Artist Immersion Program: Italy August 2014
For my first self-designed experience, I traveled to the Lazio region of Italy with DAAP professors Emil Robinson and Catherine Richards along with 20 so other students. I also went a week earlier and explored Rome with my dad! The main focus of the trip was to learn to oil paint landscapes by being completely immersed in the culture and surroundings.
I chose to participate in this trip for multiple reasons. I loved having Emil as a teacher first semester of my freshman year, I knew this would be one of my last opportunities to travel because of the co-op program, and I was very interested in traveling to Italy and learning to paint! This experience far exceeded my expectations. The landscapes of Italy were more amazing than I could have ever imagined, and I learned valuable skills as well as made some strong, lasting friendships. This experience connects to my past one by continuing to pursue my love of the arts, and foster an appreciation of all art forms in order to broaden my horizons as a designer. This experience was so meaningful to me personally. I have never before traveled to Europe, or travelled so independently, and witnessing the beauty and history of the country as well as the kindness and love of the people brought me a spiritual revelation. This trip helped me appreciate the world a little bit more, and make sure to see the beauty and value in everyday life. We were taught to take in our surroundings and really appreciate them for what they were, and then develop the ability to share those emotions and realities; which is something I can strive to do everyday, whether it be in my career, relationships, or academics. My knowledge of drawing from life and color relationships were most helpful with the painting, and my previous travel experiences were also helpful. I also learned more about both these aspects that I can carry with me. More of the knowledge I gained from this experience was carefully documented in my blog during the trip, as well as a ton of photos! You can visit my blog here: |
Artifact: Instead of having a gallery show of all of the paintings I created during my trip, I decided to make a gallery of love. I sent or gave my paintings away to people that I love instead of buying them souvenirs.
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Artist Immersion Program: Italy 2014
Self Designed Experience Reflection
I created a comic and a short written post reflecting on my time in Italy. More on the experience can be found at either my blog from the trip, or my documentation of it for the University Honors Program.
Click on the Images to see them larger!
When will my reflection show?
Sing it. (It’s gonna show right now, Christina Aguilara!!)
Fueled by my inability to sleep in an upright position and the knowledge that I haven’t made a blog post in a week, I have decided to put this nine hour flight to good use by writing about the remainder of my trip! But first I want to do some reflection and think about what I have learned. Also I want to note that since the kid in front of me has reclined his seat completely and my laptop is the biggest macbook, I am comically squished while writing this. And by comically, I mean uncomfortably.
So let’s break it down; I’ve learned a lot on this trip! I think I can divide my growth into a couple categories: art, travel, and personal.
Art: Art, man………. Art is so hard/frustrating, and so personal, and so rewarding, and definitely one of my favorite things ever. Being so in the moment and completely submersed in the environment I was painting was a surreal experience and I so grateful for it. One of the most important things I learned through this process was about perspective. No matter how frustrated I am with something, if I take a moment to step back, I will always be surprised at the outcome (good or bad.) This can SO apply to LIFE, wow. I’m more of a “wing-it” and in the moment person, and I need to step back from the metaphorical easel of life and check out the big picture more often. Also, interest/passion is a big thing. The pieces that turned out best were ones that I was very interested in what I was painting, and I felt strongly about doing my best. (This was usually in the morning before I started getting tired haha.)
Travel: I don’t think I was as prepared for this trip as I should have been. I recognize that as a tourist, I am only an outsider visiting and experiencing a small slice of a whole country’s life. I should put in more effort to learn some language (to be passable) and learn about the customs of day to day life as well as of the country’s history. I picked up a lot of stuff while in Italy, such as the various meanings of ‘preggo’ and how the eating schedule there differs from ours. Not only is this stuff very interesting, I should be more considerate and try to immerse myself more into appreciating and understanding a different culture! I may be being a little hard on myself because I am from a family with two different cultures combined, so here’s a good thang: I also recognize that I am a pretty considerate traveler! Especially in airports and on flights, I try to be very courteous and mindful of others, since flying can be a pretty overwhelming experience. Also, my dad and I fist-bumped about how good we are at packing. Boom.
Personal: This trip has been very spiritual for me. I think it’s incredibly important to find the beauty in things that you see everyday, but on this trip I realized that I can connect this wonder for the world that I have to a deeper faith. Sitting on a train looking out the window (this is such a movie moment) I knew that there is God everywhere. Everything has reassured me of this, from the kindness of the wonderful people at Pulicaro, the breathtaking landscapes, seeing fields full of sunflowers, traveling and laughing with my friends even when we’re tired and grumpy, and how a smile and a thank you can transcend language/culture. No matter what your faith or spirituality, the biggest belief I have is in the power of joy and kindness and love. I don’t talk about this often but I’m gonna stick to my guns and also just throw out there that I love you (especially you, mom!!!!) and thank you for reading this!
Fueled by my inability to sleep in an upright position and the knowledge that I haven’t made a blog post in a week, I have decided to put this nine hour flight to good use by writing about the remainder of my trip! But first I want to do some reflection and think about what I have learned. Also I want to note that since the kid in front of me has reclined his seat completely and my laptop is the biggest macbook, I am comically squished while writing this. And by comically, I mean uncomfortably.
So let’s break it down; I’ve learned a lot on this trip! I think I can divide my growth into a couple categories: art, travel, and personal.
Art: Art, man………. Art is so hard/frustrating, and so personal, and so rewarding, and definitely one of my favorite things ever. Being so in the moment and completely submersed in the environment I was painting was a surreal experience and I so grateful for it. One of the most important things I learned through this process was about perspective. No matter how frustrated I am with something, if I take a moment to step back, I will always be surprised at the outcome (good or bad.) This can SO apply to LIFE, wow. I’m more of a “wing-it” and in the moment person, and I need to step back from the metaphorical easel of life and check out the big picture more often. Also, interest/passion is a big thing. The pieces that turned out best were ones that I was very interested in what I was painting, and I felt strongly about doing my best. (This was usually in the morning before I started getting tired haha.)
Travel: I don’t think I was as prepared for this trip as I should have been. I recognize that as a tourist, I am only an outsider visiting and experiencing a small slice of a whole country’s life. I should put in more effort to learn some language (to be passable) and learn about the customs of day to day life as well as of the country’s history. I picked up a lot of stuff while in Italy, such as the various meanings of ‘preggo’ and how the eating schedule there differs from ours. Not only is this stuff very interesting, I should be more considerate and try to immerse myself more into appreciating and understanding a different culture! I may be being a little hard on myself because I am from a family with two different cultures combined, so here’s a good thang: I also recognize that I am a pretty considerate traveler! Especially in airports and on flights, I try to be very courteous and mindful of others, since flying can be a pretty overwhelming experience. Also, my dad and I fist-bumped about how good we are at packing. Boom.
Personal: This trip has been very spiritual for me. I think it’s incredibly important to find the beauty in things that you see everyday, but on this trip I realized that I can connect this wonder for the world that I have to a deeper faith. Sitting on a train looking out the window (this is such a movie moment) I knew that there is God everywhere. Everything has reassured me of this, from the kindness of the wonderful people at Pulicaro, the breathtaking landscapes, seeing fields full of sunflowers, traveling and laughing with my friends even when we’re tired and grumpy, and how a smile and a thank you can transcend language/culture. No matter what your faith or spirituality, the biggest belief I have is in the power of joy and kindness and love. I don’t talk about this often but I’m gonna stick to my guns and also just throw out there that I love you (especially you, mom!!!!) and thank you for reading this!