1
Canvas Of life
interview:
mark Jansen (epica)
The Canvas Of Your life Simona mihalca makeup: An essay Su Ăœlkenli
letter To my Younger Self Andreea Albulescu
2
Teen Art Out no 35 ISSN 2284 – 6549 ISSN–L = 2284 – 6549
Our editorial team Editor-in-Chief:
Simona Mihalca
Editors:
Elix Rae Andreea Albulescu Mark Rey Amanda Parnell Ruxandra Sevastin Hannah Blaga Casiana Constantin Chris Bartlett Lauren Zlabinger Sara M.S.
Cover design:
Tamara Enache
Design:
Tamara Enache
We reserve the right to select the submissions received before publishing.
Contact:
www.teen.artout.ro teen@artout.ro
3
Contents Letter from the editor
1
Canvas of Life
Simona mihalca
Epica - Mark Jansen
Simona mihalca
interview
3
Canvas of Life
15 16
Canvas
Chris Bartlett
Canvas of Life
hannah Blaga
17 18
Epica - Canvas of Life
Casiana Constantin
Losing the Spirit
elix rae
19
Letter to my Younger Self
Andreea Albulescu
20 21
Masterpiece
mark rey
Perspective
Amanda Parnell
22 23 24 25
Peasure is Pure Joy. Beauty Causes Joy The Arts 2
ruxandra Sevastin Lauren Zlabinger
The Canvas of Your Life
Simona mihalca
Watercolored Dreams
Chris Barlett
Social Watch
27
Sex Education
Sara m.S.
28
What Wakeup Really is, and Why You Should Respect it: an Essay
Su Ăœlkenli
4
LeTter from the editor
1
It would have been a good November when we got to see Epica play in Bucharest, my hometown. Certainly, that meant that we would be able to catch them for an interview. That being said, we did speak with Mark Jansen about the newest album, Epica history, his passions and thoughts. You might recall their latest album, The Quantum Enigma. How could we, then, not decide to dedicate an issue to a song as beautiful as Canvas Of Life. So, here you have it, an edition about life and art, the canvas of our lives, what makes us us and what makes art. It is definitely not the easiest thing to write about, but our editors have gone above and beyond. It reunites the two hardest questions we are faced: “Who am I?” and “What is art?”. What we meant to prove is that, sometimes, the two questions can have the same answer. Stuck in the light of day Waiting for answers A seed that grew into branches Another page has turned, ended a letter Come on home and return to the canvas of life (Epica – Canvas Of Life) We do not think we have the answers. We are stuck in the light of day, just like you or anyone else. We try to make our way and figure out where to go. We are guided by different emotions, different callings and different lights. We belong to the world and the world belongs to us. It took all of the creation to get us here, to have us become a seed that grew into branches. It is now our divine duty to continue that creation, to give back some of our spark, some of our colours, some of our inner songs. It is us who will live this day and the next one, making sure that we make a home for us and whole world for others. We live day by day, we experience a whirlwind of emotions and get carried through infinite mysteries. It can be in a blink of an eye that we got from a seed to our branches. Another one and we will be at the end of our road, be it long or be it short. We will need to return home, to the canvas of our life. Let yourself be art and let art be you!
Simona Mihalca Editor-in-Chief
2
3
mark Jansen
4
You must surely have heard of Epica, a Dutch band like no other. As they were headlining Maximum Rock Festival in Bucharest, we got a chance to chat with Mark Jansen, the bassist and singer of the band and one of the creative forces that fire up Epica. If you know Epica, you surely know him. He has it all: the voice, the wit, the friendliness, the looks. He is such a kind person, always interested in what is going on around him and trying to make a better world. Let’s see what he had to say.
Simona Mihalca: We are getting so many bits of info about your upcoming album. I won't ask for spoilers you can't give yet but I want to ask you: what you would say this album means to you? Mark Jansen: We are in the middle of a process, so it’s hard when you are working on it to look from a distance. Every project we work on is with full dedication, with full force, with full passion, with full energy. It means a lot and until you have finished it, it’s a work in progress to make it better. At this moment we are working hard to make it better, the songs better. We work on vocal lines the upcoming week. So it’s a lot of work still to be done
S.M: What are the most daring things you have done for this record? M.J: I always like the most the creation. There’s nothing and then there’s something. In my opinion we don’t take many risks because TQE was highly received and with that album we took a bit of a risk because we worked with a lot of new people. On the new album we’re working with the same people as on The Quantum Enigma. My feeling is that we’re taking less of a risk than with TQE. I think it’s important that now we continue this line. People were very happy with TQE and we were very happy ourselves.
