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Theo Smith
Theo Smith
Who are you as a writer? How does your writing define you?
I'm a very sentimental and attentive writer. I'm always trying to include symbolism and or deep meanings in my text to leave the reader with there own interpretations. I also try to emotionally connect with my pieces in a form of anguish and loss. My writing always intervenes and connects with my life, one way or another. It's often shown as bubbly or gloomy because as a writer with OCD and Tourette's my pieces can become one way and or dark, because, writing isn't about standards it's about what you as the writer, want to achieve. My writing often spots me as perplexed and confusing but, i'm able as a struggling person to write and stage events close to home and have an out of the ordinaru story. In reality I'm very social but with writing it's manifests itself into a euphria of either meaning or the unkown.
When did you start writing?
I've always been writing, ever since a little kid trying to create stories and or plays that fall between the category of new and weird. I really started to amp things up in middle school, because I was in a horrible state of mind and writing was a way of escape but, also a place of acceptance. It didn't matter what you wrote, as long as in my eyes it changed even one persons perspective of story telling. Through the years I really tried to focus on creating a place to add meaning, and placing clues and foreshadows that always end with, purpose.
Is there anything you want to say to the people who read your piece's?
What is your muse?
My muse is often in a place of distress or peace. I'm usually writing with my poetry journal and a black ball point pen. Starting, by joting down ideas in a creative state of mind. I enjoy being in nature and or next to beautiful architectural buildings. Which help me pick unique settings. I'm always glancing and grazing places and taking a look at everyday people, and using their appearance to structure and assemble a persons story. These people and surronding motivate me to piece together an anecdote.
Lost Love
Red is convoluted color
Red is convoluted color
Thinking of red is very straight forward
Thinking of red is very straight forward
For my fellow acquaintances
For my fellow acquaintances
But Red is much more problematic
But Red is much more problematic
Red feels like a refurbished heart sewn together
Red feels like a refurbished heart sewn together
With the threads of love and anger.
With the threads of love and anger.
The taste of spice and the feeling of euphoria.
The taste of spice and the feeling of euphoria.
A lifeless pin pulled from a single grenade,
A lifeless pin pulled from a single grenade,
Bouncing back at you
Bouncing back at you
Bursting with energy yet pouring blood
Bursting with energy yet pouring blood
An inescapable solution that
An inescapable solution that
Either ends in anguish or animosity
Either ends in anguish or animosity
But, for me I say red is just a magnet
But, for me I say red is just a magnet
Forcing us all to be in situations that
Forcing us all to be in situations that
Fabricate the lives of victims
Fabricate the lives of victims
Has the pandemic changed the way you write?
The pandemic necassarily hasn't changed my writing directly, but through this long awaited pandemic it's truly made me question my writing and made me think how I can make the piece go further. My writing has always taken me awhile to finalize, but having this time and watching what's going on has made me distant yet close in a way.
Jude Wolf
Jude Wolf
Who are you as an artist?
Hmmm, well I have always loved doing mixed media pieces. I have been making collages since I was 7. But now most of the art I make is a combination of collage and traditional mediums. For the most part it is the reflection of my identity.
Has the pandemic affected your art?
Because of the pandemic, I have had much more time to create art, which I was always lacking in the past. I got to try and experiment in so many new ways which I loved. I also enjoy working at home more then at school for the most part, because I do not like showing unfinshed work or art teachers telling me what to do. So that has been nice with the pandemic.
What would you do in a world without art? How would you react?
Well they say without art Earth is just 'eh'. I think it would be bland and depressing. Art is everywhere, most people don't notice it. In landscaping, architecture, furniture, clothing, food, literature, entertainment, literally everything. So many people wouldn't have anyway to express themselves, no way to enjoy themselves. And even people who don't create would be bored, because nobody is anything in a world without art.
When did you start drawing?
In middle and elementary school we'd have to do drawings for assignments for art, and it was funny becuase everyone made fun of me for my drawings, becuase they were pretty bad. But I just kept going and finally im starting to like the art I create!
Do you have a certain spot or area where you create your piece's?
Really just my room where I can be alone. I work on the floor for the most part haha becuase I usually have so many materials that can't fit on any table.
Does any one inspire you to keep making piece's?
The only person I can think of is my aunt. She is an artist who teaches drawing at Stanford and we are similiar in a lot of ways. But for the most part I just feel an urge to keep creating that keeps me going.
