Weekend Assignment-cultural event 6/7-6/9

This weekend I attended the Loire Valley excursion with CEA. We did several things, including tours of castles and chateaus, royal gardens, patronized several small towns in the countryside, stayed at a lovely resort, ate exquisite French cuisine and participated in wine tasting. When we first arrived to the winery we were shown how they made their wine with a video that walked us step by step on their specific processes for fermenting wine. Afterwards we tried several wines. Although they were all different types of wines–some more dry than other, all of the wines made at this particular winery were made only using white grapes. A perfect example of unity and variety. After the wine tasting we had a tour of the establishment showing us where the bottles where held, the pots the wine is fermented in and finally the packaging for the bottles–a start to finish tour. It was worth commenting the various temperature shifts in the winery. At times, mainly when we were in the storage facilites, how cold the winery was. This was consistent theme throughout the tour of how temperature affects the wine and how it is important to stick to a repetitive standard not to tamper with the quality. Overall it was an interesting and informative cultural event unique to such an amazing part of France.

 

**My camera fell in the toilet so I no longer have picture taking capabilities. I really wish I could have included pictures from my trip in this post!!

Sketch Assignment

Orsay Museum

Pierre Bonnard-Le Plaisir

I noticed how the space was divided between a foreground and the background with the emphasis on the frame surrounding the painiting. I also liked how the artist broke down and combined the colors to provide contrast between the light and dark hues of the painting. Finally, I think the artist did a wonderful job creating a story by placing us into the setting. Not only with the characters, props and time of day, but also the frame helps to create a fairytale feel. Almost as if it was a “once upon a time scenario”.

Pompidou

Pablo Picasso- The rocking chair

I think Picasso wanted to invoke a series of emotions in this piece. First and foremost a sense of anger may be seen for how disheveled  disproportionate and mutilated she seems. This is enhanced by the very agressive brush strokes and contrasting colors creating more visual variety not allowing the eye to rest in any particular place for very long. Additionally, I believe there is an element of fear that underlies the entire piece because of how rapid, violent and even sloppy the painting looks.  Almost as if there was an alternative reason behind why the artist chose to paint this the way he did.

Soundscape

Artist Statement: Soundscape Project

 

SCA 221

 

Mikala Marrone, Annie Wood, & Maggie Kamenitsa

 

June 4, 2013

 

“Don’t you ever get the feeling that all your life is going by and you’re not

 

taking advantage of it? Do you realize you’ve lived nearly half the time you have to

 

live already?”

 

~Ernest Hemingway: The Sun Also Rises

 

When deciding as a group on our quote, we were faced with many ideas for

 

each one presented. This one, however, seemed to hit home with us. This is

 

possibly due to our age and coming to the realization of how short life is. It is also

 

possibly due to our current surroundings. Constantly we tell each other “Live it up!

 

You’re in Paris!” We may not have needed that extra chocolate croissant or had to

 

have those fabulous earrings. But in all honesty, it is fortunate that we are able to

 

realize how short our time is here and to live it to its fullest, even if that means a

 

couple extra pounds from our delicious baguettes.

 

Contrasting this mindset that we have being in Paris, is our chosen quote.

 

One interesting thing that was said almost immediately was how anxious it made

 

us feel to hear it. That being said and agreed upon, anxiety became a major theme

 

within our soundscape as well as the main emotion we wanted to evoke in our

 

listeners.

 

Initially, we decided to portray anxiety with the tempo. We wanted to begin

 

fast and then end slow, representing acceptance. However, we then came to the

 

conclusion that our quote did not end with the acceptance of an unfulfilled life. It

 

ended with a question, leaving the reader with open ended and freshly brewing

 

thoughts of what they were going to do to change their life. Will you realize time is

 

precious, check reality and improve yourself? Or will you remain the same and

 

accept that life is winning? The pressure is on.