Interview
5 Simona Mihlca
6
7
S.m: After so many tracks you have written and recorded, do you think writing an album became easier or harder in time? m.J: That’s difficult to say because some aspects get easier and some get harder. You have certain things you’ve done already so you cannot do again, because then you are repeating yourself. On the other hand, you get more experience and some things get easier. It’s always a kind of a struggle. It’s never easy to make the best possible album. Pressure is not something we really feel, at least I personally don’t feel. S.m: What does it mean for you personally for an album to be successful? m.J: If the people are happy, for me it’s successful. I don’t look at sales. 20 years ago millions of people were buying albums and nowadays is way less because of many reasons. When I receive many messages from people that they are happy with the album, for me it’s successful. S.m: We are getting closer and closer to epica metal Fest, your very own festival. How was it organizing it this far and how nervous are you about it? m.J: It’s a lot of work to organise a festival. I was actually more nervous
to see if the bands we had in mind would accept our invitation. We were very happy to see that they were all very enthusiastic and wanting to come. Now I am not really nervous for the festival itself because I think it is in good hands, we work with a lot of people who are very motivated and experienced, so I think it’s matter of let it roll. S.m: What would you like people to know epica for and how would you describe the band? m.J: I would like them to know the music. It’s an easy answer. That is what Epica stands for, the music. There are still many, many people who don’t know our music and we are trying to reach as many as possible. When a lot of people know your music, that’s a great feeling. S.m: Of everything you have written, be it music or lyrics, what would say you are proudest of? m.J: All the time with a new album I am really proud and when it’s done I put it out for everyone and let it go. Then, I am not proud of a specific lyric or song. For me it’s the whole. All the music is one big thing from the first album to this one. It’s a big, long road. Of course, there are a lot of people who like Cry For The Moon and it makes me really proud that there’s a song that so many metalheads know, but I am not more proud of that song than any other song. For us they are all our babies.
Interview
8
Interview
9
Photo Credits: Carlos Funes
10
S.m: do you have any hidden unreleased songs you regret not putting them out there? m.J: I think basically every song we wrote is out there. If a song was not released, there was a good reason. Maybe it wasn’t good enough. It can become good enough in the future, when we change it until we are satisfied. But all the songs that are ready and we are happy about have been released. S.m: Are there any songs in your setlist you would never not play? What about songs you are tired of playing? m.J: There was, for example, a song Never Enough, which I personally never liked to play but there are still some people asking for the song. It’s a very song, but to play it live, I don’t have that much fun with that one compared to other songs. That’s just one example, there are quite some other songs with the same feeling, but that one just got to my mind because it’s an obvious one and it was a single. We played the song on Retrospect, the DVD show, because we really wanted to play it for all the people who ask for it often. It’s been on a document that they can watch anytime. It was a win-win situation. A song I really like playing and we have played it many times is The Obsessive Devotion. On festivals it’s always going well.
S.m: do you censor yourself? Have you ever written anything and then decided it was too harsh? m.J: Not really. I always write down what I feel like and I always keep it. There are some harsh lyrics here and there. I never regret putting it out and sometimes you get some reactions on it and sometimes people misinterpret the message and they ask for explanation. I am very happy when they at least, because some never ask and just blame you for something that you didn’t intentionally write down. So, when people ask, I tell them what I meant with the lyrics and most times they like it and say “oh, I never looked at it like that”. I just write down whatever I feel like and if it’s harsh or not, I don’t really mind. But it has to sound a bit poetic. I don’t want to write it too obviously. Epica has to sound a bit charming and not really like a band such as Machine Head, who says Fuck You, for example. That wouldn’t fit to Epica. S.m: What are the issues you are most passionate about at the moment? m.J: I am passionate about the new album first of all. I am passionate about nature, in general. I love cycling, walking, swimming, so I am always passionate about nature. I am also passionate about my girlfriend and my pets. I always support good things like when people
11 Funes Photo Credits: Carlos
help other people with good intentions. It makes me happy to see that. And it makes me very sad to see when people destroy other people. I think some people are very pessimistic about the world today and some people are optimistic. I always look a bit in the middle. I try to see the optimistic thing and get it out and focus on that, because if you focus on all the wars and disasters going on, they you can get really depressed. S.m: What's your favourite animal? m.J: I cannot choose between a dog and a cat. People usually love either dogs or cats, but I see the advantages of both. Dogs are very loyal, they are happy when you get home. Cats are not always very nice. They can come and lay with you in the evening and be so serene and have such a nice atmosphere about them. The
two cats that I have came to my house and they never left. S.m: if you were to write a book about yourself, what would you name it? m.J: That’s really a hard question. First of all, I would never write a book about myself. If somebody would ever want to write a book about me, that is already something that I would be a bit, I don’t know… I am not important enough. It’s a weird thought to think about writing a book about myself and even putting a title. I would leave that up to somebody else.
