Si has visitado Doheny Beach, debes saber del mural “The Whale Walk” que ha adornado el piso por décadas. Completo con ballenas gigantescos y magesticos, el Whale Walk es famoso tras California y es un símbolo de orgullo.
El “Whale Walk” fue creado en 1999. Pero, el año pasado, pintaron las ballenas otra vez. Con la ayuda de Jim Sherpa, alumnos de San Clemente High School, y alumnos de Cal State Long Beach, las ballenas fueron restauradas a su gloria. Creo que el mensaje que está mural tan bonito está tratando de expresar es que las ballenas, y el océano, son demasiados importantes. Las ballenas representan poder y sabiduría, así que el mural expresa el poder del océano. Además, creo que el mural está tratando de enseñar la importancia de cuidar nuestros océanos porque las ballenas están en peligro y debemos tratar de salvarlos.
Aunque las ballenas son animales llenas de paz, más de un millón de ballenas mueren cada año. Si queremos ver estas criaturas mágicas en el futuro, tenemos que hacer nuestra parte. Por favor, la próxima vez que vayas a la playa Dohena, recoleges su basura para asegurar que nuestros océanos estén limpios y que sigan bellos por años!
Recently, I was painting with my friends and I searched up simple things to paint. In short, nothing was simple. So I decided to see if I could find a few websites to get inspiration of what to paint. To help others I decided to make a list of a few blogs/sites with the pros and cons of each one.
Shihori Obata: This is one of my new favorite blogs because everything that the artist draws is really simple. There’s also step-by-step picture tutorials of drawings that are a bit more complicated. One of the only cons is that the site lags a little because of the advertisements. Overall I would rate is a 9/10.
Hobbies Fun: Although I thought the title was a little silly there are tons of cute drawing ideas. My favorite things about this site are that it’s only drawings, there’s tutorials, and it’s really easy to navigate the site. Overall I would rate this site a 9.5/10.
Pinterest: While this may seem obvious Pinterest is really a great app/site to find art inspiration. There’s video tutorials and also simple images to copy. Overall I would rate this site a 9/10
It was New Year’s Eve, but instead of celebrating with drinks and parties, my cousin and I sat in a cold garage that stunk of bleach. To give some context, my cousin had been inspired by hoodies and shirts that had leaf imprints on them. We wanted to try it out using bleach. It took lots of trial and error to find an efficient and effective process. Here’s what we did:
Materials: Cotton clothing, Paintbrush (that you don’t mind ruining), Bleach or any cleaning solution containing bleach, Paper plate, Book or other flat and heavy object, Leaves of varying shape, Steam iron press, gloves, and a mask.
Go outside or in a ventilated area. Cover the floor if you’re worried about stains, and put on your gloves and mask.
Pour the bleach into a paper plate, start heating the iron, and lay out your hoodie. Decide on a layout for the leaves.
Take your paintbrush and brush bleach onto the leaves. The more you use, the more vibrant the print will be.
Press the bleached side of the leaf onto the clothing and use a book to flatten it; Do not smear and hold for about 10 seconds.
Peel the leaf off and immediately press the iron into the bleached area of the clothing. This should bring out the pattern.
Repeat steps 3-5 for the rest of the leaves. You can reuse leaves as long as they are intact.
Leave the clothing out to dry in the sun, then machine wash.
The result should be an orange-brownish pattern of leaves on the clothing with the leaf’s veins and texture visible. If any of the above steps don’t work, there are a few things you can try. First, make sure your bleach isn’t expired. Second, if liquid bleach doesn’t show on the clothing, try a pasty cleaning solution that contains bleach. We used a Soft Scrub cleanser and painted that onto the leaves. Third, check that your clothing is 100% cotton. This is how ours turned out– Happy bleaching!
It was 11:46 pm on a Friday night, the 26th of January. My family and I were coming home from some event and were far too exhausted to make a meal at home. My dad made the executive decision that we would be having McDonald’s for dinner. I had gotten a cheeseburger Happy Meal with chocolate milk, even though I was above the legal age of ordering one. The employees either didn’t notice or didn’t care. I wouldn’t blame them; they worked for minimum wage in a fast food chain, and night shifts were tiring enough without criticizing a customer.
My family and I took our meals to go, exiting the restaurant we had been to thousands of times in the past. Yet for some reason, I paused. I looked back at the restaurant. The sallow lighting behind the door highlighted the cheery yellows and reds of the interior, starkly contrasting the gloom of the night. Shadows cast by the awnings gave the gray concrete depth. The yellow arch glowed with backlights, a clear and familiar sight. I took a picture and hurried to catch up with my family.
Unbeknownst to me, I would spend the next four months driven by bizarre inspiration. I wanted to capture that eeriness and intrigue I felt that night through my paints. I sketched and smeared, staring at the picture for the minute details. The drainpipe in the wall, the orange permit sticker on the glass, the grids on the ceiling. I pestered my friend (an artist as well) with updates, asking for criticism and advice. Finally, on May 5th, I was content with my product.