What would you say to someone who looks at a piece of art?
It's fine not to like somehting or not wanting to hang it in your house, but just because you don't like someone's art doesn't make them a bad artist. There is also no good or bad art, it's all perspective. Also, there is not always a deep meaning in art, so no need to go searching for one.
Fiona Lake
Fiona Lake
As a writer who, is Fiona Lake?
I'm someone who can only write at certain times, I cant just sit down and write it has to hit me.
How has writing influenced you? Hurt you? Guided you?
Writing itself hasn't changed me, I know thats werid to say but I've always felt like words aren't something you change, you just fit them together like a puzzle and if you're lucky they do the same for you. As for what inspires me, like I said I can't just sit down and write and the reason for that is that I've struggled a lot with mental health and with that came numbness, and so when I feel something it's channeled through words.
What is your muse?
My muse, it's so cheesy but life, the way we live is so beautiful and there's never enough lines to fit all of it in.
Do you ever wish to have consistency in your wirting?
Not really. I think that writing is one of those things that comes into your life when you need it, and you can be grateful for it and love it but there are times when words won't come and your life is too busy to sit down and that's ok.
Honey and Hair
I believe god is always be true The wind in my hair and honey in my earsThere is no worries with the radio blasting And the stretch of your vocal chords as you scream along To the wonderful feeling Of honey in your earsAnd your head out of the car window Raising your hands to the sky An appreciation of life Of a god you do not know There is no god When the wind is in your hair For you are the god Of the road so empty And the stars so bright And the words of the honey in your eas The words you scream till highest nightTill your vocal chords give out And the tune changes to molasses In your ears Slow, but sweet And you roll up your windowBecause god has reappeared And the wind in your hair has gone You let the molasses lull you to sleep And let your god untangle your hair Because when you wake upI know you'll believe The honey in your ears And the breeze on your scalp You'll believe you were a god That will always be true Honey and Hair
Has the pandemic given you time to sit down and write or has it made it impossible to write?
I would say neither, the thing that really got me to write was creative writing during the pandemic. Correlation not causation.
What was so special about creative wrting that made you keep writing?
I mean first off Mr.Clark could convince a donkey to write without pissing it off so that was a contributing factor. And another would be that there were 3 hours a week only deditcated to writing with prompts or without and you just don't get that time normally.
Simone Rubio
Simone Rubio
Who are you as an artist?
Who are you as an artist?
As both an artist and author I think similar to a lot of other people, I do my art for myself. I try not to focus on others opinions, on little things, because most of what I do wasn't meant to be for the public eye in the first place. That being said if I am writing or creating with intent to share, I try and create something from the heart for me in the beginning then start the fine tune.
What is your muse?
Weird fact but I was named after Simone de Beauvoir, so I just always pulled my inspiration from knowing that . Not her so much, but more of the idea that I could possibly be like her one day. As I grew up it started to grow more into what I was noticing around me, wether that be a push for social change or something as simple as a butter knife or someone I see across the street. I think it's important to open your mind to everything to have a wider variety of muses of inspiration.
If you can say one thing to Simone de Beauvoir, what would that question be?
I'd probably ask her what her writing did for her. Not a materialistic sense but in an emotional sense and in personal growth. So many people around the world know her and her work, but I'm curious about the behind the scenes.
Has you're writing been affected by the pandemic? Good, bad or neither of those?
At first I don't think my writing was really affected at all, but as time progressed and little had changed I noticed a change in my mental health and in turn my writing. It became sadder and reflected the feelings of being trapped and anxiety a lot more than before.
As a writer, do you love the change or hate the change?
I think it definitely has helped me deal with the world around me as it has changed. I think every type of writing is a useful tool and an art that can really help you get out of your head or dive deeper into it. Sometimes I miss the way my writing use to be, but now I think my current writing has helped me grow a lot as a person and an artist.