12
13
Photo Credits: Carlos Funes
14
CANVAS of Life
Canvas of life
15
ChRiS BaRTlETT
i am a canvas Awaiting the touch of your brushstrokes longing for you To cover me in your splendid colors my blank surface Hungers for your magnificent stars Your heavenly universe That captures my crystalline eyes Paint me‌ Stain me and anoint me Bless me‌dress me With your artistry With touches of your loving arms Your love is my dream Sweet flowing sea Of existence Seems this persistence is my perfectly perfected fantasy
Canvas of life
16
CANVAS OF liFe hannah BlaGa
if i could paint every moment Of the life that passes my eyes even on the Great Wall of China it couldn't be fit Nor on the borders of europe But it's painted in my mind So small yet so wide And when you take your last breath The colors of paint Slowly disappear into thin air And all is forgotten How could it be so? every moment spent with you At the corner's shop every laugh and tear That shredded the silence The moment i ran through the woods in joy as a little child
All will be forgotten All will die in peace So what do we live for? if our canvas disappears For the moment of life? Or for the fear of utter death? i'll live for love While you'll live for prosperity maybe i'll leave a drop of paint With the souls that i save While you'll be buried with your money That you couldn't even save So, canvas of life Paint my body with mourn For i have nothing left Than my heart that screams after death
Canvas of life
17
ePiCACANVAS OF liFe CaSiana ConSTanTin
“Canvas of life” makes a great name for anything: that could be your life or any work of art. in other words, it is the space where life “manifests”, probably in your head.
is your own will. Go to the cinema, go to the theatre, dance, paint, read - whatever brings you joy - and forget about other’s judgements, these will aim at you anyway in a way or another, chaps’ mouths will never shut.
in order to have a clean space you must not fall for the bright ideas denied by society, by lack of funds or by your own fears. You must be brave enough not to close your eyes to the lies you hear day by day, you must try once again after you lose.
There is no such thing as right or wrong, only choices to assume and to believe in: walk the path you dream of, do what you enjoy, never let others turn your bridle, they are just afraid of your courage to be what you desire.
You can’t let people’s different opinions kill your dreams. everyone should be used for your own good: with some you laugh, with some you learn and with some you work; nobody actually hurts you. Productivity at its best is usually a compound of many distinct characters working together, it is like the Poles: they define earth no matter how far they are from each other.
The lines you’ve read by now might sound nasty to you, my little procrastinator, but you can accomplish anything with small steps. Stop believing they all have to come to you right now.
Never let a day pass by without doing something that defines you: work with breaks, one hour of what is needed to be done and 25 minutes of what you need to be done so you won’t feel overwhelmed. You could finish your “must do this” time faster than you imagine Just try looking at your pictures… it doesn’t and then relax for the rest of your day. i was once a seem that your life is a mess, does it? many magic procrastinator myself, but after months of feeling moments occurred, you have been to many places, controlled i finally got to understand what is my trek you have met plenty of people and there is more to and that i don’t have to hesitate even for a minute so i come! can make my dreams come true. it is so easy to build a “safe” zone: there is a book you could fall in love with but you haven’t found it yet, there is a song which can distress you but it hasn’t been written yet, there is a random passer-by’s smile that could make your day, there is money waiting for you in the middle of the poorest street, there is a friend waiting for your call, there is places no men has reached, there is beautiful birds flying above your head and i can go on for ages…
Just compare your life with a tree’s life or an animal’s life. even if they don’t have to pay taxes they still have to search for food and shelter: maybe they’re using some extraterrestrial mathematics or language to make it easier too. They face the same difficulties: sometimes it’s sunny, sometimes it’s too hot, sometimes it’s rainy and sometimes it’s too cold; their mood could also be affected. They also cuddle and love. remember their parents abandon them earlier than ours, but they still manage to get along. They live a life of uncertainty, but maybe there is also negative content going through approach it with an open mind, always searching for a your “canvas”, blemishes and crooked lines, maybe solution, until the death comes. We ought not to kill someone spilled coffee on it… That’s none of your the animal inside, it is the only one who suggests us to fault, the past is unchangeable but the present survive.
