1. Looking back at the “bones of summer” how have you engaged or created art? If you haven’t engaged or created art, please describe why.

Though I made sure to practice my voice a lot since that is my main instrument, this summer I found myself in a more hands on art. My mother brought me down to the beach and showed me a stump embedded with rocks and covered with barnacles.  She said to me “you should turn this into a table” and me, not doing anything due to covid quarantine said “sure why not”.  So I brought this stump up to my grandpas shop and sanded it for about a month. Using a flap wheel grinder to get the sun-bleached cracked wood layer off, a die grinder to get into the nooks and crannies, and normal sandpaper to make it look pretty.  From there, my second big project was a bench that I wood burned with a microwaved. The patterns burned into the wood are called Lindenberg figures, basically a electric current running through the wood from a microwave transformer… I did electrocute myself doing it. Exploring a more physical art this summer was an amazing experience and a valuable skill working with wood/metals, and something i’ll use for the rest of my life.

  1. What things, if any, surround you that you consider powerful?

I consider my family powerful. My father determination to go to work online each day to keep my family stable financially is powerful, keeping me determined to do my job (school) online each day.  My mother, keeping the house clean everyday though everyones home, cooking meals, maintain her wonderful garden, is powerful. And my grandpa, who can fix any problem that comes his way, and teaches me woodworking/carpentry is powerful in knowledge.

  1. Over the next couple of days, take note of the dominant sounds in areas that you consistently walk. What are the sounds you notice most of all? Be specific.

I notice more high pitch, melodic sounds, (e.g.) the birds chirping, people using power tools in their houses, the beep of the crosswalk when I press the button. I also hear the gears on my bike switching, the tire spinning while I don’t pedal, and the cars pass by on the road.

  1. How do you relate to the phrase “free time only works if you steal it?”

Yes I can steal time from the time I should be using on more important tasks, which I often do, but that dark playground usually fills me with tremendous guilt. If i’m gonna get free time it should be earned, and I don’t think that of stolen time, I believe it’s very valuable and deserved.

  1. Do you have any other takeaways from the film?

Leslie can make his art out of anything. I was shocked to how in depth he observed the burned door hinge and the beautiful art he made from it. He was not afraid to make art of what he truly found interesting, and that mindset is something I strive to have.