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Before beginning this PSA project and after reflecting on what true environmental justice is, I was very excited to explore in depth how we as humans affect the earth and how we can make it a better place. In the end, we all have to share it and even the smallest bit of pollution adds to the whirlpool of filth that is flooding our planet. When beginning to develop an idea for the direction of the public service announcement, it was crucial that we addressed a subject matter that does a few things. First, that it affects our community immediately and directly. Individuals are more likely to respond and understand if they can connect their life to the problem at hand. Second, that the content and subject of the PSA is interesting. The last thing any of us wants is to sit through yet another boring informational video. After thorough discussion on the topic of the video, we decided to inform the masses about abandoned homes and vacant lots on the city of Philadelphia. As a member of this group along side my partners, I was mainly responsible for  researching different statistics and analyzing the causes and effects on abandoned homes. Much of this research was included in the final product. While working on this project, I may have been able to communicate with my group members a bit better. There are many ideas and things that we may have been able to do had I opened my mouth more. In all, this entire process was very good and enriching. It was very eye-opening to see the statistics of abandoned homes and vacant lots and know that as a student and teenager, there isn't much I can do to help the problem.

For our project we recorded a PSA about  oil trains and the danger they have on the surrounding area. We started out with talking about how the trains could fall off the rails and cause an explosion that has the blast radius of taking out a part of Southwest Philadelphia. We continued on with facts about how the trains also release dangerous fumes into the air. The we finished up by saying how if one of the trains did fall over we have no real plan for evacuation, so we would just be sitting ducks. The reason we chose this topic is because oil trains do go through our state, so this issue is real to us. People we love and care about are being affected by these trains, but no one seems to know about them. We decided that doing research on this topic might share some light with people.   

I mainly helped by trying to be a multiple purpose tool. As I helped during the research,helped record if Obasi wasn’t there. Did some small edits to help Moesha out. I didn’t want to be a burden on my group, so I tried to help out with whatever we were working on at that moment.

Most of the time if my group needed something I tried to be there for them. My time management still needs work. As for checkpoint 2 I didn’t start working on my part of the research until near midnight.I could have also helped Moesha with the script as she did the main part and I just revised my part later on.

In our video, we decided to create a parody of the television/web series “Billy On The Street”, where we question people on the spot and see exactly what they know about air pollution, the effects, and causes of air pollution while still having a comedic twist to it. I chose this topic because, as someone who often can’t breathe around smoke and other air pollutants, and someone who is socially aware about how it’s affecting our climate, I think people really need to know that although it doesn’t look like it, our city is very polluted and there needs to be information getting out there.

I felt a bit like the director and editor of the group. I made sure that we got all the footage we needed, that the video looked nice and presentable, and that all the information was contained in the video while still trying to keep it entertaining. I feel like we got what we wanted with our video: to be short, succinct, and funny while still giving out information about air pollution. What I wish I could of done differently is focus more on my group, as when I tried to I had to help other people and got sidetracked often.

Our video addressed  the issues regarding crude oil trains and how Philly can take action to make sure that if one of the trains passing through happens to derail, we have a plan and can take action. Oil trains run through Pittsburg, New Jersey, New York, Minnesota, Washington state, California, and Pennsylvania. We chose to focus on this because the media wasn’t really bringing attention to the issue and also Pennsylvanians don’t have any laws to protect their residents from this issue. This is a major problem because in the past three years there have been three derailments just in Pennsylvania. We need to take a stand and make a law to make sure we can prevent future accidents. Everyone should have access to clean air water and  soil, and to a healthy, safe, livable community. Unfortunately, these rights are often denied to minority and low-income communities, creating a disparate risk and environmental injustice for Pennsylvanians.

We set up our video as a news report. In the video you have news reporter, Governor Tom Wolf, Senator Hillary Clinton, and a random resident from the neighborhood. Governor Tom Wolf and Senator Hillary Clinton are discussing their major concerns who on the crude oil trains and why it’s important that the issue is addressed.

My contributions to this project was help create the script, helping edit the video, and set up recording times. I believe that I did a fair share amount of the work. Things I did well during this project was keeping everything organized and staying on top of the checkpoints and something I could have done differently was maybe thinking thoroughly on the PSA. I think towards the end of the project my group members pulled it together to create a great video. The most meaningful part of the experience of creating the PSA was knowing that I’m getting awareness out there to the world. To be a part of something like that makes me want to take more steps to get other environmentally justice issues out there.

The video below was made to publicize an underrated issue, CSX crude oil trains running through PA. Most people, including myself, are unaware that these oil trains are passing through our state and to most that might not seem like a problem. However, there have been several reports of these trains derailing which leads to dangerous oil spills and could harm a lot of civilians. Pennsylvania is the not the only state where these trains pass through, but the reason it's an issue specifically for citizens of PA is because of the fact that we don't have any laws protecting the trains or the people living near the tracks. The reason I chose to do this topic is because as a citizen of PA I think it is important for not only our health and safety but as a community that we have the resources and capability to immediately take action if a train is at risk of derailing or does derail.

The reason  why I have created this work is because I was gonna draw actually gonna start by drawing a cube but some house expanded on it and made more than I was going to do. Which became sort of like two hallways.

