Sweet Sweet Bliss

If I could do one thing in this world, or I guess the one thing I want to have the ability of being able to do, is being able to just pause humanity. Now that might sound extremely confusing and down right weird, but it's fairly simple. I want the ability to be able to take all of the people, the animals, and the insects, and take them off the planet and put them in a state of non existence for a while. I love traveling, and I love doing things alone. I am not afraid to admit that I work better and enjoy myself more if I am alone.

Now that's not to say I don't mind company and hanging out with friends, because I do, but if I had the ability to pause moments in life for however long I wanted would be my most deepest desire. I would visit the wold in my own way. I could go up to the top of the Eiffel Tower and have breakfast one morning, or I could work out in my favorite team's stadium by myself, I could steal tons of money for myself and use it when I un-pause time. I would live two completely different lives and truly feel that I could do whatever I wanted.

I could spend my time working and moaning about gas prices like everybody else, but for my other life, my past time, I could literally have a vacation that would never end. To be able to travel to far distant places without having to hear babies crying, people fighting, bad drives, etc... truly is everlasting bliss!

Imagining Just That!

There are many out there who might suggest that to think like a child is immature and a complete waste of time. I, on the other hand, always look back to the past to explain the present. For example, I sit on my bed as I am typing this and I am looking down at the carpet. I am 8 years old and I envision that my carpet is the ocean and that my entire room is floating in the midst of the cool sea breeze. As I lie down, I can close my eyes and feel the bed going up and down as the waves seem truly there.

Whenever I had to get up to get out of my room I would do odd things to avoid touching the water (carpet). If there were dirty clothes on my floor I'd consider that a raft and be able to jump on it to safety as I reached closer towards the door. Knowing my next jump would declare me either safe....or dead in the water. I would hang on my door and swing to the entrance of my room and falling on the other side of the carpet. However, ironic as it may sound the other side of the carpet was carpet, but it wasn't MY carpet, therefore it wasn't the ocean. Right?

Regardless, Sometimes I still play that don't touch the floor or you'll drown, some of my friends play a similar game and call it hot lava. I feel its good to find enjoyment out of the simple things in life. If I can play a game just by jumping on dirty clothes or whatever other objects to avoid hitting the ground, well then I will damn well do it!

Getting Down With My Unique Self!

Over the last few days I have been trying to open my mind and step out of my everyday routine and notice the things I have in my life (that we may all have in life) that I find really unique. 

1. Why do we use colors for our traffic lights? We use the word STOP for stop signs, while also using the word red, but isn't it strange how colors dictate the way we operate in this world? In general most traffic signs will have a uniform color to show urgency or important messages to the driver. Maybe it has to do with the amount of time a driver has to look at signs while he is driving 70 mph on a highway that we have to use colors to communicate that you should either prepare to stop or slow down. 

2. In my backyard I have always been fond of the large number of birds in the huge tree we used to have. My father was tiresome of always seeing bird poop on his car, so last week we had it trimmed and pretty much cut down. I look out to see that the birds have simply just moved to the trees beside our house and wonder how sad it must have been for them to come home one day, and it was gone. I imagine if I came home from school one day and my house was just completely destroyed I couldn't simply lose everything and move next door.

3. At the gym, I workout everyday and I use a lot of the cardiovascular machines such as the elliptical, step up, and the treadmill. I have noticed on a number of occasions that other people will refuse to take the machines to the left or right of me if they don't have to. Now this is probably not due to the fact I sweat like crazy and probably smell quite bad when I work out, but its more to do with the fact, I believe, that people like their personal space. People at the gym rarely communicate with each other and I feel this is because working out has always been a private thing a person does when they want to get fit or stay in shape.

What Do I Remember?

Today's class was very insightful and an overall good time. I learned a lot about my other classmates and left with a positive outlook on where this class was headed. It seems we have a lot of brilliant, and maybe strange, minds. This class really feels like its gelling together quickly, and through all of the experiences we have come through in just 2 classes.....What was the one thing I remember from this lesson? It might not seem a logical choice, but the homeless man sitting on a bench behind us is the memory I will probably most remember later down the road. As he watched our lecture it seemed strange at first, but it was amazing how easily I forgot about him once class finally started. He let us go about our business, but I could tell he was listening very closely to what we said, and at times I caught myself gauging his reaction to things as we all heard them.

In a sense, it's really interesting to think about how he might have perceived us and what an egg has to do with life and the world around us. Looking outside of the situation, it occurred to me that he might represent the majority of society whenever someone comes across as looking differently or thinking differently. They sometimes don't know how to respond and may reject them completely. I wasn't really afraid of what the people in the class thought about my project because in the end I knew they are in the same boat and won't judge a kindergarten looking art piece as long as the meaning behind it was strong. The homeless man did worry me because I was afraid that I would be coming off looking like a fool or just insane. Looking back on it this sums up my reaction when I am finished with a 3D model. I am afraid it isn't up to standard and that others won't like it or think it looks horrible. I know now that it isn't about whatever anyone else thinks, its about what I think. You hear a lot of phrases like that, but until you actually experience a situation that proves the statement, its hard to grasp the importance of it.

The Egg and The Eye

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to my journey into Seeing Sideways, this blog will contain all of my assignment explanations.

This week I started the ultimate journey of seeing sideways and experiencing the world in a new light. Going away after the first lecture knowing that a set number of choices is good, but an unlimited number of choices is bad. I wanted to take my Egg and crack it and get rid of the innards to limit my choices of what I wanted to do for my assignment.

All through my days at school from elementary, high school, and college I have been told what to do and how to do it. When I received this assignment I was given instructions that seemed like a strange language at the time that I could not understand. Do whatever you want? But what about the 10 points? How am I supposed to know what the professor wanted? But deep down this was a challenge I felt more obliged to accomplish than any other assignment I have ever completed.

Once the Egg was cracked I came away not knowing what to do next as the options I had now were much more limited than what I could have done with a complete egg. I felt happy when I cracked the egg, and I wanted to express that with the shell in whatever I decided to do with it. It wasn't until I started arranging the pieces of the shell on a paper plate. I glued the pieces in an outline of a face that is smiling. It took about 10 minutes but I felt more accomplished than a project I would do that took 10 hours. I created a piece of art (in my opinion of course) with the simple object of an egg. Whatever this class my hold next I am very very intrigued.

-Blake Salisbury

Here is the photo of the smiling egg shell