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Jars and Journals

Posted on April 16, 2014 · 5 Comments

This week has been incredibly busy/stressful for me. Making something with my hands, distracting myself from the work, is one thing that always works to calm me down. That being said, I ended up with projects that I didn’t even realize I would make.

For one, I was looking on pinterest, thinking of things I could make with washi tape. Washi tape, by the way, is a crafting tape that originated in Japan that usually has really awesome designs on it. If you’re a crafter, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

I didn’t like many of the ideas I was seeing, so I did something I tend to do when I have an object that can be stuck onto another object: I wandered around my room, deciding what I could cover with washi tape. I settled on a couple of black, moleskin notebooks that I bought a while ago from Uncle Eli’s.

This project, in particular, is pretty easy. All you have to do is line up the washi tape to make sure there are no gaps. The little notebooks ended up looking really cute, and for some reason I’ve found myself more inclined to actually use them. Win-win!

Now the other thing I made was sort of unexpected. I had no idea where I was going with it. I was doing two things simultaneously: I have a few glass jars (I’m a hoarder, remember?) and I was trying to look up crafts that incorporated them; I was also wandering around my room, deciding what I could cover with chalkboard paint. Chalkboard paint, for the record, is amazing. You can paint virtually any hard surface (so long as it’s not porous) and have a chalkboard in a day.

I decided on painting the lid of a glass jar with some gray chalkboard paint (and while I was at it, I painted the last moleskin I had. It’ll be fun writing on and in that.)

I want my room next year to have a sort of vintage feel, so I tried to play with that sort of vibe. I covered the jar in (guess what?) book pages, leaving a little hole in the shape of a heart so I could see into it.

I used mod podge to keep the pages in place. Once it was relatively dry, I covered everything in a layer of the antique glaze mod podge (why do I own so many types of this glue?) to get it a more “aged” look.

It’s cute, no?

I’ve been looking at ideas for summer bucket lists on pinterest. Last summer, I spent most of my time watching Netflix and not doing anything constructive. This year, I want to make every second count, so I’m filling the jar with different activities—I’ll pull from it randomly once or twice a week and do whatever it says. Now I have a good use for it!

How do you like it? And tell me if you have any good ideas to put on my summer bucket list!

Filed Under: Passion · Tagged: art, diy, passion, rcl1314, rclbrown

It’s Hard to Find Good Books

Posted on April 16, 2014 · 1 Comment

Let me clarify: it’s hard to find good books with ethnic character lead.

Books have a special place in my heart. When I was younger, I was literally scolded by teachers for reading books during a class. I stayed up at night, reading with a flashlight under the covers. I couldn’t get enough.

And yet, despite all the books I’ve read, all the characters I’ve loved, I can only think of a handful of characters that were of differing ethnicities.

I’ll make this clear: I still love the books I’ve read. They have greatly impacted me and their themes have stuck… however, looking back, it’s a little bit disheartening to realize that next to none of the characters had backgrounds anything close to mine. It wasn’t something I noticed as much as a child, but it’s certainly something I notice now.

Now Young Adult novels are really popular, and not just for young adults. They often have themes that a lot of people can relate to. However, in an informal study done about two years ago, a young woman found that out of some six hundred YA books, ninety percent had white models on the cover. Strangely enough, when minorities were present on the covers, they were usually in the background, surrounded by white models, or were cut off at the head/not looking directly at the reader (so we’re not allowed to see their faces).

Another young lady found that the number of ethnically diverse characters and authors in the YA section basically remained flat from 2012 to 2013. So there was no improvement in the amount of diversity found in these novels.

As an avid reader, it’s sad to see that there aren’t a lot of books coming out with more diverse casts. We can’t usually count on the classics to portray three-dimensional, ethnically diverse characters, so it would seem like as the world progresses, so would the books we read. No such luck.

Thinking about the other posts I’ve written (if you haven’t read them: poor representation of Asians in media, negative effects of whitewashing, negative effects of stereotypes), then you might be able to understand why it’s so concerning that there these characters don’t exist. Not having diverse characters in our mainstream books simply means that anyone who reads those books are not being exposed to different cultures, ideas, and concepts. There is no chance for stereotypes to be disproven. No chance for further understanding of minorities. It is not inherently wrong to read, write, publish, or consume books that are not diverse, but becomes so when we combine a lack of diversity with a supposedly diverse, forward-thinking country.

