julielcpsarts-blog

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Being finally finished with this project is both relieving and bittersweet. It’s relieving because I finally have time to do nothing, which is definitely what I’ve been needing throughout this semester. I also have a final project that I’m proud of and that I can peruse through and take in fully without the stress of knowing I have to push forward. At the same time, it’s bittersweet because it was a fun project and, contrary to what I said before, it gave me something to do when I was feeling restless. I’m extremely happy with how it turned out, with my favorite poems being framed by pictures and the others simply being blacked out. Now that I’m finished, I might continue with projects like this, but where I venture out more with pictures and various other ways to black out pages. I definitely value what I’ve been doing over the past semester, and I’m excited to take it a step further on my own time.

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This past week has been insanely busy with rehearsals and exams and other assignments, but I’m feeling optimistic about this next week. I don’t have too many things planned, so I should be able to dedicate this week solely to finishing the project so it will be ready for ArtsFest. Although I have found myself much more motivated lately to try and get this completed with the best quality because a lot of the poems I’ve been finding in the text are actually very interesting and, in my opinion, pretty good. I’ve been much more excited about them recently than I was in the beginning of the process, which makes me think I’m in a pretty good place.

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A week ago, on April 13th, I went to see my old high school’s performance of Cats the Musical. I made sure I was here for this because it was the last year that I would recognize a bunch of friends, as I really connected with sophomores when I was a senior there. They did an amazing job with the set and the specific feline movements that they all had to master. Above all, the dancing was incredible, and I couldn’t believe that they had that many talented dancers/had made all those people look professional. Throughout my years at the school, I knew the director has a knack for choosing shows based on the talents of her potential cast, and she did a great job with that. Personally, Cats isn’t my favorite musical, but they did an amazing job with the content that they had. I was extremely impressed and proud of my babies that are about to graduate. 

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Two days ago, on April 7th, I went to see Kreativity’s end of the year show, which was a showcase of various devised pieces the members have been working on. There were about 10 pieces in total shown, ranging from scenes/skits to songs to short films that all revolved around the themes of desire and deprivation. It was a very entertaining show that showcased all of the individual talents so well. I’m glad that there’s a group on campus that allows students to write material that can be performed and presented by talented individuals. I’m especially glad that they could show all their projects to a crowded audience that definitely appreciated all the funny references to mainstream culture.

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This past week, I’ve been struggling to find time, but during the small number of times I’ve gotten to break from studying, I’ve looked at the progress I made before now and I’m actually proud of what I’d written. As I was writing, I knew I wasn’t completely satisfied with how they sounded but now that I’m reading, I think they’re actually pretty good. It’s nice to have some time apart so I can become motivated again. That being said, I need to become motivated much more in order to meet my new deadlines.

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Last night on March 31st, I saw Love, Simon. This was a well-done movie with really well-done casting! I hadn’t read the book before so I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, but I’m so glad I went to see it. Nick Robinson is an absolute gem and told the story so well with his genuineness. The main plot of the movie isn’t something I can necessarily relate to, but something about the authenticity of certain situations somehow still allowed the movie to be very relatable to anyone. Certain scenes even made me cry because of how heart-wrenching and real they seemed. Overall, it was an amazing movie and I’d definitely see it again.

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This week, I’ve been focusing on blocking out multiple poems instead of blocking out and sketching pictures for each one. I’m realizing that it’s not an easy thing to do and I can’t expect for each poem to take five minutes. I’m also starting to realize that I need to explore more ways of choosing words so all of my poems don’t have the same structures or are reminiscent of each other as much as they seem to be now. I’ve also only been writing poems on every fourth page as if I’m actually going to paste pages together; I plan on testing this out over Spring Break along with the different utensils I’ve chosen to “black out” my pages. 

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This past Sunday, March 4th, I went to St. Mary’s to see my best friend perform in Spring Awakening. The set was very cool; it was a platform with stairs running around all sides except for stairs leading to two more smaller platforms towards the back. On the two far sides of the slightly thrust stage, all of the actors sat visibly to the audience at all times before and after their scenes, which was very interesting. It was also fun to be able to see the orchestra in the very back. I thought the show was very well done and choreographed, and it felt very intimate with the audience members generally close to the stage and the actors making use of the small pathways that divided groups of audience seats. It was also super fun to see my best friend in a musical again since the last time I’d seen her in one was during shows we’d done together in high school!

