rachaelgcpsarts

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Arts Fest Presentation

So for my arts fest presentation, I decided to NOT overlay the quotes from the interviews onto the photos like I originally planned, but rather to place the photos next to the quotes on powerpoint slides. To keep the powerpoint engaging, I dedicated one slide to each woman, and had 2-3 pictures on each slide with 1 quote and the woman’s name and empowerment method listed. The hardest pictures to select were Julia’s because I loved her shoot the most and was so happy with all 100 photos (literally) I took of her. Pulling quotes was actually a lot easier than I expected because each girl had at least one striking comment that really stuck with me after the interview. Overall, I was happy with my presentation. What was most unfortunate was that due to my limited knowledge on online imaging formatting, I could not get the photos printed out physically. Despite this setback I was proud of my display and received a lot of positive feedback from viewers. 

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Julia- Makeup

Julia was my final interviewee, and she was the only participant who had the interview and the photo shoot occur in the same session. I believe this was the most successful method and most successful shoot because after interviewing her, she seemed very enthusiastic to show off the empowerment method she had just explained. The photos are beautiful, and I love the setting I chose. I wanted a bright, natural lighting background so her face and makeup would be clear and illuminated. We began with a bare face to highlight her natural beauty and beauty with makeup- both important aspects to discuss when talking about makeup! 

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Maia- Irish Dancer

I interviewed Maia on McKeldin Mall and at first she was very shy and timid while being recorded, but after two tries or so she became much more comfortable and spoke freely to me about her dancing. The photo shoot was done at a small performance done by her on-campus Irish Dancing club. Because the venue was small and slightly more relaxed, I did not have the opportunity to use my professional camera. The photos were taken with my iPhone 6. Despite these setbacks, I believe I captured the empowerment method well, and she loved the quote I pulled from her interview. 

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Gabby: Rock Climber

I interviewed Gabby at Eppley Recreation center, and had the photo shoot scheduled for the week after, but due to an injury she suffered within the week, she was unable to rock climb before our capstones were due. To substitute, she sent me these pictures she had collected from her previous rock climbing experiences. I did not want to exclude her from the project because she was so passionate and excited, and her interview was so wonderful. I made sure at least one of the photos was from the UMD rock climbing station.

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Through the psyc department and PSI CHI, i had the opportunity to attend the Finding A Career presentation. 5 different professionals attended all with a unique job, showing the diversity a psychology degree allows for career wise. The advice I got was to be creative and think outside of the box to apply my psychology degree wherever I wanted to. Although this presentation was not presented as an artistic presentation, I thought it applied well to Pentathlon because it showed how pursuing your passions can lead you to paths and careers that you really do enjoy. In addition, the ability to get creative when applying a degree to a career that may not correlate so obviously (like psychology and a coordinator of administrative services) requires an artistic eye. Overall, I learned a lot about the different ways I can use my degree and the different artistic manners in which I can apply it to my life. (P.S. I forgot to take a picture of the panel but I posted the confirmation email and PSI CHI takes attendance so if need be I can ask to have them help me confirm my attendance.)

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I participated in an acting opportunity to help my roommates Kim and Emily complete an art project. I appreciated getting back to my theater roots, which was my first artistic medium I experimented with in high school. I was the "mean girl" in the film, making fun of other characters. In this scene I see an old friend (played by Emily), hug her, and then accidentally get paint on my shirt. The film turned out well and I had a lot of fun making it!

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We went to American University to see the opening of a new art gallery. A professor at UMD, Foon Sham, had his art pieces displayed (the wooden structure pictured). I think my favorite piece was Foon's wooden Escape piece. The sheer size and detail of it captivated me and I really could appreciate the time and dedication he had to have to design such a structure. The other art pieces were very contemporary and I enjoyed viewing the more beach-esq pictures.

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What connections did you see between your project and the projects of those in your small group? What was the most helpful piece of feedback (or support) that you received? How will this help you proceed with your project?

I saw that a lot of my group members are struggling with project presentation formatting, just like me. Although all of our projects are distinct and unique, we seem to be a bit unsure on how to display our art. In a way I find that comforting because I don’t feel as alone or incompetent as I originally did. I also saw that everyone is very passionate and dedicated to their projects, and that gave me a renewed sense of purpose for my own capstone. I feel reenergized and ready to work! My most helpful piece of feedback was from Emmie in regards to having physical copies of my photos. I was undecided on whether or not to print a few of my favorite shots, in order to provide the audience with some greater detail to the project. My hesitation was due to my intentions to overlay text and quotes on the photos, which would not print well. Emmie reassured me that the printed photos could stand alone without the text, and that it would provide a more interactive component to my project. Proceeding with my project, I will feel less nervous about presenting my pieces. I will also not be afraid to be more bold in my photography, in the hopes of capturing some great pieces to print!

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Charlie, I really had no idea how gifted you were in poetry. This piece is truly beautiful, and I love the simplicity in your writing. The way you have structured the poem puts great pauses and emphasis on your first line and last two. I think the first line and second to last are great, but your last one could use a bit of editing. I might be too ignorant to understand it, but I think the meaning is hidden behind the strange way you have played with the grammar. “The ours gathered us” feels really powerful, I just don’t know how. I would play with that line some more and see if you can make it any clearer for your readers. Good luck writing! This is some really brilliant stuff.

The very first version of “In a Newly-Bought House.” It began its life a prose piece that I stopped writing midway through. It turned into an ekphrastic poem later, and I thought it would work well to set the table for the second half of the project as an allegorical and fairly hopeful poem. The final text is:

In a Newly-Bought House

The vacancy of it invited possibility.

