ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

12

Puzzled
JUST FUN

6
7

7
4

5
8

8
5

7
5

3
2

8
7

9
6

1
7

HOW TO PLAY Sudoku

Fill in the empty cells using the numbers 1-9. Numbers should
appear only once in each column, row and region.

A N G

O U N D

T Y H A S
H M J K C
W G E N N

E I D X
K X N J
U F G U

A Z O U

V N

R C B F

T U

J Y

D E

S H G

P F

D T

R A

G A R B

HOW TO PLAY Word Search

Find 6 hidden SAT words in the puzzle.
ACUITY, BRAGGART, DEBUNKING, HIDEBOUND,
LANGUISH, THWART

HOW TO PLAY Maze

Start at the top and use your pencil to mark your path on
the way to the bottom of the maze.

Costume Mania

December 2014 | Prowler

RUSTON USES SEWING TALENTS

TO CREATE ANIME, COMIC CHARACTERS
by staff reporter
Kat Weems

Sophomore Megan Ruston walks into

her room where many varieties of fabric lay
all around. Her eyes scan the area and she
picks out the best piece of cloth.
Starting to cut fabric into the proper
proportions and pinning the pieces to her
mannequin, Ruston gets one step closer to
finishing her newest costume creation.
Ruston started making costumes at the
age of eleven. She discovered the process in
an online forum where some of her friends
told her about designing outfits and going
to Comic Con.
Since then, Ruston has enjoyed the
creative power she has as she glides material
through her sewing machine. When the
sounds of her work echoes through the
room, Ruston is in her zone.
Its a creative outlet, Ruston said. It
allows me to build confidence and social
skills. Being in costume, people see me as
my character and not as Megan. And, in
that way, we already have something in
common.
With the help of her grandmother,
Ruston has made costumes from characters
in Pokemon, Blackrock Shoots and RWBY.
Through her work, she has learned different
techniques and methods of sewing that are
easier for her to grasp.
She [my grandmother] has so much
skill and so many different techniques that
shes taught me over the years, Ruston

said. [Shell tell me,] Instead of doing all

this hard work, you can just do this and
itll look the exact same. Its just easier. Her
opinions and her ideas have really helped
me accomplish what I have so far.
To give her costumes some public
exposure, Ruston has worn some of them
to Comic Con, a large scale get-together of
people who are fans of comics, art, anime
and sci-fi pop culture.
Many times, her costume making has run
up until the day before or even the day of
the event.
For Pokemon I did everything in a day
or two. The total was about four hours of
work, Ruston said. It wasnt super complex
or anything, just editing a tank top and
shorts. It took a good four hours because
of all the paint that was necessary for
completing the outfit.
The amount of time and work for each
costume depends on how intricate the
design is and how much work she puts into
them. The costumes that have taken Ruston
the longest include RWBY and Deadmaster.
That was with all the prop stuff that I
had to help out with, Ruston said. It ran
up to the night before on both of them, and
it was about two to three months each.
Along with enjoying the creative outlet,
Ruston now sees the costume design as part
of her future.
She hopes to enter a competition at
Comic Con this coming year with an
entirely hand made costume.

photo by Megan Ruston

Sophomore Megan Ruston wears her RWBY

costume.

I really want to end up trying to see if

what I enjoy doing is on a high skill level
and if I could actually make some form of
progress out of this, Ruston said. I mean,
maybe Ill be good at this or maybe theyll
be like, Hey go back to the drawing board.
While entering a competition could add
a little pressure for other designers, Ruston
stays grounded in the reasons of why she
creates costumes in the first place.
Im enjoying it, and I am putting 100
percent of my work into it, Ruston said.
As long as I try my hardest and I make the
largest commitment to it that I can, thats all
that really matters to me.

Choir Members Continue through All-State Audition Process

by staff reporter
Delilah Rivera

Voices ring like bells and

bounce off the walls as students
try to hit the highs and lows of
their music. Being pitch perfect
is imperative if they want to
move onto the next audition.
Every year, students from all
the regions in Texas compete to
make the All State Choir. This
year, three students are in the
process of auditioning their way
to the top.
Freshman Catherine Hipolito
made it past the district
audition to region, while Alex
Clark and Camille Horlador,
both seniors, made it to the
pre-area audition, one audition
away from All State.
Its a competitive process,"
choir teacher Andre Clark
said. They must audition and
compete with other kids. It can
get pretty intense.
In preparation for their

Senior
Alex Clark

photos by Delilah Rivera

Senior
Camille Horlador

auditions, the three students

started in August and learned
several pieces of music. Since
they dont know which piece of
music the judges will pick for
their competition, they must
dedicate time to learning all the
pieces at once.
Its been stressful but its also
good for me, because it brings
out my competitiveness, and
Im learning a lot of new things,
Horlador said.
Because of the intensity
required, the students have been
practicing regularly.

Its one of my main

passions. I wanted to go
to fine arts when I was
younger, it was a career I
had wanted to pursue, but
then I thought no, Ill stick
with health science. But
choir is a really big hobby of
mine. It makes me happy.
-Senior Camille Horlador

I practice every day, senior

Alex Clark said. I listen to my
iPod with the songs on it and I
go to sleep with the songs in my
head. Then, Ill practice before
school from 8 to 9.
Just like with any other
competition, managing time
between practice and other
activities gets hectic for the
choir students. All three of the
students are in AP classes and
are involved in other activities.
Ive had to prioritize, senior
Horlador said. Because I was
too busy preparing for region,

I couldnt fully participate in

the robotics club as much as I
wanted to.
Despite the obstacles, the
preparation and stress paid off.
After competing, students who
win have the opportunity to
perform in a concert.
As the winners prepare
for the concert performance,
they are exposed to new
opportunities. They get to meet
other choir teachers and learn
different techniques of vocal
training.
Ive always loved the
concerts, Hippolito said.
Theres a lot of choir kids there
and everyone loves singing. Its
pretty cool.
The seniors will audition
for the Pre-Area choir on
December 22.
I think they all have a real
good chance at this, Clark said.
Theyre great kids, and theyve
been working their butts off.