Semester 4

Arts TRYathlon #1: Choose Your Own Adventure

February 14th, 2025, Hoff Theater, Valentines Day Screening - La La Land 

#Movie#Musical#Music

After a festive day celebrating Valentine’s Day, I ended the night watching the movie La La Land. The music in this movie is amazing and I love how it really drives the plot, especially since the movie is about a jazz pianist and an actress (both art/music oriented careers). The plot of the movie is about a struggling actress and a struggling jazz pianist who are brought together because both of them are trying to achieve their dreams. However, unlike most romance movies, this film has a twist in that both characters must end their relationship in order to pursue their dreams. While I was very upset by this, I think that this is a very realistic view of relationships. Sometimes in life we have to make sacrifices to achieve certain goals. While it can be upsetting, you might be happier in the end (both characters ended up with the life they dreamed of and had happy lives even when they ended their relationship). I think that this could also be applied to other things in our lives. For example, I am currently working on my capstone and there are a lot of parts to it. As a result, I may need to sacrifice one part of my capstone to maintain the main message and complete it on time. Prioritization is crucial when working towards achieving goals, as it helps us focus on what truly matters and allocate our resources effectively. By identifying the most important aspects, we can make informed decisions about where to invest our time and effort. This ensures that we stay on track and ultimately reach our desired outcomes, even if it means making difficult sacrifices along the way. 

Note: I do have a selfie of me (top left image) its a BeReal but its hard to see me because it was dark in the theater.

Arts TRYathlon #2: Choose Your Own Adventure

March 14th, 2025, Stamp Gallery, Open Ended Narratives: Mixed Media Assemblages on Wood by Schroeder Cherry

#Mixedmedia #Gallery #Foundobjects

The Stamp Gallery features the work of Schroeder Cherry, a multidisciplinary artist who uses mixed media to create open-ended narratives for the audience to interpret. His use of wood, paint, keys/locks, and other found objects creates this rustic vintage feeling to his work. In Cherry’s artist statement he says that his art is inspired by travel, music, literature, folklore, and everyday events. The pieces also include some sign language on them, giving the audience more of a clue to what the piece may be alluding to. His art felt like a puzzle that I had to solve to determine its meaning. As a multidisciplinary artist myself, Cherry's work has inspired me. In his work, he is able to use a variety of media and materials to tell a number of different stories. No piece is the same and I feel that in my art that is something that I lack. Although I practice in a variety of media, including digital art, pencil, and crochet, I often find that I do not push myself beyond my comfort zone. Cherry's work reminds me of how my ARTT200 class has allowed me to utilize the skills that I already have but pushes me to find different ways to use those skills. An example of this was when I created a jellyfish sculpture out of plastic. I also used my crochet skills to make part of the structure and other details to create variety within the sculpture. This experience and Cherry's artwork is a reminder to challenge your creativity process by expanding on your understanding of how different techniques can be combined to produce unique and innovative art pieces.

Arts TRYathlon #3: Arts Scholars Event

March 28th, 2025, Craft & Chat, Beads & Bliss with Clay Jewelry

#Crafts #Jewelry #BraceletMaking

For my last TRYathlon I attended the Beads and Bliss Clay Jewelry craft & chat held by TA Queen. When I got to the event, Queen informed me that the clay was not suitable for making beads because it was crumbling. She gave us creative freedom to do anything we liked. I still wanted to make jewelry, and Queen and some others found beads and some elastics. With these materials I created two bracelets with red and clear beads. This craft & chat gave me an opportunity to relax and make something for myself. My Immersive Media Design advisor recommended that I try to take more time for myself as I have been overwhelmed by my many assignments from my sculptures, to coding projects, and my capstone project. Also a lot of family emergencies that have been coming up during this month. Furthermore, when you decide to make art your career it can make it difficult to make art for yourself. Elijah brought this up in my capstone class and it has led me to think about how much art I have been making for myself recently. These craft & chats and other art events around campus have allowed me to experiment and learn about new art forms.