Minty...

Austin Kleon

~”You can’t make the same color twice, it’s just impossible...”

When making a piece that has a very broad prompt and use of materials I like to limit myself to maybe the most challenging media. A lot of the time I put limits on my color palette; I can’t use the same color palette twice or more than twice in a row. Or maybe, I’ll limit myself to the most challenging idea that I had after brainstorming just because I think it’d make for an interesting piece.Sometimes, I’l even introduce time constraints onto my work ethic... that’s very rare though because my creativity has no timer on it. So, I often struggle with due dates when it comes t artwork. 

~”So fun” by Silent Child (a.k.a my boyfriend) 

I wouldn’t say that I take care of ‘me’ a lot. I rest... sometimes and I feed myself... sometimes. But, when I look deeper, I don’t beat myself up all that much. I do give my brain breaks. I listen to the music my boyfriend makes if he’s not available to call, which calms me. I’m in the process of hopefully getting a part-time job. They interviewed me on the spot ( they loved me) and said that they’d call. I look at old pictures of my dog, Luke to remember those days when he was a baby - to remember the times he would crawl in my lap while I played video games and go to sleep. I’m a weirdo living a pretty basic life on the surface I guess.

RadMintyThings

~Ponyo and Sosuke

After I saw the movie Ponyo, I had this dream. This sweet surreal dream gave light to what I want from my future. I want to live humbly in a small, humble, town like the one in Ponyo. And I want a house like the one Sosuke and his mother lived in. I want to surround myself with the generosity and simplicity that was depicted in that film. I feel like a quiet, quaint, humble, and simple environment like that would be the best place to live and to create. 

~We are...?

On my Instagram, @mintchip_cookie - excuse my shameless plug - I posted the different stages of progress I was in at different times with this piece on my story. And after I turned it into my art teacher, I come to school the following day to find out that my piece was chosen among a small few to represent our school in the Annual Howard County Junior Senior Art show. A week or so after that, I found out from attending the show that I had won an award in that show. My piece was recognized and awarded. I would say that this is one of my best pieces. And the people I show it to think its pretty amazing which in turn makes me feel like it’s amazing. 

~Doodles and doodles, but the lips are pretty nice

~”I got magic cards... and magic handss...”

Austin Kleon

This tip really resonated with me because all my life I’ve been told to “write the book I think I should read”. All my life, I’ve felt caged and enclosed. Not just because my family is very close but because my family sometimes pushed and forced their ideals onto me. It felt almost like I wasn’t allowed to have ideas of me own at times. And for a long time I didn’t think I ever would. But now, I have an idea of how I’m going to think for myself and write my own story because I want to write it I want to do it. I’m going to tell stories through my artwork that are important to me because that’s what I want. I’m going to live the life I want to live; I’m going to make the memories that I want to remember because I can.

~Me... everyday

~Who’s this minty person, wth??

Personally, I feel that we never truly find out who we are because we’re always changing, learning, feeling. This tip (in literal terms) honestly reminds me of myself. The way I see it, I make art in order to discover myself. By making what I want based on ideals and moral I hold sacred I can tap into myself and recognize myself. On the other side of the spectrum of what the tip actually means, there are many people that I am inspired by. And from my favorites, I take their purpose and meaning and compare them to my own and use them to modify my own. 

~I’m fangirling so hard right now, the animation is flawless!!!!

One of the things I’m most inspired by is this one anime call FLCL: Progressive. I’m in love with this whole anime. The animation style, the plot, the voice acting, everything about this anime just give me that real good feeling in my gut that makes me think, “This... this is what I want to do. I want to make something as beautiful and as radical as this anime but better”. I want to animate, I want to voice act, I want to make some truly radical art that tells a unique story.