  The Heart2Art Project's Gillian Rule interviewed Tom Moore, an 18 year old graphic illustrator living in Norwich, England, about his artistic journey. Here's what he had to say: GR: What is your passion and when did it begin? How did it develop and grow throughout your life? TM: My passion for art started when I was really young, I always loved to copy the artwork from cartoon magazines like beano’s and Dennice the menace, those kind of snazzy magazines. But I still tend to use elements of that style in my work today so big up Dennice. GR: How do you express yourself creatively? What mediums do you use? TM: I used to use a wide range of mediums with my work but I now find myself using solely digital processes. Mainly because my style uses a lot of bold solid colours and black outlines which are just much easier to create using digital softwares. Really it’s because I’m lazy and can draw digital work much faster and be more experimental because of the undo button. GR: Where do you draw your inspiration from? Is there a particular artist that you find inspirational? TM: The main artist that I take inspiration from would be an illustrator named Jimbo Phillips. I’ve always loved his bold pop art style and his random subject matters, I think you can clearly see elements of his style in my work. GR: What kinds of obstacles have you faced in pursuing the arts, either as a hobby or career? TM: I haven’t ever really had any major obstacles to overcome in regards to art. I suppose making people give a shit and look at my work is hard but more people seem to be doing it so I must be doing something right. GR: While more spotlight is being brought to the voices of our generation in recent years, history has shown that the perspectives, activism, and art of teenagers are often dismissed. Have you personally experienced this as a teenager? TM: That’s a deep question, Erm well to be honest older people look at my work and just ask if I was high when I did it, so yeah, old people don’t care about young people’s art, they care about bills, politics and complaining about how our generation is ruining the world because we’re nice to people. GR: What does the youth have to offer to the world (whether this means perspective-wise, activism-wise, the sharing of art, etc.) and why is it important that this is recognized? TM: The youth offers lots of things to the world. Firstly I think that younger people today are more accepting of people as individuals in regards to their race, sexuality or gender, I think that we just don’t care as long as the individual is happy with it. I just think we are more open to things than older generations have been. This is important because we’re currently in a time where there is so much division in the world when we should just all be mates. GR: Why do you make art? TM: Because it relaxes me. GR: Do you have a favorite piece that you have created? Can you explain it and why it is your favorite? TM: My favourite shared piece is the one with the zebra urinating on the lamp post because it’s just a bit weird and I find it funny because I’m extremely immature. GR: Describe your art making process in three words. TM: Think, draw, done. GR: Do you feel like your art is representative of your experiences as a teenager? As you get older, do you think that your artistic style will change? TM: I try to keep my work separate from my deep thoughts as much as I can, I use it as a way to get away from my personal experiences. My drawing style always goes through phases and it will continue to as I get older, I can’t yet predict how it’ll change but I guess I’ll see. GR: Any last words or advice you would like to share? TM: Erm, Don’t be a dick, is always good advice. Also thank you heart2art and feel free to follow @gooey_shit and tell me your thoughts. Follow Tom! Instagram: @gooey_shit Gillian Rule VP of Social Media + VP of Communications + VP of Publications @gillianrule
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 Hundreds of other LAUSD teachers collect picket signs and other materials outside UTLA’s office as they prepare for a possible strike, in Los Angeles on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2018. (Photo by Trevor Stamp) Teachers don’t get paid enough. This simple statement is something that most people regardless of party will agree with. After all, why shouldn’t those teaching the young and impressionable minds who will lead our country be some of the most highly paid among us? However, in the 21st century, this is still not the case for most if not all teachers. Recently in Los Angeles, teachers have gone on strike and have shut down roughly 900 hundred schools due to the walkout. Although this walkout will be reported on, it will most likely pass in a few days as people move on to larger issues. Unfortunately, teachers giving up their time, energy, and money to create better learning environments will not forget so easily. So, we must ask, is there another way? The answer is yes, and this answer can be found in different parts of the world such as South Korea. In South Korea, public schooling is mandatory for every student; however, public schools are not very good. In order to remain competitive for colleges and careers, most South Korean students go to “tutors” or night school teachers. These teachers operate on the basis of