“Jane by Design”

Creator: April Blair

“Jane by Design” is about a simple mistake of identity after landing her dream job assisting a designer, Gray Chandler Murray (Andie MacDowell) at Donovan Decker, where they think she is an adult. A young high school girl, Jane Quimby (Erica Dasher) is forced to live a double life to support herself and her brother after their parents passed. She spends half her time as a high school student, the other half as an up-and-coming fashionista in the world of fashion. As Quimby struggles to keep this secret from pretty much everyone, she relies on her best friend Billy Nutter (Nick Roux) to help her out with getting her to and from, what she is calling her job a fashion internship, so she can keep her identity a secret. 

The newly ABC family television “Jane by Design” is a great show for high school teenagers aspiring to be the next biggest fashion icon. The television show embraces a number of qualities inherent to teen life, including blossoming self-identity and the desire to be accepted by your peers. As for the show's presentation of teen life, there's a lot of truth to Quimby’s trying experiences with her peers, and the content brings relevant issues like bullying and popularity to the forefront. “Jane by Design” also turns the tables on some stereotypes by casting multi-dimensional characters who often exceed viewers' preconceived notions of Quimby and Nutter. 

The show broke free from the norm we see on television shows. Jane is known as “Plain Jane” by the resident mean girl Lulu Pope (Meagan Tandy). Of course, Pope is everything Quimby is not; popular, rich and with a bad attitude. Quimby is always on the outside trying to get a glimpse into Pope’s world. Quimby found herself falling for the most popular guy in school Nick Fadden (Matthew Atkinson), but had doubts about him have the same feelings towards her, because she wasn’t a girl in the “in crowd” but they both had the same feeling towards each other. Nutter who has had a secret love affair with  Pope (Meagan Tandy) who hide their relationships from the entire school include their friends and family, because they were in this interracial relationship. “Jane by Design” brings to light issues that are often over looked and not addressed. 

“Jane by Design” teaches young up and coming college students to chase after their dreams and to be who they aspire to be. 

"Farewell to Anger” (oil painting on canvas)

Artist: Leonid Afremov

Leonid Afremov’s landscaping of “Farewell to Anger” captures the emotion of a casual stroll through an old Belarusian city, with all the vibrant color and culture alive in this artist’s perspective. Afremov is one of the most power colorful painters.  His skill with a palette knife and oil paint creates vivid scenes and cityscapes full of bright colors and watery reflections. His thick strokes are almost mosaic in nature, but the result is not without detail where the colors merge.  “Farewell to Anger” is the result of long painting process and brings different moods, colors, and emotions.
Although all of his paintings have a very similar technique to them this particular piece stuck out. Afremov’s usage of the of a one point perspective in his “Farewell to Anger” really draws the viewers eyes down the the one pathway of the painting. It makes you want to know what is down the the rest of the path. The two people walking in the painting, seem to be walking away from this a past life, that may have not been filled with anger or not so good memories. It appears now the two people seem to walking towards the light at the end of the pathway, and entering into a future filled with positivity.
Its hard not to stop and look at Afremov’s usage of color in “Farewell to Anger”. His technique of  color is brilliant. He does an amazing job incorporating some of the basic elements of art such as movement, unity, balance, variety, contrast, and pattern. Even though landscape aren’t as brightly colored as Afremov’s makes “Farewell to Anger” seem, he has this way of putting your mind into this fantasy world through his art. He pieces make it so hard to pick out a favorite, because they are all so beautifully made. So colorful, lovely and professional at the same time this breath taking piece will surely bring a lot of positivity and peace of mind.