Canvas of life
18
EliX RaE Does growing up and getting older mean forgetting your beliefs, melting into the mass and slowly disappearing into adulthood? Does growing up mean accepting your surroundings, the inequality you witness everyday and keeping quiet about it? Does growing up mean forgiving the world and the people for what they did to you? I’m asking, because I’m genuinely curious. To me, life is supposed to be about defending your beliefs and try to make the world a more decent place to live. You only live once for your own sake ! Even though it is easier to just live by the rules without questioning the system, I don’t think that is the right way. To me, life is not supposed to be about accepting what people want you to be, a simple piece on the big capitalistic chess game. It’s not supposed to be about fitting in and moving straight ahead. Life should be about exploring, noticing and changing what seems wrong. It means having a voice, even though people might stigmatize you, saying you’re a child, « grow up »,« that’s so immature and irresponsible to think this way », « that’s how it is, you can’t change it ». I am not even twenty, but I can see people at thirty that are still looked upon as teenagers : can you be reckless, creative and like punk rock music only when you are a teen ? Does being this way makes you any less legitimate to have an opinion on society and state your choices for a better future ? Though today’s society seems to be a bit more accepting, and all the underground arts that were regarded upon as marginal are starting to get legitimate, it still seems like the majority does not accept this kind of people. Are they afraid they might turn the world upside down ? Are they jealous, because they also want to enjoy their life ? A lot of people say they don’t care about others’ opinions, but they actually do care : they restrein themselves from doing what they truly want to do, because they fear what society will say about them and do to them. They build their identity on the interactions they have with others, and eventually it becomes their real identity. I think that’s funny, hilarious even, how society is based on a big misunderstanding and assumptions that people have of one another’s thoughts. Everytime I talk to someone about some tabboo subject or something people don’t usually like to talk about, people are being open minded and understanding about it, most of the time, but as soon as they go back to their everyday life, they keep quiet and don’t stand up for their beliefs. Most of the time it is not about what their personality is like, it’s about wanting to fit in. Being an adult is just like being a teen, you do not have more power, you just learn how to fit a box. If nothing happens in that box that would ignite a fire in you, you will never be able to burn the crown. And sometimes you have to be your own ignition. Does growing up and getting older mean fit the mold and losing your voice ? I wish I could give a satisfying answer, but I guess that is just how society and education are : to stop sheeps from following each other, you don’t put them in different boxes, you kill them.
Canvas of life
19
leTTer TO mY YOuNGer SelF anDREEa alBUlESCU
When I first heard this issue’s topic, I thought of a huge canvas that has to be painted with every single colour our human eyes can see. It should be a great picture, with thousands of little elements that summarize our lives. It should be that kind of picture I would like to stare at for hour hours and hours, when I will be old and grey, just to remember all the important things in my life.
if you put a little green in that blue, you get many shades of turquoise. This will help you add more dimension to your feelings. You shouldn’t try so hard to keep them simple and plain. By supressing your creativity you’ll end up hurting yourself. Speak your mind, for God’s sake! Don’t try to keep it all in.
Yet, I am still a young painter who needs to blend colours in order to obtain new ones and find them a good place on my canvas. If I were to look back on what I have already painted, I would definitely see some technique flaws, some arias which are poorly drawn and some which I have tried to fix. They might not look as good as I wanted them to, but it is too late to go back and repaint them.
Red is a beautiful. it is the colour of love and passion, but also the fire’s. Be careful who you open up to. Your feelings will not always be answered with the honesty you expect and you’ll be amazed by how burning passion will turn into ashes right before your eyes. luckily, time will heal all your wounds and you won’t be left with scars.
