A Garden of Thought

Having been at Penn State for over a month now, I have become incredibly accustomed to speed walking, rushing from class to class, and dodging bikers and other students roaming around campus. Homework and exams have been piling up, so the field trip to the Arboretum last Monday was a nice break from the constant busyness that encompasses my life as a college student. It was my first trip to the H.O. Botanical Gardens and will most definitely not be my last. Upon seeing the first bunch of flowers, I was mesmerized. I felt a sense of tranquility flowing through me as a wandered the gardens with a few of my classmates. The garden gave me a sense of peace and it was refreshing to experience the nature and sun since the main source of sunlight I usually receive is through my dorm window waking me up at 8am.

Many of the flowers were rich in color; there were purples, yellows, corals, and whites. There was a patch of red peppers that caught my eye because they seemed out of place in the sea of flowers. I wondered if they were edible, and if they were, would they be Spicy? Flavorful? Bland?

 

As I continued down the path of the garden, I came across a trellis of large, green leaves with a simple brown bench sitting in the middle. I was taken aback by the simplicity and romance of this structure. My cheesy girly-girl side was revealed when I mentioned to my classmates that I dreamt of being proposed to in a place like this. This place was magical. I walked under the canopy and looked up to find green gourds hanging from the roof of the trellis. I laughed at this because I thought it brought a sense of humor to such a romantic, calm place.

The garden offered many different types of plants and trees, but overall I think I loved this place so much because of the feeling I had while walking through the garden. It was so peaceful and I enjoyed stepping away from my busy life on campus to explore a place that I probably would never have if it weren’t for Ms. S! I was especially fond of the benches placed in corners of pathways because I could see myself perched for hours just drinking a cup of tea and thinking. Simply thinking. The arboretum is a place where people can go to just think. About life, flowers, school, pretty much anything. At the beginning of the trip, I walked around with classmates, commenting on various aspects of the garden, but towards the end of my stay, I realized I wanted to roam the garden alone next time I visit.

I usually don’t enjoy waking up on Monday mornings after a long football weekend, however, a trip to the arboretum made it little more bearable. I look forward to returning to this wonderful place in the future!

A Friday Morning Spent with the Arts

Affirmative Action

Jerry Kearns, American

1987

While I saw many beautifully crafted pieces of work in the Palmer, the piece that stood out most was a painting titled Affirmative Action created by Jerry Kearns. The red and yellow buildings faded in the background contrasted the main image of the woman in black and white, scooping piles of debris with a shovel. The woman is wearing a dress and heels, but is in no way a “girlie girl” because she has muscles and a look on her face that says, “Don’t mess with me.”

This painting, which was created by using acrylic paint on a canvas, was completed in 1987. This was only a mere twenty years after President John F. Kennedy signed the first Executive Order to promote actions that achieve non-discrimination in the workplace, also known as affirmative action. The piece clearly depicts a woman in the workforce and goes to show that women are just as capable as men to do any kind of work. I was also very pleased to see that the artist was a man who clearly supports women’s struggle for equality and acceptance in the workforce especially.

I think the most obvious reason I connected to this piece in particular is that I am a woman just like the one in the painting. I can relate to her because I, too, will one day be a working member of society and hoped to be treated equally with men and other women. I am a supporter of affirmative action because I believe everyone should have equal opportunity to show his or her capabilities. If a man can do a job, why shouldn’t a woman at least be given a chance to prove herself too?

The first way this painting gains credibility is through the title, Affirmative Action. Many people know the definition of this word, which automatically helps audiences understand the piece. Jerry Kearns, the artist, was a professor of art at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, which adds to his credibility because he is an expert on art and has contributed to the world of art in ways other than just creating paintings.

I think the piece of art is making a very obvious claim supporting affirmative action and the equality of women and men in the workplace. I think the artist was attempting to portray the physical and mental strength of the woman through her body language and facial expression in order to persuade audiences that women deserve the equality and respect the same way men do in the workplace.

Last Friday was my first time visiting the Palmer Museum and I had a very good first time experience. I have never been a museum fanatic, yet I am not completely opposed to museums either. I think my stance on museums is neutral until proven otherwise. This visit was different from most of my other museum visits because I am used to going on field trips or with family, thus experiencing the museum through a guided tour. This trip however was a self-guided tour and I enjoyed exploring the paintings and sculptures at my own pace. I don’t see myself going back to the museum voluntarily, but if I was assigned to go back for another class I wouldn’t dread the experience. 

Blog Post #1

When I was given the choice of templates, the first one that drew my eye was the simple yet sweet, peach-colored font and white background. My intent of this blog is to help my classmates and professor learn about who I am as a person and a writer. I want readers to be focused on my writing and what I have to say, not distracted by annoying pop-ups and wild colors.

I am a big fan of alliterated titles and catch phrases, so I wanted to incorporate that into my own blog’s title. I am also thoroughly enjoying my time in Stuart Halls as a freshman, so I wanted to play off of my building name for a true representation of my first year and first blog at Penn State.

It may seem boring to some, but to me Times New Roman is classy, timeless, and clean. I did not want to bombard my readers with overdone fonts or colors and felt that “Times” was the appropriate fit for my personality and the intent of my blog. I like to be very organized, so the clean font with a serif fit the bill.

In my “About Me” tab, I included some vital information about me such as my favorite shows and pig-out foods. I provided my readers with enough information to get a general idea about who I am, but not enough to let them know everything about me. I need to leave some things up for personal interpretation! 

The process of creating my blog was daunting at first, but once I began playing around with the different features it was less frightening. I have not yet added any other tabs to my blog because I'm not sure what else I would like to share with my readers.