At first what I was hoping to achieve was a cube but I saw that it wasn't coming out the way I wanted it to come out so I wasn’t accomplishing my goal. So then I just decided to add random thing to my drawing and came up with two hallways like if it was an apartment, but I drew it randomly so I didn't really do it based off of two point perspective.  

I think that what my art communicates to any viewer is an illusion in most of it and many different colors just mixed in, also how I fixed it by adding the two points of perspective and then fixing it which made it way better.  

What I think I’ve achieved through the creation of this art is how to draw a two point perspective piece of art.

I don’t think that my current work relates to any of my previous work because when I learned how to draw a one point perspective room I was a freshmen and I am now a sophomore. And I haven’t learned how to draw a two point perspective drawing this was my very first time doing this.

My piece of art fits into the Abstract Sculpture Sean Newport made a sculpture that causes an illusion and I made a drawing causing an illusion.

The first thing I did was draw a rough draft of what I wanted to do which was a cube. But then I just switched up and added plenty of things and made lots of changes. I had to eliminate so many things and add others.

What inspired me to draw this piece of art is that last year I learned how to draw a one point perspective room but this time I wanted to do like two hallways going to two apartment doors.

I guess you can say that this work reflects the world we live in because nowadays there are various artists that draw pieces of art like the one I did. I don’t really think that this work reflects on my own life. My experience was last year because I learned how to draw 3D objects and illusions.  

I think that my work could influence or make an impact on the world is because when people look at my drawing they can come up with so many stories to it because of the various things I’ve drawn.

Knowing what your doing is very important because I didn’t know that I had to draw two point so I could draw the walls of the halls perpendicular to one another and so that everything can be equally measured.

Do some research or ask your teacher about what your doing make sure your 100% you're sure you know what you're doing.

Reflection

1. Provide a summary of the contents of your video and a rationale for why YOU chose this topic, in paragraph form.

1. The content of my video was showing how people constantly dump in the streets as if it is nothing, our video explains how this can harm not only the environment but every living organisms within the environment. Our topic was Illegal Waste Dumping and this topic was chosen because this is a growing problem in the Pennsylvania but also The United States and this is what we call home so we are suppose to keep it safe. This problem is killing our environment and it affects us as humans in our everyday life and if we as young adults do not fix the problem now the younger generation will not have the earth to enjoy because it will be destroyed.

2. Provide a reflection on how you contributed to the project and the role you played in the group.

1. I contributed in the group by helping out with the script, recording and engaging in group conversation on how we can make the video much better or how to go to the extra mile in this assignment.

3. What did you do well and what could you have done differently?

1. I worked well with my group members and we communicated well with each other. I think what I could have done differently was my time management. Sometimes when we were suppose to be on track we were not because all members of the group were not there.

4. What was the most meaningful part of the experience of creating the PSA?

1. The most meaningful part of the creating this PSA was that I learnt so much while doing it and that I can make a change by speaking on the problems I see and inform others. It will not just happen overnight but I know that I can make a change because this is a problem and by doing this PSA it had taught me so much about how we as humans destroy the place we call home and it made me think on some things differently.

Link to video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnPWFQtlBFU

Reflection

This video was created to inform Philadelphians about the CSX Crude Oil Trains that pass through Philadelphia. I chose this topic because many Philadelphians like myself were naive that trains transporting oil pass through our city. There has been no plan for evacuation created in case an explosion happens. These trains go past the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, North Philadelphia, and Center City where many people live. The fumes these trains leave behind makes our environment worse than it already is. I think all residents should be aware of what passes through their neighborhoods that could potentially harm them.

I created this work because the art project that I chose focussed on textures and I felt that eye sketches demonstrated texture in artwork nicely.  My vision changed throughout the project because I was not sure what I wanted to do, but for the drawing I chose, my vision was to have an eye that showed a wild, fierce, look to anyone who stared at it. I felt it was challenging because my drawing consisted only one eye.

I think my art communicates that the eye of the beholder could say many things even though it haven’t spoken at all. I think I achieved a piece of artwork that means different things to different viewers, but it says the bigger picture states the same. My current work relates to my previous work because I think my previous work has been very technical. Even the color wheel that we did previously had a technical design to it which was the dream catcher. I think my work mostly relates to Cindy Sherman because most of her portfolio is in black and white I feel like her art is very technical like mine. The process for my work was not like others.

I switched through my materials from choosing to draw with regular pencils or charcoal pencils, even though it was more difficult I chose charcoal because it looked nicer. It was very hard making sure the charcoal doesn’t smear and even so, it still looked smeared in the end. Sources for my inspiration were pieces of artwork that I’ve found off of various websites, but the artists were anonymous or unknown. Most of the pictures I’ve seen came from Pinterest , so I couldn’t really find the real source of the artwork.

