La Ferte Fresnel

My mom and I got into Paris in the afternoon. We were driving ourselves to a Chateau then on to Normandy. After getting our cute little European rental car,we dropped off our stuff in it, then took the subway into Paris to get something to eat before leaving. We were greeted with nice music coming up from the subway station. Because it was the Monday after Easter, pretty much everything was closed that day as well. We found a place to eat and it was delicious. I know this is weird, but I enjoyed the food in Paris more than I did in Rome. I never had that really good italian dish, maybe we went to the wrong places. We walked around for a bit, then were on our way to our chateau in the country-side of Paris. We had directions from an old guy at the car rental place and my mom thought she knew where we were going so we were good, or so we thought.

I fell asleep, with about a couple hours of a drive left. When I woke up I figured we would be getting close. It was sooo beautiful. I think the grass in Europe is much more green or something because it just stands out and there's so much of it. The sun went down and it suddenly became pitch black. We were driving on this tiny little two-lane highway with headlights that barely worked, and it started to rain/snow. We should have been getting close to our chateau, but we had no idea where it was. I started getting scared because we were driving through these tiny little towns, that literally had about one street and the businesses/houses were only a sidewalk away from you, and they looked completely deserted. It was only 8 or so in the evening too. We drove and drove and drove going up scary hills into the darkness and down back around these tiny towns. We finally stopped at a pay phone so my mom could try calling our place, but somehow she got the fire brigade! I was starting to feel hopeless and I did not want to be there. As we were parked at the pay phone an old couple opened their doors. My mom ran up to them to see if she could ask where to go. They did not speak English, but as soon as they heard Chateau de La Ferte Fresnel, our place, the lady walked around the corner and pointed, it was right there! After two hours of being lost we were there!

Although, once we got there I didn't really feel relieved. We drove through the gate on this road leading us up to the chateau. We were told to use the bottom doors so we lugged everything in through the dark hallways, stairs and so on. An old lady owns it and I think it was her son who helps her run the place. I think we were the only ones staying there, or it seemed like, which kind of scared me. It was this huge place and it was dark and seemed creepy. It reminded me of Beauty and the Beast, when Belle goes wandering around the castle. Anyways we got in and went to bed. The next morning was amazing and completely turned around our experience the night before. We were given breakfast in our room on this little table in front of our huge window overlooking the property of the chateau.
Of course it was green and beautiful. The breakfast was amazing as well. We were able to just relax, take our time eating the crescents, rolls, coffee, and juice.

That was our big adventure of the trip I would say. After that we still had to drive another 2-3 hours to the coast of Normandy and then back to our chateau for one more night. Being on the beach at Normandy was a really weird feeling. The cemetery is right above it and it's a pretty long walk down to the beach, but you just feel it. Here are some pictures of our chateau and the beach, etc.


Here is the inside of our chateau...




and here is the outside, or what I could fit in the picture.



I loved our little getaway in the countryside of France and would do it all over again if I had the chance. After our little two-day adventure we drove back into Paris to meet up with Cole and his mom.