If it was possible for me to write a letter and send it back in time to my younger self, my canvas would have been different. I would have had so many things to tell myself... I would start by grabbing the smaller hand that held the brush and the pallet and say:
“You should use both of your hands. here, hold the pallet with your left, so your right can move freely. and don’t give me that look, or i’ll slap you! You may not agree now, but you have to trust me! You’re not going to end up as you think you will and you definitely won’t be lonely. You’ll meet incredible people with whom you’ll create wonderful memories. now, young lady, here is what i think of what you’ve painted so far: You really have to stop using so much grey! Black is a more elegant colour and you have to admit, you like it more. So what if people want you to use a brighter colour? By mixing black with white you’re only fooling yourself.
another advice you clearly need is: throw away the empty paint tubes! You don’t need them anymore! Yes, they are part of your past, and yes, you’ve been using them for quite a long time, but you really need to buy new ones. Don’t try to live in the past. Focus on your future! You’re planning to build an empire, don’t you? Finally, my last piece of advice is to colour outside the lines. You’ll never get to know new places if you’re going to stay in your comfort zone forever. Eventually, you’ll do that too, but you don’t need someone to constantly push you from behind in order for you to do it. You have enough strength in you, even if you’re so young and naïve. With all being said, if i take a step back and look at what you’ve done so far, it’s not that bad. in fact, you’re starting to improve. i know it could be better, but i’m still proud of you. Good luck, me.”
Canvas of life
20
mASTerPieCe
Canvas of life
21
amanDa PaRnEll
I was afraid i wouldn’t be able to graduate high school. Due to my mental state, i became officially unfit to attend public school when i was around 16 or 17 in the second semester of my junior year. I was just making the call to drop out when i was offered an alternative. Now, in school i was in the class of 2015. I remember at pep rallies i would yell it in the bleachers with the rest of my class but i always felt like i was lying. Always. I was scraping by with d’s most of my high school career, a battle with mental illness making school take the back burner. A few months ago, i sat in the bleachers and i watched the class of 2015 graduate. I cried and i watched all the faces I’d seen almost every day for the better part of the past five or so years walk across the stage without me. But since i stopped going to school almost three years ago now, I’ve been working on my education at home. With lots of luck i may still graduate by the end of 2015. Graduating high school is something that people make a big deal of. They throw parties and have ceremonies and get gifts. But it’s still a completely normal life event in that it’s something we think happens to everyone. For me, this will be an accomplishment. In perspective, when i was in high school i was suffering a lot due to my mental state. I was absolutely certain that i was not going to live to see my senior year. I had no plan for the future, because i knew i didn’t have a future. I was going to die before i finished high school, and that was fact to me. It’ll be nearly a year late, and I’m going to finish high school with less than a 2.0 GPA. I’m not going
to get a big graduation party or a cake or gifts like my classmates did. But what would otherwise be an ordinary life even for most people, for me, it’s a great accomplishment. It’s something i genuinely never thought I’d live to see. Graduating high school with below a 2.0 grade point average is commonly mediocre or unacceptable, but for me this will be a major milestone. A lot of people look at their lives and see nothing special, or something below average. To know our own accomplishments we need to look at things in perspective. i have a friend, this friend maintains a 4.5 gpa, knows 8 languages, has a black belt, takes multiple ap classes, is on at least 3 honor societies, is a local assistant director, works for a catering company, and belongs to/heads several school clubs. And they’re almost a year younger than me. Compared to them, my accomplishments look mediocre. My older brother, whom I’ve only recently met, had some great things to say when i brought this up with him. He asked me how old i was, and i said i was 18. he asked me if I’d ever been to prison and i said no. he told me that if i could keep it that way until i turned 19, I’d be doing better than he had been at his age. I didn’t take this lightly, since now my brother has an amazing, almost unbelievable life. Our accomplishments are relative. No one has the same scale. No two canvases are alike. My real point is, that when you’re making your life, think about your canvas, not about how your picture would look on somebody else’s.