 

Using our quote as somewhat of a mid point in our piece ultimately allowed

 

us to tell a better story. Hypothetically speaking, we viewed it at the beginning as a

 

mundane, unfulfilling and somewhat repetitive life (symbolized by the kind of

 

overdone repeating beat at the beginning.) Then, our quote is introduced, (at the

 

time of the halting noise and layering of sounds) making the viewer realize how

 

short and precious life is and that they should not be waiting. Finally, the last

 

section to our story is representative of taking advantage of life to the fullest with a

 

very energetic tone. The sound of voices is also incorporated to add meaning to our

 

message. It shows that life is going by around us, never stopping and sometimes

 

unforgiving.

 

The anxiety of knowing our time on this earth is limited is one that is

 

certainly shared by many people. While some people are at peace and truly enjoy

 

life at each and every moment, this quote also made us feel the pressure of missed

 

opportunities and time dwindling away. There are many things that can cause

 

anxiety on a daily basis, but the idea of time running out is an overreaching stressor.

 

It is a somewhat of a daunting task to take this entire life theme and turn it into a

 

soundtrack, but hopefully with the guidance of Ernest Hemingway, we were able to

 

express our own feelings through this mash-up of daily life and melodies.

 

 

Our video was on the group flash drive so I was unable to upload it to my personal blog. The video was made of software unique to Mikala’s computer.

Tapestry Project_Narrative C

The climber whistled a happy tune as he hiked the path up towards the base of the
mountain face. His gear barely weighed him down, eager as he was to begin his
climb.

He slowly worked his way up the steep face. Every move was a test of his strength
and endurance, but he was confident that he would reach the top of the mountain.

The hours passed as he continued to scale the treacherous mountain face. He was
weak and hungry and tired. He imagined the possibility that he might not reach the
top, or worse yet, might lose his grip and plunge to his death.

At the brink of exhaustion, he pulled himself over the summit and collapsed.

Hours later, refreshed and victorious, he displayed his elation with a victory dance.

Weekend Assignment-Place

This past weekend I went to Ireland. Although it was a short trip, it was fruitful nonetheless. After arriving late Thursday night, we made it into our hostel with no problems. This was the first time I had ever stayed in hostel. From the beginning I noticed how much of a community the place had. I would even go so far as to say that the design principal of unity and contrast was present. On one hand, most of us were united by our age and zest for exploration of Europe. Yet, there was contrast in where we came from, our backgrounds, heritage, reason for traveling etc. I felt as though I was part of a community greater than just the six other girls I went with. A community of wanders, nomad, just people on a mission to explore.

The next day we wandered around Dublin. I instantly sensed so much positive energy from the locals. Every single person I met in Ireland was so kind, caring, SMILING and just gave off so much energy that it made the cobblestone streets come alive. Additionally it was the first time all trip where I didn’t feel like I had to hold onto my bag for dear life for fear of being pickpocted. The overall theme of being relaxed  consistently shined through the city, making it a truly enjoyable place to be. We toured the Guinness Beer Factory, Ireland’s claim to fame! Inside we tried samples, learned how the beer was made and had breathtaking views of the city. It was easy to tell that the people of Ireland took a lot of pride in Guinness. It was important to them. Even when I was out and about during the weekend, I noticed how nearly every patron at a restaurant boasting an Irish accent or not had a Guinness in their hand. Speaking of food, Ireland’s food in contrast to food in Paris was superb.  Some of my favorites include the freshest salad with sun dried tomato paste with a poppy seed mustard dressing over a bed of hazelnuts and sugar snap peas, the burger that had to be the best beef I have ever had, the fish and chips and my favorite was the heart wheat bread. The food was so flavorful! This is not to say that food in Paris is not good, but they seem to contrast on their specialties. Paris being scones, pastries, cheese, bread and wine; Ireland being the meat, grains, produce, and dairy—the hearty foods.

The next day we drove to the opposite end of the country and went to the Cliffs of Moher. These beauties of towering rocks provided breathtaking views that hugged the rocky Atlantic coastline with the rolling Irish countryside stretching into infinity behind it. In total, the trip to Ireland demonstrated how different two countries may be, even if they are only a few hundred miles apart from each other. It made me appreciate the uniqueness that each country has to offer and most importantly to get out there and travel at every chance I get!