Project 4

Project 5

Homework 8

- What is your plan for success while you are at George Mason? Does anything that Kleon mentions here resemble what you currently do?

Just like my plan to do "good work," my plan for success is to keep my parents proud. By this I mean maintaining good grades and doing better than my brother did when he was in Mason. Unfortunately, I've been focusing more on my work than school. It's ironic because I'm working in order to pay for my tuition but I'm not even doing the best I can for my eduction. However, I agree with Kleon when he says having a day job will teach you even the smallest things. I work for CDS in Costco and I communicate with all kinds of people. This has definitely boosted my communications skills and has taught me how to sell products.

- How do you see those same plans translating to your professional and/or creative life once you are done at GMU? What potential suggestions that Kleon puts forth can you see yourself adopting for your own success planning?

I feel that because I have someone to strive past (my brother), I will eventually get somewhere. I will continue to do my best because I have that constant feeling of needing to beat him. I think having the goal of trying to fill each day on a calendar is a great idea because it will eventually keep us on track with other things. I currently use an agenda, but there are many times when I forget to write in it. I think later on, when I graduate and start my career I will try to be a lot more organized.

- What's really important to you in your work, creative or otherwise?

I like to focus on the feelings and reactions that my work brings. Seeing how my viewers react to my poetry/creations is really important to me. Even if its not the reaction I'm looking for, it gives me motivation to do better.

- What do you choose to "leave out" in your work?

Although I do keep in mind of other people's opinions of my work, I don't let it get to me no matter how negative they are. I can't really explain it and I'm not sure if this makes sense, but I feel satisfaction when people are satisfied with my work, but at the same time their reactions are important to me only so that I can do better for myself, not for them.

- What are your limitations?

I'm a really sleepy girl. After I do an assignment, ONE assignment when I have many others due the next day, I'd like to reward myself with sleep. In high school I would always sleep and set my alarm really early to do my homework which would fail everytime because I'd be too tired to get up.

-On page 143, Kleon gives a list of potential things to do now that you're read the entire book. I would like you to pick one of those things and tell me which one you did and why.

From the list, I took my agenda and wrote it in after leaving it untouched for about a month. I really need to start putting myself on track especially since my job has been distracting me from school. I also took a nap; a really nice one.

Homework 7

1. What is your plan to do "good work" (in any field you are interested in) after you graduate?

My plan to do good work is basically doing anything that continues to keep my parents happy and proud. They say they want me to do whatever makes me happy but I know deep down there are certain fields rather than the art field that they want me to study. At first, I was planning to major in graphic design but now I am thinking about IT and marketing and minoring in graphic design. I'm willing to sacrifice what I truly want just like they have sacrificed so much for me and my brother.

2. What do you wonder at?

I always wonder about the future. Whether it'd be my future family, the kind of house ill live in, or the job ill be doing most of my life. 

3. Share at least one thing that you have come across recently that you think would be interesting for others in the class to see.

I am really interested in street brands and theres this one company that I'm really inspired by: http://johnnycupcakes.com/  I think their idea and whole theme of having their stores as bakery shops is extremely creative: http://kitchen.johnnycupcakes.com/bakeries/ 
Also, I'm totally not trying to advertise him but my brother also recently launched his own clothing brand that you guys should check out!! http://www.paulreign.com/ free shipping!!

4. Are you in your ideal geographic location for what you want to do? What is your plan for making the most out of your current place?

I've always wanted to live in New York because of its live atmosphere. Also because lately every video I find on facebook is about a unique and cool restaurant that's only located in New York. I'd love to be surrounded by so many creative ideas. But I also think where I am is a good place to concentrate on what I want to do. Because I am living at home, I know exactly whats best for me to do my work and with the many relatives that live so close, it would be hard to say goodbye to their love and support.

5. Who are the people who follow online (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram)? [Name at least 3.] How do those people contribute to your success?

I have an amazingly talented family that I have been inspired by since I was little. The first person I follow is my cousin Joesar Alva. He is a dancer/choreographer, he started out on MTV's show America's Best Dance Crew, then made a deal with Jason Derulo where he appeared in some of his music video's like "Riding Solo" and "In My Head." After, he moved on to Justin Bieber and then finally Ariana Grande. Every time I watch him, whether it'd be on an award show or concert, I still can't believe he's is my cousin. Recently he got accepted into an Art Institute in California so he's focusing on animation. The fact that he gets do all the things he's ever wanted is truly amazing. Although I am not doing what I truly want, watching him is satisfying enough and has inspired me to continue my love for art. My second person is also my cousin, Jennybeth Alva. She is who inspired me to write slam poetry. Watching her perform at shows and having people be in awe of the feelings/emotions that she expresses, made me also want to be on stage performing my own writing and wanting to influence others. Right now she is traveling the world. She recently moved to Germany so seeing her photos in all these European countries on Instagram has encouraged me to work harder so one day I can travel the world with the person I love as well. The last person I follow is _DR_WOO_  on Instagram. He's a tattoo artist and I just love his style of work. I mentioned before but I also want to design my own tattoo, possibly using a style similar to his.