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This week I looked for a lot more inspiration and then I created a powerpoint to offer a First Look into my project. The inspirations that I got were on two different sides of the spectrum, from complex to relatively simple. This has given me insight to what my own spectrum can be. 

My partner for the presentations was Lily Ha, who gave me good feedback on my project. Going along with the four-step feedback process, Lily gave me Statements of Meaning by complimenting the information I was giving and the pieces I’ve already created. For Neutral Questions, she wondered about the focal points in the pieces I’ve drawn inspiration of and how I’d implement those ideas into mine. Though the next step would be dedicated to me asking questions, I didn’t have any questions about the little I’ve created so far because my direction is still relatively vague in my opinion. Finally, Lily gave permissioned feedback, suggesting that I should add more visuals and use larger text in my presentation. 

Sources: http://suzenart.blogspot.com/p/blackout-poetry.html and https://austinkleon.com/category/newspaper-blackout-poems/

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During the past weeks, I focused mostly on inspiration but also made a small amount of progress on the book itself. I was able to sit down and sketch out something that took time and a bit of concentration, which was a small victory since I wasn’t able to do much like this after this one time. I also figured out that Crayola markers don’t bleed through the pages as much, but that colored pencils also work. I’ve decided to do a bit of a variety when it comes to writing utensils in order to make the pages unique from each other.

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I haven’t completed as much as I should’ve at this point, but I am proud of what I’ve done so far. I’ve sketched a few poems so far, but I’m still in the process of testing what type of writing utensil will work best when outlining and boldening the words to avoid bleeding through the pages. This particular poem I’m especially proud of for the aesthetic, and because it has set up my inspiration for the rest of the book. Although I’ve been busy lately and haven’t been able to sit down at night and focus on blackout out pages, I know from this page that, when I do have that opportunity, I’ll like what I’ll have done. 

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CPSA Capstone Advising

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One week ago, on Sunday, January 28th, I saw an opera for the first time, titled Love on Trial performed by the Opera Terps. I originally went because my friend had another friend in the show, but I realized that I did too and became much more absorbed. I found it interesting how they set the scene in the wild west and thought it made the production more fun. The exaggerated acting of the singers was fun to watch, and there was a moment where one of them brought out Tide Pods to a scene depicting a feast. I thought this was a fun little twist that made the opera relatable to its audience. It was also great seeing an old friend thriving in an area he loves, and it was evident that everyone there also loved what they were doing. Overall, I had a lot of fun and my first time seeing an opera was a success.

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Two days ago on Friday, December 8th, I went to see my friend perform in the Maryland Shakespeare Player’s Henry V. It was a great show and was well executed in its simplicity. I believe it was well cast, and everyone got to show off their strengths with the characters they got to play. My friend, Devin, was especially good at keeping up energy with her always ready-to-fight characters. Although Shakespeare is typically difficult to follow along with, the cast was able to make the plot easier to follow along with, and that shows the talent that they have. 

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Yesterday, November 30th, I watched and was apart of Monologue Fest at Ulrich Recital Hall in Tawes. There, many writers from a screenwriting class on campus got the opportunity to present their original work through staging by actors, sometimes even acting out their own. I had the honor of performing a hilarious monologue by a student named Ilana Bernstein about a neurotic woman in her late 20s stuck in an airport over night, with a lot of time to think about her life and the direction that she’s headed. It was a very rewarding experience that was a lot of fun, and I hope more opportunities like this arise in the future. 

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This past Monday on November 27th, I went with two friends to Artechouse in DC to see the Kingdom of Colors. I thought the slow motion color clips paired with thought provoking music was extremely calming, and I could’ve sat in the bean bag chairs for a long time. I also thought it was very cool that, in three different rooms, there were motion sensors so you could physically control the movement, and even sounds, of colors around you. I wished that we could’ve stayed longer or that the exhibit would’ve stayed in DC for more days, but I’m glad that we went because it was one of the coolest exhibits I’ve ever been in.