Matters & Manners

For the third unit of my Five Faces class, we looked at taking all the faces (Seer, Observer, Alchemist, Fool, and Sage) and using them to make a service project. For my idea, I thought it would be nice to make a comic strip that jokes about world matters so that it can raise awareness of those topics; also on the back I would put a website that someone could go to in order to learn more about the subject and possibly donate to those organizations, which were the Natural Resources Defense Council and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (organizations that help with world matters). I had a lot of different views on this service project, because when I started it was very frustrating as it was hard to figure out where I should put my comics without breaking the law. I found that putting them up in just random spots, like Starbucks poster boards and in Red Eye and Chicago Readers, was not really getting people’s attention. So on the second day I decided to just go to Starbucks and wait for people to come in and sit down so I could go up and talk to them. Some being really confused and some being super energetic. I liked the Starbucks I went to, because it had a lot of college students there who really understood what I was getting at. On the other hand, regular adults were either really confused or very interested about it. This surprised and pleased me because it reassured me that were going to look at the websites.  

NVA "Service Drawing" 2015. GCE

Now with this project I had to incorporate all the five faces. The picture above shows my Seer face, as I visualized the before, during , and after. For the Observer I went to popular places where people sit down or wait for something, like a grocery store and Starbucks, and once there I would hand out my cartoons or put them on poster boards. I made three comics in total and I basically made 75 copies of each. The public will benefit from my comic strips because with them they might start thinking about the world matters and how bad or serious they really are. Also on the back I would give a summary on the subject and a website they can use to help with the topic. I will use the Fool and humor to catch people’s attention, then I will interact with people to see their views on the matter. My main inspiration was Family Guy and how they have some knuckle-biting humor with certain world issues, and with that they get me thinking and wondering about that matter. I started thinking what if this same effect will happen with other people and not just me? A lot of people would protest and be forceful, where as I used my humor to grab the people's attention. I also used the Sage, by making it simple and fast to read, very straight to the point. If it gave a title to this project I would be Matters and Manner. I say that because it talks about big matters and acting upon it would show that someone has manners in some way.

The Observer + An Alchemist = One Genius

This course is about learning our Five Faces of genius and using them to create a service project. Unit 2 was about learning our Five Faces and what each one means, and we looked at a lot of examples to show what they can be like. For our action project we have to explain what the Five Faces are, what my faces are, list three people and list their dominant faces, and show how we can use these faces to create two ideas for what we can do for a service project. What I learned in this unit was what my Five Faces were and how I can become more well-rounded with each of them. I am most proud about how I was able to actually learn how to use the other Five Faces.

A Seer is someone who uses the power of visualizing everything around them, they shut their eyes and see everything and anything. An Observer is someone who looks at all the small details on something, or they notice things that aren’t easily able to seen, with that they will try to solve problems. An Alchemist is someone who uses other ideas to create his or her own, or combines two unrelated ideas into something brand new. A Fool is someone who uses humor and weaknesses to solve problems or come up with wild ideas. A Sage is someone who uses simplicity to solve problems and looks at historical facts for inspiration. My two most dominant faces are Observer and Alchemist, and my weaker faces are Seer, Fool, and a Sage.

I do agree with my survey, because I am very much like an Observer for the fact that I like to just look around and notice small things that many people don’t usually see. For example when I go home from school I will just look at the small details in the train and bus; or when I am driving I basically have to do the same to protect myself from any dangerous things around me. I do very much believe I am also an Alchemist, because I like to see examples in work and use them to create my own idea. For example with a homework assignment that makes me come up with something, I will have to look at other ideas to create my own; or when I am in a debate with a group of people I usually like to be a judge or someone who isn’t in it, because I like to listen to both sides instead of just sticking with one. I do think I am a Seer at times, but not all the time because I like to draw, but I can’t always envision what I want to draw; or I can’t always see something in my head. I don’t agree with being a Fool, because I don’t really like to use my weaknesses as an advantage and I won’t try to be absurd with my ideas. I don’t really agree with my least dominant face being Sage because I like to try to simplify things, such as math problems and I do really try to learn from history, and use those to help me make hard decisions.

I interviewed my father, and from what I saw from my interview he was very much like a Fool, because he likes to use his humor and absurdity to come up with crazy ideas. I do also see him as an Alchemist, because he likes to mix ideas from other people and he always has a new one. I think he shows his Fool through his Alchemist, because when he mixes ideas they turn out to be crazy. Since my interview was mainly “yes or no” answers, I thought I would show a question that was very important to me: “Do you care if your food touches?” I feel like this was a good question to ask to show if he was an Alchemist, because when food touches it can create a new taste that people find very good. (He said yes, also telling me how much of an Alchemist he is.)

NVA “AA and NVA” 2013. Chicago

One person we studied in class that I found very inspiring was Sam Walton, because he came up with an idea that was so smart. I believe he is an Alchemist because he combined the idea of a supermarket and a low key town, and mashed them to create Walmart, which is one of the biggest and most successful stores. Besides that I also see him as a Fool, because he took an idea that was seen as crazy and showed people how a supermarket could actually do very well in a low key area/town. “Celebrate your success. Find some humor in your failures.” - Sam Walton

“S. Robson Walton in 2011” Wikipedia. June 2, 2011

Someone who inspires me that we didn’t study in class is Seth MacFarlane, because he created a show that no one thought would be good, which later became the top-grossing show; this shows how incredibly smart he is. I believe he is a Fool, because he is very absurd when trying to get major problems in our world across and he helps people realize the truth about subjects. I see him as a Seer, because all of his shows are animated and I feel like he is someone who really likes to visualize all of his ideas, because all of what he believes in he will show in all his cartoons. “Believe it or not, I have the same success rate as anyone else. Sometimes you hit, sometimes you miss.” - Seth Macfarlane

Gage Skidmore “Seth Macfarlane” July 25, 2010. Wikicommons.

