poetry project

Name: These black tresses 


These black tresses

Dark like the hair of my native ancestors

Thick like blood that races through my skin


My hair is my identity

My hair is my profile

To forget where i came from i would have to be senile


As the blood of a Cherokee courses through my veins

I watch my hair fall  down my back like when it rains

my hair is my crown !



For me this is my history

To others it can be a mystery

But these dark tresses mean something deeply to me


As i watch it flow down my skin

Carelessly swaying in the wind

I can feel the deep lashes from within


The Jealousy and envy

All etched upon my skin  



Pencils

M.Stones



Pencils

  A three part poem


A Tool:


There is a fine tipped tool,

A tool used by,

Geniuses,


And Foools,


Made of pristine,

Incense,

Cedar Wood,

With graphite and led,

Used to write,

Books,

For cooks,

And stories,

For children in bed,


This tool can be sharpened,


This tool can erase,


This tool can be used as a weapon,

To eliminate a whole race,


This tool can start wars,

Writing blood shed into documents,

Recording historical events,

Of battles,

One and lost,

Lives taken away,

Nothing to see,

But a cross,


That happened,

In one place,


This tool can design,

Blueprints of buildings,

For Infrastructure and Sculpture

Line for Line,


This tool can draw,

A Beautiful picture,

That can depicture,


A flaw,


This tool enslaved men,

Passed laws to hang them,


This tool has been used by many artist,

And many creators,


This tool can spark minds in youth,

As it did mine,


This tool educates,

Students,

Across the world,


It's the number one most used tool in the world,

Yet it is always number,


Two







The art of the pencil:


A single pencil alone,

Can create the most,

Beautiful art,

A pencil alone,

In the hands of a creative mind,


Could create art that is unfathomable,


Speaking many stories,

Interpreting many meanings,

Sketches that turn into full blown portraits,

Drawing was the very first talent i was good at,

Something I could find sanctuary,

Without a worry in mind,

Is where,

I was at most of the time,

Taking myself to another place,


See it all starts with a pen,

Marker,

Crayon,

Or even chalk,


On the sidewalks that walk,

Or on the board,


With,

Ear,

Irritating,

Sounds,

That kept students bored,


But you,


Could only hear the sound of my pencil,

As i rapidly,

Drew monsters,

Characters,

Even students I didn't like,

As a creative expression,

That later helped me conquer depression,

It became my therapy session,


See this pencil is my obsession,

For the art I love now,

And that is a blessin,

The art of the pencil is so beautiful,

It even reflects oppression,


See art speaks many,

And even louder words,

That can be heard as the pencil,

Scribbles across the paper,

That most find absurd,


See you must master this pencil,


This pencil is a fine tipped tool,


That when past down,

Can be a stepping stool,


To another artist,

See the pencil,

Itself,

Is art itself,

That created itself,


Defining many things we know,

As art itself,


You yourself,

Are a piece of art,

Created by the lines of a stencil,

Created by the pencil,

Of man and woman,


You become,

The pencil,

That uses the world,

As a  sketchbook,

To be created how you look,

What you put into this world is art,

And you are the artist,

You are the pencil,

That soon will be broken,

If your mind isn't awoken,

To the hidden truth of your talent,

Be awoken to your own talents,

And find artistic balance,

In the pencil.




A broken pencil is a broken soul:


A broken pencil is a broken soul,

I put my soul into the,

Pen,

Pen,

Pencil,

That i write,

My poetry is my art,

That cannot be put into words,

My words,

Words,

Words,

Recite the poetry that i scripture,


A broken pen,

A broken pencil,

Is a broken soul,

When the love and hard work,

Comes from,

The led tipped,

7.5 inched,

Hexagonic,

Wooden,

Shaped tool,

That I use to,

Express that words,

I can't finesse,

Through my tongue,

Because it is guarded by the cat that took it,

My pencil is broken,

Because I lost the love i have,

To be an artist,


A poet,


A writer,

But that love cannot be lost,

Because what is lost can be found,

And what is found can be treasure,

The gold to the person who desires it,

In his heart,

The pencil i use is my art,

My soul is broken,

But my third eye is woken,

And write facts and spit them,

That got these fugazis choken,


My pen,

Pen,

Pencil is broken,

But some tape can fix,

Make all better,

But what's better,

Than a favorite pencil,

A NEW PENCIL?

