The State of Us & Our Things

[MikaelaMuppet]

Okay, but what did you type to actually make it work?

I typed in an unordered list.

 

[LittleJerry92]

Well, that's very helpful....

 

[MikaelaMuppet]

Well, that's very helpful....

I’m glad I could help.

 

[jvcarroll]

I see Jamie got rid of his Kermit avatar.

I did. This is my logo that I use for much of my work. It's based on me. it's basically me as a puppet because I do a great deal of Muppet illustration in my professional life.

That other Kermit piece is something I did as well. Someone once asked me what I felt God looked like. I'm an agnostic. That's not like being an Atheist. An Atheist believes in no God at all. I leave the possibility open. As an artist, and a person, I think it's important to leave possibility open. Anyway, this is how I pictured it in my head. We're all just random specs living on a rock among many other rocks that are floating in space. Our only importance is in the connectedness we share with each other. Whether we know it or not, we are all connected. This is a very Fraggle Rock/Jim Henson message, so I put Kermit right on top of the world. To me, Kermit's a figure who tries and fails and he is no "messiah" but he represents perpetual effort to reach out and to look at the bigger picture no matter how hard things get. Anyway, that's why the picture was there in the first place. Here's a lager image of it.

Also, I was severely depressed around the time I made this composition and there was a kid I knew battling cancer. A lot of how he faced that inspired me to put this image to paper. He was a huge Muppet fan. Maybe even more than I. Eeep! So I printed it out with a whole bunch of other items I'd created in my catalog of work and mailed it to his mother. When he passed, I sent an additional image for his mother. Bert and Ernie were their favorite Sesame Street cast members. That fearless little kid taught a lot of people the importance of embracing life and valuing other people. I didn't intend to share this story here. The family has shared it many times online. This is kind of what this thread is for. The bigger picture. The things and people that touch our lives and why. That kid was just living his life to the fullest. He wasn't trying to be a beacon of hope to so many people, but he was and he still is. Here's a glimpse of the image I sent to his mother for her birthday after he passed. Her husband reached out to ask me if I'd help. Apparently, this hit the spot. Each Muppet here represents a family member and their favorite character. They're a very special family. I need to create another composition for one of their charity auctions sometime. That's still on the to do list.

More info than you needed, but I've been trying to make my art more meaningful. I've done so much licensed corporate art that I've been searching for greater meaning. My logo was a change in direction so I thought I'd share some of that here. This is what I do. Where I come from. And where I'm trying to go in the future - but with an original cast of characters. I've got one heck of an idea!

 

[MikaelaMuppet]

I did. This is my logo that I use for much of my work. It's based on me. it's basically me as a puppet because I do a great deal of Muppet illustration in my professional life.

That other Kermit piece is something I did as well. Someone once asked me what I felt God looked like. I'm an agnostic. That's not like being an Atheist. An Atheist believes in no God at all. I leave the possibility open. As an artist, and a person, I think it's important to leave possibility open. Anyway, this is how I pictured it in my head. We're all just random specs living on a rock among many other rocks that are floating in space. Our only importance is in the connectedness we share with each other. Whether we know it or not, we are all connected. This is a very Fraggle Rock/Jim Henson message, so I put Kermit right on top of the world. To me, Kermit's a figure who tries and fails and he is no "messiah" but he represents perpetual effort to reach out and to look at the bigger picture no matter how hard things get. Anyway, that's why the picture was there in the first place. Here's a lager image of it.

Also, I was severely depressed around the time I made this composition and there was a kid I knew battling cancer. A lot of how he faced that inspired me to put this image to paper. He was a huge Muppet fan. Maybe even more than I. Eeep! So I printed it out with a whole bunch of other items I'd created in my catalog of work and mailed it to his mother. When he passed, I sent an additional image for his mother. Bert and Ernie were their favorite Sesame Street cast members. That fearless little kid taught a lot of people the importance of embracing life and valuing other people. I didn't intend to share this story here. The family has shared it many times online. This is kind of what this thread is for. The bigger picture. The things and people that touch our lives and why. That kid was just living his life to the fullest. He wasn't trying to be a beacon of hope to so many people, but he was and he still is. Here's a glimpse of the image I sent to his mother for her birthday after he passed. Her husband reached out to ask me if I'd help. Apparently, this hit the spot. Each Muppet here represents a family member and their favorite character. They're a very special family. I need to create another composition for one of their charity auctions sometime. That's still on the to do list.

More info than you needed, but I've been trying to make my art more meaningful. I've done so much licensed corporate art that I've been searching for greater meaning. My logo was a change in direction so I thought I'd share some of that here. This is what I do. Where I come from. And where I'm trying to go in the future - but with an original cast of characters. I've got one heck of an idea!

Sorry to hear you were depressed.

 

[jvcarroll]

Sorry to hear you were depressed.

Thanks. Depression can teach us some things. Every feeling we have is a signal. It's what we do with those signals and the tools we use to get through them that define us and we impact the world around us. It taught me that there were things more important than my particular circumstances. Those things are important, of course, but no matter how bad things get - there's no excuse for not trying to make each day the best it can be given any struggles that we might have. I forget that often. Life isn't about being perfect or not backsliding. It's about trying to be a little bit better and grow with that. As people, that's really all we can do. It's all we really have control over. It can be tough, but life is tough and it's the tough people who get through it best.

