Rapture

noun

an expression or manifestation of ecstasy or passion

(source-Merriam-Webster)

I encounter this word in the reading “Christian Fundamentalism”. The word is found in the sentence “The prediction is that before the final battle all the believers will be lifted out of their clothes and will float up to heaven in an event called the Rapture”. After I look up this word in dictionary, I know it means an expression of ecstasy or passion.

frictionless

noun

the act of rubbing one thing against another

(source-Merriam-Webster)

I encounter this word in the reading “Chaos theory: the butterfly and the el nino”. I found the word in the sentence ” Imagine a ball rolling across a frictionless surface and bouncing off circular obstacles”. Knowing it means the act of rubbing one thing against another, I better understand what the author is saying.

indulgence

noun

the behavior or attitude of people who allow themselves to do what they want or who allow other people to do what they want

(source-Merriam-Webster)

I meet this word in the reading called The virtue of idleness. This word is found in the sentence “The lie-in – by which I mean lying in bed awake – is not a selfish indulgence but something essential to the art of living.” By knowing the meaning of the word, I can image the situation the author is describing.

anathema

noun

someone or something intensely disliked or loathed —usually used as a predicate nominative

(source-Merriam-Webster)

I encounter this word in the reading “Fatal addiction: the story of Scott Douglas”. I found it in the sentence, “Although Mr Douglas concedes that legalisation would be “anathema” to many fellow parents, he would like to see heroin supplied by the health service to addicts and a “clean and controlled environment” for it to be taken with free needles and medical advice.” Without knowing the anathema means someone or something intensely disliked, I wouldn’y understand what the autor wants to express.

Drastic

Adjective

extreme in effect or action : severe or serious

I found this word in an article called “Aaron Ralston’s Story”. The word is found in this sentence,”After three days of not seeing or hearing any sign of life Aaron realised he would die there if he didn’t do something drastic.” If I don’t know the definition of this word, I wouldn’t understand how bad the situation was.

Homeopathy

Noun

a system for treating illnesses that uses very small amounts of substances that would in larger amounts produce symptoms of the illnesses in healthy people

I encounter this word in the reading “Extreme bias at Wikipedia on homeopathic medicine” by Dana Ullman. The word is found in this sentence, “After reading the below body of scientific evidence on the subject of homeopathic medicine, I hope that we can engage in a dialogue that will help reduce the amount of misinformation that pervades certain subjects, such as homeopathy.” Without knowing the definition of this word, I couldn’t understand what this article is about. Now I understand it is a system for treating illnesses.

Color Interaction Parings: Phase 4

colorinteractionfreestudy

In this project, I did a research of the meanings of different color. Then I picked a color that I think it represents my partner’s personality the most. The color I chose is cream yellow. Because I feel like she is a friendly and quiet person. Next we chose a shared color that contrasts both of our color choices. I also learned how to use less-saturated hue or variation in value to create good contrast. Finally, we picked a icon for each other. By making the icon, I learned  some Illustrator techniques. I learned how to use pen tool to create a simple silhouette. I filled it with the shared color and place it within the background. Overall, I really enjoyed this project.

Exhibit Catalogue (Final)

This exhibit is presented by YingYang Zhang. Born and raised in KaiPing, China, then moved to New York where he now lives and studies. Tom Phillips, a British artist who began creating altered books called Humument at 1966. He altered every pages of a second-hand book by painting, collage and cut-up techniques. Phillips already published five versions of Humument. Yang combinded the concepts of Phillips’ Humument and what he learned from Graphic design principle 1100 and English 1101 to create his own Humument. The book Yang used is Of Mice and Men. The book is about George and Lennie’s ambition of owning their own ranch, and the obstacles that stand in the way of that ambition, reveal the nature of dreams, loneliness, and sacrifice. Yang really like those themes that revealed from that book, because he understands that if you want to make your dream comes ture, you must experience lonliness and sacrifice. Outside the book, Yang also came up with another theme that relate to dream—-freedom. Yang has lived in China for 16 years. He has seen many people’s dream being limited since they were children. In China, getting a good grade is more important than almost everything. Some parents would force their kids to study very hard. They don’t even have the freedom to do what they want, not to speak of their dream. Yang feels regret for those children, so he decided to create these themes in three different pages for his Humument. To create the pages, Yang used X-Acto knife, black bristol, glue, No. 6H pencil and black big brush. For the first page, Yang named it Route of Dreams. It represents Of Mice and Men’s themes of dreams and loneliness, Yang used an X-Acto knife to cut out shapes of a dark cloud, lightning, and a bird from black bristol, then glued them on the page to create the obvious composition. The dark cloud and the lightning stand for the obstacles of our dreams, and the bird is used to represent loneliness. On the way to achieve our dreams, we would encounter situations that no body could help, we have to go through it by ourself. We might feel lonely, but we have to get used it. The second page is called Broken. It represents Of Mice and Men’s theme of sacrifice, Yang used a No. 6H pencil and a black big brush to create the concept of pattern. Yang used the No.6H pencil to draw the shape of the pattern, then filled it with the black big brush.  The irregular lines staggered together makes it look like a broken mirror, represent the idea of sacrifice. In order to achieve our dreams, sometimes we might need to do some sacrifices. We might need to sacrifice our time, money, hobby, or mate. Yang believes all the sacrifices would be worth at the end. For the third page, Yang called it Freedom. He used a No. 6H pencil and a black big brush to create the concept of overlap. Yang first used the No.6H pencil to draw the outline, then filled it with the black big brush. In this page, you only see part of the heart. And the heart is separating in birds shape. Presenting the idea of freedom. Yang wants to appeal some parents not to limit their kids, let them be what they want to be.

 

Project #5: Color Interaction Parings: Phase 2

Group 1 – Achromatic gray studies

colorinteractions_value

For group 1, I learned how to make the two achromatic gray small square that in same value look different by vary the value of the large square. It took me about 15 minutes to finish.

Group 2 – Shifting value (with color)

colorinteractions_value2

For group 2, I changed the value of the large square but keet its color. It alters the perceived value of the two small squares that in same color. It took me about 15 minutes to finish.

Group 3 – Shifting hue, but not value

colorinteractions_huenotvalue

For group 3,  I learned how to make different colors have the same value. I chose one hue as my two small squares’ color and make this one color appear as two by varying the color of my two large squares. It took me about 20 minutes to finish.

Group 4 – Shifting hue and value

colorinteractions_huenotvalue2

For group 4, I learned how to shift both hue and value of  my two large squares to make my two small squares that in same color appear as two. It took me about 15 minutes to finish.