Green, watery sunlight filtered in,

spilling the floor.

A chair, which we kept, was too small for a grown person,

and faced inwards.

We dripped words to each other.

The ours gathered us.

[rachaelgcpsarts]

Location, location, location

I have a total of 5 girls selected for my project, which is the minimum number of girls I wanted. But now I am faced with the challenge of selecting locations in which to interview them and conduct the photography session. For my first participant, we used a brick building and the neighboring trees. It wasn’t ideal, but I figured the background in the photos would not matter as much. Viewing and leafing through them now leads me to believe they are that important, and I need some good places on campus to benefit my photography, not detract from it. Seeing as how our campus is so beautiful, I’m hoping to find some better spots. 

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Presentation of Photography

Recently I have been thinking about how I am going to present my final selection of photos to the public on Arts Fest (and the Academic Showcase.) I was originally thinking of using a powerpoint that I could also attach my inspirations, process binder pieces, and so on. But I’m thinking that maybe having one or two physical copies of each participant may be more interesting to the audience. That way they can see the photos up close, analyze the piece, all that jazz. However, with my idea to overlay some of the quotes from interviews onto the photos may make printing them a bit difficult. I just don’t want the powerpoint to bore any viewers away. More thoughts on this after spring break I suppose!

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Emmie, I love how much thought you are giving the organization of your book. In my opinion, I always appreciate some structure when reading poetry, so organizing the poems according to similar topics, themes, or even styles could help your future readers work through your poems. I am having similar thoughts about the organization of my photos, and I’m hoping the flow is natural and seamless. I would suggest thinking about how you want the readers to perceive each piece, because what they read before and after each poem will affect their mood and manner in which they absorb the piece. Good luck deciding! 

thoughts on the organizing process (or lack thereof)

This week, I was assigned to read a collection of poetry titled King Me by Roger Reeves for my writers house workshop. We wrote craft commentaries and had a book discussion in class, and I found that this experience was super influential on my thoughts towards my capstone, because for a while we discussed the order in which Reeves chose to organize this collection. It was interesting hearing varying perspectives - some classmates would have preferred if the book was sectioned off into topics (racism, his sister’s mental health, etc), some appreciated the seemingly disorganized organization, and so on. This discussion really got me thinking (and worrying??) about how I’m going to decide what order my pieces will be in, and how much it even matters in my case considering its going to be such a short collection. While drafting pieces on such a wide variety of topics, some of my poems are closely related and some aren’t (other than the common thread of power) so I think this week is going to be spent giving a bit more consideration to how I might want this book to flow and what sort of organization i want to use to accomplish that.

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This is an amazing quick write! You definitely have a grasp on writing, and it’s amazing to see just a glimpse of what you’re capstone will be. I loved that you waited to introduce Hades until later on in your first paragraph, it added a lot of suspense to the piece. I am left wondering what the two thugs did in order to deserve the punishment, even though it is a short piece. I can definitely see the power theme coming out through this writing, and if that was intentional, awesome job. My only suggestion is to go deeper into the description of the eyes they saw. Eyes are a great way to describe a character’s personality, intentions, and feelings. Your last sentence contradicts the fact that they can even see the eyes. 

Two Images Separated at Birth Quick-Write

(This is a quick-write in response to a writing prompt I have. It is about one of the characters in my Capstone short story.) 

Molten eyes and a smile made for war. That is what awaited the thugs at the dead end of the alley. The King sat watching from the thick as midnight shadows, his ash colored hands blending into the night around him, his veins crackling orange glowing embers. Sparks danced from his fingertips, his ever obedient soldiers, calmly waiting for the ignition that would light up the night, the flames that earned him his name. These men had stepped out of line for the last time. No one questioned him, no one stole from him, no one betrayed him, and absolutely no one fucked with the King of the Underworld. It was time he reminded them of that. They neared, still not seeing him. He had cast a layer of smoke to obscure him until he could meet the traitors in close quarters. When they were a foot away, Hades sent a barricade of flames up at the mouth of the alley, blocking any hope they had of escaping before they even knew they needed it. The smoke now billowed around him in thick, elegantly violent swirls as sparks spat out around his feet. The thugs choked on the suddenly polluted air, not yet realizing the sparks were growing into an inferno encircling them, slowly closing in, inch by inch, until it licked at their heels. When they looked up to see the face of their attacker, all that met them were the eyes, eyes that shown through the haze of smoke and backstreet shadow like the fire almost engulfing them. One look and they felt the suffocating weight of their betrayal fill their lungs as if the vapors surrounding them sought their death. Flame and smoke was all they saw.

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I find this method of female body empowerment very refreshing and a great source of inspiration for my project! I think a lot of women feel limited in their abilities to be empowered, and are faced with the idea of either working out or accepting their bodies as is. There’s nothing wrong with either of those options, but women should be aware that there are so many more ways to love themselves and their bodies. I especially find this method so intriguing because it is taboo in today’s society to be involved with pole dancing. But these women stand up to the stigma and speak out against it through dancing and interviews (just like my project!!) The physical strength required by pole dancing should not be overlooked, and these women are very strong to be able to perform this art. 

Beautiful Video Shows Just How Empowering Pole Dancing Can Be

Contrary to popular belief, pole dancing isn’t always about looking sexy for other people. It can be empowering, too.

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Here is a recording of my interview with Lucy! I will be reviewing this to pick up some quotes for the next stage of my project.

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Photoshoot 1, Lucy (part 1)

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Photoshoot 1, Lucy (part 2)