This is the info-graphics I got my inspiration from.  I will divide my work, personal and school into the three categories.

d

This was it.  It was a plastic yellow and red tape player with a microphone attached to it with a spiral made from a rubbery material.  It would record and play music and that was all I needed.  As a 6 year old, this toy has become my everything.  I would carry it around with me to school, to the playground and it would play my favorite songs.  I had other toys for sure, barbie dolls and pokemon cards but they were different from this tape player.  Barbie dolls and pokemon cards did not have a soul.  They did not speak to me like this tape player did. 

Since there was no way to listen to my favorite tunes right away, I remember waiting in front of the radio until my favorite song would come out.  I sat there for hours and hours, my left hand on the record button and my right hand pressing the microphone against the radio speakers.  The anticipation was great, I could not focus on anything else besides the radio in fear that I would miss recording my favorite song if I were to be doing anything else.  Though the wait seemed like years for me as an elementary child, I would be satisfied with the results.  Playing back my favorite tune on my tape player would give me a mixed feeling of comfort and thrill each time I listened to it.  There was no other way to receive these feelings but from the melodies of my favorite songs.

There was one incident when my brother and I got into a fight.  It was the same old usual fight about basically nothing.  My mother, my brother and I were at a restaurant meeting with my mother’s high school friends.  My mother looked embarrassed as my brother and I went on screaming and calling each other names.  The fight got out of control and before I knew it I was throwing food into my brother’s face.  My mom got furious.  When we got home, she knew exactly how to punish me in a way that would give me the greatest impact.  She rushed into my room, angrily looking for my yellow and red tape player.  When she found it, she made it clear to me that I would not be able to get it back until two days later.  I cried and begged my mom to punish me any other way but the situation was inevitable.  I cried myself to sleep for the next two days.

The tape player was a reflection of my obsession with music.  I noticed as a young child that I had a particular attraction to music unlike my fellow classmates.  In fact, even my brother, who is only a year older, had no special connection to music.  He did not wait in front of the radio like I did nor did he carry around a tape player like I did.  He was interested in toy cars and legos, not to the flow of melodies.  He sang along to Nsync and Backstreet Boys smiling and laughing as he confused the lyrics but when the song was over, that was it; he would return to his toys thoughtlessly.  After observing such behavior, I came to realize that music meant so much more to me than it did to other children such as my brother.

My attachment to music was daily.  It was not a wave of obsession that came and left but rather, a constant part of who I was as a child.  I would listen to music whether I felt happy or sad.  My imagination would flow as I closed my eyes.  My imaginations were usually musicians playing their music in front of me as I listened.  This imagination repeated itself.  Every time I listened to the song, I would see the musicians over and over again.  Then I would open my eyes.  They must be tired; I would think and press the stop button to allow the musicians to take a break from their performance.  Five minutes later, I would press play again.

Music gave me my own space.  There were no restrictions to recording my favorite tunes and it allowed me to record over old tunes as many times as I desired.  It was my own personal area, my interest and my expertise which no one could interfere with.  It gave me a sense of freedom and an outlet for my varying emotions as a child.  It would cry with me at lonely nights, playing melodies quietly, hugging me and cradling me to sleep and it would dance with me when I was excited or in joy.  It did not ask questions or demand any type of behavior from me.  It played when I asked it to play and it stopped when I wanted it to stop.  It was in complete control for me and as a 6 year old, it was a type of authority I could not experience anywhere else.  

The interaction with the musicians contributed to the reason of my obsession for music.  When the song played, musicians would be there with me, performing right in front of my eyes.  I was never lonely nor did I feel emptiness when celebrating a joyous event because the musicians were there with me all the time.  As long as I had my tape player with me, it was impossible for me to be alone.  And for that reason, I could not help but to be addicted.

Today, I continue with my obsession to music but in a different manner than I did in my childhood.  Though music has become much easier to access, I still cannot forget the times I spent eagerly waiting in front of the radio or manipulating the tape so record only my favorite tunes.  I cannot say which is a better way to interact with music but I do know that convenience can take away the satisfaction from great efforts.  It gives me a sweet, nostalgic feeling every time I hear a tape player playing music; one that no technology can replace.

This was it.  It was a plastic yellow and red tape player with a microphone attached to it with a spiral made from a rubbery material.  It would record and play music and that was all I needed.  As a 6 year old, this toy has become my everything.  I would carry it around with me to school, to the playground and it would play my favorite songs.  I had other toys for sure, barbie dolls and pokemon cards but they were different from this tape player.  Barbie dolls and pokemon cards did not have a soul.  They did not speak to me like this tape player did. 

