Semester 1

Arts TRYathlon #1: NextNOW

September 6, 2024, @ The Clarice 

(Submergence by Squidsoup, Dreamer Isioma, etc.)

#visualart, #music

The Next Now Fest was an engaging and interesting mix of art exhibits. During the night, I saw an art installation, got a portrait done, made a poster with stamps, and listened to Dreamer Isioma's performance. The photo above is from the art installation that was in the lobby, which I spend a lot of time walking around in. The piece reminded me of Leo Villareal's work - an artist that I've liked since I was young. I especially liked how interactive it was. Often, visual art is put up on a wall just to look at, so it was refreshing to be able to touch and move with the lights alongside other students. 

The other visual art events pushed boundaries as well, making art accessible to everyone who attended. Everything was extremely interactive, from creating posters with hand-carved stamps to live portraiture. It was also interesting to become the subject of a drawing, rather than being the one who's drawing someone else. Drawing live portraits seems like it would be fun, so now it's something I'd like to try in the future. I'm also hoping to attend more concerts - they really bring people together.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the Next Now Fest. It was great how everyone could participate in things related to art, and it created a sense of community among the people there. I especially liked the live music and art installation. Looking back, I wish I was able to make it to the Thursday events - especially the shoegaze bands that were performing. From what I've heard, they were excellent! Hopefully, they'll come back next year.

Arts TRYathlon #2: Choose Your Own Adventure

September 10, 2024, Craft and Chat

(Artistic Impressions Mural with Conell)

#visualart

This Craft and Chat event was fun to participate in! Conell set up a large sheet of paper and a bunch of materials and told everyone to just do what they wanted. People came together to create something really fun, and I saw people working on everything from collage to painting to sketching with pencil. The mixed media effect on the final piece was interesting and really added to the feeling that it was created by many different people coming together. Moreover, it was nice to be able to draw in a group setting again - it almost felt like an art class. I hope there are more opportunities to do something like this in the future.

In the photo above, I'm standing in about the same place I was painting from. It was a challenge to draw upside-down, as that was the only open spot around the table, but it was good to get out of my comfort zone. Also, I was on a time crunch because I had a lab to go to an hour into the event, so that added to the challenge. Despite all of this, I think my part came out well and added to the piece as a whole! I really enjoyed this craft and chat, and I hope I can find the time to attend more this semester.

Arts TRYathlon #3: Arts Scholars Event

October 15, 2024, Craft and Chat

(Needle Felting with Jessica) 

#visualart

I really enjoyed this Craft and Chat event. I had only done needle felting once before this in an elementary school art class, so it was fun to pick it up again. I knew I wanted to attend this one as soon as it was announced! It was super fun to be able to make something 3D that I could hold and touch. We were given full freedom to felt whatever we liked, and I chose to make little cats (unfortunately not mine - they're my partner's)! The process was long, but patience and consistency went a long way in the process. It was almost meditative to be in the lounge with everyone else who was so focused on making their own felted creations. 

The Craft and Chats and other art related events I've been to the past few months have all served to remind me how much fun you can have with art and how it can be such a social experience. I feel like I've been in a sort of artistic slump recently, especially after a summer of long work days on the mural and countless hours of volunteer painting in high school, but these have made me realize that art doesn't just have to be something I need to do. It's really nice to be able to make things for fun again and not worry about how the result will turn out. For this Craft and Chat, I didn't have much experience with needle-felting, but I could still appreciate the process and the cute results, even if they weren't perfect!