Charielle Molina

elvin BaCilia

Brian Gajdzisz

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As an artist I believe that everyone should draw for themselves and for their happiness. For me I find happi-ness in art as it represents what I like and what I love, it tells what motivates me and what my imagination usually looks like. My process to make my art is usually fast as I have fast drawing hands but of course there will be mistakes but I just go back to fix them, then I proceed to think of the suitable colors for my piece and then I just let the creativity flow.

My two favorite ways of making my art is using photoshop, paint tool sai and traditional drawing. Photoshop lets me enhance and change my art to great lengths and manipulate in into a whole different thing. Traditional drawing with a pencil and paper helps me sketch out my ideas of what I want and I find it to be more calming and smoother than on photoshop.

The art I make means a lot to me whether I take it seri-ously or just for fun. It represents who I am on the inside and out and makes me express myself to others without words. I draw inspiration from artists like Babs Tarr, Imai kira, OMOCAT and Sakimori. I am mostly inspired by the art of anime, manga and vintage things like old fairytales, folklore, nature, bright crazy stuff and rococo. These things add water to the plant for me when it comes to art and I hope that my art blossoms into the most beautiful thing in this world.

Chosen School: New Jersey City University

Awards:Best Original Artwork in Advanced Media

Exhibits: Media End of The Year Show Master Media Arts Show

Pre- College Programs:NJCU College Bound ProgramCommunity Service:Helping with interview process of incoming freshmenVolunteering at A. Harry Moore SchoolCollecting money for Leukemia childrenDonating to a coat and can driveHelping tutoring CASPER studentsDonating blood

Total Scholarships/Grants:NJ StarsGolden Door Film Festival scholarship $1000

Artist Statement Information

About Charielle Molina

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For my Masters Thesis I decided to create an

animation on a differ-ent level. It’s a flip book animation that presents itself as if your reading a storybook. The story I de-cided to tell is almost like a fairytale yet it’s a very dark one not intended for the children. This story is about revenge and loss. In ancient Japan after a woman loses her daughter and village in a raid by a fierce warlord she exacts revenge by using a demon possesed doll named “Sayohime” she gives the doll to the former warlord, now Emperor’s daughter to terrorize the family. By telling this story I want to show of how revenge can change a person and how it isn’t always the best way to ease your grief.

The techniques I used to create my project

are mostly Photoshop, and various sound effects, along with different effects for each scene.

As an artist and as-piring designer and

illustrator, I’ve chosen to let myself be known as to what type of person I am through my art. I want to be able to connect to peo-ple through my artwork and to never let other people’s judgment dictate or change the way I am. My hope is for my art to enchant and enthrall people and for them to be charmed the same way I was when I discovered the artwork of Imai Kira and OMOCAT. The hardwork they give to their work inspires and encourages me to do the same and find more ways to share my talent with people. One day I hope to expand my artwork to make graphic apparel, and even make my own comic one day. It seems farfetched but as long as I never give up I know I can make my dreams into a reality. Art is for everyone no matter who they are, so make it you.

Behind “SAYOHIME”by Charielle Molina

From Sayohime here’s one example of the horrors to come in this story. Here it shows a paranormal and strange thing happening with bugs coming out of the doll’s hollow eyes. I did it this way from inspiration of various horror movies and tellings of ghost stories you would see on tv.

From Sayohime, the princess is playing with the possesed doll unaware of the evil inside. To show and remind viewers that there are demons in the doll I drew the shadows of the demons coming out to show how they are connected to the doll.

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I am a graphic designer and I have been work-ing on Photoshop for the past four years. Many of the techniques I use I have learned on my

own by experimenting with different tools and options. I am a very Technical Artist, anything that comes to your mind I can illustrate it in photoshop by using the techniques that i have learned. Most of the work I do is animated and drawn by me, I prefer doing animated work because it gives me more control. When doing image manipulation it can sometimes be difficult because you don’t always have access to images that will create a very captivating moment which is the goal of any artist. With animated work I have the ability to create anything that comes to mind and I can do so quite well with good use of colors and effects. As time goes by I will continue to improve my techniques and also seek out new ones that will help me grow my knowledge as a Graphic Designer.

Chosen School:Hudson County Community College ( two years )Transfer to New Jersey City University

Awards:Media Arts Graphic Designer of the year (2014), Received the President’s Education Award for Outstanding Academic (2011), Awarded in the Law Day Art Contest (2013), NJ STARS

Exhibits:Digital Experience 2014

Pre- College Programs:SVA FAll Pre-College Program (2014)

Community Service:Golden Door International Film Festival Jersey City (2012-2013)Heroes & Cool Kids (2013-2015)H.I.P. Fair (2012-2013)

Total Scholarships/Grants:New Jersey City University four years: $8,000NJ Stars: Full tuition for Two year community college/ half tuition of any State college for the remaining two years.