Canvas of life
22
RUXanDRa SEVaSTin A few months ago my boyfriend bought me a printed painting. I was stunned when I saw it, I couldn’t get my eyes off it. I felt a strong connexion between me and the message I thought the artist tried to explain by putting all those colors together in one piece. „Just an image” you can say it’s a painting but for me it’s more. What is unique for every painting is that the artist has a way to reach you by the throat and order you to see with his eyes the message. The image in this particularly painting differs from others. It reflects the artist’s thoughts at that particularly moment; the painted image is not always a straight line or a full circle. The painted image can only be judge and understood by looking at it in perfectly silence. This silence is not a real one, is the room you enter only with your soul’s eyes and try to comprehend the message. The faster the mind understands the painting the more beautiful it is and it becomes art. I think it talks about beauty, passion, chaos, hate, a battle between good and evil. I see souls going somewhere and at the same time trying to find a way to avoid the wrong path. I see horses, I see angels, and clouds. We are thought that beauty is an adjective that follows all the perfect things, creatures from the nature. This adjective is generally characterized by clarity, harmony. This is one of the reasons why it’s said that beauty stands in the eye of the beholder. Art without beauty makes no sense. It’s meaningless. We know for sure that a rose, stars at night, sunset reflected in the water are beautiful even if there’s no one around to see their beauty. Beauty is totally independent from us and unaffected by our opinions. The joy in beauty is knowing and not possessing. The joy we get from seeing a painting is the result of cognition, of knowledge and not the power of acquisition. We don’t possess that beauty we
understand it. Why’s that? The answer it’s simple. No one ever feels joy by owning the light, the stars or the rain. We feel pleasure when we watch horses running wild on their fields, we remain speechless when we hear for the first time a soprano interpreting a beautiful piece even if we don’t record it. Satisfaction given by this knowledge is the distinctive mark of beauty. Beautiful things gives us real joy. A beautiful painting can cause joy by simply looking at it, being seen, touching it, by being imagined and understood. Therefore, beauty involves two inseparable instances: knowing (described by the senses we get when we’re close to something beautiful) and satisfaction (the pure joy). A thing is beautiful if we know how to appreciate it and feel pleased by what it’s being revealed to us. For me beauty is a perfection of things and emotions that cause joy. I see beauty. I feel beauty. I know beauty.
Canvas of life
23
THe ArTS 2
Real life tends to repeat itself. Writer’s unwinding the spool of life, capturing incredible moments of pain and joyful adaptations of life, unedited and in some cases in full color. What’s not to love about writing and writers, books and magazines? Don’t you know the greatest story hasn’t been written yet? As a small child I remember making up stories to the colored pictures on the pages of children’s books. I was allowed only two each week from the library. My mother would read them to me of course, but I enjoyed the crazy ever changing fables concocted from imagination more. There was always a monster and prince whom was really daddy, saving the princess who was always me. Most of my stories revolved around candy, lots and lots of candy. What could be scarier to a child then monsters with a sweet tooth and a taste for pretty little girls? Today I read hearts with silent screams, hearts that beg for attention, broken, forgotten or abused. Is it any wonder we are over run with poets? Fiction or non-fiction, is this not
laUREn ZlaBinGER
some of the best entertainment on the planet? Diabolical minds taking over the world, vampires on the hunt for fresh blood, seducers and crooners, god I love to read. My mind tries to imagine stories behind the writer’s eyes. Can I see what you see, feel what you feel. It’s dark in some places and I find myself inhaling, holding my breath, looking for a light or an open door. I read pretty words that make me think of little girls dressed in mama’s clothes hosting a tea party with little brown bear. Erotic words that make me think of sex or messy words with little boys in untied gym shoes and a runny nose. Writing is powerful, making you believe or whisking you off to the land of make believe. It’s our dream, our wish to heal and be heard. What a journey we are traveling. What an incredible art we share. So to all you lovers and dreamers let’s hear the voice of your soul. Bring it through the voice of art, poetry or prose and let your story unfold. “Writing is a seed waiting to grow.”
