Cold Weather, Cold Hearts

It has just been too cold this week. Well, too cold to go to school in a skirt anyway. I mean seriously, you would think they would relax the uniform when it is so cold the field is completely white but no, skirts it is. Although the fact I refuse to wear tights probably does not help! No sign of snow unfortunately though - funnily enough I don't complain about the temperature when that happens. Still, it is early days yet.

I have been just as shocked and horrified as everyone else by Trump's victory. I didn't think America would vote for someone like that, but clearly there are a large amount of people who like his principles. I think that says a lot about the world we live in right now.

The thing is, the USA is a country that was built on immigration. Very few of the people who live there now are part of America's native population. Their ancestors all moved there from other parts of the world, and that diversity is part of what has created their culture. So why are they so intent on stopping that happening any more, it is as though they are denying their history. They have been a country at the forefront of new technology, and yet now they are heading for the past. And I feel that if they carry on this way, they will be leading us into dark places.

I'll Give You The Sun

I have just finished reading a book my friend gave me called "I'll Give You The Sun" by Jandy Nelson. I loved it! The story is told by a pair of twins called Noah and Jude. Some parts are written by Noah when he is 13, some parts are written by Jude when she is 16. In Jude's sections, something terrible has happened to drive the twins apart and turn their world upside down, while Noah tells the story of everything that happened before.

As well as the relationships that occur between the twins and the other people in their lives, the story also looks as the relationship between artists and their art. Both twins are artists, but while Noah draws and paints Jude makes sculptures and clothes. They are both driven to make art by different things and this plays an important part in the story. The author describes this "artistic impulse" that drives them brilliantly.

I love this book partly because of the characters and the storyline, but also because of how it is written. Flicking back and forward in time gives the book an interesting dynamic, adding to the suspense. But what I think I love best is how realistically the author shows the characters passions - for their lovers, their family and their art. He has successfully captured what makes the characters tick, and that is what makes the book so special.

I highly recommend this book to all teens, especially anyone who is an artist. It is the best one I have read for a while.

Dodgeball Madness

We played dodgeball at school in PE today. At first, it was just the girls playing. All was calm. But then the boys came in from football because it was raining, things got a little hectic! They were throwing the balls as hard as they could, even managing to hit the ceiling with such force it then bounced on the floor and slammed against the wall. And that was all before my team was on! I managed to hit a couple of boys amid the chaos. It was so much more fun than netball - we all need a bit of madness on a Friday afternoon!

On James Cordon's late late show, he had a game of dodgeball with One Direction! They took it really seriously and it was hilarious! Not as chaotic as ours though! You can watch it below:

Halloween Fun

Sorry I haven't blogged over the past few days, it is because I have been busy with Halloween. On Saturday, one of my friends had a Halloween party at her house. I dressed up as a purple and black witch. We all watched The Visit together, which is seriously disturbing but I loved it. We also had a go at some apple bobbing (it's impossible) and did the doughnut challenge - competing to see who can eat a doughnut without their hands off a piece of string first. I was covered in sugar by the end of it!

On Wednesday, I dressed up again to go trick or treating with my friend and her little niece and nephew. They were so cute! I loved going round with them and we got plenty of sweets. Between those and the ones we got from the party, I am sorted for weeks!

I have had a great Halloween this year. What did you get up to?

Why I Am Pleased I Did Work Experience

Today was my last day of work experience. For the last 2 days I have been working on a design brief for a charity T-shirt that will be sold to fund raise by students at the school the business works with. I have loved working as a designer for the last couple of days. I want to work in design when I am older but I never thought I would have the opportunity to design something that could be used commercially at just 15 years old!

The people I was working for were really pleased with my design. They have asked me to keep working on a digital version and possibly come back later on in the year to do some more work with them, or when I am in college. They said they might even pay me! I am now really pleased I did work experience as without it I would never have had this opportunity. It has definitely been worth it!

Bake Off - The Final 2016

Tonight is the final of Bake Off. Jane, Candice and Andrew will be competing for the last time to try and win. Personally, Candice is my favourite, as she consistently produces bakes with amazing flavour and they usually look good too. She is also a very likeable character. However, Jane has many years of baking experience and Andrew's creations are often brilliant too, so it could be anyone.

We also of course have the excitement of seeing what colour lipstick Candice has on this week!

As Mel, Sue and Mary won't be in the show when it moves to channel 4, this will be the last episode of the show as we know it. I am very upset they are leaving; the show won't be as good without them. So tonight lets enjoy our last ever bake off with the troublesome duo. Who do you want to win?

The Best and the Worst of Work Experience

Today was my second day of work experience. I have been working at a Design and Print workshop as I am interested in being a graphic designer. I did not realise it when I applied, but the business is actually owned and run by a local secondary school. They do a mixture of jobs for the school and jobs for external clients. They were set up to allow students to get work experience and they employ a group of "student staff " who get paid to work there after school. This means they are used to working with teens and were very welcoming.

For the last couple of days, I have been helping in the print workshop to carry out the various print jobs needed by the school and external clients. On the first day, this was very interesting as we were doing lots of small jobs, allowing me to gain experience with a variety of techniques and machines, some of which are relevant to my graphics work. However, today we had to make 900 booklets which was really boring as we were doing the same thing over and over again all day.

I have been told I will be involved in the design work later on in the week, so I have that to look forward to. However, tomorrow will be spent putting all 900 booklets into envelopes! :(

Loving Mandalas

Recently I have become fascinated by Mandalas. These intricate designs are spiritual symbols that symbolically represent the cosmos. Drawing them can be used as a form of meditation, as the process can often be described as an outpouring of the soul. They are full of patterns and usually very colourful.

One of Animal's limited addition skateboards features a mandala design, shown on the right.

I have been having a go at drawing my own mandala and I have fallen in love with them. They are quite hard to draw as they should be symmetrical, yet are made up of repeated freehand irregular shapes which are often hard to get all the same size. However, I love the fact that there are no rules on which patterns you use, allowing you to be very creative. If you like drawing, even if you are not very artistic, I think you should definitely try designing one.

The Latest Dan and Phil Release...



I am a fan of Dan and Phil - I have liked watching their mad videos for a while now and I have read their book. Now though, they have taken their crazy world of internet fame to a whole new level with their new song! In aid of Stand Up To Cancer, Dan and Phil have released a song called The Internet Is Here. It is about the internet and how it fits into our modern lives. You can listen to it below:

 

I'm not sure I agree with some of the lyrics, but it is still funny! I think they need to work on their vocals though! Could they be the next number one? The next big thing? I guess we will have to wait and see! Hahahahah!

Girl Power Playlist

The media seems to get a bad reputation when it comes to promoting feminism. Often, this is unfortunately very true, but there are some artists who write songs that have the opposite message. Songs that promote girl power. Little Mix are especially good at this and have many songs with positive messages for teenage girls, but there are other artists as well. Below is my playlist of empowering songs that reflect what the media should be doing.

Wings - Little Mix
All About The Base - Megan Trainor
Hair - Little Mix
Royals - Lorde
Salute - Little Mix
Hard Out Here - Lily Allen
Just Like Fire - Pink
Black magic - Little Mix
Roar - Katy Perry
We Are Who We Are - Little Mix