So I decided to
run for the JYA (Junior year Abroad) at Mansfield College. I had gone JCR
(Junior Common Room) meetings where motions are proposed and debated, and I was
very keen to foster great relationships between the 38 visiting students and
the rest of the JCR.
Saturday, the
candidates were assigned a task by the previous JYA rep due by noon the
following day. The task was to make a video of us doing something creative to
show off how American we are on a very busy Street in Oxford (Cornmarket
Street, which is essentially a boulevard for walking, not driving or biking). I
was working on a paper all day and didn't have time to start; plus I had NO
IDEA what to do! On the way home from a Korean festival at the Oxford Union
Saturday night, I saw a woman on Cornmarket street drawing on the sidewalk in
chalk. Then it hit me... Amy, you can draw... American, art, Cornmarket street!
So that's what happened.
I just needed chalk! But by the time i got this idea, all the stores were closed (Plus I had no idea where to get chalk in Oxford! Someone I asked didn't even know what chalk was... but maybe that's just because I asked the wrong person) And, to make matters worse, none of the stores opened until after 11 on Sundays! The video was due at 12! So i had a minor panic attack, and then got an extension after running all over Oxford in search of chalk!
Once I got my chalk, I was ready! I started out dreading this. I didn't want to be one of those people doing showy stuff on Cornmarket Street. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing the street performers, I just didn't want to be one doing it! But, duty calls! So I sat down on the freezing street, nothing but chalk, charcoal, and a picture of Obama. 5 minutes into drawing I started drawing a crowd! It was great! One guy even asked for my email because he wanted me to draw for him in the future. I had so many conversations with so many people! A graphic designer complimented me. A little girl, probably 4 years old said, "Wow! How did you do that? It's in 3D!" A a bunch of people asked me if I could draw them next. Someone asked what institution I studied at to learn how to draw (Self taught... thank you very much). My favorite was when a little boy asked if I was going to draw Mitt Romney next!
Here's the video!
It was truly an amazing experience! I mean the picture turned out terribly (I did it in 3 hours - which is a record - and free handed - usually I draw out the face and then shade, not draw and shade at the same time... and it was chalk and on the ground, completely out of my element... plus I've never drawn in front of anyone before!) and I lost the election, but I will never forget that day! It has rained since, so the image is gone, but it was well worth it!
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