For this activity I decided to remix a song called Gas Pedal. The beat that you hear in the background is one that produced myself on my Macbook. In order to get the vocals only, I had to take the original song into a music software called Audacity, and strip the instrumental portion. Finally, I uploaded both files into Virtual DJ and mixed them.

Making the beat was very enjoyable and free because I get to start with a blank slate and create any style beat I want to. It is fun to be able to mess around with different sounds, take a risk, and having it blend seamlessly into the piece.

I think Copyright seems to be working okay. While it is impossible to monitor stolen property on a micro level, these laws are set in place so that someone cannot make copies of your work and distribute it. It could be modified so that it can catch smaller infractions which can slip through the cracks.

For this work, I have chosen an All Rights Reserved Copyright because this beat is something that is totally mine. I made it without the help of anyone, but I would be willing to sell the beats. The lyrical melody has been modified and sped up to avoid any copyright infractions.

I think my piece came out really well. I explained a little bit about how I did it above. This beat took me about 5 hours to produce and arrange so that was the strenuous part. My greatest challenge was mixing the beat and lyrics because I had to arrange the song even more so that the melodies I wanted landed with the beats. It was so much fun, and now I have a great song to jam out to when I cruise PCH!

• 

I was so excited to do this activity when I learned that it was about graffiti art. I have been doing graffiti art for a couple of years now, so I was eager to make a piece. I went to our fraternity house (Sigma Pi) where we have a giant white wall that we paint on frequently. I spray painted the nickname “Downz” that my fraternity gave me a couple of years ago. The nickname was given to me because I am always “down” to have a good time and adventure with friends. As you can see, a few other guys grabbed a spray can and threw in their two cents.

After taking the picture of my piece and returning home, I was disappointed to see that we had to include a picture of ourselves with the piece. That is the price I pay for merely skimming through the directions. I have included the piece because I did not want my efforts to go to waste!

After realizing my mistake, I decided to scavenge for whatever colored pencils I had in my desk drawer. To continue with the trend of nicknames, I chose to write “MEECH” in the famous Pacman font. This is the nickname my family gave to me when I was young. Although not nearly as impressive as my Downz piece, it is what I could muster up after mistaking the directions. Regardless, I love art, and enjoy the experience of creating it whenever I can.

• 

• 

Artist: Kiyomi Fukui  

Exhibition: Tea at 3307  

Media: ‘Gampi’ Paper and Assorted Herbal Teas

Gallery: Zoom/Artist Website  

Website: http://www.kiyomifukui.com/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kiyomimiz/ 

This week, we got the privilege to speak with Kiyomi Fukui. The Japanese-American artist received her MFA in Printmaking from California State University Long Beach and her BFA in Graphic Design from La Sierra University. Fukui is well versed in the art world and has the experience to show for it.  

Fukui’s work is very interesting to me. One specific piece of her work that intrigues me is her Tea at 3307 exhibition. By the end of the sessions, the tea papers would be splashed and blotted with vibrant colors. With no rhyme or reason, the mellow pinks, cool blues, and striking yellows intertwine to create unique shapes and patterns on the “Gampi”paper. It is as though I can reach out feel the damp wrinkles of the paper on my fingertips just by looking at her photographs. I like that it is a medium that is sizable enough to see and interact with, yet is not too big or too small that it may take away from the intimacy of the piece.  

Fukui mentioned that while she encouraged participants to be messy with the tea making process, it was not about the spilling, patterns, or colors; but about the conversations, moments, stories, and confessions that participants experience while sipping around the Gampi paper. Fukui intended for the participants to simply enjoy each other’s company and anything that may come from it. I thought this idea was fascinating. The tea stained gampi paper, regardless of its appearance, serves as a tangible symbol of the precious human interaction the participants shared with one another.  

I particularly liked this project because I value human interpersonal interaction. I think that we have so much to learn from people and their experiences. Nothing amounts to quality face to face time with someone you share a strong bond with a bond with. Compare this to time spent between two lovers 3000 miles away on a little iPhone screen; it is never as warm and satisfying than physical presence and touch. This does not only apply to intimate relationships. We are not the same communicators behind our screens as we are in face to face interaction. If this project was held with your own tea, at your own desk, talking to strangers through your computer screen, the experience would be far different. This would not create the same culture that Tea at 3307 did, let alone leave us with a beautifully colored gampi paper. I would have loved to participate in this myself, being that I enjoy tea and learning about what makes people who they are.