Even worse to me is the fact that there are virtually no articles, no research at all to be found concerning the poor representation of minorities in books (although this– the only concrete thing I could find- was a very interesting read). I always look to add some sustenance to my articles, but as of yet I’ve only come across a few articles, most of which deal with the pictures on book jackets, not the actual content. Other than that, there is a plethora of posts from parents looking for diverse books their children can relate to—telling me that parents definitely are paying attention.

How do you feel about this? Do you feel that it is as big a problem as I do? Should we start advocating for more diverse books, featuring a cast of all ethnicities (and while we’re at it, all genders, all sexualities, all disabilities)? Are things find the way they are?

And more importantly, I want you to answer this honestly… if the book had a cast that was completely diverse, would you read it? The truth is that some people won’t. Just because.

I’d like to hear your thoughts on this. I personally believe that more diverse books, and support for these books, will result in more diverse movies or television shows and a higher level of acceptance and understanding for other cultures/ethnicities. Tell me your thoughts!

**Please note that I definitely acknowledge the books with diverse characters that are already out there. If you’re having trouble thinking of some, like I did, then may I suggest to you: There Will Come a Time, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, The Book Thief, Kindred, Cinder, Kite Runner, The Help, A Thousand Splendid Suns…

Filed Under: Civic Issues · Tagged: books, civic issues, diversity, ethnicities, rcl1314, rclbrown

Japanese Notebooks and Hand-drawn Feathers

Posted on April 10, 2014 · 3 Comments

This week I used the same book for a different project. There was just one more thing that I wanted to try—Japanese notebooks. They were cute and seemed simple enough since all you had to do was poke some holes through paper and bind it together with thread. My friend’s birthday was last weekend, so I thought I’d make it for her. (She loved it, by the way).

I didn’t have twine or a darning needle- basically really thick string and a needle with a big eye. So after a trip to Michael’s, where I spent too much money on things that didn’t pertain to this project, I was ready to go.

I had to pick a size for my notebook to be. Just because it was a lot easier, I decided to use a smallish piece of cardstock to be my base. It took a little while to cut and trace everything, but in the end, I had a nice little collection of pretty papers.

That first picture is the cardstock, the second one is the paper I chose to cut to size.

Next came poking holes. What you need is an awl- a pointy stick thing with a comfy handle. Isn’t it nice that there’s an actual tool for this? Is it weird that I actually bought one for myself a while ago?

The pages have to be kept together, or else the book will end up uneven. I know this from experience…

In order to poke the holes, you need to get a shoebox or something that will “give” when the awl goes through it (as well as the paper). I happen to be a hoarder of boxes and jars so this wasn’t too hard. Poking the holes was actually sort of difficult, mostly because I have no upper body strength whatsoever and the papers were really thick, but it happened. Eventually.

Then came sewing. Following the instructions in the crafting book was actually really easy. Honestly, it looked a little more complicated that in actually was. In the end, the notebook was held together really well. It’s definitely something I would make again.

There was only one problem—I had wanted to decorate the pages a little, in a visual journal-esque way. I realized after binding the book that… well… I should have done something to the pages before stringing them together.

Major sad face.

I did manage to work on it, though. I don’t have pictures of the actual inside, but trust me… it was cute.

And in other news, at one point last week I was really tired and needed a break—I hadn’t done anything hand-drawn in a while, and a post on pinterest sparked an idea, soo….

This came out.

I used pencils to sketch out a design (I admit, my design was largely based off of a “feather tattoo” picture I found), then a combination of sharpie for the larger black areas/a small, fine point pen for the thinner lines. It seemed a little too blank at first with just one feather, so I added the second… then I added the black border, just because I thought it looked cool.

Maybe next time I’ll get more creative with the inside and choose my own designs.

That was it for this week!

Filed Under: Passion · Tagged: art, passion, rcl1314, rclbrown

Why Stereotypes are Bad

Posted on April 2, 2014 · 4 Comments

Today, I’ll be talking about media and stereotypes. In particular, I’ll help you understand why stereotypes- even “good” stereotypes- are bad… and why you should care.

First off, let’s be clear on what a stereotype is: according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary…

Verb: to believe unfairly that all people or things with a particular characteristic are the same
Noun: an often unfair and untrue belief that many people have about all people or things with a particular characteristic

Why stereotypes are wrong

– People don’t really like being stereotyped because truthfully, you can’t say something is true for every member of a group. This overlooks individuality and small differences.