Maybe,

But i don't feel like getting one,

Cause i'm lazy,

And cuz,

Writing with this pencil,

Gives my fingers that buz,

And i don't wanna lose that,

Feeling that once was,

The best feeling u could get,

Cause nothing satisfies me more,


Than drawing a complete picture,

Or a poem,

That gives a slight painful sensation,

That gives me quite the elation,

In my ring finger.


A broken pencil is a broken soul,

When you lose sight,

In what truly matters,

U and your talent,

And what you love is that light,

And it's beautiful,

To see fly off and sour in the wind,

Like a kite,


A broken pencil is a broken soul,

But you pick up that piece,

And keep writing,

And erasing,

Because nothing is ever broken,

When your mind is awoken.



Over The Hills

Dexter Le

10/16/17

Art 1

Artist statement portrait


My picture is complicated because of the colors in the scenery and the grasses. The scenery is vibrant with many colors, using Crayola colored pencils. The grasses stand out with a usage of ebony Prismacolor pencils, contrasting the green hills. The dark tree is to the left of the canvas; almost black. The dark sun that seems to only be absorbing the energy at the top right. The house in the middle, colored brightly for the reader to visually understand the meaning of home.


During Hurricane Harvey, a similar experience took place when the harsh raining nearly made visibility in front of me, impossible. However, I was able to see the forming rivers on my street, filling up slowly as if it were growing; a monstrous but illustrious experience.The hills are colored green. They could be seen for miles as the green stands out. The skies are lightful and they seem to like it’s glowing. The viewer would instantly know that the hills are green, and the skies were blue. Yet in the back, rests humanoid figures. Standing on top of the hill, behind the colorful skies, a story begins to play. I’ve made this story through Crayola colored pencils, graphite pencils, ebony Prismacolor pencils, and an eraser. I trace the canvas precisely with my pencil, so the viewer would understand that every line I carved into the paper; have to mean. Colors had to mean in my portrait. The green is supposed to symbolize the life in the world, the dark grasses to symbolize the dark. I used this technique, of coloring in lightly then tampering it with darker colors so that the objects of the canvas stood out to the viewer.


After analyzing a lot of painters, I’ve found a way to make the artist’s message stand out more. This technique consisted of doing very light strokes and using heavy strokes every so often; this was not perfected. I’ve gradually learned through trial and error. I’ve made a lot of mistakes, such as directing the attention to the side with lighter colors or making the sky way too dark. I’ve gone through many improvisations along the way. I’ve decided to continue this drawing style, darkening the foreground and light backgrounds, because of my experiences that I’ve witnessed through Hurricane Harvey; fully dedicated to the event. I wasn’t able to see outside due to the heavy rain yet the flooded streets stood out entirely. Almost as if it were a flowing river. I’ve decided to maintain that drawing style because it gave me more freedom to manually express myself. The color changes in the portrait give it a special theme. It looks bright at first until you start staring even more. An almost eerie sensation reveals later on as you continue the stare. Many questions begin to form as you continue, however, this is one of the many benefits; I love the drawing technique that I created during the process of this portrait. It allowed me to precisely trace my lines on the canvas and ability to color in easily.



I started my portrait off with coloring the background and foreground lightly. After that, I used a slightly darker color to fill in the foreground. I proceeded with minor details using a dark pencil to make the grass, the flowers, and the tree stand out. It develops contrast when comparing it to the light backgrounds because the ebony Prismacolor pencils are extremely dark. Making the correct marks on the portrait, I begin merging the light colors with the dark. I did this by rubbing my fingers on the portrait, smudging the dark colors with the light colors. Finally, I went back into my portrait to highlight the background by using a yellow color pencil. The yellow colored pencil easily contrasted with the blue skies. The technique of an art piece is extremely crucial to the artist. It allows the observer, the viewer, to understand the artwork and interpret it in their own eyes. Their eyes will translate your picture, your message, into something that is understandable only to them. What inspired me to the paint this way was from Darko Tolapski’s painting, Forest by the Lake. I was browsing the internet during my time in Houston, Texas, and found a painting that stood out. It was a lake that seemed to be glowing in my eyes, the foreground was nearly nonexistent. I wanted to mimic that same experience in this portrait, completely voiding the foreground and background.


If I had one thing to change about this work, I would definitely include more usage of other materials. I was having thoughts and relapses of including charcoal to signify the darkness even more, however, I thought the ebony pencil was great enough. With the changes that I would’ve wanted, I was happy overall with this work. I was able to communicate my message and my experience through a major transition in my life. I want this artwork to communicate the struggles of life. Although there is an eerie feel to the portrait, I’ve had terrifying experiences recently. I wanted the white humanoid characters to feel “pure”. Although it may look eerie, white is the color of pureness. Throughout my time this year, I want to alleviate my mental illnesses and start to smile more. I personally believe it’s better to be happy than nothing and sad.