popularity. Tutors that have the most effective teaching style will have more students signed up to be in their class, and for each student, they are paid a certain amount. This popularity system helps students too because teachers are constantly switching up their styles to benefit the students. Not only that, but this system hugely benefits the tutors. Currently, the highest paid tutor in South Korea makes $4 million dollars a year. This is the equivalent of a professional sports player in the United States. The $30 billion industry of private industry academics in South Korea has led to a huge spike in literacy rates and test scores over the last 60 years. In fact, South Korean students far outstrip American students on every level in the PISA academic test. Clearly, our current system of education is outdated. As almost every other aspect of modern technology has advanced, schooling has stayed essentially the same since the 19th century. This static nature has hurt students and public school teachers alike. Although the states have continued to spend more money per student the educational system has not improved as drastically as the amount of money spent has. The United States has the 5th highest per-student spending rate on education, but we do not place in the top ten internationally when it comes to reading, science, or math. One reason that the numbers are not improving is due to the presence of a huge emphasis on per-student funds but almost no emphasis on increasing the salary of teachers. Teachers make a huge impact on how well a student learns. This concept is clearly demonstrated in cases like that of James A. Garfield High School. This school had no AP Calculus program and very low performing students before a teacher named Mr. Escalante took his place at the school. However, Mr. Escalante created an AP Calculus program that changed the school’s reputation. Of all Mexican-American students who passed the AP Calculus exam, 26% of them had passed through his class. One teacher has the potential to impact an entire population, inspire kids, and create a bold new generation. Allowing teachers to thrive in a free market atmosphere where they are able to earn more for outstanding work is the United States’ next step toward fairly paying teachers and giving students from every walk of life the educational opportunities they deserve. We can all agree teachers should be paid more. It’s time to have the conversation about how we get there. Editor's note: Today marks the second day of the highly anticipated LAUSD strike, in which thousands of educators gathered to strike for more funding towards schools. Yesterday, on the first day of the strike, Los Angeles schools lost approximately $15 million. Today, amidst the striking, protesters and Los Angeles County supervisors devised a preliminary plan to provide about $10 million towards school programs. Emma SextonHeart2Art Contributor  Photo taken by high schooler Elsa Nagle  The Heart2Art Project's Gillian Rule interviewed Chloe Hammarstrom, a 15 year old high schooler living in Huntington Beach, about her experience as a young artist. Here's what she had to say: Gillian Rule: What is your passion and when did it begin? How did it develop and grow throughout your life? Chloe Hammarstrom: My passion is putting my thoughts into something that I can see with my eyes. It is different every day and it grows with my realizations and my experiences in life. GR: How do you express yourself creatively? What mediums do you use? CH: I take my visions and use acrylic or oils on any form of surface. GR: Where do you draw your inspiration from? Is there a particular artist that you find inspirational? Aside from visual artists, are there any artists in music, film, or other mediums that have inspired you as well? CH: Every single person that I have ever seen, listened to, heard of, talked to, or know of has affected my art but the number one person/artist is my mother. GR: While more spotlight is being brought to the voices of our generation in recent years, history has shown that the perspectives, activism, and art of teenagers are often dismissed. Have you personally experienced this as a teenager? CH: I have yet to meet one person who’s age is older than mine who genuinely accepts what I do. I actually am determined that no one can be fully satisfied with what I do because of how young I am. I would like to say that that doesn’t affect me because I do it for myself, but that would be a lie. GR: Do you have a favorite piece that you have created? Can you explain it and why it is your favorite? CH: I have never explained anything I create because I cannot understand it myself. GR: Describe your art making process in three words. CH: Idea, [anxiety] before, [anxiety] after. GR: Do you feel like your art is representative of your experiences as a teenager? As you get older, do you think that your artistic style will change? CH: It perfectly represents my teenage experiences. It shows my whole mind with the emotions that surround it. my style has changed and grown so much and it will never stop. my life will constantly change and that is all I paint about. GR: Any last words or advice you would like to share? CH: Live your own life. Follow Chloe! Instagram: @hoboclo Gillian RuleVP of Social Media + VP of Communications + VP of Publications |