Artist Statement Information

About Elvin R. Bacila

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Ihave been living in Jersey City for twelve

years now. I came to this country as a little boy who had no clue of all the great things that were to come as I grew older. Since I was from a foreign country I did not speak english and something had to be done about that since I was now living in the United States. My mother enrolled me in one of Jersey City’s Public Schools. It was a fantastic experience since it was a bilingual school and it helped me tremendously to learn english. By the time I was in the third grade I could easily speak and write english. Being enrolled in Jersey City Public schools I experi-ence a whole lot of great things, from first grade all the way up to my senior year of High School.

As for my senior thesis I decided to do an

advertisement for Jersey City Public Schools. I feel that it was necessary to do

so as a way to thank JCPS for all the great things that it stands for. Through my adventures in these past twelve years I’ve had many great teachers and I’m glad that they are part of the Jersey City Public Schools system.

In my thesis you will see seven posters that I

designed all on my own. These posters will rep-resent some of the most memorable moments when I started going to school here. However, as kids we usually tend to see things with much larger imaginations than they really are, Therefore I de-cided to make my posters much more creative and with a much larger imag-ination all of this com-bined with PhotoShop Effects and filters. The effects that I used were to give my drawings more of a realistic look. My thesis was also inspired by a few great and well known Graphic Designers!

Behind “I LOVE JCPS”by Elvin R. Bacila

From Math: It is fun, that’s a fact! My favorite subject in school has always been math and I loved the different ways my teacher would teach us math. My favorite one was using LINKING CUBES especially since after we were done I would use them to building things and play with my classmates.

From Imagination: let your imagination run wild! As a little boy I remember learning about planets and my classmates and myself were fascinated by them. We would Imagine being in Outer Space exploring planets. That inspired this poster.

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About Brian A. Gajdzisz

As an artist, producer, and engineer, the hardest thing to do is differentiate you from the current artists that are already out there. With the recent advancements that have taken place in the world of technology, the possibilities of what you can create are endless. When it comes down to writing music, the only things that you can use to differentiate yourself from others are your creative abilities and passion / drive to succeed. When creating my music I try not to follow a pattern or formula like everyone else. To me every song should be extremely different but memorable at the same time. Whether its creating a melody or searching through infinite amounts of instruments to find the right snare or crash, or eq’ing an instrument to perfection, I try my hardest to perfect my craft, no matter how small or irrelevant the task is. One thing I like to take pride in is my ability to use the piano to make my music although I have no musical talents and have never taken a class other than in Media Arts on Basic keyboard knowledge. Many producers in today’s industry have the ability to recite melodies or play full songs on A piano, while I on the other hand can still produce quality music with not nearly as much knowledge of the piano as them. This shows that anyone regardless of their level of talent can pursue a career in music production without any prior training and a small amount of useful information. I think this is why music is so interesting to me; it gives people a break from the hectic world around them and allows them to focus on the more important aspects of life. Not only do I want to pursue a career in music for the “fame”, and money, but also I want to inflict the same feelings and emo-tions onto future fans and listeners that artists of my generation were able to so positively bestow upon me.

Applied Schools:

NYU WILLIAM PATTERSON UNIV. HAVE NEW HAVENRAMAPOSTEVENS INST. OF TECHNOLOGYFULL SAIL

Awards Received:

AUDIO PRODUCER OF THE YEAR - (2013-2014)SOUND MIXING OF THE YEAR - (2013-2014)

Exhibits:

SVA FILM PRODUCTION SUMMER CLASS MOVIE VIEWING - (2012-2013)NYU AUDIO PRODUCTION SUMMER PROGRAM CONCERT/SHOWCASE - (2013-2014)4TH & 5TH ANNUAL JC MEDIA ARTS DIGITAL EXPERIENCE - (2012-2013) / (2013-2014)

Community Service:

ST.ANNE’S NURSING HOME SUMMER INTERNSHIP - (2014) (51 HOURS)

Competitions:

SHOUT DOWN DRUGS - NJ MUSIC PERFORMANCE COMPETI-TION - SEMIFINALIST - (2014)

Artist Statement Information

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T he name of my first song is called “ Changes”, and is mainly focused on the ever-changing ways of life

and how they affect us as a whole. The song focuses on the many changes that people experience as they grow older and mature not only physically but mentally also. The song emphasizes many aspects of change, such as the change in personality that you see in people around you as time goes on, to the changes in your financial situation that occur every now and then.