Since there was no way to listen to my favorite tunes right away, I remember waiting in front of the radio until my favorite song would come out.  I sat there for hours and hours, my left hand on the record button and my right hand pressing the microphone against the radio speakers.  The anticipation was great, I could not focus on anything else besides the radio in fear that I would miss recording my favorite song if I were to be doing anything else.  Though the wait seemed like years for me as an elementary child, I would be satisfied with the results.  Playing back my favorite tune on my tape player would give me a mixed feeling of comfort and thrill each time I listened to it.  There was no other way to receive these feelings but from the melodies of my favorite songs.

The tape player was a reflection of my obsession with music.  I noticed as a young child that I had a particular attraction to music unlike my fellow classmates.  In fact, even my brother, who is only a year older, had no special connection to music.  He did not wait in front of the radio like I did nor did he carry around a tape player like I did.  He was interested in toy cars and legos, not to the flow of melodies.  He sang along to Nsync and Backstreet Boys smiling and laughing as he confused the lyrics but when the song was over, that was it; he would return to his toys thoughtlessly.  After observing such behavior, I came to realize that music meant so much more to me than it did to other children such as my brother.

There was one incident when my brother and I got into a fight.  It was the same old usual fight about basically nothing.  My mother, my brother and I were at a restaurant meeting with my mother’s high school friends.  My mother looked embarrassed as my brother and I went on screaming and calling each other names.  The fight got out of control and before I knew it I was throwing food into my brother’s face.  My mom got furious.  When we got home, she knew exactly how to punish me in a way that would give me the greatest impact.  She rushed into my room, angrily looking for my yellow and red tape player.  When she found it, she made it clear to me that I would not be able to get it back until two days later.  I cried and begged my mom to punish me any other way but the situation was inevitable.  I cried myself to sleep for the next two days.

My attachment to music was daily.  It was not a wave of obsession that came and left but rather, a constant part of who I was as a child.  I would listen to music whether I felt happy or sad.  My imagination would flow as I closed my eyes.  My imaginations were usually musicians playing their music in front of me as I listened.  This imagination repeated itself.  Every time I listened to the song, I would see the musicians over and over again.  Then I would open my eyes.  They must be tired; I would think and press the stop button to allow the musicians to take a break from their performance.  Five minutes later, I would press play again.

Music gave me my own space.  There were no restrictions to recording my favorite tunes and it allowed me to record over old tunes as many times as I desired.  It was my own personal area, my interest and my expertise which no one could interfere with.  It gave me a sense of freedom and an outlet for my varying emotions as a child.  It would cry with me at lonely nights, playing melodies quietly, hugging me and cradling me to sleep and it would dance with me when I was excited or in joy.  It did not ask questions or demand any type of behavior from me.  It played when I asked it to play and it stopped when I wanted it to stop.  It was in complete control for me and as a 6 year old, it was a type of authority I could not experience anywhere else.  

The interaction with the musicians contributed to the reason of my obsession for music.  When the song played, musicians would be there with me, performing right in front of my eyes.  I was never lonely nor did I feel emptiness when celebrating a joyous event because the musicians were there with me all the time.  As long as I had my tape player with me, it was impossible for me to be alone.  And for that reason, I could not help but to be addicted.

Today, I continue with my obsession to music but in a different manner than I did in my childhood.  Though music has become much easier to access, I still cannot forget the times I spent eagerly waiting in front of the radio or manipulating the tape so record only my favorite tunes.  I cannot say which is a better way to interact with music but I do know that convenience can take away the satisfaction from great efforts.  It gives me a sweet, nostalgic feeling every time I hear a tape player playing music; one that no technology can replace.

I really enjoyed using the dust removal spray for my previous scan so I continued with it during this scan.  I tried to create interesting shapes with the spray and I tried playing around with the lid and also a piece of scrap paper instead of the lid which created the fuzzy white effect.

I tried to break the scanner glass but I failed and instead ended up breaking the materials I used to try to break the scanner glass…it’s very well made.  So I had to change my plan and I ended up scanning the carpet in different motions by flipping the scanner upside down.  I also used a dust removal spray to create interesting shapes within the scan.

Used plastic wrap as item to portray the word static in black and white setting.

Same technique except I tried to move the plastic wrap around to create an interesting composition while still trying to portray the word static.

Scanned the word static with plastic wrap.  I tried crinkling the wrap this time into a small ball and tried to use the black area as “negative space” and thought of the overall composition as opposed to focusing on the texture of the image.

Changed around with the color and black and white setting on the scanner.  Used the object as plastic wrap and scanned the word static.