Sierra Olsen

Creating with Words project: Style Hack (139-142). Students take an alternative genre of media and demonstrate understanding of a subject. I did something similar to this in High School, where we had to create social media accounts for characters in a book. It made us have a deeper understanding of the character because we would have to post things that would be in character for them. Creating with Images: Emoji Story (175-178). Students tell or recreate a story through emojis only. I think this would be interactive and fun for teenagers and would prove their understanding of the story line. Creating with Sounds: Playlist a Life (195-197). Students create a biographical playlist for a subject. I actually do this in my free time, creating playlists for characters in shows or movies that I like. It is really fun to contemplate the mood and personality of the character and what songs best exemplify their persona. Creating with the Body: Humojis (210-213). Students create emojis from th...

Before pointing out its flaws, I would first like to say that I absolutely adore The Little Prince . The lessons and morals within the story touched me in ways as a 12th grader that was incomparable to everything else I learned in high school. However, there was always just one thing that always bothered me about the book. The way women and female characters were portrayed went against what I stood for and my identity as a female. The Little Prince employs the “Smurfette Principle”. Before this project, I had no idea what the “Smurfette Principle” was. I knew that there was something about the way women were portrayed in television, media, and popular culture that really irked me but I did not have the words to define why. A quick google search and Wikipedia article later, I finally understood why I feel as a woman that my gender is my number one defining characteristic. To define the “Smurfette Principle” in a nutshell, it’s the way that media portrays women as a character depen...

I never thought I would see the day that I, a well versed internet user, would do a horrendous fusion of Shakespeare and (now outdated) slang. I vow to never try to use slang like this again.

https://tma457emilytrejo.blogspot.com/2019/02/seat-assignment.html "In 22 minutes in class today, you will design a costume for a mythical creature by taking photographs of clothing items that are being worn by peers throughout the HFAC and post your images to your blog as a collage" I realized that I misread the prompt and took pictures from art and objects around the building rather than from people. However, I had to work with what pictures I had taken on my short walk around the HFAC and created my monster from those. Also, it does not look like a mythical monster at all.

Introducing myself into an artistic community was and is somewhat difficult. My mom was an art teacher, but neither me nor any of my siblings expressed any kind of burning artistic passion classified as the traditional painting and sketching. That is, until I became a college student and was desperately searching for things to waste time on. I loved doodling in notebooks, but taking drawing seriously wasn’t interesting to me until I found animation and fanart communities. Watching speed drawings became a way for me to both engage with people in an online community and to help me learn about digital art. Although my mother was always available to help me navigate through artistic communities and practices, it was fundamentally up to me to express interest and drive to participate. I have found that I have two very distinct artistic communities that I associate with. One is through an online, anonymous presence, and the other is the friends and family who I share my art with...

Visual Poetry Read and chose from one of the three poems provided and draw most important elements. Note key words, themes, general ideas. Then, using the ideas from the poem, either cut out words and arrange them into a visual poem that reflects the story told or use a word processor on a personal computer to arrange them into a picture that reflects the poem. You can either use all the words in the poem or just the essential key words. Visual Poems Material: poem on paper, scissors, glue, background paper OR word processor on personal computer Process: Read poem and draw most important elements. Note key words, themes, general ideas. Then, using the ideas from the poem, cut out words and arrange them into a visual poem that reflects the story told. You can either use all the words in the poem or just the essential key words to represent the poem. Form: visual poem made in the end Content: one of the three poems provided Context: online resources are available for ...

My sister and I bond over Japanese culture. We love going to Japanese restaurants, learning some phrases from the efficient teacher Duolingo, and sharing a vast collection of Studio Ghibli movies. Someday, we hope to visit Japan. However, the funds and language barrier prevent us from doing so. After being assigned the assignment to use a medium to create a piece of art and figure out the limitations, I immediately thought about taking my sister on a trip to Japan- digitally. I took a picture from the internet (courtesy of Compathy.net) and photo shopped me and my sister into it. We have digital proof that we have visited Japan, something we can show others and something we could potentially post on our social media. Nevertheless, we did not experience it. We did not actually go to Japan, create the memories, enjoy the food, or encounter residents. I remember being a senior in High School and having a discussion with my AP French teacher. What makes travelling so compelling? Why ca...