Europe

Because we're coming up on spring break, and i'm not going anywhere I thought I would talk about a previous spring break trip. My mom and I had wanted to go to Europe for a long time and she told each of my siblings and I that we could have one trip that she would take us on anywhere we wanted. I chose Paris and Rome. It was spring break of my senior year in high school. My boyfriend and his mom actually planned to go with us as well. We did separate trips, but met up in Rome and Paris. It was pretty amazing. I'm almost a little disappointed now, because then I didn't know too much about any of the art there and so I saw everything, but it didn't mean a whole lot to me. Now, through art history and other classes i've learned about everything I've already seen, or probably saw and didn't even know and I want the chance to go back to see it again.
Anyways, first we went to Rome. We went to the Colosseum,
the Vatican,
the Pantheon,
the Trevi fountain,and I can't remember what else. Those were the main spots. We were only on vacation for about a week 1/2 so we had to split our time. We walked everywhere, even when it was pouring down rain, which it pretty much was the whole time in Rome.
We went on a tour through the Vatican and the Colosseum. The Vatican is absolutely insane. There is so much detail throughout the whole thing. My picture from inside the Sistine Chapel is actually not allowed, but I had to snap a shot! After the tour I, and everyone else was exhausted. You look at sooo much stuff and soo much detail that you're literally worn out by the end. The Colosseum was cool, but not one of the highlights of the trip.
I could honestly talk about this trip for a really long time, but I won't go into detail. It's getting hard for me to remember how long we stayed in Rome and exactly what we did. I believe we were there for about four days. I have my journal somewhere that I wrote in so I wouldn't forget this stuff, but I'm not sure where that is at the moment. We were in Rome on Easter Sunday, which was kind of a bummer because a lot of things were closed so we just hung around the city around our bed and breakfast. Monday my mom and I flew off to Paris and left Cole and his mom in Rome for a few more days.

It feels like it's been forever since I could post anything. This last week has been crazy with school. I had something due in every class. This class we had our books due, I had a drawing due the next day and two tests that I had today. Now I actually have time to get other stuff done, like my taxes!

The other night, instead of doing homework :) I went to After Dark, a free event at the Morrison Center. A band called, The Afters played for a little bit and then there was a speaker and then more music after. It was pretty cool. The band wasn't great, i've heard one of their songs before and they were about how I imagined they would be live. The speaker was good. It was a Christian event, so the speaker was giving a message. He did a good job tying everything together. He had this whole "skit" with the cross and nailing our sins to it and letting go of those things that are holding us back from a relationship with Jesus. He talked about how Jesus is our dad and he showed this video to try and show what he thinks of when he thinks of a dad. It was a video of this father and son. The son was physically disabled and the dad began to run with him. He would push him in his wheel chair. He started out doing small things, then ran a marathon pushing his son so he could finish a marathon. Then, I couldn't believe this, he did the Iron Man pushing and pulling his son the whole way. The Iron Man is swimming 1.2 miles, biking 56 miles, then running a marathon. This dad did all of this with his son! That means he swam while pulling his son in a raft, biked with an extra seat for his son, and then ran while pushing his son in his wheel chair for a full marathon. The thought of doing this all alone is extreme, but doing it with the weight of another person is crazy! The dad was also old, he wasn't a young guy. I just thought that was amazing.

After After Dark my boyfriend and I watched The Cove. It's a documentary on dolphins. It was also amazing. It's about the killing of dolphins in Japan. I had no idea about it. Japan is the place that captures dolphins and then sells them all around the world to places like Sea World. The documentary was made by the guy who started the love of watching dolphins off of Flipper, an old tv show. He was the boy in the show and became the main trainer. He developed a close relationship with the dolphins in the show and began to realize that keeping dolphins in captivity is wrong. So he and others made this video to show awareness to what is happening to dolphins now. Japanese fishermen go out in boats and make a noise in the water when hundreds of dolphins are swimming through and it scares the dolphins to swim in close to shore. They then trap the dolphins in with nets and have trainers come choose which dolphins they want to keep and sell. They get $150,000 for a live one. After the trainers take the dolphins they want, they kill the rest of them. Remember, there are hundreds of dolphins and only a few get chosen.

The group of activists aren't allowed anywhere near the coves that these dolphins are killed in. In fact no one is allowed to see what goes on there. It's a big secret. The activists will get arrested if they try and do anything about it, so they had to do it in secret. They went to professional prop makers from films to make fake rocks to put cameras in. They made rocks, had underwater cameras, microphones, etc put in around these coves. They had to do it in secret in the middle of the night in order not to get caught. Once the cameras were rolling, it was disgusting what they showed. The fisherman stood in their little boats and just speared every single dolphin. The clear water durned a deep dark red. It showed aerial views of the cove and it was pure red. It was also sad seeing the dolphins die like that. Once they had this captured they went around trying to make people aware of what was going on. One of the reasons why the fisherman said they killed the dolphins was that it was part of their culture, but they're own people didn't even know about it so it obviously was not part of their culture. They also said that they sold the dolphin meat, but dolphin meat is not popular and it's filled with mercury, which poisons you. The reason for the killing is unknown, but they are trying to make people aware of what's going on. I thought the documentary was put together really well and it really opened my eyes to what is going on over there.