 

[D'Snowth]

I've been through two bouts of clinical depression in my life - once was during the spring and summer of 2004, the other from summer to summer from 2006 to 2007; the latter of which was partly due to the fact that I was on a government-monitored acne medication that included dangerous side effects such as depression, paranoia, mood swings, and thoughts of suicide . . . all of which I had, except for thoughts of suicide.

 

[jvcarroll]

Don't know how to do those little black dots but whatever.

I'm Alex and that's all you need to know in regards to my real name.

Straight and proud of it.

Currently a video intern for a mobile barbershop in Boston.

I'm also learning-disabled (sometimes can be a little dyslexic and at times, a slow learner. Depending on how words are thrown at me).

I have a very sarcastic/mischievous sense of humor.... Though that doesn't mean I don't know when to be serious of course.

Huge gamer, listen to alot of metal, classic rock, pop, etc...

Muppet fan for life.

Here's me in a nutshell.

• My name is Mikaela (not saying my last name)
• I live in New Hampshire (not saying the town)
• I'm 18 and my birthday is in 4 months
• I have autism, ADD, anxiety, and OCD
• I love old Disney movies and the ones from the late 80s until the late 2000s are the best
• I prefer to just be myself and not have friends (though I did have plenty of them in my childhood)
• Am currently unemployed at the moment, but am really hoping to get a library job because I love books so much
• I love New England sports (don't like college sports though), and have Pat Patriot and Wally The Green Monster as my avatar

Muppet fan forever​

Thanks for sharing. This is what I'm talking about. I can relate to some things here. I had challenges in school, particularly in mathematics. I once had a teacher tell me that those who are bad at math aren't good in life. I liked her a lot up until that point, but that just broke my heart. We must be very careful what we tell kids. I didn't have any diagnosed learning disability, but something was at play. I'd come in before school, in free periods between classes, after school and work my butt off at home, but none of it helped that much. We all have talents and deficits. Those are what make us unique. They don't make us bad at all. I learned that not every adult or person, no matter how cool they are, has the answers about life. We all mess up and that doesn't make us bad people. I wasn't bad for being poor at math and that teacher wasn't bad for making the mistake of labeling me so. We all have our challenges. It's how we move forward that matters.

I also was just diagnosed with an inverted form of ADHD with Hyper-Focus. That doesn't mean I'm hyper or not able to focus. On the contrary - I have a laser-like, perfectionistic focus on any given task. It's what makes my artwork very detailed. It's also a challenge to diversify my attention or to pull me away from a particular task. I have to set boundaries and limits. That's been working out. Life, after all, is a great experiment that never ends. Again, it's the little things that make us improve and how we get better from that. As an adult, I've learned that NOBODY ever really grows up or sees themselves as adults. We just learn to handle our issues a little bit better than the last time they popped up. That's basically all we can do. It kind of sucks, but it's also kind of neat too. It all depends on your perspective.

Also, I'm a very silly person. In countless ways!

 

[MikaelaMuppet]

This is what I forgot to mention.

• I have met some (but not many) LGBT people. Have not met any bisexuals yet though.
• I’m straight myself, but cannot seem to get the guy I want. I had two chances, but blew both of them.
• My cousin (who doesn’t live in New England anymore), is gay himself and is a theater manager in NY. And also has a new partner because he’s no longer involved with the old one.

 

[jvcarroll]

I've been through two bouts of clinical depression in my life - once was during the spring and summer of 2004, the other from summer to summer from 2006 to 2007; the latter of which was partly due to the fact that I was on a government-monitored acne medication that included dangerous side effects such as depression, paranoia, mood swings, and thoughts of suicide . . . all of which I had, except for thoughts of suicide.

I'm sorry to hear that. Life can be challenging. Who was it that said Heck (for lack of being able to use the actual word here on the forum) was other people? It can be if we choose to let it be. I was largely marginalized early in life. I went through a bout of such extreme depression as teenager over my being gay. I thought that I didn't matter anymore. People have often called me strange or a weirdo. I just was just called that in this very forum. Instead of hating it, I wear it as a badge of honor. That time I was suicidal as a teen, I figured out why that was. I felt that I couldn't be a good person and a gay person at the same time. Well, that's bunk. While I'm not religious, I was at the time and I'm actually a pretty smart cookie. Test results, aside from mathematics, have shown that. I think it has to do with general problem solving skills. Anyway, I discovered that Jesus never said a lick about gay people. They certainly existed, but not one word. He was supposed to reboot the religion. If he didn't feel that was important - IT AIN'T! As for other folk, I'd never really let how other people felt about my weirdness define me and I wouldn't after that bout of depression either. I decided to accurately dub myself DELIGHTFULLY ODD and have never looked back. I learned how to connect on a human level with almost anybody. To see their value and to tell them that. It's not always returned in kind, but 9 times out of 10 it is. And treating people better gives all of us value.