Pending Surrogacy
The danger here is that maybe I won’t be able to find another person to love who will love me and all my flaws back. The danger here is that I will continue to miss this boy even if I find another person who makes me happy, because will it be the same happy? Will I be ok without the one person who has fought tooth and nail to make me feel ok? The danger here is that my happiness isn’t coming from me, but that I’ve placed too many good emotions in this one person and if I don’t hold onto him will he take all of my happiness away? The danger here is that we part ways, as we will for college and he runs directly into the arms of someone else… someone I know. The danger here is that I will not be able to do anything without him crossing my mind. The danger here is that when I open my phone and stumble upon old pictures I will text or call myself into a grave I already have one foot in. The danger here is that more danger will come once we part ways. The danger here is that what happened to my sister and Mason will happen to me and him. Promising to stay friends only to stop speaking over a minor inconvenience that doesn’t seem so minor, or like much of an inconvenience, but more like a hatchet to the abdomen. I write that as if I have any clue what being hacked in half would feel like… but emotionally hacked is a different demon, and that demon has reared its ugly face one too many times. The danger here will crush me if I let it. Pending Surrogacy
Rita Pafumi
Rita Pafumi
Who are you as an artist?
I am a keeper of time. I hold onto the pockets and corners of it, through words, stories, photos, videos, whatever else I can get my hands on. I create not just because I want to but because I have to. There's simply to many words, too many I deas flying around in my head, in my heart and all I'm left with is the process of emptying out both. Somewhere. Anywhere. So, I have to create. I have to put that nonstop energy somewhere, or else I might combust. But more than anything, I want to create. I want to create ways to hold onto the magnificent and the candid and the sorry moments, so I don't ever dare forget them. I fear my own memory, so I write everything down. So I film every mundane moment. I've made an art out of capturing life passing by. Keeping time. I want to be able to see how years flew by and how people aren't the same the same as they were a few months ago and how things changed and how things didn't, unitl eventually I just have a never ending collection of documented moments. For me. For everyone else. For no reason at all. For loving the way things twist and turn. For finding a way not only to observe the natural order of chaos, but to transform it into something beautiful, into time worth keeping.
Self Stabbing Cupid
Self Stabbing Cupid selfishly saves away his arrows for the quieter hours of the night.
A bloodbath Cupid sits in,His front and back ache With the the scars and cuts of his own arrows, Punctured with his own hands.The blood stains letters that have gone undelivered, The lists of lovers who have remained lonely.Wasting away his talents in self pity.Cupid has unlearned love, and now is drunk on pain.Without the hurt he might be helpful.But Cupid can’t stand to pierce the hearts of those who are happiest, So he shuts off in a cell of his own making. Calls solitude: solace. The bow doesn’t work one way, The bow doesn’t work with self gain.Self Stabbing Cupid wins nothing.No lovers come his way. No lovers move at all.Stagnant are the unknowing clients who have been forgotten by their unknowing savior.the world full of lonely lovers,Beckoning at the Absent Cupid’s feet.
Will he heal his wounds, save his bows, and sober up for the morning?Or will he stay drunk on pain through the night and let his cuts bleed out?
Self Stabbing Cupid selfishly saves away his arrows for the quieter hours of the night.
A bloodbath Cupid sits in,His front and back ache With the the scars and cuts of his own arrows, Punctured with his own hands.The blood stains letters that have gone undelivered, The lists of lovers who have remained lonely.Wasting away his talents in self pity.Cupid has unlearned love, and now is drunk on pain.Without the hurt he might be helpful.But Cupid can’t stand to pierce the hearts of those who are happiest, So he shuts off in a cell of his own making. Calls solitude: solace. The bow doesn’t work one way, The bow doesn’t work with self gain.Self Stabbing Cupid wins nothing.No lovers come his way. No lovers move at all.Stagnant are the unknowing clients who have been forgotten by their unknowing savior.the world full of lonely lovers,Beckoning at the Absent Cupid’s feet.
Will he heal his wounds, save his bows, and sober up for the morning?Or will he stay drunk on pain through the night and let his cuts bleed out?
What is your drive or your muse to make art?
It's instinct, my gut, it's my very nature of being. I couldn't stop if i wanted to. And my muse is everything and everyone. I am consistently inspired by the world around me in its duality of the ugly and the beautiful. But more than anything, my muse is love. The complexities of it, the science of it, the diversity inside of it. The love I give away and the love I receive is more than enough insparation.
What if love died?
Love wouldn't. But if you're pulling my leg, I would proably write about the abscence of it. About people. About what's missing.
How has the pandemic affected your art?
