do over.

[a]s

introduction to media

college writing

photography I

basic visual literacy

20th century photography

fundamentals in marketing

pop art

public speaking

psychology of personality

interpersonal communications

advanced psychology of communications

entrepreneurship / business planning

the comedy film 

[b]s

culture, society and the west 

digital media studio

women in america 

creating web documents

internet as a public art 

photography II

sculpture I

beginning spanish I 

american crime film 

media representation & identity

world of weather: intro to meteorology 

internship: vice magazine

[c]s 

understanding america

intermediate mathematics 

intro to cultural & sociological anthropology

precalculus 

american capitalism 

[f]

freshman seminar 

this is could be also be a prioritized list of what i cared about in college. 

jack of some trades, i'd say. 

White Noses

(click to enlarge)

"White Noses #1" Oil and Watercolor on Canvas, 2013.

"White Noses #2 (unfinished)" Oil on Canvas, 2013

shoulderstands

my skin is warm with sun and i don't know what to say to yo
u.    meditation. inside of my eyelids, it is green. not cold and
envious, but luscious and healthy.       i manage to sit     still
for 24 minutes of the expected 30.      while i'm gone i do not
think of you, but i think of not thinking of you. i'm seeing gre
en and i know where i am. my skin is warm with sun and my
shoulders sink. my neck softens. back on the rooftop, vertebr
ae realign to form a straight line. citrus eyelids and a burning
nose. i've noticed that singular note in the song, but never tho
ught of the man playing it.   moved to tears by his patience a
nd perfect timing.    not knowing where i am again i come ba
ck to the sheet. the warmth of the tar. i am home again. my s
kin is warm.     i can not say anything to you. i'm with the sun.

whiptART.

Ready. Go. 

untitled. ink on paper 2012.

untitled. watercolor on canvas. 2012

"what i'm really thinking." ink on paper 2012

"a gift for yetti" ink, acrylic and embroidery floss on canvas, 2012.

"untitled" watercolor on canvas, 2012.

detail of "feminine virility," watercolor and ink on canvas, 2012

"wooden girl 1" watercolor, acrylic, polyurethane on wood, 2012.

"every day thoughts" ink on magazine paper 2013

"a lamp for Jackie" watercolor in glass with LED lights, 2012

"wooden girl 2" watercolor, acrylic, matte medium on wood, 2012

detail of "wooden girl 2"

shot "4 hours" and "Philly knife piece" 2013 and 2012, respectively.

The following images are all a part of a series entitled "Portraits of Women I've Never Met." They are all ink and watercolor pieces on paper, made in 2013.

all images are owned by atiya jones a.k.a whiptART. don't steal my shit. 

fueled.

In case I forgot to tell you,
I'm well today. I feel rather strong actually.
my mind is racing.
it's the caffeine
it's the dehydration.
my muscles are growing,
in the mirror i tell myself that i'm sexy
sometimes i smile too.
today

i decided that i'm going to quit working
one day.
and work for myself
so that i can never work again.

foot steps

I realize that I am getting older every time I forget my age. There now exists this lapse in time when asked, where I stutter before spitting out, "twenty-six." Don't worry, I don't think I'm old. The period of post collegiate ecstasy is coming to a close and I am no longer a freshman in Life. So what the fuck am I doing?

Well, right now, I'm eating pineapples and drinking strawberry kombucha. I'm eating a lot. I'm exercising. Bikram, Anti-gravity, vinyasa yoga and Pilates. It exhausts me. Tired, not from being out until 5 A.M. I'm being somewhat responsible with my body, and my feelings for that matter. I'm being a good person. At least I'm trying to.

***

My mother called it my mask, this part of my face that is darker than the rest of it. There's not a shade of foundation that could make it look even or concealed so I don't bother. I've never bothered. The last time I wore sandals, comfortably, in public was roughly 16 years ago. Maybe this will be my year. It may be time to get all, "this is my body. If you think it's ugly, don't look at it." Or maybe I'll just keep on with those huarache sandals, but at least I'm thinking about other possibilities. For the first time in a long time, my life feels like it's happening right now. Full of options and decisions I don't have to make, yet, because I'm 26 and I don't completely give a shit about anything and I'm not apologizing for it.

But that's all of us right? This here generation of student loan-lackies and DIY-entrprenuers. Do I finally just fit in?

My sister asked me a few weeks ago just how long I planned on working at the restaurant in which I'm employed, which I knew was her round-about way of leading into, "So what do you want to do with your life?" It's unfortunate the way people are expected to know and plan everything in their journey. I don't know, you guys. I have a vague vision of children, a home, an office and phone calls. Letters to people I miss. Vacations to places I've never been. Being in love and consolation during multiple phases of mourning. Death.

What am I going to do with my life? I don't know, but maybe I'll buy some sandals, and wear them in public and make you all look at my ugly toes and giggle at the past that lingers there.