Hey guys, this is my college essay on what thought was an interesting topic to write on. Please read it and tell me what you think about it 
Rectangles
Playing cards. How do people see them? Some look at them as a means to gamble, some others look at them as a means to astonish people, others look at them as a blank canvas ready to be painted, and a few other people, well, they just shuffle cards. I come under the last two categories, probably the last three.
How can playing cards act as a canvas? Designing playing cards is an actual job which, sadly, many people either don’t know about or don’t appreciate. A huge number of illustrators spend time and creativity into designing fifty two pieces of paper. I myself have designed a few decks and made a lot of friends through them. It’s interesting how small rectangular papers have broadened my view on art. It’s improved my creativity, even increased my list of contacts.
Now, shuffling cards doesn’t really sound like much. Again what many people don’t know yet is that there is a whole community out there which thrives on shuffling playing cards. Shuffling cards is an art in itself, and it’s called “Cardistry”. Cardistry is the art of shuffling cards in such a way that it looks like they have a mind of their own, kind of like puppeteering, or ventriloquism. Cardistry has given me yet another chance to build up my creativity. It’s not an easy thing to perform, or even practice for that matter. Cardistry needs a lot of dexterity and patience. The cards will be dropped a thousand times by the time you learn a move and perform it perfectly, but you need to pick them up and not give up and keep trying until you nail the move perfectly. So in a way, Cardistry has taught me patience, and most importantly, it has taught me that no matter how hard the situation may be, no matter how many times I fail, I must keep picking myself up and try until I succeed.
Last, and hopefully not the least, sleight of hand, also known as magic to the lay people. In a way, it’s a lot harder to perform than Cardistry. The reason for that is that in Cardistry, the spectator needs to see what’s going on, otherwise it’s just pointless. Sleight of hand on the other hand, every single move you do needs to be hidden. If the spectator gets even the slightest hint as to how you do the trick, he or she might not be that impressed, although sometimes there are a few people who appreciate the trick even though they’ve found out the secret behind it. Again sleight of hand has helped me boost my creativity and patience but not only that, it’s also shown me how easily the human mind can be tricked, which is something that has always fascinated me.
Whether learning all of this with playing cards will be useful in my future or not, the one important thing that a plain deck of cards has taught me is that even the smallest thing can either be a really underrated work of art, or it becomes a really beautiful and mesmerizing work of art.
Rectangles
Playing cards. How do people see them? Some look at them as a means to gamble, some others look at them as a means to astonish people, others look at them as a blank canvas ready to be painted, and a few other people, well, they just shuffle cards. I come under the last two categories, probably the last three.
How can playing cards act as a canvas? Designing playing cards is an actual job which, sadly, many people either don’t know about or don’t appreciate. A huge number of illustrators spend time and creativity into designing fifty two pieces of paper. I myself have designed a few decks and made a lot of friends through them. It’s interesting how small rectangular papers have broadened my view on art. It’s improved my creativity, even increased my list of contacts.
Now, shuffling cards doesn’t really sound like much. Again what many people don’t know yet is that there is a whole community out there which thrives on shuffling playing cards. Shuffling cards is an art in itself, and it’s called “Cardistry”. Cardistry is the art of shuffling cards in such a way that it looks like they have a mind of their own, kind of like puppeteering, or ventriloquism. Cardistry has given me yet another chance to build up my creativity. It’s not an easy thing to perform, or even practice for that matter. Cardistry needs a lot of dexterity and patience. The cards will be dropped a thousand times by the time you learn a move and perform it perfectly, but you need to pick them up and not give up and keep trying until you nail the move perfectly. So in a way, Cardistry has taught me patience, and most importantly, it has taught me that no matter how hard the situation may be, no matter how many times I fail, I must keep picking myself up and try until I succeed.
Last, and hopefully not the least, sleight of hand, also known as magic to the lay people. In a way, it’s a lot harder to perform than Cardistry. The reason for that is that in Cardistry, the spectator needs to see what’s going on, otherwise it’s just pointless. Sleight of hand on the other hand, every single move you do needs to be hidden. If the spectator gets even the slightest hint as to how you do the trick, he or she might not be that impressed, although sometimes there are a few people who appreciate the trick even though they’ve found out the secret behind it. Again sleight of hand has helped me boost my creativity and patience but not only that, it’s also shown me how easily the human mind can be tricked, which is something that has always fascinated me.
Whether learning all of this with playing cards will be useful in my future or not, the one important thing that a plain deck of cards has taught me is that even the smallest thing can either be a really underrated work of art, or it becomes a really beautiful and mesmerizing work of art.
