I haven't submitted anything at all lately, but that doesn't mean I've been lazy.

I'm in the middle of my year 12 major work for Art, the theme for the major works is "How you view the world".

I'm doing drawings for an alphabet book I've titled "The XYZ of Life". Basically my concept is to convey my views on life as we grow up and interact with all this negativity, violence, pain, fear..etc. and to highlight the past children's folktales that are meant to teach and entertain - most of the time adults tell children scary stories - e.g. little red riding hood - to teach them to not talk to strangers. So basically I'm aiming to confront these subtly corrupted ways of teaching children - thus the teaching of the alphabet - but at the same time, exploring my fascination for these creepy "children's" stories.

As the alphabet continues, the words get longer, and the themes more complex. The drawings all depict a type of pain or fear, but in simplistic ways, through the faces of little girls. For example, "A is for Apple" - the word is simple, generic for an alphabet, but the drawing depicts a little girl/apple, with a black eye (as apples are dropped and bruised, or begin to rot and soften when no one eats them).

I've done all the drawings with the same medium of course - black ink fineliner, to give off the effect of 19th century children's story books that were done in black and white, which is basically my style of drawing anyway, but if you look up the work of John Tenniel for the original illistrations for Alice in Wonderland in 1865, you can gather the general atmosphere I'm going for with this.

I'm really happy with my idea. so far I've done about half the alphabet, but i need to get my act together and finish it as it is due in ten weeks and I still need to bind it and make the cover.

Anyway besides the art stuff, I am honestly quite stressed about school already. Exams are coming up next week - just half yearlies - but I am quite worried about it as I feel I am struggling in most of my subjects...

Oh well. what can you do.