I created this piece to represent both the art and chemistry aspects of ChemVAS. I painted the C and the background to imitate the famous painting "The Starry Night" by Vincent van Gogh. The H is two test tubes, the E is a paint palette, the M is two hazard signs, the V is a triangular ruler, the A is a painting easel, and the S is a string of DNA. To make this, I experimented with several different features of the art program, such as oil paint brushes, crayon brushes, transparent images, layers, and transforming.

In this assignment, we were given an element from the periodic table and asked to create a piece of art representing our element, my element being Lithium (Li). To develop ideas for my piece, I composited 3 different prototype sketches based on my research about lithium (see above). I ultimately decided to make my final piece based on the fact that lithium is an alkali metal used in antidepressant pills.

One of the things I struggled with was how wide and flowing the streaks of silver bursting out of the lithium pill should be, while on the other hand I’m very pleased with how the glowing brain and smiley faces turned out. In my piece, I demonstrated the principles of movement and emphasis, in the way the silver streaks flowed around the page and how it emphasizes it’s source: the lithium pill altering the brain. I learned about and used a variety of tools for this piece, such as the brush, the select tool, the blur tool, and layer altering. If I could change anything, I would have pick my colors beforehand, as I sometimes struggled with how different colors clashed with each other. However, overall I am happy how it turned out.

In this project, we learned all about sculpting, glazing, and firing clay. We were given a random element and asked to make a tile representing that element including it's symbol and atomic number. The process of making ceramics is deeply entwined with chemistry, especially in the firing process. When bisque firing, there is a specific stage called sintering. As a result of clay losing its water, it loses its bonding agent. Instead, the red hot clay particles bond together. This is because the clay particles are now smaller and less rigid.

One problem I had was the final colors and spreading of glaze. It was hard to tell what the final piece would look like because of the colors of the glaze before and after firing. I also had a problem with the quantity of glaze. I knew too little glaze could make the color hard to see, so I put too many layers of yellow glaze on my atomic number. Because of this, the glaze presumably spread and spilled out onto the rest of the tile.

In Visual Art, we did a deep dive on tattoos. We learned how they worked, their history, and different styles of tattoos. Then, we focused on designing our own tattoos, figuring out the designs, styles, and symbolisms of our tattoos.

In Visual Art, we practiced several charcoal drawings in several different styles, learning new techniques in value, shading, blending, shape, defined lines, scale, and proportion.

In ELA, we were meant to demonstrate our understanding of different forms of figurative language through a presentation. I created a poem, with each stanza defining and giving an example of one or two forms of figurative language. Then, I memorized and recited this poem in class.

For our PBL project, Deeply Rooted, we were asked to write a poem that represents us and our culture. Each line would start with "I am," and within it we would talk about everything that we felt represented us. We also created concrete poems out of them, which are poems that organize words and lines to make a shape. We also recorded audio of us reciting the poem after scanning the QR code.

In World Lit/Comp, we are reading The Joy Luck Club. As a part of our comprehension of the book's themes and symbols, we were split into groups and assigned specific chapters we had to explain to the rest of the class in a presentation. My group was assigned the chapters "Scar" and "The Red Candle," so we first summarized the chapters and then talked about the symbolism found inside. Finally, we solidified the facts within our audiences' minds by having them play a KAHOOT game.

When it comes to the overall group project experience, I think many things went well while some things did not. One thing that went well was the group reading of both chapters, in which every member of the group was invested and interested in the contents of the chapters. The planning phase also went fairly well with most members providing helpful suggestions and input. However, the part of actually working on the slideshow, and especially working outside of class time, proved difficult for all the members including myself. Much of the group barely touched the slideshow itself, though 2 or 3 members and I did step up and work on the slideshow afterschool. I worked very well like this compared to trying to manage a group of 7 other people. However, I honestly prefer working alone in projects. If I had to choose between teaching the class and reading the book myself separately, I would have to vehemently suggest reading the book separately.

On March 16, 2023, I finally published my book, Camp Felicity: It Happened on Day One. I wrote it throughout fall semester, planning, writing, and editing while learning about character design, plot design, grammar, and more. Above is the cover I designed on Canva, including a title, my name, an about the author section, and a synopsis.

You can purchase Camp Felicity: It Happened on Day One on Amazon here!

We are currently learning about various ancient civilizations and how they operated. In today’s project, we were split into two groups and asked to do two different tasks: make a mud brick and make a bamboo structure.

For the mud brick, we dug up dirt and grass/straw and mixed it with water a little bit at a time. Then, we packed the mixture into a wooden mold, and pulled it off leaving the brick. I noticed that the ratio of mud and straw/grass was very important and hard to get right, as we used too much mud and the brick was trying to fall apart when we lifted the mold.

For the bamboo structure, we used bamboo sticks, yarn, and a knife to make our structure. We cut the sticks with the knife and stuck them into the ground, tying sticks at the joints with the yarn. This relates to our other classes as well, as we are currently studying various mythos in ELA and pottery techniques in Art.

In this lab, we created our own acrylic pour art. We experimented with making different paints different densities by mixing them with glue and/or alcohol. For my acrylic pour art, I used shades from yellow to light blue and large amounts of black. My initial pour consisted of pouring my first bright color into a cup, pouring a small amount of black on top of that, then pouring my next color, adding a thin layer of black between each color. After pouring onto the canvas, I moved the paint around and dripped excess off into a container. I later noticed that in the top left corner, as well as in little specks around the canvas, yellow and black spots started to rise out of the paint. This made me believe that yellow and black are my least dense pigments, as they rose to the top above the heavier and denser paints.

For our Unit 3 project, we were each assigned to read specific chapters of the book The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean. We were then meant to create a poster, song, trailer, soundtrack, etc. that represented the chapters we were assigned. I was given the chapters 9 and 10, named Poisoner's Corridor and Take Two Elements, Call Me In The Morning respectively. I especially enjoyed reading Poisoner's Corridor, detailing instances of how various elements can and have attacked peoples' bodies and how they took over. This chapter inspired my poster, which portrays the silhouette of an assassin creating a gun with her fingers and shooting into the air. I put the iconic caution tape in the foreground, as well as the lines and measurements of a mugshot backdrop behind the assassin. I also added a neon green and yellow glow to everything. I explained the topics of both chapters, my opinions on the chapters, and my poster in the video above.