Several years ago I came across this image. It's a picture of a breast cancer cell. Growing up I came from a family of geneticists. I was taught about genetics at the age of 6 and sought to learn much on my own. When I came across this image one day, I was fascinated by what I saw. Cancer has always been a passion of mine and finding a cure, my drive. Ideas of how to go about that have been bubbling in my head since I was a small child and it ha become almost an obsession. It's interesting to think about how one of the deadliest diseases could be cured with the use of a vector for another. It's a deadly place where the possibilities seem endless and the science is beautiful.

About two years ago I went to the tour of the Banff Film Festival here in Albuquerque, which is a film festival dedicated to the documentation of extreme sports. The videos featured each year vary from cyclists, to fly fishers, to rock climbers. The film I found particularly fascinating was about three base jumpers and their journey to do one of the biggest jumps of their careers. Watching them hold on to a cable that was stretched across the top of an enormous cave depression, I couldn't fathom how much strength it would take to simply let go of the cable and fall. To my amazement, one by one, each of the jumpers let go, fell, and successfully deployed their parachutes. Their story inspires me to be at peace with my life and death, and to let go in order to have the most experience-enriched life possible.

Nature Inspires Me

Nature inspires me because it doesn't need us humans to live. It will grow and change after we're long gone.

Wooden

Bruno Walpoth-Should I  http://www.walpoth.com/wood.html 

Much of my fascination with art centers around representations of people. I enjoy that peculiar “uncanny valley” sensation that one gets from looking at something that appears human but not quite. There seems to be something singular about human-like objects, a strange quality that turns a mirror on the audience, evoking sympathy and, at times, discomfort. At their most effective, these objects force the audience to contemplate what exactly it is that separates them from this mirror-image, what humanity actually means. Bruno Walpoth's statues are especially effective to this end. His wooden figures never seem to be doing anything in particular; instead, they just encase this strange sense of being. What most inspires me is the tension between the delicate, familiar features that almost transcend the medium and the unsmoothed surface that reminds the onlooker “Yes, you are, in fact, staring at a piece of wood.” I am enthralled by the way the chalky, unfinished look seems to carry a metaphor of people as constructions, as projects, or better yet, as works-in-progress.     

US-Mexico Border

This is a photo of the US-Mexico border in my hometown of El Paso, Texas. Growing up here I never realized how significant of a space this was for me. Seeing this photo reminds me of my heritage and where I come from, and in many ways it is also a call to action for me—motivating me to address this space and the issues it faces in my work.

Backbreaking Inspiration

This may seem like an odd photo to inspire me but it is from the very worst day at work in my life. We did not get out until after 3 am when the usual finishing time is close to 12 am. I am inspired by this because I refuse to allow myself to settle for manual labor and live this way for the rest of my life when I have the opportunity to get an education (not that there is anything wrong with this type of work).

Shadow

"Shadow" by Cesarr S. Terrio, seen here.

I enjoy this photo and others like it for their not-so-literal conceptual ideas. The photos in Terrio's gallery in particular are incredibly simplistic, yet they seem to defy reality. I love the idea of surreality in photographs since there is a great notion that if something is in a photo then it must be real. Making a photo appear to have been nearly impossible to take is an intriguing challenge to me, especially if there is a point it's trying to get across, or even a simple theme to express a more complex idea.

P.S. This is Autumn. I had changed it so my display name was "Autumn," then I got an email from Google saying that my name is in violation of their names policy. Funny story, except I can't use my own name. Still working on that. 

Kinetic Sculpture: It MOVED me

I first watched this video depicting Theo Jansen's kinetic sculptures last year in my sculpture class. What is most creative about Jensen's work is his flawless ability to combine two very different concepts: art and technology. I was stunned at the genius of his creativity as much as I was perplexed by how the different pieces even functioned. Before that moment I had never before considered creating something that moved, especially something as technically astute as his kinetic sculptures. Even his use of wind serves as an organic and ephemeral factor to the overall pieces, which I believe adds more flavor and depth to the overall composition. Jensen's kinetic sculptures have inspired me as an artist to remove the boundaries on what I think art is or can be and involve myself in other fields of education to expand my own capabilities as an artist. Maybe I don't have to get a degree in physics to be able to create something as inspiring and beautiful. But maybe by keeping an open mind and learning all that I can, I will stop putting boundaries on my own creativity. There is a certain art to most things in life. From how we live our lives, to how we think and function, to the world we live in.... creativity and art encompass all of this. It is finding the areas that link, and work together, that oppose, that tell a story, that inspire, etc and capturing them. These things create the most memorable pieces of art and these things aren't confined to boundaries.    

Autistic Blind Boy Singing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAiuJGe-GAs

This is a picture of a 10 year old autistic, blind boy named Christopher Duffley.  His mother was a drug addict and he was born prematurely at 1 1/2 pounds.  He was adopted and his parents found out that he had an amazing talent.  The link is of him singing the national anthem at a hockey game.  The link is what I find inspirational, I just included the picture as well.

