This weekend marked another successful Wayzgoose print festival at King’s Books, one of my favorite things to look forward to during spring in Tacoma. My housemate and I arrived this morning just in time to see the traditional steam roller print taking place, with a beautiful design carved by Tacoma’s own guerrilla art group, Beautiful Angle!
Image courtesy of Beautiful Angle’s Facebook page
SENIOR ART MAJORS TURN IN THEIR THESIS PROJECTS ON MONDAY!! AHHHHH!!
I’m one of those panicking art major seniors. (Which means I’ve basically been living in the studio, along with my fellow majors.) But all is well! The projects are coming along nicely, and everything is falling into place. The senior show is fast approaching, with the reception on April 27th (including food curated by yours truly and fellow senior Rachel Kalman). The PR committee put together this fab poster to advertise the show, featuring all the art seniors!
As my final semester as a Puget Sound student comes to a close, I thought I’d post about one of my favorite things I participated in as an undergrad: Ubiquitous They Sketch Comedy. This group is my family away from family. Every semester, we put on a comedy show written, directed, and acted by students. Tech week is terrible, being in Rausch’s tiny theater 6 to midnight every day… but in reality I love every minute. Getting to spend so much time with such genuinely good and funny people has defined my Puget Sound experience.
BUT ENOUGH WITH THE CHEESE. Let’s get to the funny stuff. Here’s a look at my final sketch show with UT Sketch Comedy — UT Presents: I ate a nickle!
The fantastic poster advertising the show, designed by senior and sketch mom Michelle Leatherby
It finally feels like spring! So to celebrate the change of weather, here’s some photos from our week of sun.
My cute friends Maia Raeder, Carly Brock, and Rachel Kalman enjoying the sun and a cancelled class!
Maia (my housemate and pal!) & Maddie 🙂
Every semester, I’m lucky enough to be able to put on a sketch comedy show with my family away from family, Ubiquitous They. Last semester, our show titled “UT Presents: Living in Garbage” was a huge success and featured something a little different: a video sketch!
Our awesomely gross logo for the show’s posters, courtesy of Michelle Leatherby
Fellow senior Michelle Leatherby wrote a sketch titled “The Real Oregon Trail” and it’s exactly what it sounds like. The script features some colorful characters making the trek out west with one twist: it’s a reality show. So the cast and the camera crew hiked out to China Lake Park and got shooting, costumed and all. Here’s some photos from filming!
Jedediah (Darrin Schultz) and Beth (Sophie Schwartz), the parents of the group
Last week, I got the opportunity to interview one of my favorite professors on film for the first project in my Film Genres class. Professor Brett Rogers, author of Classical Traditions in Science Fiction and associate professor of Classics here at Puget Sound, gave me and my project partner Nate some insight into the study of classical receptions. We asked him to talk about an article he wrote for his book in which he discusses the move Alien Resurrection and Homer’s Odyssey. There was a time limit for the project (just under three minutes), so ideally it would have included a lot more! But time limit aside, it was a pretty cool experience.
Here’s the completed video!
Just before fall break, I finished my second printmaking project of the year. I’ve done some work with relief printmaking before and wanted to experiment a little bit more, so for this project I worked with speedy-cut (a rubber-like substance perfect for carving) on a medium scale. I chose to do a monoprint series that addressed the theme of femininity. I’m very interested in the classics (I would be a double major if I had time for the language requirement!), so I worked with figures from Greek mythology. In particular, I chose to represent two women of Ancient Greek mythology that represent different sides of femininity for me: Persephone and Artemis.
My carved and inked plate of Artemis with my first test print
Earlier this month was Discover Puget Sound here on campus, and it was quite an event! Students interested in the school came to explore the campus and learn a bit about us. I joined some 250+ prospective students and their families for a delicious breakfast buffet featuring breakfast quesadillas (that’s right, breakfast. quesadillas.), a campus tour, and an address from our very own President Ron Thomas so I could take some pictures and show you what you missed if you were unable to attend!
Registration on its own was an event, the SUB flooded with eager students and families and the piano lounge was all abuzz with anticipation (for me, it was anticipation of those breakfast quesadillas!!!). I remember quite clearly my own first visit to campus and the mix of nervousness and excitement that went with it. It may feel like you’re the only one with a thousand and one questions concerning college and all that goes with it, but I promise, you’re not! Every single Logger in the Student Union Building that day could tell you the same. Seeing all the prospective students getting checked in and ready to attend this Discover Puget Sound day confirmed that it was sure to be a good one.
Admission counselor Andy Marshall giving some info at check-in!
Next it was up to Upper Marshall Hall for breakfast and mingling. Did I mention there were breakfast quesadillas??
Upper Marshall Hall was packed!
