EMILY CARRERA
Arts Scholar
PENTATHALON SEMESTER 1
As an experiential component of College Park Arts Scholars, I attended a selection of five art events during my first semester. These events ranged in art mediums and each sparked dialogue among my peers.
ART THERAPY: PAINTING VINYL RECORDS
During quarantine, I started to explore different types of art forms that I hadn’t previously had much experience with in hopes to stir my creativity while the outside world was temporarily closed. I tried watercolor, embroidering, digital art, and painting using different mediums, and although I wasn’t an expert in these art forms by any means, it was super fun to get outside of my comfort zone and in touch with my creative side. I was worried that coming back to campus would hinder my ability to be as creative as I was when I was home due to lack of access to materials, so I pre-planned some projects that I would be able to do in my apartment and packed the necessary materials. One of the projects was painting vinyl records, which I did this past weekend. I created a color palette and started painting without really thinking about a plan, as one of my goals in my art is to let go of my need to have everything turn out perfect. I decided to base my designs off of Harry Style’s fine line album because I have been listening to it on repeat for months now, and its one of my favorites of all time. I chose to focus on his more upbeat songs and used Cherry and Canyon Moon as direct inspiration for two of the vinyls. When I finished I decided to hang them up and use them as room decor and I really love how they turned out. I recommend anyone who has old record laying around to try and upcycle them, this project was super fun and got me in a great headspace to start me week! #visualart
THE SOCIAL DILEMMA DOCUMENTARY
Over the weekend I watched the highly recommended Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma. The documentary provides an in depth analysis of the toxicity and dangers of social media on today’s youth from the perspective of former employees within the industry. Experts explain how consumers who utilize social media are also the very products that are sold to generate these companies money; complex data systems predict our interests and personalities and sell that data to advertising agencies that will most likely appeal to us, manipulating us into spending more time on the app. The exponential evolution of social media within the last two decades has accelerated depression, anxiety, body image issues, and other insecurities at such a rate that suicide and self harm have nearly tripled in some adolescent demographics. Additionally, our self worth and personal/romantic relationships become more superficial as we turn to screens for validation. I found these statistics and the overall documentary particularly alarming because social media has become such an integral part of our generation’s life. As social media is only going to continue to evolve in society, I fear the negative impacts it has on our lives are possibly irreversible as this becomes the new social norm. Especially with the events of this year and everyone becoming increasingly reliant on technology, The Social Dilemma certainly gave me a lot of food for thought and I would recommend this documentary to anyone interested in learning more about the world of social media. #film
#SCHOLARSVOTE
On Thursday, October 22, I attended the #ScholarsVote event which opened up a non-partisan conversation about voting and our responsibilities as eligible voters to be informed about the presidential election currently underway. I loved hearing the different viewpoints of the panelist, and it felt refreshing to have a conversation about the election that wasn’t centered around bashing candidates and heated debate about policies (which can be exhausting at times). I enjoyed the conversation about ways to avoid misinformation and resources that can be used to fact check sources that may be circulating around social media. It is also just as much a responsibility of the voter to research information that comes from non-partisan sources in order to gain a well-rounded opinion that doesn’t not just rely on the media that is fed to you in your feeds. As Mary Alison Bums said, increasingly social media is using algorithms to monitor the posts that we interact with most in order to track our interests, which results in people being spoon fed information that they want to hear based on their existing political views. It is a voter’s duty to be informed about issued and policies from both sides and expand research beyond sources that lean one way or another. One thought that really stuck out to me was when Jimmy McClellan mentioned how it wasn’t your responsibility to change the mind of everyone you come into contact with, it’s ore impactful to set a goal of having a discussion and “planting a seed in their head” so that they will hopefully take initiative to learn more on their own. I think this is really important because especially now, it can be extremely exhausting having political conversations where you are trying so hard to share your viewpoints but the other person is not as receptive and just keeps reiterating the same argument, but its good to remind yourself that it is not your job to change everyone’s mind. Most of all, I really liked Sasha’s remark about how first tine voters and younger generations are written off or not really counted because people assume we are uneducated or don’t care enough to take advantage of our voting opportunity. However, it is everyones responsibility, if eligible, to educate yourself and use your voice to speak for those individuals and communities that aren’t able to. Whatever the outcome of the election, I am remaining hopeful that my generation will continue the desire to participate in our democracy, and I am excited to cast my vote next week during early in-person voting! #presentation
ART THERAPY: EMBROIDERY
As we are reaching near the end of the semester and assignments are piling up before thanksgiving break, I thought it would be a great time to do another art therapy session over the weekend. I decided to keep it simple since I did not have many materials for other projects, and thought it would be fun to practice some embroidery stitches while I listened to a podcast (recently I’ve been loving true crime podcasts and recommend Sword and Scale to anyone who enjoys it as well!). I went thrifting last week and had an extra shirt that I figured would be good to embroider, so I decided to make a shirt for my roommate with the word “girly” on it in a font of her choosing. I really enjoy embroidery because I find it to be a very stress-relieving activity and you can create endless designs to turn a simple clothing item into a unique piece. As we progress through the semester I feel as though it is getting more difficult to find time to relax and spend some moments focusing on things other than schoolwork and things happening in the world, but it is during these times that it is most important to prioritize mental health and wellbeing. I think this art therapy session allowed me to take a step back from reality and spend some much needed time with myself, and I encourage anyone struggling with the business of life to do the same! #visualart
PENTATHALON SEMESTER 2
Follow along this semester as I document my arts experiences this semester.