It depends on what branch of art you're asking about. For theatre it's affected me and my relationship to that artform drastically. For months I've been missing the ability to perform, to be on stage, to collaborate with people. I'm homesick for a good play, so as an actress, I'm falling behind. However as a writer,, not much has changed. At first I couldn't write at all, I was in too much shock to put pen to paper, but now that some time has passed, I find that I write just as much, it not more now. There is still plenty to write about. Even when the world is turned upside down, my muses don't budge. I make what I can, where I can, and try not to worry about when I can't. I've just had to get a bit more creative with the way I spend my time and energy, but there's nothing like a good challenge as an artist. Perhaps things were just getting too simple.
Maggie Young
Maggie Young
18 years old
What type of art do you make? How would you define it?
I enjoy photography, writing, and learning new ways to make art. I define my art by saying it tells stories for others in a new way. To me successful art is being able to let people leave the world for just a minute and enjoy a new universe.
What is your motivation to make art?
Wanting myself to escape or come to terms with something that has happened to me. Then there's the need to help others do the same if they're also dealing with something difficult.
How has the pandemic affected your art?
Good it just furthers my drive for my art plus you know way more free time.
So your desire to make art increased?
Yeah. You're just stuck in your house, all you want to do is go outside so I made art that let me go outside per se.
Who are you as an artist?
I'd like to say a very original artist? But I just don't know unless someone tells me what I am. So according to the world I am a very creative, odd, lazy, enjoyable and terrible artist.
What would you say to future artist?
Always be ashamed of your past mistakes and learn from them. I would also say the only person you have control over is yourself, so you only have to blame yourself if you were unsatisfied with some thing.
Any advice to the reader?
Please keep looking at art even if you hate it becuase you will have at least made an artist feel very important and special when you look at what they made.
Conrad Demmon
Conrad Demmon
17 years old
What is your art?
I honestly dont know. It's eclectic.
What inspired you to make this art?
Well that's a picture from me and my freinds hanging out(above) so I guess the connection I have with them made me make it.
What would you name your pieces?
I haven't really thought about naming it but if I was to name it I think it would be something like mob-82.
Would you continue to make more pieces of art like these one's?
Yes, of course. I make stuff like that all the time. When im bored I just find pictures of my freinds and destroy them.
Oliva Kelly
Oliva Kelly
17 years old
When did you start drawing?
Oh man.. I drew a majority of my childhood, but I didn't get really serious about it unti around middle school.
What inspired you to start drawing?
I grew up aorund my dad and my grandpa who are both artists so I'd say that's where I was mainly inspired. But, I did end up branching off into animation after loving it as a kid.
What do you love about drawing animations?
For me it's the fact thay you're not constrained to reality. If you can imagine it and draw it, it can exist in animation. Animation breaks all the rules, and that's why I love it so much.
Naomi Madronero
Naomi Madronero
17 years old
What is your art style?
I'd say my art leans more towards realism and portraits. I love sketching people and faces, a lot of my work centers around the human body. I'm always trying to find ways to bring 2D faces and bodies to life. So far all of my work is traditional art, so acrylic, graphite, charcoal, watercolor, markers, ect. But I would like to explore digital art as well.
Has the pandemic affected you're drawing?
Definitely. You would expect that with all the time in quarantine I'd have so much time making art and just expressing myself when in reality it was quite the opposite. Something about being pent up inside the house and just feeling down in the dumps had me going through one of the biggest/longest art blocks I've had yet. I was restless and unmotivated and I would try forcing myself to get back into it but it wouldn't translate well into my work, so eventually I stopped for a while. You can't force art. I think there's probably a correlation between the mental state of the artist and the quality of their work, so while I was feeling isolated and confused you could see the same things in my works.
What motivates you to draw?
I get lots of motivations to draw. I like seeing trivial, ordinary things and wondering how I would recreate it with an artist's eye, just to show that there's beauty in simple things. Sometimes it's the process itself that motivates me. That period of time between a blank canvas and a fully finished art piece is a long time, it's a calming experience (sometimes not) and it's when I feel I'm in my element.
Maximilaino Murray
Age 17
My goal is to spread some love and positivity during these crazy times. In this featured page you will read poetry in its purest form, you will gaze at insane detailed portraits that mirror reality and some wicked photogarphy. I interview a new artist each week asking them, why? Why do they make art? What do they pursue with their art? What motivates them? I hope I can bring some good vibes into your life with this page. Enjoy!
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