In conclusion, this work that I had produced over a couple weeks allowed me to critically reflect on my life and experiences. It allowed me to capture the recent horrors in my life and allowed me to set positive goals. Although the goals may not be accomplished in a while, noticing weaknesses is more important than noticing the strongest points.








Over The Hills
Over The Hills

R.I.P Kiyah

This blog post is for a poetry project. In this project, I had to write 3 poems about an object that is important to me. I chose my baby sister's urn because her death impacted me and my life forever and I will never forget her.

Poem 1: "Here's a little story"

I remember sitting at the table with my siblings.

Sitting at the table, talking with each other and nibbling.

Then our mom came downstairs, telling us she was expecting.

I didn’t know how to feel, my feelings were affected.


For 9 months, I couldn’t wait to be a big brother again.

Absorbing everything I needed to know into my brain.

I couldn’t wait to teach my little sister everything I knew.

Like how to play video games and why you shouldn’t eat glue.


Then that’s when I got the news.

I couldn’t believe it, I wish it was untrue.

She died right at birth, she didn’t even get a chance at life.

I wanted to die at that moment, don’t care if it was by a gun or knife.


I didn’t want to go to the funeral. My heart was in too many little pieces.

The rage inside me kept increasing.

I cried and cried, wishing she got a chance.

But I knew I had to keep going, I had to advance.


4 years later, I’m still wishing I had her in person.

I thought the depression would worsen.

But I have her urn so she’s still with me.

I’ll never forget you Kiyah. R.I.P.


Poem 2: "To be honest"

When I first heard that I was getting another younger sister, I didn’t how to feel.

I wanted to be excited but I needed to be real.

You should always be excited when you getting a baby.

But at the same time, I was so jealous it was crazy.


In the first month, my jealousy was increasing.

It kept boiling, it kept heating.

Then my mom told me all the wonders of getting a baby sister.

My jealousy went away and my excitement got bigger.


Looking back at it today, my jealously really was stupid.

However, I guess jealousy is one part of being human.

Luckily it went away and I had a chance to be excited.

One day, me and Kiyah will be united.


Poem 3: "Asking myself"

I gotta ask myself one question.

What would it be like if Kiyah survived?

This question got me dealing with depression.

This question is making me not wanna be alive.


If she survived, what would I teach her?

I had so much, what would I start with?

When she died, all that knowledge became a blur.

I want her back alive, that’s my only wish.


It’s no point in wishing though.

Wishes are fake just like a lot of things.

All I can do is let the tears flow.

And continue to go on with the things I care about as my wings.

Link to my video:file:///home/chronos/u-a1ecbadd27fd145188358fd7615bebf1d08d9857/Downloads/video_27s%20(webcamera.io).mp4
Link to my video:file:///home/chronos/u-a1ecbadd27fd145188358fd7615bebf1d08d9857/Downloads/video_27s%20(webcamera.io).mp4

Project statement

For the media and design project I created a website all about me. I made 3 pages consisting of About Me,Title Page, and a Projects page. I used Weebly to make my website and began with a title page. My title page was basically a picture of me and introduced my website. I then moved on to making my About me page where I put all cool facts about me and my hobbies. I feel like it is very interesting and people will enjoy my about me page to learn things about me. I learned the basics of working and creating a website. Some problems I have were at first the website took some getting used to. It started to be difficult changing everything because you start with a template and have to change everything. Also some of my pictures were very blurry and I had to edit and change them to be less blurry. Overall It was a good experience learning how to make a website and I feel like having a website about me can let people know more about me.

https://camilo19.weebly.com



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Screenshot 2017-10-24 at 2.46.10 PM

Natural Disasters and Earth Systems- Earthquakes

Learning about earthquakes helped me understand how earth systems affect each other and how one natural disaster can cause another. An example was earthquakes. Once the tectonic plates move, they can possibly cause a tsunami. Learning about these disasters can help us know what we should if they should occur. It can help us what we can look forward to and what could possibly happen. To ensure we are safe, we should always have a safety plan. 
Earth Quakes- Environmental Science
Earth Quakes- Environmental Science

Natural Disasters and Earth System Research

Screenshot 2017-09-20 at 9.34.27 AM
Screenshot 2017-09-20 at 9.34.27 AM
My group worked on the affect of wildfires to the ecosystem, in my group I worked on how the wildfires affect the geosphere. The geosphere is considered the inner portion of the Earth system including, rocks, minerals, landforms and the processes that shape the Earth's surface. 
It causes the interior structure to catch on fire and things be burned down into ashes, such as trees and lands. 
Positive way the burnt ashes of the trees, has minerals and vitamins in it to make the ground even richer.


