If I were someone else and I were looking at my art, these are the questions I would ask. Or the questions that I think I have an answer to right now. I also think this will be nice to self-reflect on this in the future and see how my ideas change or stay the same.

I'm writing a manifesto of sorts, the artist's statement I am hesitant to turn into my teachers.  Questions and answers to myself, from myself.  And a few visuals of pieces I've been working on for way too long. Here you go.

ode to yellow: a poem

 (a little bit inspired by olivia gatwood's ode to pink)

are you doing what you're told?

Throughout my day I often think about what motivates me to do things I do and why. I also find that people are always telling me that other people are telling me what to do, and there's a lot to sort through in all the messages we are getting everyday. I'm trying to find out who I'm really listening to and if this person is or ever can just be me.

And sometimes I stop in my tracks and think: "why am I doing something that takes much more effort than what I actually want to do, just because I think other people want me to do it?" I know it sounds complicated, and that's because it is, but it's in every second of my life and it cannot just be me. An easy example is walking along the sidewalk when it would be much faster just to cut through the grass to get where I want to go. But I don't want to seem weird. So I sacrifice my time and my energy to follow what some perceived audience would want me to do and it's gotten me nowhere. From small things like walking to class and big things like choosing a career. Why do we make decisions like this and how do we make them better?

24 of The Best Artists on Instagram

This is a post I should have done a long time ago because of how much time I spend looking at other people's art online. It started out small but now I follow about 300 people on my Instagram and most of them are writers or artists that I adore. Pinterest is a great source for art inspiration but Instagram especially is full of so many different people creating things that I had no idea even existed.

You don't have to be an artist to appreciate art and this a great list of people who work hard to everyday to create art and can also brighten up your feed in the process! It has really opened my eyes to all of the possibilities out there and also helped me find what styles + techniques that I like best among so many other great tips. None of these images after the first one belong to me but I have listed a few examples of my favorite pieces from each account and also linked each artist to their username. Let me know if you have already seen some of these accounts or if there are new ones that you decide to follow!

how a moodboard can help sort out your thoughts

I loving using Pinterest because it is a digital mood board with all the best part of social media (fandoms, pop culture, cool aesthetics, fashion, art) without the pressure of having followers or being liked. Physical mood boards and collages have also always made so much sense to me because they are laid out in such a visually appealing way and your eyes can jump to each part in order to get a sense of the bigger picture. So I've decided to make a physical collage of my digital pins and it's helped me sort out all my thoughts that I've been looking at online and these are few reasons to why it's been so effective.