Next, the group made its way to Schneebeck Concert Hall for a word from the President, lovingly referred to by students as “Ron Thom,” and a lovely performance from Puget Sound’s a cappella group, What She Said.
What She Said performing
Ron Thom and James Miller, director of Admission
While my stomach was most pleased with the breakfast buffet, I do have to say that I was particularly interested in President Ron’s speech. Having called this campus home for going on four years now (senior year, yikes!), hearing what he had to say to prospective students was really something. It wasn’t necessarily what one would expect; while there was some plugging the school as a potential home for all the students present, what was really interesting is the importance he placed on it being the students’ choice. Yes, Puget Sound could be your home. But in reality, it could also not be. Ron provided a lot of perspective by reminding the students just what makes a “good” college, and what kind of students typically find their home here at Puget Sound. I found myself moved by this because I absolutely remember the uncertainty and anxiety surrounding the big college decision, and I am so thankful and happy to have found my home here. Had I been able to hear Ron’s speech when I was visiting schools, I know it would have relieved a great amount of the stress. It wasn’t fluffy, it wasn’t frivolous; Ron did a great job giving a realistic expectation of what this school is and what it stands for with just the right amount of touching home talk.
Ron Thom and James applauding What She Said while the crowd is mid standing ovation!
All in all, the day was an absolute success! Following these events, there were many prospective students in my classes, all the way from computer science to art history. (And while I made my lazy senior way to class, I made sure to give directions to the near-panicked prospective students who just had no idea where Thompson Hall was, assuring them that it was okay if they were a few minutes late, like me. [Shame on me.])
And that’s what you missed at this Discover Puget Sound day 2015! If you’re a prospective student hoping to gain some perspective on whether Puget Sound could be right for you, I highly encourage attending the next DPS day. Until then!
Finally! It’s almost time for my favorite holiday: HALLOWEEN!! So to prep for the weekend festivities, a few friends and I gathered for a pumpkin carvin’, hot buttered rum makin’, pumpkin seed roasting’, scary movie watchin’ extravaganza.
First stop: Safeway to go pumpkin pickin’!
My buddies Billy and Nate pickin out their pumpkins… what cute faces!
We brought our haul back to my house and began carving!
Here’s how my pumpkin turned out, all lit up in the dark on my porch: The Hylian Pumpkin! (Based of course off the Hylian shield from Legend of Zelda)
Not bad, eh? Here’s my pals and our pumpkins: a spooky crow, the Hylian shield, and a skull from Heart of Darkness.
Following pumpkins we watched The Thing and baked the pumpkin seeds, the best part, in my opinion.
Delicious!
Can’t wait to show off my costume this Halloween! You bet there’ll be pictures of that too. Happy Halloweekend!
After my time in Rome with my connections class (see my post about it here!) this summer, my two classmates and friends Ashley Dyas ’16 and Marissa Irish ’16 and I decided to hop around Europe a bit more before heading back to Tacoma. It’s much easier to get around once you’re actually in Europe, so we popped on over to France first!
Paris was incredible. Everything was so ornate and beautifully decorated. I took another 1000 pictures and did my best to narrow it down!
Ashley and Marissa enjoy some tea and the Lourve!
We visited tons of museums and landmarks together and a few I explored on my own. Being able to see so much of the art I’ve studied for years was absolutely amazing.
Sleeping Satyr at the Lourve
The man himself at the Musee d’Orsay!!
Notre Dame!
Venus de Milo from my day at the Lourve!
Saint Chapelle’s incredible stained glass
Sunset from atop the Arch de Triumph
The incredible Eiffel Tower light show! (+ wine)
And of course, Versailles!
I also visited the Musee de l’Orangerie one day and spent a GOOD amount of time there. This museum has Monet’s wall-length waterlilies. I could have stayed there the entire day.
During our visit to the Musee d’Orsay, I accidentally stumbled across my absolute favorite painting… and proceeded to cry in front of a large tour group. Marissa took a photo to commemorate the experience.
La Naissance de Venus by William-Adolphe Bouguereau + me and my tears
That was not the last of the art related tears, however! I was also fortunate enough to see my favorite sculpture in my trip to the Lourve — the Winged Nike of Samothrace. Cue tears.
This was on my second visit…and I didn’t even cry that time!
So I covered the art, one of the best things about France. But I left out one of the most important things… FOOD.
Crepes for days!!
I even tried escargot! (I pretended it fit under the pescatarian diet)
So many desserts…
…SO MANY
Our Paris obsession: fancy tea!!
After our time in Paris, we visited somewhere I’ve always dreamed of going: Ireland. But there’s even more pictures for that story, so I think it deserves it’s own post! So au revoir for now!