My birthday was a week ago and I was extremely sick and did not have the best day.  My dad sent me this link and told me to watch it.  It made my day and I found it so inspirational because this young boy faces many obstacles and he has fought through them and discovered his talent.  I find him to be remarkable and it reminded me that we have to cherish each day and every moment we have.

This is a picture of my cousin Trace. The reason that I chose this picture is because I've looked all over the internet for a picture that inspired me above all else. I couldn't find one that summed it all up better than this one. I considered famous pictures like the Eye of God or the Make Love Not War photo, but the things I think about when I look at those pictures are the summed up in this photo of a preschooler. He inspires me to learn so that I can pass on the vest information I can. He forces me to love. Love is contagious, so love for him is love for everyone. Every piece of art or anything I think anybody can do always comes back to what it does for the ones you love.

Ovechkin

This is a picture of my favorite hockey player, Alexander Ovechkin. He inspires my creativity because he plays his sport so unconventionally. We haven't talked about creativity in sports and athletics in class, but I believe that it's possible to be creative when playing sports. Ovechkin uses unconventional movements and tries things that seem impossible in order to score. People and analysts are highly critical of his play because it is different and (slightly) selfish, but his impressive stats speak for themselves. He reminds me that you can be creative in anything you do, and to ignore the doubters of your style. Here is a video of his feats: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGkuDR3VymE

WTF

This photo is absolutely bizarre. I have a tendency to analyze everything around me as much as possible. Consequently, I end up seeing things as stark and sterile, which makes my world view a little lackluster. Occasionally, however, I find things that have no concrete explanation nor any means of extracting one. In circumstances such as these I find myself creating my own scenarios as explanations. That's when I feel most inspired. There's no way I'll ever really know what was going on when this picture was taken, but it's vastly entertaining to imagine the scene...

Tranquilo

I took this photo of my host brother Raúl from when I went to Ecuador in the summer of 2010. He was 11 when this photo was taken. It was taken as he chopped onions in his parent's bedroom one day. Raúl taught me the value of friendship. Although he was young, he welcomed me as a friend and taught me all about the small rural community that he called home. Unlike many of the other people in the community, Raúl never made fun of me or made me feel like I was an outsider. Like most children, Raúl had a free spirit and a kind heart. These qualities seem so simple, but when I get into the hustle and bustle of my life as a student, worker, daughter, sister, and friend, I often forget to just relax and enjoy all of the excitement. It's easy for me to get lost in daily stresses, but this picture inspires me to stay loose and let my mind wander every once in a while.

In the words of Raul, "Tranquila, Señorita Samantha."

On the Identity of Banksy

From Wikipedia, so take with a pinch of salt or more...

"There have been numerous rumours and theories as to Banksy's identity. Names often suggested include Robin Banks and Robin Gunningham.

In 2004, an alleged photograph of him in Jamaica at the Two-Culture Clash Project surfaced. In October 2007, a story on the BBC website featured a photo allegedly taken by a passer-by in Bethnal Green, London, purporting to show Banksy at work with an assistant, scaffolding and a truck. The story confirms that Tower Hamlets Council in London has decided to treat all Banksy works as vandalism and remove them. Through the pictures, Banksy's identity was speculated to be Robin Gunningham, a man born in Bristol on 28 July 1973. Gunningham was educated at Bristol Cathedral School, and, according to a former friend, was "extremely talented at art." Gunningham lived with artist Luke Egan. Around 2000, when Banksy moved from Bristol to London, Gunningham is known to have moved from Bristol to a London flat in Hackney, and a number of Banksy's most famous works appeared nearby. At that time, Gunningham lived with Jamie Eastman, who worked for a record label that used illustrations by Banksy.

In May 2009, the Mail on Sunday once again speculated about Gunningham being Banksy after a "self-portrait" of a rat holding a sign with the face of the man on the 2004 photo shot on it was photographed in East London. This "new Banksy rat" story was also picked up by The Times and the Evening Standard.

In response to reports that Banksy was Robin Gunningham, Banksy's agent refused to either confirm or deny the reports.

In May 2007, an extensive article written by Lauren Collins of The New Yorker re-opened the Banksy-identity controversy citing the 2004 photograph of the artist that was taken in Jamaica during the Two-Culture Clash project and later published in the Evening Standard in 2004.

Simon Hattenstone from Guardian Unlimited is one of the very few people to have interviewed him face to face. Hattenstone describes him as "a cross of Jimmy Nail and British rapper Mike Skinner" and "a 28 year old male who showed up wearing jeans and a t-shirt with a silver tooth, silver chain, and one silver earring." In the same interview, Banksy claimed that his parents think he is a painter and decorator.

An article posted at The Onion jokes that Banksy is actually an 89-year-old woman from Old London.

Banksy, himself, states on his website: I am unable to comment on who may or may not be Banksy, but anyone described as being 'good at drawing' doesn't sound like Banksy to me."

Good News for Stencils

Autumn suggested using spray chalk as a temporary alternative for stencils. This looks like a good product if that's something you're interested in: Abrivo Air Chalk