– It perpetuates a divide. I can think of at least two categories I’ve noticed Asian women fall into: “Dragon Lady” (I did not invent that phrasing) or “submissive damsel” (I admit I invented that). You see Asian women doing crazy martial arts moves and throwing ninja stars or you see a shy girl in a sailor outfit giggling behind her hand. This is not representative of all Asian women, but some people actually believe it is. (Check out the creepy white guy tumblr to see what I mean.)

– Stereotypes linger. According to one study, negative stereotypes have a lingering effect on those who experience them. People perform poorly in situations where they feel they are being stereotyped, and they were still more likely to be aggressive and lacking in self-control even a while after stereotyping happens. Remembering a situation where you felt prejudiced against will also negatively affect their moods.

– They affect more aspects of life than you think. This study shows that one of the reasons women don’t go into computer science fields is because of the stereotype of “geeky” men is a turn-off. Ouch. What about when you say that all women are bad at math? Does this account for why women don’t often go into math-related fields? Stereotypes cab be a self-fulfilling cycle.

But what about good stereotypes?

Is it really so bad to promote positive aspects of a group?

To be blunt, yes. Positive stereotypes are just as harmful as negative ones.

In one study, Asian-Americans were divided randomly into two groups, one of which experienced stereotyping. Turns out that the participants in that group severely disliked those who stereotyped them. They felt depersonalized and angry. The same results happen when you tell women that they’re nurturing and in touch with their emotions, or tell someone tall and dark-skinned that he must be good at basketball.

Another study has found that believing in a positive stereotype will reinforce the beliefs of negative stereotypes. For example, people who were exposed to the stereotype that blacks are superior at sports unquestioningly believed it; later on, these people had much stronger negative feelings and beliefs about other stereotypes, such as “Blacks are violent.”

Back to the movies

Stereotypes pop up everywhere in the media. The strict Asian mom, the nerdy Asian kid who only studies, the awkward Indian man who can’t talk to women, the martial artist, sexy Asian order bride, foreigners who can’t speak English, model minority… the list goes on.

These stereotypes, of course, are not only limited to Asians. They’re everywhere. EVERYWHERE. And they’re bad. Seeing these stereotypes time and time again on television or in movies reinforces our belief in them. We unquestioningly think they’re true. We treat others in day-to-day life based on often incorrect stereotypes.

This is what you should take away:

Stereotypes are not a good thing. They do not promote harmony within our country. They divide the “United” States. Stereotyping in media = widespread belief of stereotypes = angry stereotyped people & hardcore believers who will not see things in any other light.

If you find yourself stereotyping someone (and we all do it. I do it. All the time. So do you.), take a step back and ask yourself why. Why do you believe this? Is there evidence to back it up, or is all of your evidence anecdotal? And how might your stereotype be a bad thing?

By combatting stereotypes in real life as well as in the media, we can facilitate better understanding between people and cultures. We can make a nicer world in general.

So stop with the stereotypes.

Filed Under: Civic Issues · Tagged: civic issues, rcl1314, rclbrown, stereotypes

Paper Roses

Posted on April 2, 2014 · 3 Comments

I got tired of writing about art, so I decided to make some.

With the blessing of our lovely English teacher, I’ve sort of changed the topic of my passion posts. For the remaining few weeks of class, I’ll be making my own art projects instead of talking about the projects of others.

Now I know this is a bad habit, but I tend to by books about art projects without doing any of the projects. I waste money… with the intention of someday creating adorable little things. It’s a habit I can’t escape, not even in State College. So for this first project, I decided to finally create something from the book I bought maybe two months ago—paper roses.

Book pages are awesome for art projects. Whenever I see a cheap book with a good cover and nice pages, I know I can reuse it for something else. I took some book pages I’ve saved to make the roses… and can I just say that it’s weirdly satisfying to rip pages out of a book?

I wanted the rose petals to be sort of red, so I tried dying the pages in tea. I know you can stain paper to give it an “aged” look with black tea, so I was thinking that dark red tea might do the same… No. It doesn’t. It makes a mess. The paper was the same color. Lame.

Mixing acrylic paint with water, used a small spray bottle to color the pages green and red. This is something I’ve done before, and it works way better than the tea thing… I finally got the colors I wanted.

Next, I cut the paper into long strips, then wrapped them around floral wire to create the stem of the roses. There are some things in life that just shouldn’t be difficult. Wrapping paper around wire would seemingly fall into that category. It doesn’t. The paper doesn’t want to stay. You need glue. A lot of glue.