For this piece, I aimed to make flowers in a vase. I chose some crushed up cans we had laying in a basket in the backyard because I did not want to touch the actual garbage that was infested with flies. At first I was scared that my piece was not going to be easily recognizable so I showed my roommates the picture, and asked “what do you see?” Thankfully, the saw exactly what I intended to make. Using materials like this takes away from getting into detail, shading, or creating hard straight lines. It is more about setting them in places to find your desired shape, color, or pattern.

As for how long a kiss should last, ask the ones in the moment. Ask the lovers who have shared 25 ups, downs, and everything in between. Ask the teenager mustering up the courage to plant one on his crush as butterflies rage rampant in his stomach. Ask the partner sending their soldier across the vast ocean with hopes and prayers that they may share a kiss once again.

A great meal should last until the last person has stuffed themselves like a turkey. It should last until the last laughs fade and the old farts start to doze off on the couch. It ends when the people who entered as guests, leave as family.

A work of art does not need to last physically, only in memory. Therefore no matter how fast a piece disappears or if it outlasts the ages, art should last forever within us.

Marriage should last a life time, through thick and thin, sickness and health, until death do you part. Unless there are dire circumstances in which a spouse may need to leave their partner.

A human life should last no more than 110 years. While it is a blessing to live a a long life in terms of numbers, what truly matters is not the years in your life, but the life in your years.

I absolutely believe that because we have finite times, we should seek to cherish what is in front of us. Cherish each and every individual in our lives that betters us. We experience things far differently when time is limited. Live in the moment, smile, laugh, dance, be goofy, and most of all — give all the love your heart can muster up. The power of love is unparalleled.

Clean water, air, and land should be sustainable and lost long because without them, the world as we know it perishes. Anyone can make a difference in the global movement toward saving the earth. My favorite Greek saying roughly translated goes as follows: “Bean after bean fills the bag.” One bean at a time, we can fight to make sure our planet keeps lasting. Recycle, use a bike or skateboard, clean up litter, or use reusable water bottles and bags. It all makes a difference!!

For this week’s art Activity, I wanted to dive into the world of animation. At first, I was scouring the internet for artists or worlds that I could find a theme for. As I thought more and more about it, I started to think about anything that I have experienced or seen in my life that may fall into some sort of themed category. I thought about some animated worlds that could relate in some way, which brought me to animated television shows. The three “worlds” I would like to focus on are that of animated shows like Rick and Morty, Family Guy, and Big Mouth.

Specifically within these worlds, I would like to focus on the idea of how these shows use absurd ideas, irony, and humor to exploit things that have happened or things that are going on in the modern world. They push the threshold and attack social norms, and talk about ideas or use phrases that are taboo or “off-limits.” I think shows like these are very valuable (and popular) because they use goofy characters, talking animals, hilarious skits, and more to poke fun at the world and all that it is filled with.

Rick will tell Morty to “Stop being a pu**y” which attacks the the idea that we are told not to use gendered language. Family Guy has used racially sensitive language as characters in shows joke about race and nationalism. Big Mouth explores puberty, sex, and anatomy through the eyes of middle school kids with a vulgar and unfiltered twist, which is often considered “something kids should not be worried about at that age.” Many more things include poking fun at obesity, politics, marital satisfaction, child abuse, racism, sexism, ageism, religion, gender, abortion, love, hate, war, sex, drugs, alcoholism, pedophilia, cheating, killing, and the list goes on and on.

This is why I explored these shows/creators of the shows. I think now a days, people are too uptight and politically correct. It is frustrating because we feel as though we have to walk on egg shells all the time for fear of offending someone or their mother. I find this day and age frustrating because of this exact idea, which is why I am glad the animated shows a vast amount of people enjoy are able to be the medium that jokes about a spectrum of viewpoints.