M y second song is named “Always there” . I named it this because I feel as though the topic I chose to

compose on is “always there”. In my eyes, no matter how rich or poor you are, or how happy or sad you are, you always need to manage your finances in times of hard-ship and make hard decisions under enormous amounts of pressure. Throughout my life financial problems have plagued not only myself, but also the people around me. The events I never thought could and would happen to me and my friends were happening. Seeing the people I know and love being put in the type of situations that no one ever wants to experience, made me rethink what I value and how I treat the things I care about. It also made me reconsider taking certain things for granted. Nothing is forever and growing up I had to learn that the hard way.

M y third song focuses on a topic that’s hard for everyone to talk about, no matter how strong or

emotionally prepared they are for the situation. Loss of someone who you hold close to you. The reason I chose this topic is because of the fact that I am still coping with the loss of a parent that had suffered two years ago. No matter how many positive things I try to find, I still see the negatives of the situation. I also chose this topic because of the fact that it’s easy to relate to, no matter how or when you have experienced death of a loved one, it’s never easy to forget.

F rom the top, my fourth song, is a song that I spent a lot of time choosing instruments for. The meaning of

the song is that we all start from the top instead of the bottom. The ideology behind this is that we all are born “at the top” or in other words with full capabilities and potential, but with bad decisions, poor choices, or strug-gles and obstacles, anyone can end up at the bottom.

S ong 5 is named “Struggles” . It’s the song that truly reveals to the audience how much I’ve learned while

studying Music Production and the art of recording and engineering music at Henry Snyder High school, and the JC Media Arts program .My way of showcasing this through the song was by using every technique I’ve learned properly, while showing progression in my mu-sic. My reason for doing this is so the audience can see what I’ve been able to learn while being in the masters program.

Behind “Changes”by Brian A. Gajdzisz

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As an artist I make a lot of expectations for myself, and the work I do. These expectations push me further and it drives me to do better than what I have done before. I like the feeling of success just like any other artist, but I don’t get too cocky about my abilities as an artist. I am an artist because I want to express myself the best way possible. Whether I am drawing or film-ing I feel it is my mission to express myself even if I’m in the JC Media Arts or not.

To be an artist (or what I call an art zombie) is very significant to me. The techniques and processes I use overall are basic pencil, paper, and a train of thought. My art at this time signifies my curiosity of everyone’s positive thoughts of the Media Arts. My artwork is different from others because I am stepping out of my comfort from using my imagination and actually getting personal with a lot of students and teachers of the program. To complete my artwork I use Final Cut Pro X, a video editing software program that enhances my video.

What inspires me most as an artist is other people’s success. When I watch other people succeed I think to myself, “I’ll do what ever it takes to prosper just like the previous graduates of the JC Media Arts”. It just drives me, and it is an honor to be a senior of the JC Media Arts.

Chosen School:Hudson County Community CollegeExhibits:2014 End of the year show: Interrogation Movie TrailerPre- College Programs:College Readiness Program: Tigers DenCommunity Service:Date Rape Program:Tiger’s DenBoy’s Group: Tiger’s DenThanksgiving dinner help in churchAfter school Media Arts recruitment

Artist Statement

Information

About Darius Gilmore

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Parents are the most important people in a child’s life. There is a reason why every child should have both a mother and a father in their life. Each parent plays a dif-ferent role in a child’s life. My mother’s role was to always be helpful and compassionate. My father’s roles was help-ing me with my homework and teaching me new things. Being a artist allows me to express my self thru my creativ-ity. When I was five years old, my father died. He had a heart attack, and his death was completely unexpected. It killed me to have to grow up without a father. The loss of even one of your parents could change your life in so many ways. I expressed this thru my artwork. Without my father I felt so alone. My visions shows this loss in my project.

After my father’s death, I spent most of my time alone. My mother should me music and got me my first musi-cal instrument. I did not really like to talk to people. I preferred to sit in my room and kept to myself. This time alone alowed me to expers my creatovoty thru music and creating songs. When I got to high school my life changed. I wanted to be more social and try to talk more to people. Even though I wanted to change, I still did not want to tell

people how I was feeling. But my Media class alowed me to express this in my lyrics and music. I began to open up more and show my feelings. I realized that other people had the same kind problems I had and I no longer felt alone. Music opened me up and allowed me to express them. For the first time, I had friends who cared for me and I cared for them. I started having fun in class and felt excited for the teachers I had. Now that I am a senior and graduating, I am ready attend college and meet all the new friends and work hard to make father proud. When I graduate college.