My story just goes to show how inspiration can come from the strangest places. The world has cool things everywhere! You just need to look around.
Recently, my family and I went on vacation to Paris in France! Over the week we spent there, we went to many attractions, some of the main ones being the museums. There were so many museums available, and because I am under 18 I got in for free for all!
What I think is the most interesting in Paris is the support of the arts by the government. For all citizens of France, the museums were free until you turned 26, and for outside visitors 18! I thought that this was an amazing way to get youth interested in art and the value of it.
Although there were so many museums to visit (and we obviously couldn’t see all of them), here are some of my favorite museums we visited and my reviews (as well as tips):
The Louvre
One museum that I really enjoyed was the Louvre. We got there early in the morning when it first opened and it was still so busy! It was such a large museum with way too much to look at! Some notable things to look at were the Mona Lisa and so many other famous works of art! Personally, my favorite piece was the Winged Victory sculpture, but there were so many other pieces of art that were amazing! I would recommend taking it slow because there is so much to take in and it will be a long walking day because it is so big.
Musee d’Orsay
One of the notable museums in France was the Musee d’Orsay. With its beautiful architecture and its location along the river, it was definitely one notable building! (Fun fact: It was originally built as a train station for the World’s Fair before it was turned into a museum). I thought that this was a good museum especially because it did not require the same amount of walking as the other ones while still showcasing lots of art. While I was there, there was an exhibition of Vincent Van Gogh, which I enjoyed!
Palace of Versaillies
The Palace of Versailles was my favorite museum in Paris. Because it was in the countryside, I had to take a train there since it was farther away than the other attractions. However it was very fun with so much to do! My favorite part was walking around the gardens in the afternoon because all the plants were blooming and there was so much to see. Inside the palace was also huge, with so many rooms to walk through. My favorite room was probably the hall of mirrors because it was filled with gold and had great views of the gardens. One thing to prepare for is to bring a lot of water and wear comfortable shoes because this will be one of the biggest walking grounds because it is so big!
Overall, I think that all the museums in Paris I went to were amazing and what was especially cool about them was that I was able to get into all of them for free. I would recommend everyone to go to these museums whether you like art or not, because I think with the robust art and architecture there is something for everyone to enjoy!
The Mission Viejo Library wants you to create art and no experience is required! Teens are invited to pick up a Bad Art Kit and come up with beautiful, thought provoking pieces of fine art using random stuff we found in our craft room!
Kits are available upon request and can be picked up during the library’s curbside service hours (Tuesday through Saturday, 12pm to 5pm). When you’re done, take a picture of your incredible creations and send it to libraryprograms@cityofmissionviejo.org!”
Hi gang! Your Teen Services Librarian chiming in again with a wonderful gallery of photos we received from teens who decorated pumpkins! Take a look at what we got below and let us know what are your favorites! Got photos of your own pumpkins you want to share? Send them to libraryprograms@cityofmissionviejo.org and we’ll add them!
Although Halloween is this weekend, fall is staying for the next month. With that, pumpkins are still going to be in season before the pine trees roll in. Recently, I have seen more and more pumpkins being carved, but with that comes a lot of effort that some parents can’t take the time out of the day to help their children with. But I have also seen some fun ideas for decorating pumpkins that just takes some paint and permanent or paint makers.
I originally saw this idea from @belleoftheball45 on Instagram. She uses both white and orange pumpkins, both large and small. When I made this, I started with pouring acrylic paint onto a plate and using gloves to make the process cleaner. I used green, white, orange, and black paint. With the green paint, you stick your thumb into the paint and place thumbprints all over the pumpkins. Then, you can repeat with the rest of the colors, although keep in mind that the white paint won’t show up on the white pumpkins and the orange paint won’t show up on the orange pumpkins. I would also recommend using a separate glove for each color.
Once all your thumbprints are on and dry, you can begin decorating them. With the green paint, you can use green and black to make little Frankensteins. With the black, you can make many things including cats, spiders, and mice. With the white, you can make ghosts and with the orange, you can make pumpkins. You are, of course, not limited to just these. Have fun and experiment with this easy pumpkin decorating idea!
Nearly a year ago I wrote a post about my fascination with fictional food and its function within books (“Fictional Food: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”). In the post, I discussed a few food items mentioned in the first Harry Potter book and how they contributed to the mood of certain scenes, the relatability of the characters, and the complexity of the story overall.
Here, I’d like to revisit some of the delicious food from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone that I included in that post (along with unmentioned items), this time with some illustrations to accompany them. I hope you enjoy this visual feast :).
At the beginning of chapter 2, Harry finds himself at the zoo with Dudley and his friend, Piers Polkiss, to celebrate Dudley’s birthday. While a visit to the zoo in itself is an unprecedented treat for ten-year-old Harry, Harry’s good fortune seems to persist: at the zoo, “The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice lolly. It wasn’t bad either, Harry thought” (Rowling 33). The treats for Harry didn’t stop there. When Harry and the Dursleys ate lunch at the zoo, “Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory wasn’t big enough, [and] Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first” (34). I guess some good can come out of the spoiling of Dudley Dursley.
