A New Direction

                          

Being out of town I was unable to make it to the art collection by Monday night.  So I tried hard to find the pictures of the collection online.  I found some art pieces and thought well I will just use one of these so I can get this work done.  Then I thought to myself “no, I can’t do that because I will be cheating myself out of the experience I am supposed to have!”  So I decided to wait until I could get to see the collection up close and personal.  The art piece I chose actually had been one of the pieces I found online but the connection with the piece didn’t happen until I was standing in front of it.  It didn’t take me long to know that this was the piece I wanted to blog about.  The piece is called “Flight to MKE.”  As I stood and looked at the piece I noticed the focal point, which is the center of attention as talked about on pg. 50 in the book "White Space Is Not Your Enemy", to be the airplane.  The way that I saw the plane flying seemed to be flying away from the city but with city in tow.  This confused me a little because it seems totally opposite of the title.  With the plane being the center of attention it allows the eye to move to the right along the lines of the plane and the two strings used to tow the city.  The flying plane and the lines create movement, which is principle no.4 that was talked about in chpt. 5  The pink hues in the painting gave a calming sense among what looks like an explosion happening.  The thought of explosion comes from the burst of clouds and smoke that the plane seems to be flying away from. There are some orange tones that mimic a subtle fire.  The tell-tale signs that indicate it is the city of Milwaukee are the Allen Bradley clock and a remnant of what looks like Grace Lutheran church.  Both of these Milwaukee staples are on the South side of Milwaukee.  This leaves me with a negative feeling about the picture because I could take the inference that she is saying that only the South side of Milwaukee is important and needs to be saved.  The asymmetrical balance of the picture also communicated to me tenseness, anxiety and unbalance.  So now let me tell you what the picture meant to me.  I am going through a lot of change in my life.  I recently was let go from my job and am divorcing my husband of 17 years.  This leaves me in a place of discovery and the desire to create a whole new life for myself.  As I saw the plane leaving I compared it to my own desire to leave the city and start anew.  The strings attaching it to the city made me connect to my own feelings of not wanting to leave what I have built behind.  The student’s lives that I have impacted in my job mean the world to me and the last thing I want to do is leave them in the hell that MPS has created for them.  There are so many forces and obstacles working against them and there are not a lot of people who genuinely care for their well-being like I do.  Man let me tell you even as I am typing this blog I am bursting with emotions.  These kids depend on me and the day they found out that I was let go they protested in the hallways, in the streets and on social media.  The two groups I founded Ladies First and Made Men came together and made our mission statement come to life.  The mission statement is to inspire youth all around the world to find their worth and their voice while breaking down barriers.  Their voices were heard and the powers that be told them that they see the worth in their fight and they are going to give me the opportunity to appeal and they will vouch for me to get my job back.  The problem is I don’t know if I want to go back.  I don’t know if the right thing to do is go back.  I feel as though there is a bigger platform I must create in order to truly make a difference in young people’s lives.  Everything happens for a reason.  Coming across this picture has inspired me to continue to find my true new path and that where ever I go and whatever I do, I will always keep them with me!