All I could think about were Milky Way bars and Ring Dings and Oreos. No, I wasn't hungry. Not at all.

Those things were going to be the subjects of my next art project! I could see it so clearly — a series of pop art pieces, "Junk Food Fantasy," by Claudia Kishi. I could paint a Twinkie in a wrapper, then a Twinkie unwrapped. A Yankee Doodle, and then a Yankee Doodle with a bite in it. All in realistic detail with vivid colors.

The idea was brilliant (not to mention that

it would give me an excuse to buy even more junk food). I couldn't wait to get started. I turned off the show before it was over and ran upstairs to my room.

I began a few preliminary sketches, but two things happened. One, I got hungry and ate the subject of my fifth sketch, a Chunky bar. Two, I realized it was getting close to five-thirty. And five-thirty on a Friday meant just one thing — a BSC meeting.

I began to clean up my room. I was dying to tell my friends about my great new idea.

Chapter 2.

How does light play off the curves of a Fritos corn chip?

How do you create detail in a white Yankee Doodle center?

Which is more interesting, the many textures of a Snickers bar or the simplicity of a Three Musketeers bar?

These were the incredibly important questions in my head as I cleaned up. That's the thing about art. You get obsessed about the weirdest details. How should the object be lit — from behind, from above, from the right, or from the left? Should your green have more blue in it or more yellow? Should your whites be pure or tinted toward gray — or toward brown? How big should the subject be? What should be in the background?

I find stuff like that fascinating. A lot of people would find it more interesting to talk about brussels sprouts.