• Community is Shared

      I am a sociologist by training. I love to think about culture, people, interactions, identity issues and patterns. Emile Durkheim, the famous French father of all things sociological, argued that one must treat ‘social facts as things’. These “facts” become the subject of study for sociologists. Further, Durkheim believed that collective phenomenon is not merely reducible to the individual actor. Society, he believed, is more than the sum of its many parts. It is a system formed by the association of individuals that come together to constitute a reality with its own distinctive characteristics. Let me think of an example: how about language? Language pre-exists our birth and it continues after our death. Perhaps some of us will have the honor of inventing some new recognizable slang (LOL, duh),…

  • Figuring It Out

    When I first read the following quote, it really stuck with me. Mahatma Gandhi said, “A man is the sum of his actions, of what he has done, of what he can do, nothing else.” I think why this impacted me is because of how relatable it is to the way people’s lives are looked at sometimes: a series of actions or experiences and expectations. Interestingly, through Molly Beauregards Consciousness, Creativity and Identity class and making sense of my own feelings about it, I feel Gandhi might have been wrong. I have been told for a long time that people are who they are because of the situations they have gone through in their lives. I heard over and over variations of Gandhi’s words. And I believed this too. It made enough sense. I could rationalize…

  • Becomming the 2014 Auto Show Poster Winner

    As a metro Detroiter, I’ve been going to the auto show for some years now. I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to illustrate the auto show poster. The theme is celebrating 25 years so I decided to capture something that has been constant with this event all of the years it has been in existence: the logo. I captured the logo as a woman, using the modern colors of the logo to create a piece that wasn’t necessarily about one specific car, but the event as a whole.  I used the techniques I’ve learned from my fashion illustration courses that have shaped my own love for illustrating models and haute couture. With this in mind, I created this piece as a symbol to show the glamour and beauty…

  • Cultural Rehab

    A healthy man needs to see a doctor after spending time around a group of contagious sick people because he too becomes infected. A clean individual who spends time around a dirty drug scene will eventually start participating and use the drug. If that behavior continues and as a result their quality of life goes down, the best thing they could do is seek help. Individuals in this situation need to learn how to be alright without the addicting drug. There is a type of institution for that. Its called rehab. The purpose of rehab is to remind you of who you were before you started using. Sometimes I wonder if it is difficult for people to admit addiction because they started down the path so innocently. Initially, they may…

  • Tetris Game Hijack

    I came into the “Consciousness, Creativity and Bliss” class after a long and stressful previous semester. The promise of meditation lured me in as the stacks of boxes full of responsibilities kept getting higher and higher in my mind. Now don’t get me wrong, the boxes don’t just disappear when I meditate. Going to school and working is necessary, at least until I graduate. The problem arises when these boxes aren’t neatly stacked one on top of the other but rather dropped at random like a really cruel game of Tetris. Things inadvertently become misaligned. Every one of my classes has a box of its own. Every family member, with their unique and crazy respective problems, has a box just for themselves. Every hour I log at work is another, much…

  • Recycling Classic Style

    I am currently a sophomore in college majoring in Media and Communications and minoring in Business. I go to a unique school in Fairfield, Iowa focusing on integrating the practice of Transcendental Meditation into our daily routine. For the past few years I have lived here, I have modeled for a friend who owned an eBay vintage clothing store. A few months after I started my freshman year of college, she announced she was selling the business and would teach the ropes to whoever bought it. My friend Chamolie and I were immediately inspired by the potential of this project and ended up buying the company in October of 2010. Owning a start up business in college is a thrilling yet ambitious project to take on. Chamolie and I go…

  • Environmental Influence

    I like to think about how different environments shape our notions of self. For example, a solitary confinement cell and a mathematician’s office may look eerily similar but one denotes dignity, intelligence and creativity and the other denies these same qualities. Meanings attached to space reinforce concepts of authority, autonomy, legitimacy and social status. Years ago, I read a fascinating book that explored the meaning of the art people choose to put on their walls (Inside Culture by David Halle). You may believe your art is merely representative of your taste but a careful look will reveal far more about your character and your socio-economic background than you can begin to imagine. I think the same is true for gyms and yoga studios. There is a feeling that permeates the…

  • Learning 101

    Art is a funny thing.  Not in a “Ha ha” sort of way – but the term is so illusive that it almost becomes irrelevant. Some people define it as a technical reproduction of something that exists, some define it as a sensory and emotional experience, while others say it does not even exist.  The question begs to be asked “How does one teach such an illusive subject?”. From a students stand point – art can be one of the most frustrating subjects to study simply because there is no definitive right and wrong.  There are techniques and proper ways of execution, but ultimately, in order to become a successful artist; a student needs to find purpose and inspiration in order to grow on their own.  It is essential to…

  • Happiness, Brain Implosions, and Gigantic Elk Ramblings

    I’m on a journey through the ongoing experience that is existence, trying my best to make it an enjoyable one. For me this means making art, being creative, its something I’ve always felt I must do. I’m an illustrator at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, MI. I want to create, that’s all, and to do this I need to scavenge my mind for every chunk of creativity floating around in my brain. I want my art to affect people. I want some kind of reaction. I want my art to make peoples eyes melt in the best way. I want brain implosions. When someone looks at my art I can only hope that the very sight of the work jolts their spirit from their body sending it on…

  • ADHD Experience

    Prior to practicing TM, being a person with ADHD, thoughts were always raging in my head and it was almost impossible to decide what thoughts and ideas needed to be acted on. Even while driving to school or in the simplest of activities my head was constantly overflowing with unnecessary worries or overloading thoughts that sometimes even physically endangered me. Only 3 days after practicing TM, I was able to see my thoughts very quickly aligning themselves and being organized. It’s as if I had a full chalkboard of information, which has been completely wiped clean and now I can pretty much rewrite my mind and it’s no longer an issue of having too many unsorted thoughts in my life. I can now peacefully drive or walk around and instead…