For my senior year capstone I decided to collaborate with my peer, Natalie, to work on Homelessness. Throughout the year in the time we had we worked on finding out more information on what homelessness is and what is it that causes people to end in certain circumstances. We learned so much together and it turned us into young leaders.

Our first step as a team was to gather as much possible information that we could find. Our purpose was not just to give money to these people in need and call it a day. We wanted to educate ourselves into knowing what it is that brings the people of Philadelphia to these circumstances. In doing so we would be able to learn what is going on in our own city and what is it that needs to be done.

For us it got really complicated when it came to talking to shelters and big agencies that helped homelessness. Then came how to be able to fund for what was needed in these shelters to help care for these women. We had a very hard time communicating with these shelters since they are underfunded on staff but we were able to work with Women of Change which is a shelter that holds about 25 to 30 women and mostly help women get back on their feet. With more communication we were able to figure out what was it that these women really needed and not what we thought they needed.

Water crisis is an environmental issue since everyone isn’t getting clean and healthy water. The ones who don’t tend to be minorities and there is really an injustice going on since they are being ignored and as students who live in a city with clean water then we should try and help those who don’t by spreading awareness and talking to our politicians. What really stood out to me is that we have normalized not having clean water by now having tasks on how to get the water you have at home clean. It should not be this way and I would like to know what are some further steps we can take to better this? How can we get everyone to get free accessible water?

The F2 generation did not look like how we predicted. They did not grow at all and it’s most likely because we stopped caring for them after a while. The results ended up being dry. The parent generation most definitely grew faster than the F2 generation and you can see that in the pictures below (the first picture is of the parent plants). One of the reasons our plants didn’t grow as faster or better is because we didn’t water them plenty. Genetics and environment affect the phenotype of an organism because our plants were grown indoor and are not like other plants since they grown outside and have natural sunlight. The organism would look like the mother and father, that would be a great indicator of how the organism should look. What stood out to me during this course is that the parent plants grew really fast and how the environment plays a big role in the growth of the plant.

This quarter I enjoyed working on the project because I have felt stressed about the quarter since it started. I really wanted to work on something that wouldn’t stress me out because I was learning how to use the new materials or how to draw something complicated. I chose to work on something that relaxed me and helped me think as I was drawing and coloring.

My project for this quarter was to draw a tree with the four different seasons. It was supposed to show how the tree changing throughout the year correlates with how we also change. We change a lot as the years go by and when we think we already know enough about life, we don’t. Trees change also as the year goes by but they are still the same them. We are still the same but with knowledge and wisdom.

I most proud of taking my time and being very organized with this project. I was in charge of making my own time and schedule to turning in my checkpoints. I think this was a really good way in learning how to be organized without having the teacher be on your back about the assignments. It was a way to give us a little taste on how college life might be.

In conclusion, this project went really well and I am glad I got to work on something that relaxed me throughout this entire quarter. A lot of people helped me out with my project too by giving me insights on how to make it better. I was able to do a even better job on it.

In this quarter we were allowed to choose what type of art project we wanted to work on. I worked on the still life project and in this kind of art we had to draw 2-4 inanimate projects. We had to draw from life and not from the imagination.

I decided to draw flowers in a vase and try to share how pretty nature is to the world. Growing up my mother has always told me we should treat flowers,trees, and etc. with kindness. I only tried to show the true beauty of nature and show that we have to treasure this beauty.

The process of drawing this inanimate object was difficult at first. I tried to start from drawing the petals first and I am glad I did because they are really hard to draw. The vase was also a struggle to draw but I was able to get feedback from Ms.Hertz to make it look more still life. Overall, it got easier the longer I worked on it.

A major tool that I used throughout this process was a charcoal pencil. I was already familiar with charcoal because of my previous benchmark. A learned how to draw soft lines and rough like lines. It was very fun to experience with and I feel like pencil is more of my thing.

One thing I am very proud is the fact that I am still learning how to be a great artist and you can see that based off of my drawings. If I could change one thing then it would be how I drew the vase and that is because I feel like I can make it look more realistic. Overall, this quarter 2 benchmark was interesting because I learned more about myself.

In this benchmark I had to draw a portrait. My portrait is revolved around my brother and how his disability has affected not only him but me too. My art communicates how stressful it was for my brother growing up especially with his disability. Growing up I was aware of how my family would be constantly worried about my brother and I always thought they wouldn’t give him space to breathe.

The materials I used was paper, and charcoal to complete my art. It took me awhile to get used it to it since charcoal is really black and when I wanted to color in light it was a struggle. Overall, I was able to use it and get the hang of it.

My current work relates to my previous work because it is a part of me that I am revealing to the people. I decided to use charcoal because dark colors are my thing and I wanted to represent something personal that wasn’t happy.

The process I went through to complete my art was a struggle. I would get stuck on what to draw to represent what I felt, what my brother felt and how what he felt affected me. When I would get stuck I would ask Ms.Hertz a way I can express myself and she would suggest me ideas.

An artist that inspired me was Frida Khalo. She went through a lot and even though my story isn’t as tragic as hers I could still relate in someway.

A certain technique that is important to my art is how the charcoal surrounds my brother and it puts him in the spotlight. Without it there wouldn’t be any point in my art since it would just be blank. I am trying to make a statement.

I am most proud of taking my time and giving a lot of thought into this project. I wouldn’t have expressed my thoughts in any other way because sometimes it’s hard to express your thoughts talking. I will forever be proud of my artwork. I would change how big his head was. I would have liked to added more details and tried to express my thoughts a little clearer.

In conclusion, this project was a great way for me to represent my thoughts and feelings. I learned how to use new material and I am glad I did. This project was a great way to show how everyone feels and maybe even let out some stressed because of all the classes we have and assignments.