Extreme heat from the sun and humid heat coming together and cause fires to start. Also lightning strikes hitting trees causing fires to start. According to pacific bio “Approximately 90% of fires in the last decade have been human-caused, either through negligence, accident or intentional arson. Some of the fires caused by accidents and negligent acts are through unattended campfires, sparks, irresponsibly discarded cigarettes and burning debris. The remaining 10% of fires are caused by lightning strikes, which are especially prevalent in the Western United States and Alaska.”
We can prevent it by being more careful when we are in the wilderness with fire, make sure you put out your fires. Be careful with extreme heat or any campfire, makes sure we don't have it catch anything flammable on fire. Don't throw away any waste that cause an instant combustion. 
http://www.pacificbio.org/initiatives/fire/fire_ecology.html


“Fire regime refers to the patterns of fire that occur over long periods of time, and the immediate effects of fire in the ecosystem in which it occurs.”

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1765LGD7FkIqb9CYqo1G4vkI1mTfGV9_o9V6my4QEvdc/edit

Tsunamis

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Screen Shot 2017-09-19 at 11.07.48 PM
My group chose to research Tsunamis and created a slideshow in order to inform our audience. I personally knew the general idea of what a Tsunami was and where it usually strikes, however I learned more about how they are formed and how we can prevent them. I also learned a lot more about the different spheres that make up the earth which include; cryosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere.  

The Link to Our Group's presentation: https://docs.google.com/a/slabeeber.org/presentation/d/1-ZuwC5fAJj8ttyJCHGXwsOoBHMMPJv9NHittdWnBwXI/edit?usp=sharing

Natural Disasters Info-graph: Typhoons.

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Screenshot 2017-09-19 at 11.21.41 PM
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Screenshot 2017-09-19 at 11.24.38 PM
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Screenshot 2017-09-19 at 11.27.32 PM
Reflection:​
After reading about typhoons and other natural disasters, I'm thinking a lot more about where I decide to go to school or if I plan on moving down to a more southern area. Hurricanes and tornadoes are present more in places like Florida and Texas. If you live there, a risk of having to deal with a catastrophic event like Hurricane Harvey or Hurricane Irma is always present.

Essential Questions:
The Earth systems build upon each other. The pollution in air can cause an affect on water becoming warmer for example. 
An understanding of environmental science can aid in helping handle natural disasters by having more educated people in general. A lot of people are in the dark about certain things, and if we have a common understanding, evacuations and limits on damage can be worked out easier.
Efforts we can make to create a sustainable future are limiting air pollution. Stopping the burning of gases and other things are very important if we want change.

https://magic.piktochart.com/output/24633960-environmental-science-project 

Natural Disasters: Wildfires

Natural Disasters and Earth System Research
         ​My group and I decided to research wildfires. While creating the project, I found that there were some things about wildfires that I knew previously, and some things that I had not known. For example, I knew that humans are one of the main causes of wildfires, but I did not realize that a larger percentage of people than I thought started wildfires by committing arson. All in all, the project helped me to further my understanding of how Earth's systems affect each other. Each of the systems has an important role, and they bounce off of each other. For example, a fire can start in the biosphere, but it can cause carbon dioxide to travel to the atmosphere. By knowing this, and by knowing how wildfires are caused, we can take the actions to prevent them. Mostly, this is being careful around fires and flammable objects, being more knowledgeable about them, and spreading that information to others.

The Process of Sand Storms

How do the earth systems affect each other? We realized since the atmospheres on earth are interlinked with one another sharing the same global systems. This manner may contribute to a cause on one atmosphere to affect another. For example, geosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, and hydrosphere which we recently researched this project. Coming to a conclusion that one cause has the ability to affect different environments in various methods. Due to the link of these four atmospheres.

How can an understanding of environmental science aid in handling natural disasters? Now that we are aware and informed how these natural disasters occur, we are now able to acknowledge the concept and search for a solution. 