After that was finished, I cut some flower petal shapes from the red pages. These were pretty easy to make freehand—they looked like tiny, misshapen hearts. How romantic for a rose.

That was simple enough, but then came the gluing. More gluing. Maybe it’s because I craft a lot, but I have a surprisingly high tolerance for hot glue (this is surprising because I’m a wimp). Still, it’s really not pleasant to grunt and grimace because of your hot glue gun while sticking paper petals around a twisted wire. At this point, it didn’t really look much like a rose. Sort of disheartening.

But I guess something happened after a few more petals (and some leafy-looking things) because the end result was actually pretty cute. Not sure if you can tell, but I even sprayed them with a little bit of gold glittery stuff. They’re really nice in real life, but I could not for the life of me get a good picture of them. Still, here they are!

Though it was a lot of fun, I was tired and three was my limit. If I made more, I could create a rose vine. The floral wire is really flexible and I can make it any length, so I could wrap them around my bed post or something. I’m pretty proud of how they turned out.

Filed Under: Passion · Tagged: art, passion, rcl1314, rclbrown, roses

On the example issue brief

Posted on March 27, 2014 · Leave a Comment

Organization:

The organization was done pretty well. I thought it flowed coherently so that the reader knew exactly what the author was talking about.

Graphics:

I feel like the graphics were a little bit distracting. One was too small, the other was rather large, and both were blurry. However, the author did reference them and they did add to the overall message of the paper.

Persuasive?:

I’m not sure if I can say it convinced me, because as soon as I started reading the brief I already knew where I stood on the issue. If anything, it made me stronger in my convictions. And also, I’m not sure if this was exactly advocating for a policy change… I feel like there could have been an actual argument to change something instead of an agreement to keep things the same.

What I learned:

One thing I learned what that you really, really need to proof read. This is me being nit-picky, but I saw a few (only a few!) typos. Since we’re posting these on the internet for everyone to see, though, I feel like they have to be better than good.

Also, the graphics were a bit distracting. The picture of Texas could have been centered (at least) or enlarged, and the other graph was slightly blurry. I think for this issue brief, we have enough time to try and counter those problems.

What I liked was how coherent it was. If you didn’t particularly understand the issue, then you would have had at least a basic grasp after reading this. It was simple in a way that still informed you.

Filed Under: RCL · Tagged: issue brief, rcl, rcl1314, rclbrown

Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts

Posted on March 26, 2014 · 4 Comments

In the summer of 1967, nine days in July were dedicated to a celebration of the arts. You could walk around downtown and view art that was good, not-so-good, and all levels in between. Musicians performed for you around campus or downtown, and if you wanted, you could even buy kittens (not sure why, but that sounds pretty cool).

That year started the tradition of State College’s annual Art Festival. Nowadays, over 100,000 people come to downtown State College and around campus in order to participate. There are sidewalk sales and exhibitions as well as musical performers of international, national, and regional scale. They even have a giant sand sculpture (which, in my opinion, is the only reason you need to go to such a festival.)

What would an art blog be without the mention of an arts festival that takes place in our own sweet college town? Okay, okay… I don’t even live around here. I’ve never actually been to this festival before, but I’m seriously considering coming up with a few friends just to experience it. With all this talk about bringing the community together through art, it would be silly if I didn’t mention (and then attend) an event that literally brings a community together through art.

Obviously, there is a lot for you to look at. The art in the galleries is categorized into areas such as “overall winner,” “viewer’s choice,” “award of merit,” and “damn you’re good.” You’re allowed to gawk at these humanly wonders and puzzle through the judges’ thought processes (since the levels of art are so far above your own, you have absolutely no idea what constitutes a winner’s work).

If you so choose, you can also decide to participate in a 10 mile, 10k, or 5k race (but why would you so choose??). This is a tradition that started in ’75 and is actually really popular, even though running for fun would seem like an unpopular thing to do. There is no prize specified on the festival event’s page, but I can imagine that you earn your sweat as well as the curious stares of those sane enough not to run with you.

You can attend a community sing-along, where people who “cannot carry a tune in a bucket” are encouraged to come. Pictures show attendees sitting cross-legged on the ground. It is said to be a joyous, disharmonious occasion.

And oh, the things you can buy!

If you’re between the ages of 8 and 18, you’re allowed to man your own booth and sell your art (providing you live in the general area, of course). This encourages the young’uns to stay creative and even get some money for the work they make. The interesting part is that everything has to be made by the artists—there are no kits allowed. If you’re buying something from the Children and Youth sidewalk sale, just know that your stuff is legit.