Canvas of life
24
Simona mihalCa
Art gives life to so many people, it gives hope and gives a purpose. Sometimes, it can feel like it can give life to anything. It can create and destroy, imagine and grow, evolve and dissolve. It is a wonder, an essence of what is beautiful and what is needed. It is how we express our deepest emotions and how we conquer our biggest fears. It becomes entangled with the fiber of our beings, drawing us near and keeping us there. When it reaches its height, you will not be able to say where art begins and where the artist ends. A beautiful fusion of souls is required in order to spread joy and colour, love and sound, to bring the closest thing we have to magic in this world. Just like the canvas of a painter, we start by being a blank slate. An impressionable, eager to be coloured canvas. No one has ever been born knowledgeable, even though we have some innate traits. The lessons we learn, the experiences we live and the emotions we have leave their mark on us and start to create an impression of us on the Canvas of Life. It is not something we can observe with a distant eye, since we are the soul embedded in the canvas, since we are the artwork. Sometimes it takes others to paint us a colour, a lesson, an emotion. However, more often than not, we do that ourselves. How we stand in front of hardship, how we process emotions, that is all on us. If today we were to choose to go left instead of going right, that can alter our narrative in ways we might not be able to comprehend. You are always facing right and wrong, needing to take a stance, to prove your worth. As Neil deGrasse
Tyson said, “The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you�. You need to untangle its mysteries as best as you can, to reach in to its primal source and make it yours. It is up to you to find the version of this life you agree with, to find your purpose, to find your beauty. You have to create your path, your road, to find something that makes you unique. You are stardust gathered in the most amazing ways, you are all you will know and so much for others to know. You dance and sing and speak and think and in doing so, you leave splashes of colour around you, you figure out who you are and you get settled in your canvas. There is no fear in dream, but reality is rarely this beautiful. To be able to live as an artwork means to defeat those fears. There is nothing else left to do than to accept all impeding events, to prepare for the end. You might see how other people grow strong while you start to decay. You can hear the joy in the sound and see the colour of their life. You might be falling down but that is yet another chance to create new memories. A page can turn, a letter can end and you shall become forevermore the canvas of life. Inevitably, as time devours artwork, as it lets it fade into nothing, that will happen to us. Death is a certainty but that does not mean we shall be forgotten. When your canvas, your impression on other people’s canvases becomes strong enough, you will not be forgotten. You will be exposed in a museum of memories, a hall of remembrance. You will be something people want to achieve, something people want to live, want to see.
Canvas of life
25
ChRiS BaRTlETT
Our hearts collide Where earth and sky meet canvas and brush Fires rage out west Sun scorches desert sage We are watercolored dreams Clear running streams Our distinctive journeys Turn and twist and interwine Two unsuspecting strangers Serendipitous friends Poets of the heart aging like wine Our lives are finer Than these ceaseless waves We paint with broken lines You are beautiful white sand beaches i keep on rolling in… Attempts and arms length reaches We live in concert Two parts harmony One simple played out melody Paint us simple Simply paint us…as an us That’s where we meet Colors shade our days Pictures put out on display Created for each other To capture Sunsets and starry nights Canvases of snow white We are poets Painting with words Watercolor covered dreams Together We are something Artists attempt to achieve
26
SoCiAL WATCh
Social Watch
27
SeX eduCATiON Sex, the biological process by which new individuals are created, it’s the fundamental feature of all known all life, so why is it that majority of today’s adolescents are not given any information on it? Sex education is instruction on issues relating to human intercourse, but in today’s society discussion on sexual activity or anything remotely related to sex is considered a taboo. We deal with sex related matters on a daily basis, sex is everywhere, books, movies, music, etc., are all very sex oriented. Charles Krauthammer, an American columnist, once stated “Sex oozes from every pore of the culture and there’s not a kid in the world who can avoid it.” This couldn’t be truer, as the main input of sex teenagers get is from media and more specifically pornography. Without being properly informed on the topic, teenagers often end up finding their own means in educating themselves, typically resorting to the internet, and often times they are miseducated and end up having sex at an early age leading to teenage pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and sexualized violence. In other words every teen will inevitably be exposed to the subject of sex one way or the other so we might as well educate them about it. Sex education also teaches consent and sexual abstinence, and when rape culture and not to mention pornography is becoming more and more popular it is essential that sex education is taught. Pornography is the fuel for rape culture, 70% of young men watch pornography on a weekly basis.
SaRa m.S
Pornography is a huge industry which provides unrealistic views on sex and encourages sadism, verbal abuse, sexual humiliation and other sexual violence to millions of men and women. Proper sex education teaches consensual sex, and that anything other than that is rape. Moreover, sex education contradicts many sex myths such as “women like being sexually overpowered and rape” or that “It’s not possible to get pregnant standing up”. Unfortunately, as sexual violence has become a constant source of entertainment, it is seen as “no big deal”. Quality sex education is vital in combating rape culture. So, having said all this, why is it that sex education is not being taught in all schools? To no surprise, there is a lot of controversy on such delicate issues being taught in schools. Sex education often goes against morals and religious beliefs, and traditionally discussion sexual activities would be left to the parents and not be spoken about until before the child’s marriage. However according to WHO (World Health Organization) every child above the age of 12 should be taught sex education as these days children as young as 12 and 11 are sexually active, and it is said that 34% of those infected with HIVs are between the ages of 12 and 19. We should not let social convention blind us into thinking that teaching sex education to adolescents is wrong; with all things considered we see that it is absolutely crucial that sex education is taught in all schools.