Chosen School:New Jersey City University

Community Service:Working at a nursing homeHelping out after school in Snyder High SchoolHelping out at Ps#8 and ms7

Total Scholarships/Grants:$5000-$9000

Artist Statement

Information

About George Rosario

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Coming into Snyder High School I had taken Animation, and Clay Animation courses. At Snyder High School I have

taken Graphic Arts for two years. The knowl-edge learned from those classes allowed me to participate in an internship with JCETV. Then I took an intro to art class which led to an internship over the summer with the Jer-sey City Work Arts program. This internship allowed me to shadow artist, and work along side them to create murals in the community. Since then I have enrolled in an extracurricu-lar class in fine art.

Chosen School:New Jersey Institute of Technology

Awards:I have received the Glen D. Cunningham award.I am a City Wide Student Council Officer, Assistant to the Presi-dent of the City Wide Student Council. Exhibits:I have won Honorable Mention awards at the Kiwanis Art Exhi-bition, and many others.

Community Service:In High School I have completed over 160 hours o community service.Competitions Won:Celebrate New Jersey 2nd Place winner for “The Tear of Grief.”

Colleges accepted to:Hudson County Community collegeNew Jersey City UniversityHoward UniversitySeton Hall University: $44,000 Scholarship

Artist Statement Information

About Tyriek Thomas

As the creators of this show we’d like to give a big

Thank You!For showing your appreciation for our work

We the students, Charielle, Elvin, and Brian want to personally thank each and every one of you for attending our show. The projects reflect our individual creativity, technical knowledge and many hours of hard work. We especially want to thank our 24/7 instructors Mrs. Dunham, Mr. Diaz and Mr. Salicrup who were always a phone call or text away from helping us in our times of need. Their dedication and hardwork can’t be expressed in this little paragraph but we thank them so much for everything they’ve done for us these past four years, nurturing us to be the best students we could, keeping us in-touch with the latest technology, sometimes telling us to start a project over if it didn’t meet their standards. Thank you!

A huge thanks to the parents who encouraged us in Media Arts all these years. Thanks for being patient and supportive by letting us attend this amazing program.

Credits

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SUPERINTENDENT’S CABINET

Dr. Marcia V. Lyles, Superintendent of Schools

Mr. Jason Bing, Chief Academic Officer/ Superintendent’s Office

Ms. Hope Blackburn, Esq., General Counsel/Legal Dept.

Mr. Luiggi C. Campana, School Business Administrator

Dr. MaryAnn Dickar, Chief of Staff/Superintendent’s Office

Mr. Franklin Walker, Associate Superintendent /Student Life & Services

Ms. Celeste Williams, Chief of Talent/Superintendent’s Office

SUPERINTENDENT’S SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM

Dr. Patricia Bryant, Associate Superintendent/Early Childhood

Ms. Ellen Ruane, Associate Superintendent/Secondary Division

Mr. Aldo Sanchez-Abreu, Associate Superintendent/Curriculum and Instruction

Dr. Rosetta Wilson, Executive Director/Leadership Institute

Ms. Paula Christen, Director/Student Life & Services

Dr. Gerard Crisonino, Director/Special Education

Dr. Norma Fernandez, Director/Elementary Division B

Ms. Heather Martindale, Director/Family & Community Engagement

Mr. Thomas Purwin, Director/Education Technology/Business Dept.

Dr. Magda Savino, Director/Enterprise Division

Dr. Michael Winds, Director/Elementary Division A

CREDITS

239 Bergen AvenueJersey City, NJ 07305201-915-1815/1792

Website: http://www.jcmediaarts.comEmail: jcmediaarts@gmail.com

Members of the Jersey City Board of EducationMs. Vidya Gangadin, President

Ms. Marilyn Roman, Vice President

Ms. Micheline AmyMs. Jessica DayeMr. Gerald Lyons

Ms. Sangeeta RanadeMr. Lorenzo Richardson

Ms. Ellen SimonMr. Joel Torres

PrincipalYvonne Waller

Supervisor of Visual & Media ArtsAnn Marley

Supervisor of Performing ArtsDavid Radulich

Graphic Production Instructor at Media Arts

Fernando Salicrup III

Video Production Instructor at Media Arts

Dorie Dunham Harvey

Audio Production Instructor at Media ArtsRichard Diaz

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In 2011, we started as freshmen. In the Media Arts program, we had no idea what we were in for! The work load could easily pile up while the expectations remained high. We had

deadlines we thought could never be met (with quality at least). The competetive nature of this program was too much for a lot of us during our freshmen and sophomore years. By our Junior year of school, we only had a fraction of our original class. By Senior year it was just a few. We became trained survivors of the program, able to discern between what was acceptable and what wasn’t, ready to jump at any and all extra-credit opportunities we could. Today, our work demonstrates more than academic survival, it demonstrates artistic thriving.

We hope you can enjoy the show as much as we did making it.

from Graduates of 2015