Not only that, but there are more things, such as: ceramics, glass work, leather work, jewelry, pottery, drawings, instruments, paper, and wood, among others. It’s a smorgasbord of income-depleting artsy items you shouldn’t buy but know you will.

Overall, I’ve heard fantastic things about the Arts Festival, and I’m really looking forward to attending it this summer.

Filed Under: Passion · Tagged: art, passion, rcl1314, rclbrown

The problem with Whitewashing

Posted on March 20, 2014 · 4 Comments

Before I start: if you have the time, please check out this video (it’s short and actually really cute) about stereotypes of Africans in the Western media. It’s about changing perspectives and it’s definitely worth a watch.

Do you know what whitewashing is? If so, good for you. If not, I’ll take a moment to explain.

Whitewashing boils down to one thing: you take a character that should be one race, and you replace that character with a white person.

For example, there is a book by Justine Larbalestier that features a black protagonist. When the book first came out, the cover featured a Caucasian female. The publishers quickly fixed this problem, but it still drew a lot of backlash.

The first Dragonball movie to ever come out had white actor as Goku (and I can guarantee you there was a collective sigh from the Asian community when we found this out).

In Avatar: The Last Airbender—the main characters were white. The villains were people of ethnicity. Not white? You can be a bad guy. Not exactly what we’re going for.

Even Katniss from “The Hunger Games” was supposed to be not-white. In the book, she is described as having dark, olive skin and grey eyes. Jennifer Lawrence is an amazing actress, but with her blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale skin, she doesn’t quite fit the bill (though she was a bit tanner in the second film).

I could go on for ages. Even though whitewashing is still prevalent now, it was even worse in the past. A 1937 film version of “The Good Earth” (it takes place in China, with… well… Chinese characters) was portrayed by an all-white cast. By that, I mean that every single actor was white. They used heavy makeup to portray the characters as Asian (called yellowface), but that is essentially the same as blackface (and we’ve all realized that blackface is a no-no). “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” had Mickey Rooney portraying a Japanese man with so many stereotypes it should make your head spin. Oh, was it bad.

So what gives? Why is Hollywood taking PoC (people of color) and replacing them with Caucasian actors and actresses? Well, at its heart is a single argument: People don’t want to read books unless someone white is on the cover. People won’t watch movies unless the main character is white. Someone read between the lines: roles of ethnicity just don’t sell.

Is this true? Well, I guess we’ll never know. There haven’t been enough non-white movies to tell.

Whitewashing is bad, especially when the subject matter the movies draw from was Asian to begin with. If we can’t cast an Asian lead in Dragonball or Akira or The Last Airbender, what hope is there for Asian leads in mainstream Hollywood films? What hope is there for a fully developed character being the lead in the film… who just happens to be black, or Spanish, or Latino, or Indian? What is the hope of actual representation?

This all ties in with racism. Because there are so few movies or shows with Asian or PoC leads, when (by some miracle) we actually do get these shows and movies, there tends to be massive criticism. For example, even though Rue in The Hunger Games was clearly written to be black, a lot of people were surprised and angered by the young actress’s skin color. When the information was released the Michael B. Jordan (a black actor) would be playing the human torch in a Fantastic Four reboot (traditionally played by a white actor), the internet blazed with indignation and backlash. But why? When we whitewash characters, we hear a very small amount of criticism, if any. When we reverse things, we’re upset that we’re not staying true to the story line. Something doesn’t click there.

Have you heard of Wong Fu Productions? They’re a (really funny) group of popular Youtubers who happen to be Asian-American. Their friends often star in their short films (and their friends are often AA as well). Their videos get a lot of ignorant comments. “Why is everyone Asian?” is just as common- and just as inappropriate– as “slanty eyes.” I mean, how often do you watch a movie and ask yourself, “Why is everyone here white?” The content of the movie, show, or book should be more important than the ethnicity of the characters. If it’s funny, meaningful, poignant, well written… why does it matter if it’s not white?

Whitewashing ultimately accomplishes nothing. What it implies is that different ethnicities will not be popular with viewers. It cuts back the chances for potentially talented actors and actresses to have their time on the big screen. It can promote racism. If we really want to progress with our acceptance of other cultures (or, you know, not alienate half of America), giving these actors and actresses a chance to star in films, movies, or on the covers of books is a good step.