Artist # 6 Gian Lorenzo Bernini

I'm taking art history 102 and we just learned a little about Bernini's sculptures. We were first shown this picture and asked what it was we were looking at.
People in the class were saying, a thigh, an embrace, a hand, etc. and then someone said a sculpture. When they said that, I was thinking, "no it's not." Then we learned it was in fact a sculpture by Bernini. I was amazed at the detail and realness of it. What amazes me the most is that these artists could make such masterpieces in the 17th century. Back then the artists would study under someone starting when they're young and then develop their own styles. Art is their entire life. It's so different now. We study art, but i'm sure it's nothing like the way they studied it to make what they made. They were so talented and could make these sculptures with what they had. Everything else develops as time goes, but this kind of art hasn't seem to have gotten better. We're still studying art from thousands of years ago, it was so good. Anyways, here is the rest of this sculpture.
The title is The Rape of Proserpina. Bernini is famous for the moments he chose to depict in his sculptures. He chose the moments that were most dramatic. Here you have Proserpina struggling to try and get away from Pluto. Bernini is also famous for his movement in his sculptures. Here you see the twisting and moving in the struggle between the two. Some other sculptures by Bernini are shown here.


This is Bernini's version of David. It's much different than Michelangelo's version. Again Bernini chose the moment that shows the most drama. David is winding up to throw that first rock at Goliath. It gives so much movement that it is not only contained in this small space, but uses the space around it. When I look at it, I just imagine him to throw the rock and picture him releasing it.

Here is Apollo and Daphne

Bernini also did some architecture as well. His architecture incorporated sculpture as well. In St. Peter's cathedral he constructed this giant Baldachin for the main altar. You look at it and can't really tell how big it is, but it's about eight stories high. It's huge. Bernini was so talented and anyone can see when viewing his work. It is argued whether or not he or Michelangelo is the master of sculpture. I haven't learned enough to really have an opinion, but I do like Bernini's work.

Progress

I was excited to get going on my book today in class, but I forgot to bring pictures to look off of to draw. I need certain pictures of a truck, train, house, etc. so I can draw the different things I need for La Grande. I was able to plan out how I want it to look and the order I want everything in. I tested my white pencil and marker on the black paper to see how it will look since i'm drawing it all white. I will add red to the chair of course, and I figured out how I can do that as well. After that I couldn't really do anything so I went and looked at the artwork in the library then went home to look at the pictures. I drew some outlines of everything so I know how to draw it onto the actual paper and as of now I'm ready to start making it. The drawing is what will take the longest I think because i'm trying to use one continuous piece of paper so all I will have to do is attach it to my houses. I think it will turn out how I want and I'm excited to see the finished product.

Japanese Student Work

Some of the Japanese students who are visiting have a display of their work on the second floor of the library. I walked up and was expecting a room or something to display the work, but it's right in the hallway. At first I walked right past it, then noticed there were pictures up on the wall. There was also a weird "sculpture" (i'm not sure what to call it) set up before the hallway. It was what look like some kind of mop sculpted hanging on the wall, then I think there was a chair or a desk with the legs painted pink with a little tv painted pink and a pink cord plugged into the wall. I didn't get it at all.

I really liked the drawings. If I remember right there were two series of faces. Both done by Takeda Hiroki, with no title. It said they were done with watercolor pen. They are drawings of different faces making different expressions, but because of the watercolor, they are done with color. It gave them a really cool effect. They were all very realistic, but colorful. All of them had some kind of nature incorporated into them as well. The first series had vines or something like that with heart shaped leaves I think. That's what I saw anyways. The second series all had a small flower somewhere on the face. I really liked the one with the flower on the tongue. I have never seen drawings like those using the color so I really liked it.