My artwork reflects my life because it reflects what want my personality to be like. I feel that the eye gives off a fierce “don’t mess with me” kind of look and that is a personality I want to portray in life. I don’t want people to fear me , but I do want people to know me as the girl that gets what she wants by hardwork and determination. My work could influence the world because it could help women see that they could be this determined girl in my artwork and don’t have to back down from a fight when the times get rough. Certain technique is important to the artwork because I feel that if I made a mistake in the eye itself then some people would get confused on what the parts of the eye were, like in my eye there is a reflection of a light in it and I feel like it could easily be mistaken for something else. A new technique that I experienced with in my project was working with charcoal. I feel that next time I use it I will be able to handle it more properly when moving my artwork into my backpack so the pencil won’t smear into my other papers and around my artwork

I chose to do Limited Palette Painting project because it was a challenge for me. It was a challenge because of the thought of using only 3 colors to do a painting was different from how I usually do work with paint. When I chose to do this project I looked at examples of people's work that used only using 3 colors. I saw a pattern with people doing lots of nudes/skin tone so that kinda gave me an idea in how to make a ballerina. I know that ballerinas dresses can be a simple white . This painting was very different and fun to try out.   

My vision for my work was making a ballerina that was the  most realistic and detailed as possible. What I wanted to  communicate to the viewer was the skill of a dancer. In the painting I wanted to capture a moment of her performance when she's standing still before she continues to dance again. I believe that my creation achieved uniqueness. When I was creating this art piece I wanted to make it look its best and stand out from other artists in my classroom. I did that by of course having a different canvas (wood board)  and capturing a ballerina dancer performing  on her tippy-toes.  I believe that my current work does not relate to my previous work because  it had different directions in how I did  the artwork, for example the first art piece was on making a color wheel and the one that I just did with the ballerina was limited colors only 3. Both projects are very different.  Both art  pieces to relate on the way of using  paint. I believe that MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV and Alli te Espero, 2003  really relate to my artwork.  

In one of the paintings that MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV did called Untitled #7, 2008 is this beautiful simple painting. I has nice mix of grays and blacks and browns that I believe relate to my artwork. I believe that he really captured the movement of the dancer and my art peace didn't really show movement but it should a women in mid air dancing. I really wanted to capture her silhouette and her dance routine in a moment.  In my painting I did not find that the face was important but I wanted expres the body and the movement, you can see she's stopping from a spin. I believe  that this connects to MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV because he doesn't really have her face in the painting at all. In BERNARDO TORRENS art work called Alli te Espero, 2003 , the artwork I think it relates to my art work because in how he has the  same materials that I use such as wood canvas. The naked women has the same hairstyle as my ballerina dancer which is a bun. He uses a women as his artpeace like mine and he focused on skin tone like I had to in my drawing. My process for doing this art piece was starting of the background. I didn't want to use to dark of colors so I decided to do a light gray that would later become dark gray. Then I started to do the wood floors in which the ballerina dancer would later dance in. When I was done with the background I started right away on her dress. I had to experiment a lot on her dress. I noted then that the background was clashing with her white dress so then that's when I changed the background to medium gray. After I changed the background I started to only use the fat pointy brushes for the bottom part of the dress and for the to of her dress I did a small brush that would culet the white paint more and would make it less transparent and much more solid

I looked at lots of examples of artist that did beautiful ballerinas that inspired me to make a balerna, the following link is what I used for my research.https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fimage.shutterstock.com%2Fz%2Fstock-photo-oil-painting-girl-ballerina-drawn-cute-ballerina-dancing-251591584.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shutterstock.com%2Fpic-251591584%2Fstock-photo-oil-painting-girl-ballerina-drawn-cute-ballerina-dancing.html&docid=oOF9IKZhW7khGM&tbnid=LOVuF6YrfCqZ8M%3A&vet=1&w=1500&h=1596&safe=active&bih=631&biw=1366&q=ballerinas%20dancing%20in%20a%20painting%5C&ved=0ahUKEwjcncOhxLbRAhUPelAKHSnsDV0QMwgmKAswCw&iact=mrc&uact=8 and https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fs-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2Fb9%2F04%2F85%2Fb90485527e6a903cf3615f8fee710c2d.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2FKatDoyle1%2Fballet%2F&docid=RuwrmFclv3KEIM&tbnid=NC9h1Y2ya0iyAM%3A&vet=1&w=392&h=550&safe=active&bih=631&biw=1366&q=ballerinas%20dancing%20in%20a%20painting%5C&ved=0ahUKEwjcncOhxLbRAhUPelAKHSnsDV0QMwgpKA4wDg&iact=mrc&uact=8 and https://flamencopaintings.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/irinaw.jpg

How does your work reflect the world you live in? Your own life? Your experiences?

What I enjoyed in doing this art piece was the fact that when I was drawing and painting there was skills that I learned . I had lots of fun with the process and how it would look in the end and I must say that I wasn't completely thrilled with the end result but the experience and the rules for this painting made it worthwhile to me. I went to the Barnes Foundation  this weekend for my dad's birthday and so many paintings that have influenced artist and tourist. I found that people that were looking at the artwork at the Barnes Foundation we're really happy to be there and be surrounded by art. When I should my mom my art work she was very happy with it and I hope to make more art work that later in the future influence people. If the ballerinas tutu was heavy she wouldn't have looked like a ballerina. I learned how to make fabric feel light and fluffy on the wood canvas.