Filed Under: Civic Issues · Tagged: civic issues, race, racism, rcl1314, rclbrown, whitewashing

Museums and more

Posted on March 20, 2014 · Leave a Comment

I would be remiss if I didn’t write, at least once, about the Palmer Museum of Art. It’s the most obvious place to go on campus if you’re in an artistic mood, and though it’s not street art or graffiti, it still provides an interesting look at a variety or art.

Opened in 1972, this art museum has been steadily adding to its collection of permanent works. It originally only had three galleries, but after the expansion was completed in 1993 there were ten more (wow!) galleries added. In 2002 there was one more expansion, and now the museum has huge galleries to share the rotating prints and an auditorium to seat a small body of people.

The permanent collection of the art museum has a huge variety of pictures to view. You can view paintings from different periods and eras by many different artists. It’s pretty awesome. You won’t find Banksy or anyone, but this is the kind of art you learn about in class, where you appreciate the brush techniques and analyze the symbolism.

At the Palmer Museum, you’ll find American and European paintings, prints, and sculptures. There are Asian ceramics, jade, and paintings. Everything from far back to contemporary. It’s basically a smorgasbord for your eyes to feast upon.

If you haven’t visited already or gone there for some sort of class project, then you definitely should. Admission is free, they offer tours, and it’s just cool to say that you visited the museum at least once during your entire stay at State College. Even if you absolutely hate art, it’s a nice experience, and the fact that it’s so close to us on campus means that you’d have to actively avoid it in order to not go.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not usually a fan of this traditional art. It’s very important, it showcases history, styles, or techniques…. but that doesn’t make me like it any more. (I understand those of you who aren’t into street art. Or any kind of art. Same feeling, really). I like Monet sometimes, I at least know who Picasso, Van Gogh, and de Vinci are, but I love finding something surprising in a place you least expect it, made by ordinary people like you and me. However, I still believe that finding art in everyday life can be amazing… and if you’re not in the mood to go seeking it out for yourself, visiting a museum like Palmer’s is a great way to get your art on.

Filed Under: Passion · Tagged: art, passion, rcl1314, rclbrown

Dreams Take Flight

Posted on March 5, 2014 · 1 Comment

One of my favorite murals downtown is located at 100 West Calder way, on the corner of Allen Street. The side of McClanahan’s (the big one that’s not a straight shot from the Dorito Church) is covered with a one block long canvas, showing an amazing array of inspirational ideas. It always struck me as a little odd location-wise, since I find most alleys creepy, but at the same time it brings a welcome dose of cheerfulness to the otherwise bland street. It’s one hundred and seventy feet of pure not-as-uninteresting-as-before art!

Guess who thought this bad boy up? Pilato, again. With the help of more than five hundred people over the course of a year, Natalia and the community painted sections of a mural that looks absolutely fantastic when finally put together. Its ultimate goal was to display the community’s hopes and dreams for State College. Made from the collaborative ideas of many, and featuring some ideas from winners of a poetry contest, the mural shows many things: a flying fish, light blue skies, a hot air balloon, blossoming trees, instruments with wings, a variety of country’s flags, state college landmarks floating on clouds, and throughout all, an array of bright and vibrant colors. I’m not completely sure why a feathered saxophone represents our hope for State College, and I’m not sure why so many people interviewed said they could relate to the mural and its gravity-defying objects, but seems like “achieve your dreams and fly away with them” is as good an answer as anything else. At any rate, it’s pretty interesting to take in, and definitely easier on the eyes than a bare concrete wall.

The cool thing about this project is, once again, that it brought the community together. I think it even went a little bit further than the previous murals. This time, the big unveiling included a super cool dance group (how sorry are you that you missed that?), free food, and a feeling of love and happiness while standing next to kindred souls (I might be speculating on that part). Seriously, though, the whole community had a chance to be involved- the mural was even paint-by-number for the not-so-artistic folk to still be able to help out. I think that’s pretty amazing.

The point I’ve been trying to make with these posts over the past few weeks, if you don’t understand because I haven’t already beaten it into you with my more-than-slightly redundant paragraphs, is that art is pretty nice to look at and pretty beneficial for the community. Whether you really like it or not, it’s here and it’s not going to leave. So you might as well take a second or two to scrape your eyes away from your phone and your latest (pathetic) achievement at Flappy Bird and look around!

Filed Under: Passion · Tagged: art, murals, passion, rcl1314, rclbrown