ART THERAPY: PAINT-BY-NUMBERS
Earlier this week I ordered my first paint-by-numbers kit for the off Amazon as my new project for art therapy. The paint-by-numbers kit comes with a pre-designed image on a canvas and small containers of paint with all the colors that you will need for the painting as well as different sized brushes. These activities have become increasingly popular over the past year, especially during quarantine, and I have been wanting to try one out for a long time. The most appealing aspect of the project is that since the image is already outlined for you, the task of filling in the colors is very simple and easy. I have found that this type of activity is extremely efficient as a form of stress-relief and has actually got me thinking about different artistic methods and painting techniques. It is fascinating to watch the tiny blobs of color begin to form professional-looking images in front of your eyes. I have found it to be a great relaxation activity as it allows me to focus on the methodical nature rather than worrying about blending and color matching, and helps take my mind off of the stress of school and daily life. It’s great to do alone or with a partner, and the beauty of the activity id that there is no necessary skillset or art background needed to complete it. I have also seen a similar art activity called “diamond painting” that is sort of a blend of cross-stitch and paint-by-numbers that looks very intriguing to me, and I plan to try it out as my next project once I finish this piece!
#visualart
"GUESSING SONGS" / SKRIBBLIO
This Sunday evening I participated in the 2-for-1 Pentathlon event hosted by the Arts Advisory Board and Peer Mentors. For my first event, I attended the “Guessing Songs” breakout room where we were instructed to play a game in which a category was announced, then everyone sent in a song they felt best fit the category and all the players had to guess who chose what song. We first went around saying introductions because most of us were meeting for the first time and we got to know a little bit about each other before starting the game. The category we voted for was “Feel good/Hype Song” and I chose the song Waves by Miguel (Tame Impala Remix), although it was harder than I thought to narrow my choices down to just one. After submitting our songs, we then went through and played a snippet of each song and wrote down our guesses of who chose which song. It was really interesting hearing everyone’s song choices, I heard a few songs that I recognized but the majority of them I had never heard before. It was far more difficult than I anticipated to match the songs to the participants, especially since a large part of it was a guessing game since we didn’t know each other too well. At the end, it was really interesting to see who actually chose what song and it was cool to get a glimpse into everyone’s music taste. Music is a very personal thing and can tell you a lot about a person and their personality. I enjoyed getting to know people this way and even only getting a few matches correct taught me not to judge someone's music taste based solely on their looks :) For the second activity, I attended the scribblio game hosted by one of the peer mentors. We all went around and took turns drawing the random item assigned and guessing what others were drawing. It was a bit more challenging to do it on the computer because it was not as easy to draw using a mousepad but it made the drawings more entertaining to decipher. I enjoyed the activity as a community-building exercise, as it bonded everyone in the group in a unique way and brought out playful competitiveness in people. It was interesting to see everyone’s interpretation of the words and how they chose to depict it, and brought out a lot of creativity in us.
#music #presentation
ART THERAPY: EMBROIDERY
Over the weekend, I practiced my embroidery using the DIY embroidery kit that was gifted to me as a prize during a scholars event. It was my first time using a kit with pre-printed cloth, and it was really helpful in making the actual design of my piece because I could focus more on the technique of my stitches rather than getting the pattern correct. It has been a while since I’ve had enough free time to work on my embroidery, so it took a bit longer than I anticipated to get the hang of it, but I made a good start on my design and was inspired to make more time for art activities during the week. I feel that with the capstone project and making the workshop project for ArtsFest, I have become accustomed to thinking about art as as assignment rather than an activity to destress, and doing this reminded me that it is a tool that I have always come back to in order to reframe my thinking and get me into a good headspace. I feel that I have learned a lot through the capstone process and learning how to refine my art, but I enjoyed the reminder that not all art has to be perfected and not every project has to be my best work. Visual art and embroidery specifically has served as an escape for me in times of need, and I feel that it reiterates the fact that art can be used as a tool for so many things, and growing in my art through Art Scholars has helped me better understand myself in ways I never thought possible.
#visualart
"DIRTY COMPUTER - AN EMOTION PICTURE"
Over the weekend, I watched “Dirty Computer”, an emotion picture by artist Janelle Monáe. The film, set in a dystopian future, tells the story of Jane 57821, who is a queer android that is part of an underground resistance fighting the oppressive government who aims to make society “good and pure” and clean up any “dirty computers.” This film discusses a lot of important social issues, and mainly centers the experiences of being a black queer female in modern society. Throughout the different recreations of Jane’s memories in the form of music videos, Monáe reclaims what it means to be “dirty” and declares that being different and defying social standards is something that should be celebrated, not punished. This semester, I am taking an Art in Women’s studies course and have learned a lot about how to dissect feminist art and understand different elements at play. I found that these tools gave me a greater appreciation for “Dirty Computer” because I felt that I understood the true artistry in the details that Monáe utilized to deliver her message, such as her brilliant use of intertextuality throughout the film to further captivate her intended audience. I think this film is an excellent way to start conversations about intersectionality as it relates to feminist and racial identities, and I think it is especially important to amplify voices and experiences from artists who identify as such, rather than from a heteronormative lens.
#film