1. For this video, I did not really start with a goal. I just wanted to share with the world some thoughts that had been running through my head that morning. While doing so, I aimed to be transparent and genuine, which actually felt really good.
2. I accomplished this “goal” above in the sense that it was raw and honest rambling about what is going on in my head and in my life. I wouldn’t say that I started this video with the purpose of reaching that goal, I just wanted to talk and get lost in a maze of thought. I liked it, quite frankly. Lost in what only my heart could express and only my own mouth could muster into words. I noticed the weight of my emotions when I watched it back and I got the same goosebumps I did as when I was speaking the words themselves.
3. Next time, I may want to have it a little more structured in terms of points to hit or thoughts to share. However, I feel that if it was pre-thought, I may not have felt as passionate when I was saying it to the camera. I truly did feel like I was along for the ride that my emotions and feelings were taking me on.
4. I don’t particularly like vlogging because I feel awkward talking only to a camera or trying to talk all jolly and happy when no one is around. It shocked me that I was even able to forget about the camera for a minute or two. Regardless, I don’t think I will vlog in the future.
5. I do not have a favorite YouTuber, but I do enjoy watching podcasts and listening to music artists’ acoustic versions of their songs. A couple podcasts I love are the Congratulations podcast with Chris Delia and The Joe Rogan Experience. I like to listen to and watch music artists like Allen Stone and others that appear on things like NPR Tiny Desk or BBC Live Lounge.
6. As for the podcasts, I enjoy different things from both. For Chris Delia’s I watch or listen along for hilarious comedic dialogue about his life and thoughts about all things life and pop culture. Joe Rogan converses with guests that vary from astrophysicists to, biologists, comedians, doctors, actors, artists, political figures, psychologists, nutritionists, and countless more. This podcast is such a great source for laughter, knowledge, wisdom, education, and general well-being. As for the music aspect of my YouTube viewing habits, I love to see the intimacy and passion when an artists sits with their guitar or piano and sings a soulful tune. It gives me goosebumps, and sometimes makes me shed a tear. My favorite Allen Stone performance is his rendition of his own song “Lay it Down” at Paste Studio in New York City. When there is soul and passion behind the voice and the lyrics I find myself sucked in to their performance.
7. I think the most applicable knowledge I can gain in relation to vlogging is from Chris Delia because he is the only one in his podcasts. He is casual with how he talks, as if he is telling it to people who are right in front of him. I think this is easy for him now because he has had quite some practice, but I would hope to practice that speaking ability if I were to blog again.
8. Authenticity is about being genuine and legitimate. It is about what is real and true regardless of the setting.
9. Performance is about carrying out some sort of task or action. It could be with appearance, music, dance, film, and more.
10. Authenticity and performance can coexist and do so often. Authentic performances often hit the heart strings and make us feel some sort of emotional connection. This is why we like world class actors like Robert Downy Jr. or Denzel Washington who are very authentic and real with the way they perform their roles. Or powerful movies about love, death, recovery, or triumph. They hold authentic power that engages the viewer.
11. For some reason, I feel like the at home video is more authentic than the studio interview. It may just be the facade of the attire, lights, and studio set up that contributes to its lack of authentic feel, but the quarantine interview seemed bare bones and cozy. Maybe in the sense that it felt more relatable to the viewers because there is little to no performance of Hollywood pizazz.

For this week we had to do a cognitive map and a partner automatic drawing. The cognitive map was very difficult to draw to scale and fit everything. I found it very easy to draw the buildings that I walk by or near during my regular walk up campus. Buildings on the east side of campus were much harder for me to put together since I do not find myself on that side of campus very often at all. It was a challenging experiment because It made me consider how much I pay attention to my surroundings and geolocation during my everyday walk up, down, and around campus. It was much easier to understand where things were when my friends came and looked at the map and pointed to a few blank spaces to add buildings that they were familiar with. I think this was a cool experience which I may like to try with other maps and locations!

For the automatic drawing I decided to set a timer for one minute, and let my partner and I flow within that minute. Since I could not get a large enough piece of paper, we decided to use a white board that was more than big enough for the project. At first, it was a lot of push and pull with each other over who was guiding the pen. After a few seconds we started to get smoother movements with the pen. Sometimes these movements manifested as spirals, and other times as curves, corners, and loops — it was an ebb and flow of control over the pen. As an artist, I like to look at my piece and see some sort of order and symmetry, but this was far from it. We had a finished piece that was nothing more than a composition of squiggles and lines. But it isn’t about the art, right? It’s about the experience. Which is why I take the haphazard and imperfections with a grain of salt. Art is free, art is imperfect.

1. I chose this idea because I find that radical religion only serves to constrain and confine the lives of those who choose to follow it.
2. I hope to communicate the exact idea presented by Salman Rushdie, which states, “Those who do not have the power over the story that dominate their lives, power to retell it, rethink it, deconstruct it, joke about it, and change it as times change, truly are powerless, because they cannot think new thoughts.” I find that people of faith are stuck living lives that do not provide them with personal growth and freedom.
3. I think I was successful in using humor and irony to expose religious expectations. Everyone knows that nuns would never be seen doing something like this, especially since it would seem sacrilegious. .
4. If I did this again, I would want to make a sculpture or something that would exist in three dimensions. I think it would have been more shocking to have something tangible and visual.
5. Another idea I would explore through shocking art would be something to do with love, possibly showcasing the joys and pains of true love. Love is one of the most powerful forces in the world, and can manifest itself in many ways. With this power comes not only pain and suffering but also overwhelming joy and happiness, both as powerful as the other.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.