6. What are the ways you "complain" about others work within your own? Give an example.

I don't really complain about others work. Like Andre Torrez' quote, "Complain about the way other people make software by making software." Although my cousin lead me to do poetry, there are times where I can see where she's trying to go, but not really getting there; she's even mentioned it before. Because of that, I try to do what she cant and create my own lines with the vibe that she was intending to do. I'm not doing this to one up her, but rather to gain confidence in myself.

Project 3 pt. 2

Homework 6

- Why do you think "writing about what you know" leads to terrible stories?

If you write what you know, when will your imagination ever be put to use? It is like your talent will never progress because you're stuck in the same knowledge forever. Before writing, I think it is very important to put yourself as the audience as it will encourage you to be the writer you truly want to be.

- Within your chosen major or career path, how can you make better stories? Or, what are some of your ideas to progress stories that you think are not finished?

 I mentioned this before but ever since I was little I wanted to work for Pixar. I always wanted to be the one who thinks of the story plot for the short animations that play before the actual movie. I always like to rewatch them and try to find something in common in the plot. I noticed that many of the shorts have their main characters become lost in the beginning but eventually find their way back to each other. So I then took this plot and applied it to ideas of my own. I think it is important to start off slow and take your time. I used to always want everything to be my own idea completely, but I realized you won't really get anywhere unless you learn from others and grow from them.

- Within a creative practice, is working in a physical and/or non-digital way important to you? Describe how you do creative work (any writing, drawing, photography, playing sports - anything)  independently from a computer. How does a computer enhance or take away from your creative process?

I also mentioned this before but I love to listen to and write slam poetry. While I agree that a computer may rob us of the feeling of being creative, etc., I think a computer can be very helpful for a different reason. It is the one thing I definitely need as a part of my creative process. I am a very, VERY, forgetful person, so when I have ideas and try to write them down, I forget them along the way. A computer helps a lot more because I type faster than write, so I can easily jot them down without forgetting.

- What are the things you use to procrastinate? How do they then feed into the other areas of what you do or what you study? 

Even though I procrastinate a little too much, I always feel guilty. For some reason I like to think that working on my poems as procrastination would make up for procrastinating in the first place because at least it I am doing something productive for myself. I feel like this is kind of like a win-win situation but at the same time I won't be able to create a poem to the best of my ability because I constantly have the thought of needing to finish work that is due the next day.

Homework 5

• What are your standards for yourself when you decide something is worth "stealing" or appropriating? 
• If I wanted to appropriate another person's work, it would have to relate to something I have always been interested in or if I know I can create something more amazing (to me). For example, I love slam poetry and sometimes I would take certain lyrics from artists and use it to create a line for my poem. In "A Beautiful Mess," by Jason Mraz, I took his lyrics "I guess it just suggests that this is just what happiness is" and changed it to "I guess this suggests you express your utmost distress, so that our happiness is earned by a better reform process" for a slam poem I made about the minimal education funding. I just loved the flow it had from the song so I wanted my poem to sound just as smooth. Like Jim Jarmusch said, I steal the work that speaks directly to my soul and if I do this, then my work will be authentic. 

• Is the idea of "nothing being original" indeed depressing? Or is it freeing? Why or why not?
• I don't take this idea as depressing, but rather inspiring. Reading this book has really encouraged me to continue to do art. Knowing that originality is not what's important but rather what and how you transform a previous work into, makes me realize that it's possible my work will be admired one day.

•  What is the difference between creative hoarding and creative collecting? 
• Creative hoarding is when you don't take into account the meanings/feelings that a work conveys, and when you don't think about the relevance between that work and yourself. Creative collecting is where you only take in the good ideas; you choose them selectively as it will benefit you and your imagination. Whenever I come across a piece of art that I like, I would save it to my camera roll. It doesn't have to be something that I want to appropriate; it's usually something that simply speaks to me. This is the latest I have saved: 
   
• Even though I had no idea what exactly I would do with this, I just really liked its style and I knew I wanted to create something similar because it gave me the feelings that I would want to give to others. 

•  What does Marcel Duchamp (who you should all know) mean when he says that he doesn't believe in art, but he believes in artists? 
• I think what Marcel Duchamp means is that it is the artist who makes an artwork so amazing, especially since nothing is original anymore. The artist still has the ability to be as creative as someone back then who's work was completely original.

•  Who are Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe? How do you think they "faked it until they made it"? Do you think it worked for them?
• Patti Smith, a musician, and Robert Mapplethorpe, a photographer, both wanted to be artists. They decided to act like they were who they wanted to be until they actually were. So as the world believed they were artists, I think it definitely helped them grow with confidence and success.

•  What's the difference between "practice" versus "plagiarism"?  
• Practice is when I copy my brother's drawings/designs because his work actually inspires me. He used to always doodle this design for a tattoo and over the years I would see that design evolve into something better. I want that kind of process, not just plagiarizing, or stealing his tattoo for my own.

• What's the difference  between imitation vs emulation? 
• emulation is the step that comes after imitation; once you are done with gathering your ideas, finish copying the artists that inspire you, and reach that level where you are the amazing artist you are, you finally create the thing that you have wanted to ever since the beginning.