Day Four

My predictions reigned half-true! I have noticed a few indents and a misshapen curve to the figure. It is very, very subtle but still noticeable in fair lighting. Now, if I squeeze just a little bit, I believe that the subject would extract its insides.

I am hiding the subject with my jewelry so that my roommate doesn’t get angry that I have a pepperccini out in the open so maybe the dark, musty draw has contributed to its deterioration. It is difficult to analyze an object so foreign to most. Most people don’t eat pepperccini or even have it in their house. Perhaps they’ve heard of the vegetable, but virtually no one is aware of its inner workings. This in turn, makes it more difficult for me to access as there are no familiar deterioration signs to know of. Everything that has happened thus far could be a coincidence or what’s “supposed” to happen. I would research but I don’t wish to alter my raw observations.

 

Day Five

It is the final day of the experiment and barely anything has changed! I suspect that my chosen subject takes longer to decay than normal fruits and vegetables, even when out of its natural habitat. So instead, I’d like to talk about the implications of observing an object.

1. Using Your Senses- When you are younger, your parents or guardians probably taught you not to touch, but observe.It is difficult to observe however, without feeling with the hands. Touching reveals texture, idents, irregulars, etc. Touching is part of the observation process.
2. Remembering to Observe- As college students, we lead busy and stressful day-to-day lives with homework and social commitments. Therefore, it is easy for us to miss a day of observation or forget about the object. We tend to see only what we wish to see which makes the observation process harder.
3. Finally, Emotions- Some people (including me!) can get very attached to the object especially if it is a leaf or some sort of living thing. It is important to remember that leaves, apples, peppercinis, etc don’t have a heart; they cannot feel things. When observing, all emotion has to be evicted and focus must be on the science of these things!

This was so much fun, probably my favorite exercise yet!

See you soon!

 

Visual Connections

These images are connected externally by their locations and implicit similarities. Both the first and third image are captured outdoors while the second one seems to be indoors. Furthermore, images one and two both are void of human activity while the third pictures four people.

However, the connections that go deeper than just observational prove to be much more interesting than just staring at strange images with no context. In the order presented, Image A represents a university which links to the poetry in image B, something that can bee studied or participated leisurely in college. Connecting to Image C, family comes from hard work and dedication. Schoolwork comes first and then a social life comes second.

If we rearrange the images, C, A, B, we can conjure up an entirely different meaning to the summary above. You have to temporarily say goodbye family in order to pursue college and thus, a career. If we change the order to B, C, A, we can come up with the fact that a hobby can impress family which can result in career exploration.

Order makes a difference because it changes the factors involved in sequence. It’s the same with the general universe: one event inspires another then another until a result is yielded.

As  this is the last HCM exercise, I have the responsibility to say these exercises were most definitely my favorite parts of the class. I will miss doing them surprisingly.

Thank you and take care!

~Emma