What efforts can we make to create a sustainable future? I would suggest for us to proceed on keeping the earth green. Following the ideas of recycling and managing our resources appropriately. Creating a stronger and healthier economy.
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IMG_2442

Natural Disasters and Earth System Research

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  Natural disasters do have an affect on earth systems.  An example specific to our natural disaster would be how a volcanic eruption would take place in the exosphere , but would affect the water in the hydrosphere. such as the ocean. The water cycle would then take place again with the acidic water and intern affect the geosphere. It's like similar to the human body on how depend they are on one another . If you can't walk then you have to use more of the muscles in other parts of your body to keep moving. This would cause stress which is similar to the process earth systems share. 

Thats how I have come to understand the earth systems affect on one another. Knowing about these natural disasters is a pivotal first step in trying to deal with these disasters. There isn't away to prevent volcanoes, but you can definelty deal with the affects afterwards.

Natural Disasters & Earth Systems: Flood in Sierra Leone



​The Earth is made up of four spheres. They are Atmosphere, Biosphere, Geosphere, and Hydrosphere. The Atmosphere is (air) Biosphere is responsible for maintaining life. Geosphere (Land and Rockets). Hydrosphere (water). We connected all these four elements to our natural disaster.


While doing the search on the water flood in Sierra Leone, I learned that sierra Leone is one of the wettest cities in west Africa. They once received 20 inches of rainfall in August. In our search we learned that heavy rains over saturated the ground which caused it to be waterlogged and lose friction.


Natural Disasters & Earth Systems  (1)

Natural Disasters and Earth System Research

Our project was easy to do because we found the information we needed right away. We did a website for this project because we thought it would be easy to do and it would creative. I learned more about the 4 basic elements which were Hydrosphere, Biosphere, Geosphere, and Atmosphere. Also, I learned how hurricanes start and how they end. When all the earth's systems affect each there's a process that moves matter and energy from one sphere to another.


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Screenshot 2017-09-19 at 8.57.25 PM

Natural Distasters Project

Essential Questions: 

1. I believe that the earth systems by affect each other because they rely on each other in order to create a sustainable balance in life. For example, The biosphere and the atmosphere rely on the hydrosphere because the hydrosphere transports water to the biosphere which is all life on earth, then the plants would transfer the water vapor as well as carbon dioxide (created by the plants) towards the atmosphere.
2. The understanding of environmental science can help you create your own strategies on how to survive natural disasters whether it may be what you need to do to evacuate, or how to survive within the area of the natural disasters.
3.  The only way I can think of is to reduce the occurrence of climate change. Climate change plays a big role on natural disasters, not to mention that most of the climate change is caused by human activities. I believe that if we can reduce the climate change, then less natural disasters will occur creating a better future.

Natural Disasters and Earth Systems (Wild Fires)

Natural Disasters and Earth System Research By : Queren V., Alyssa S. , Mukhtar S. , Tania c. , Ashton W.
Researching wildfires turned out to be really interesting. Through the research, I learned how much volcanoes, lightning and the different kinds of lightning contribute to wildfires. Meaning I learned something new and enjoyed discussing this subject with my group. As we all had an interest in the topic and worked very well together. Through this mini project, my group and I came up with so many cool ideas we look forward to implying in our future projects. I appreciated this mini project as it was a good way to only get a flow of how our table works together but also talk about something we were interested in.

Project By- Queren V., Alyssa S. , Ashton W. , Tania C., Mukhtar S.

Natural Disasters: Hurricanes

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Screenshot 2017-09-19 at 7.55.04 PM
​My group and I chose to make a website because we thought it would be more creative. I already knew a lot about hurricanes but I did learn a lot more. I learned more about the Earth's systems; Hydrosphere, Biosphere, Geosphere, and Atmosphere. Hurricanes have a huge impact on all of the Earth's systems. Along with climate change which is one of the main reason we have been seeing so many hurricanes this summer back to back. I wonder if we can come up with a plan to help people evacuate and get help before the hurricane occurs. 

Tsunamis

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1-ZuwC5fAJj8ttyJCHGXwsOoBHMMPJv9NHittdWnBwXI/edit#slide=id.p
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Screenshot 2017-09-19 at 8.11.53 PM

In the past week I learned a lot.  Earth science is something that I did not know a lot about.  I learned about the definition of the different “spheres”.  Geosphere (lands and rocks) , hydrosphere(water, lakes, oceans), atmosphere (air), cryopshere (frozen water on earth), biosphere (life on earth).  I learned about how they contribute to the earth.  The natural disaster we chose were tsunmamis.  You don’t hear about tsunamis as much as hurricans, tornadoes, etc.  We wanted to learn more about them.  I learned some things like how they are caused and what to do to prevent them.   



(the top is the link to the power point)