Chocolate ice creams, ice lollies, and knickerbocker glories are left behind when, overwhelmed by the persistence of the letters inviting Harry to attend Hogwarts, Uncle Vernon pulls his family on a wild excursion to “Shake ‘em off,” during which the Dursleys and Harry spend a night at “a gloomy-looking hotel” where they eat “stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast for breakfast” (50). At this same meal, the hotel owner informs them of a surplus of letters addressed to Harry with the exact number of the room he is staying in. At this point it looks as if, despite Uncle Vernon’s admirable efforts, it’s going to be a bit harder than he thought it would be to “shake ‘em off.”
Despite the apparent futility of his efforts, Uncle Vernon does try harder to escape the Hogwarts letters. His determination culminates in Harry and the Dursleys spending a night in a hut on a rock, stranded by turbulent waves and a storm of wind and rain. Did Uncle Vernon think this through? Not thoroughly. Though, to his credit, he did bring some rations: “a packet of crisps each and four bananas” (53). The insubstantiality of this meal makes the next food that enters Harry’s mouth extra delicious.
After Hagrid enters the hut (by breaking down the door) and deduces that Uncle Vernon is not going to offer him tea or a drink (or anything, for that matter), he takes a number of objects out of his coat, including “a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, [and] several chipped mugs” and proceeds to cook the sausages over the fire. Soon, Hagrid offers “six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages to Harry, who [is] so hungry he ha[s] never tasted anything so wonderful” (57, 58).
While Harry meeting Hagrid is a defining moment in itself, Hagrid’s sausages may be the first tasty food offered solely to Harry out of kindness and care. This is one of Harry’s first tastes of a world where he is regarded as important and admirable and not as a messy-haired nephew who ought to be hidden in a cupboard under the stairs.
The delights of Hagrid’s generosity continue when he buys Harry “chocolate and raspberry [ice cream] with chopped nuts” in Diagon Alley (89). Whenever I read this part, this ice cream sounds so delicious, and I marvel at the fact that the simple inclusion of these little details makes the story so much richer and entertaining. Where Hagrid bought these delectable desserts is not stated, but I think it’s reasonable to guess that they were crafted by Florean Fortescue, the owner of an ice cream parlour where Harry spends much of his time two summers later.
Once at Hogwarts, Harry enjoys more food with Hagrid at Hagrid’s cabin, though perhaps it’s not as tasty as the ice cream in Diagon Alley. On Harry and Ron’s first visit to Hagrid’s, Harry introduces Ron while Hagrid pours “boiling water into a large teapot and [puts] rock cakes onto a plate … The rock cakes almost broke their teeth, but Harry and Ron pretended to be enjoying them” (154). Although Hagrid’s rock cakes are not the most scrumptious or easy-to-eat delights, I think they’re still endearing and fitting to the story—Harry and Ron don’t visit Hagrid for the food. Plus, maybe if you soaked the rock cakes in tea or milk they would make a delicious treat (or at least a softer one).
Here’s an illustration of the steak-and-kidney pie served at Hogwarts the night Professor McGonagall discovers Harry’s talent as a Quidditch Seeker (I’ve accompanied it with some pumpkin juice, though it’s not mentioned in the book). By the time Harry’s done telling Ron the news that he has been made Seeker on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Ron has “a piece of steak-and-kidney pie halfway to his mouth, but [he’s] forgotten all about it” (166). We know a piece of news is important when it makes Ron forgets about food.
In his state of excitement from unwittingly finding himself on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Harry probably does not forsee the state of his nerves on the morning of his first match. While “the delicious smell of fried sausages” pervades the Great Hall, Harry does not even want to eat the “bit of toast” Hermione tries to coax him to eat. His appetite is probably diminished further when Seamus reminds him that “Seekers are always the ones who get nobbled” while “pil[ing] ketchup on his sausages” (200).
The last two illustrations are inspired by Harry’s first Christmas at Hogwarts:
“Harry had never in all his life seen such a Christmas dinner. A hundred fat, roast turkeys, mountains of roast and boiled potatoes, platters of fat chipolatas, tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce—and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table … Flaming Christmas puddings followed the turkey” (220).
After a “happy afternoon having a furious snowball fight in the grounds” with the Weasleys and a chess game with Ron, Harry enjoys “a tea of turkey sandwiches, crumpets, trifle and Christmas cake” (221).
I really enjoyed illustrating these dishes and treats from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, which wouldn’t have beenpossible without J.K. Rowling’s detailed and generous descriptions. I loved learning about new kinds of food when I looked up pictures and descriptions of Yorkshire puddings, rock cakes, steak-and-kidney pie, chipolatas, trifle, and flaming Christmas puddings for reference (if you’re interested and haven’t seen a flaming Christmas pudding, I would suggest looking up an image—they look so cool!). I hope these illustrations were entertaining for Harry Potter lovers and food lovers alike!
Mission Viejo Library Teen Voice 