Twelve Animals by Kentaro Nagai

Rat

Rabbit

Rooster

These are part of the Twelve Animals series of illustrations Kentaro Nagai, a graphic artist. She used the world map to create the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac. 

I found this on StumbleUpon and I really started to think of my half successful lithograph with the cow brains and mad cow disease. I feel like this would be a perfect medium to attempt this concept again with a better outcome. I'm liking the idea of using a pattern to define the positive and negative space, and it seems like a great concept for a series of work. 

:)

Personal Research.

I was just watching 48 Hours Mystery. This was about a man who served in Iraq, came home, and beat a woman he was fighting with to death with his bare hands. He attempted to justify his case saying he was psychologically damaged because of the war. I understand this, not that it justifies anything. Anyway, while he was talking about it, he was explaining something that happened in Iraq. Apparently, there was an Iraqi man who was suspected of some sort of malicious act against American soldiers. When the American army heard this, they shot him (brutally) until he died, drug him into the middle of the street, entered one of the head injuries, and removed his brains. If this wasn't enough, they put him on the back of a military vehicle, and paraded him around his home town, saying "This is what you get when you mess with us."

Okay. Personally, American's should get off their high horse. Every human has the capability of emotion, and I don't think that anyone considers human nature as much as the apparent importance of destroying the enemy. Or is that human nature in itself? Can everyone take a minute to imagine if the tables were turned? Seriously. Imagine that you are a possibly innocent human, regardless of race or location, or war, and someone had blamed you of something you maybe never said or did. Now imagine that you are not only killed because of this, but all of your friends, family, and anyone you cared about or anyone who cared about you, had to see you obliterated with bullet wounds and your own brains dug out all over you. Being paraded around like a trophy.

This is what you get when you mess with us.

Art Therapist?

I couldn't decide if this job sounds really horrible or really awesome.

The Art Therapy job that I researched involved children needing special education.

You are responsible for developing individualized goals and objectives for each referred student, based off the student's emotional, perceptual, cognitive, physical, and social level of functioning. (This, I would like. It just means that I would have to really get to know each student, and work in depth with a few people rather than work briefly with a plethora.) You have to maintain up-to-date documentation of contact, incorporate the student's art therapy goals and objectives in the individualized education and treatment plan, and perform administrative tasks suck as maintaining materials, equipment, requisitioning supplies and organizing art therapy room.

Qualifications:

Master’s Degree in Art Therapy is required. Professional Credential of Art Therapist Registered (ATR), awarded by the  Art Therapy Credentials Board, is required.   Experience with ED/LD/DD children is required.  At least two years experience  in art therapy with children is required.

Art Therapy seems extremely cool for the right people. I can't tell if I would like it or not, though.