Social Watch
28
What makeup really is, and why you should respect it: an essay
SU ÜlKEnli
Makeup is a tool of beauty that dates back to many centuries before the beginning of our era. In many civilizations, cosmetics have had multiple purposes that were not necessarily related to beauty, but the evolution of our community did so that makeup plays nowadays a major part in many people's daily lives, but it is still looked down upon by society more than ever. As if the fact that this form of expression being belittled wasn't enough, gender norms integrated into our society say that men who wear makeup lose their masculinity, and that women who wear too much makeup lose all respect that they deserve as a person. Today, I will be expressing my thoughts on many topics like why I think all genders should be able to wear makeup without being judged, why I think it is a very unique form of expression and why it is very empowering for those who choose to wear it. Let's take a look at where and when makeup originated, and how it received all of its social connotations that is has today. Makeup was first worn in Ancient Egypt by both men and women. Scented oils were used to mask body odors and soften the skin. Chinese men and women colored their nails, Greek and Japanese people used powder to get paler complexions.�¹� So, why is it that in the beginning of cosmetics, all genders used it freely, but in today's society it weakens masculinity for men and triggers slut-shaming for women? Throughout the evolution of
society, patriarchy has made its way into the minds of the worldwide population more and more. This hierarchy, which was once was triggered simply by physical capacity now had internalized misogyny supporting it. Men were accorded power, and in turn, women were degraded into simple objects: they stood home, took care of the chores and the kids, and looked pretty. It was this process of thought that associated makeup directly to women, and since patriarchy viewed this gender as the weaker one, makeup was therefore accorded to weakness and not to strength or power, which is why many men are being judged and criticized by society today. This issue needs to be addressed mainly due to the fact that members of the LGBTQ+ community have more and more freedom to express themselves, but transgender and gay men, who already go through far more than the privileged straight cisgender men, should not have to be judged for wearing makeup to express themselves or to feel closer to the gender or the sexuality that they choose to identify with. For women, makeup has different connotations: a woman who doesn't wear “enough” makeup according to society doesn't take care of herself, whereas a woman who wears “too much”, is a victim of slut-shaming. She gets called “fake” and a liar simply due to the fact that she chooses to express herself through the method of doing her makeup.
Social Watch
Now, let me explain why makeup should not be underestimated and have as much value as other forms of art. Makeup is a form of art and expression. It is a talent. It is a job. Some people might be good at drawing, and some might make incredible music. I cannot draw, and make mediocre music, but among many others, I can do makeup. It is a talent and it is, I repeat, a form of art, because makeup means enhancing and accentuating your best features, and canceling out the ones you judge to be your worst. It's transforming your features: hollowing your cheekbones, thinning your nose, making your eyes more dramatic and your lips more innocent. Doing your makeup means using colours to make something out of a surface, and isn't that what art is? The Oxford Dictionary defines art as “The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.” Isn't makeup a product of skill and imagination? It is certainly very visual, and appreciated for its beauty. I will also get to its emotional value later on in my essay. We can clearly see that makeup matches up perfectly to the official definition of art, so why is it not as appreciated as other forms of it? Why is it still a controversy in our society? Lastly, I would like to talk about how makeup can empower a person and help them accept themselves. If this topic sounds familiar to you, it might be because you watched Buzzfeed's video titled “How Makeup Empowers You”which has, in fact, inspired this essay. A person cannot be perfect. We all come with flaws and quirks; vices and virtues. Many things that trigger our low self-esteem and insecurity are only seen by ourselves: no one that we
29
see actually takes the time to examine that one pimple that we have, or to judge the dark circles under our eyes. We are our biggest critic, and that is why having a better vision of ourselves can make a huge difference in our self-confidence. Simply by liking our own appearance, by loving ourselves, we can gain a huge amount of self-esteem, which can then help us gain social skills, and give us amazing opportunities. We can change our lives simply by loving ourselves, and makeup can help. Liking ourselves with makeup on can be the first step to liking ourselves without it; to loving ourselves, to changing our lives, and that is why anyone who starts to wear makeup for themselves should not be judged and brought down, but encouraged; because they are taking steps towards liking themselves, towards looking in the mirror and being able to say, “I love me.” As a conclusion, we can say that makeup and anyone who chooses to wear it (or not) should not be judged and criticized but celebrated, because they are doing what they like, they are loving themselves, they are expressing themselves, and they are being themselves, which is something that our society has a hard time accepting, but I sincerely believe that we are getting there.
30