Now to use the Five Faces as a tool to make a better world, the matters I would like to tend to are helping to find more resources for our everyday lives and getting people to help the homeless. I would want to become a better Seer, by truly envisioning my ideas and making them into better solution. I definitely like to use my Observer skills to actually show people the little things that we need to focus on in this world that they might not have noticed otherwise. I want to strengthen my Sage side by trying to make my ideas for helping a lot more simple instead of complex; or to stop thinking of ideas that can become complex. For the Alchemist I want to get people to start mixing their ideas about the world and use them so everyone can make a difference. Lastly for Fool, I would like to try use my weaknesses as a strength and use more absurdity when coming up with my new crazy ideas.

For my first idea, I would like to use my Alchemist idea for getting a foundation where people donate any resources they don’t need anymore, and give them to the homeless. Money would also be donated and with that money we would work with other foundations to get the people of our world to start to look for different resources that we could use for fuel, power, and construction, so our society can keep on working. This shows the Alchemist face, because I am mixing different, ideas together that aren’t similar.

For my second idea, I would like to use my Fool idea for actually coming up with a cartoon that will appear in the daily paper and this will make jokes about our world problems. What this would do is actually spread the word of what we need to start doing to fix our world and make it a better way, by using humor to do so, and also being very absurd with big matters that people aren’t very aware of today.


References:

“Seth Macfarlane Biography” n.p. Bio. n.d.
“Sam Walton Biography” n.p. Bio. n.d.

The Creative Genius

For unit 1 of my new class called Five Faces of Genius, we learned about creativity and genius, as well as how similar/different they are. We also made a wall of pictures of people and things we find creative and or a genius; throughout the class we added to it after doing different assignments. For the action project we had to take people from the wall we made and find 3 patterns that connect them and with each pattern we had to identify 3 people that fit  those patterns. Next we had to pick a genius from that wall and explain why they might be considered  a genius or why they are creative. Last we had to talk about our creative side and what we find challenging in the world. The challenging part of this action project was finding the connections between different geniuses. The purpose of this project was to explore various creative people and what they do that makes them a creative person or a genius. Hope you enjoy reading about creativity!

Now creativity can’t be truly defined, but it will always be with us no matter what you do; anything can make you a creative person . Now I see three patterns that show up in diverse creative people or geniuses. First, they will make Childhood Influence (Seth MacFarlane, Eminem, Michael Jackson). I think that everything that someone becomes is because of what happened in their childhood; it affects all of our lives. With Seth, it is that he uses places that he has grown up around in his shows (Seth MacFarlane Bio) . With Eminem, he will always make music about his life from the past and how it affected him. With Michael, his dad always pushed him to be the best and he pushed himself to do better and he never forgot that and made everything he has made because of his childhood. Second, many geniuses have an English background (J.K. Rowling, E.L. James, Naomi Campbell). I think that is important, because the UK is very rich in art and they can affect people around them in various ways. This goes back to what I was saying earlier that where we grow up affects us and the UK can add a lot of influence, with all of its rich culture and I think that it’s strong foundation in the arts can lead to more geniuses (E.L. James Bio). Third, several geniuses grew up in a big city (Chance the Rapper, Kanye West, Flying Lotus). I think that a big city can make anyone into a creative person, because of what it has to offer to people, like all the different art works and styles that can inspire people.

“JKRowling Tales of Beedle the Bard” 2008. Internet: Flickr.

J.K. Rowling is the author of the Harry Potter series, and she is a very smart and creative person. She is a very talented writer that can make so many creative ideas, with her work she is very influential, and she is a hard worker that never gives up when there is an obstacle. She did have some obstacles before she was writer but if they had never happened she might have never written the books that so many people love. First of all she got divorced which put her in a dark place and then she had to take care of her daughter Jessica. Doing this alone she struggled with welfare and being able to provide for her daughter. The Harry Potter books are the only thing that kept her motivated and then the first three books, Sorcerers Stone, Chamber of Secrets, and Prisoner of Azkaban, all made her rich in three years. (1)

When it comes to my creative side, there are three things that could make a creative genius: I am a fast thinker, I can pick up lessons really quick, and I am very good with math. Now some things that can be problematic for me are that I have a tendency to think past my limit of resources, so I am often faced with having to change my idea. Now, because I can pick up on things easily and am a fast thinker, I usually think of another good idea that is sometimes better than what I originally had because the lack of resources make it more fun and creative. In an interview I was doing Maria Beniaris said, “Always look at something with a deeper meaning and not for what it is.” I use this quote to help me think of better ways to do something and be more creative with an artistic point of view. Something that our world is faced with today is focusing on matters that don’t need tending to. For example, we are not taking care of our Earth at all, by dumping so much garbage, polluting the air affecting the ozone layer and so on. I think because I can pick up on things fast I would be able to learn a few things that have to do with the environment and then use what I have learned to think of a way to get children aware of what is happening so that in the future we could use our technology to fix everything. From this idea, we would have a cleaner Earth and a good way to get rid of things without ruining our planet.  

References:

“J.K. Rowling Biography”, n.p. Bio. n.d. (1)

“E.L. James Biography” n.p. Bio. n.d. (2)

“Seth Macfarlane Biography” n.p. Bio n.d. (3)

Beniaris, Maria. 2014. Personal Interview