+KHAOS+ EP.13: BOY
+KHAOS+ EP.13: BOY
As Milo and his friends walk into the colossal building that is suspected as the base of Khaos, they are faced with a mysterious and expressionless young boy who stands alone in an extensive, empty hallway.
+Author’s Comment+
I had a lot of fun playing around with perspectives drawing the floor!
Feel free to check out my Art Instagram Account: @kats.art.folder
In honor of National Cancer Prevention Month, I thought that I would take a break from my regularly scheduled program of cultural stories to share a recent piece that I did commemorating one aspect of the difficulties that come with cancer.
For many people, hair can be a large part of their identity, image, and self-expression. Hair has a way of instilling confidence as well as portraying good health and hygiene. According to the Mayo Clinic, “You might not think about how important your hair is until you face losing it. And if you have cancer and are about to undergo chemotherapy, the chance of hair loss is very real. Both men and women report hair loss as one of the side effects they fear most after being diagnosed with cancer.”
In my recent art piece done in graphite and colored pencil, I wanted to capture this extremely painful aspect of cancer. Titled Stands of Me, the piece reflects on this challenging side effect of cancer treatments, personifying the emotional toll that it can play on anybody facing it. In this piece, I show a woman looking down at a hand full of her fallen out hair with tears streaming from her eyes. Wrapped around her is a pink ribbon symbolizing the universal symbol for breast cancer, adding not only interest to the piece but also charging the true meaning behind it.
For many, the loss of hair is a symbol to the world that you have cancer. It is a very difficult thing that many people facing cancer have had to deal with. Facing already a physically, emotionally, and mentally taxing condition, changes in appearance due to cancer treatment can further perpetuate loss and pain. I wanted to capture this in my artistic representation of cancer. Though cosmetic, the loss of hair has implications that travel much deeper than the surface. It no longer becomes about appearance. The hair loss is a constant reminder of the internal struggle that so many face. There are many of us with people in our lives who have cancer, and the aspect of hair loss is something so emotional and in and of itself symbolic that I wanted to portray it in a raw way that hopefully strikes a chord in anybody who sees it.
To anybody whose loved ones have or had cancer in any form, I pray for you all and my deepest condolences. Having family struggling with cancer myself, this piece was extremely impactful for me to make. Though one of my simpler pieces, a lot of meaning went into it and I hope that any of you who are reading this felt something different from this week’s post.
As always, if anything that I discussed in this post stood out or if any questions arise please feel free to comment and share your thoughts.
References: www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/chemotherapy/in-depth/hair-loss/art-20046920
~ Riya
Personal website: https://riyarts.weebly.com/
The one that smogged the halls of a peopled building
The one that gave generations of hands
Motivation to graze walls
I see myself
Looking both ways to walk 4 feet
Inhaling the stench
Of phones scrolling
While the body works
I heard craned necks
Focusing on computer screens
Eyes scrambling to keep up
With the notes on a page
The tones of a lecture
Or the drones of a beat
They walked outside
To eat their lunches in hideaways
Marked by their names
They talk between the walls
Not through them
Gaze at the backs of heads
Not into eyes
Rest awake
Sleep through dreams
With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, this week’s blog post will focus on a craft that’s appropriate for the holiday: paper hearts. I’ve been making these for years now, and they’re a great alternative to store-bought Valentines.
I hope you enjoyed making a paper heart! How did yours turn out? Feel free to leave any thoughts or suggestions in the comments below!
February is Black History Month, an annual celebration of and recognition of all generations of African Americans, who are and have been vital to the history of the United States. Since 1976, Black History Month has been an official American event.
I thought today’s artist spotlight post would be a prime opportunity to share Black media to watch/read/appreciate. These stories can be enjoyed and examined all the time, of course–not just February.
While Black voices in films, television, music, and literature are becoming more visible and diverse, many stories are dominated by the exploitation of Black trauma and struggle, or overtaken by white voices. Like any identity, it’s important to have multi-dimensional representation that are complex and thoughtful. We should always examine the media we consume through a critical lens.
I also recognize that I am Asian American. I am a minority, but I will never be able to truly understand what it’s like to be Black in the United States. However, I can still consume and engage with media made by Black people, talk to my peers, and open up my perspective.
Be sure to check out BIPOC creators this month and every month. Here’s my list of media featuring, directed by, or written by Black artists to enjoy (This is by no means an exhaustive list, just a few items I recommend):
Films:
Books:
Donate:
In art, I think you should approach the virus and quarantine very hastily. At least as it currently rests. Nobody, including myself, wants to hear about this BS anymore. Exposure fatigue set in roughly a month into it, and it’s only gotten worse almost a year later.
However, when my friend showed me the cracking, disturbing state that his hands were in, I saw an image. The raw, red palms being a product of his strict adherence to the regulations that were in place to protect him. That was something I could work with, and having that vulgarity to backdrop it all would lend at least a little bit of nuance into a long-dead, beaten horse.
(Unfortunately, my friend was not in town for a shooting session, so my moderately healthy hands had to do for the video.)
But, to the point, yes. We’re all tired of it. Personally, I hate it!
It destroyed a lot of awesome opportunities that I had going, and took away one of the few summers I have left as a young person. Not to mention the masks, constantly worrying about my grandma, and [INSERT ANOTHER OBNOXIOUS COVID FACT]. Worst of all is not being able to label areas in my head, but let me explain. Back when things were normal, my math class was where I did math, my screenwriting class was where I did screenwriting, and the rooms we assembled in for student orgs each had their own feel. I would have something to go to, and I would walk a specific route to get there. These routes and these different rooms created a distance, between themselves and home. It’s hard to explain, but I guess one way to put it is that going to a classroom has a whole dimension to it. My days were three dimensional, as opposed to two dimensional, which is what it feels like now. I sit in the same chair at the same desk, and click on the same links to get to the same app. It’s dull.
Dull to a point of vulgarity. Which I think is why the hands spoke to me so much. Again, this is what I’m supposed to be doing, for my sake and for others. But when the benefit is intangible and the effects are constantly in my face, these self-preserving thoughts surface. Obviously I still wear a mask and do all the things I’m supposed to, but I feel the need to recognize all of my emotions, regardless of how they effect my daily life.
Bit of a bummer this one, but hopefully you got something out of it. I appreciate you, and stay safe and as happy as you can be.
-Jonah J. Sobczak
jonahso