Book

The class got the new assignment last Thursday, (I think). We might have been introduced to it before, but really got into it on Thursday. In lab we were able to look through books and try out the accordion fold with paper. I didn't really know what I was going to do yet, but once I started making lists I started to get ideas. In the handout we got in class, there were ideas of what you could go off of. We were to make three lists from those prompters, or ones of our own. Here are the lists I made:
Creation:
-The World
-Oceans
-Mountains
-Heaven and Earth
-Man
-Woman
-Plants
-Animals

Things That Are Round:
-World
-Clock
-Coins
-Color Wheel
-Ball
-Smiley Face
-Sun
-Moon
-Eye Ball
-Marble
-Hole

After I made those two lists I began to look through the 500 series book of books. I saw some that I liked, but I was drawn to one that opened up and was a city skyline. I tried thinking of a way I could do that. Boise isn't that big and doesn't have much of a skyline, and nothing else would really mean anything to me, so I thought of La Grande, my hometown. The only thing was that La Grande is way smaller than Boise, so it definitely doesn't have a skyline. I couldn't really think of anything in class, but over the weekend i remembered a list about La Grande that was made.

Some friends made a list on Facebook titled: You Know You Lived in La Grande When... I thought that I could use pieces of this list into making my "skyline" of La Grande. Here is the list:
1. You hang out at Denny's and know your waiter personally
2. You watch ads for churches before the movie at the movie theater
3.You can hear the train from your house
4.You've wondered what it would be like to sit in the Red Rocking Chair
5.You've walked from one side of town to the other without much difficulty
6. You've gone swimming in the river
7.You went or have taken classes from EOU
8.You've been to more than 1 church service in a day
9.You've seen random parades downtown
10.Half of your friends own a truck
11.The stoplights start blinking after 11
12. You've driven to Cove, Elgin, Or Imbler because you have nothing better to do
13. Your wardrobe consists of JC Penny's or Maurices?

...there were a few more, but ones I knew wouldn't work for the assignment. I decided that I was going to take certain things from this list and make it into an accordion fold like the skyline book I saw. I decided on doing Denny's, Ads of churches (or just churches in general because there are a lot of them for how small La Grande is), hearing the trains, trucks, and stoplights. In between I might at trees (because there are also a lot of them) and houses, (because La Grande is so small there are houses in the middle of everything).

Today I went to the dollar store to try and find supplies. I wanted to use black paper as my pages of the book, then use white pencil or something to outline these things. I want to do it that way because that is sometimes how skylines are portrayed, and I want this to portray La Grande. I know that no one else in the class will really get it because they're not from La Grande. It's more personal to me and my background. Anyways, I couldn't find any regular black paper, but there were big black poster boards. They were really thin, almost like card stock, so I thought they would work. I'll just cut them to whatever size and shape. I was walking through and isle with picture frames and came across ones that would work perfect for my cover and end of my book. They're picture frames in the shape of a house. I thought it was perfect for making a book about a town. I can put the title, or picture, whichever I choose in the picture frame also. The trick part is going to be attaching the paper to it and having it stay and not look messy. I still need to try out using white pencil on the black to see how well that will look. I think the only color I want for it is the yellow in the stoplight, the red rocking char, and the green in the trees. I'm not sure if the green in the trees is necessary or not though.

One thing that i've been debating is whether I should add the words or not. Just looking at it you won't get the exact words out of it if you don't know La Grande. At the same time, if you were from La Grande and saw this book, you would think, oh exactly! That's La Grande. I need to decide exactly what I want the book to say. If I do add the words I think i'll add them on one side. (I'm planning on having this book double sided. So you see the same thing on both sides). With the words on one side, you would read exactly what came from the list. On the other side, you would have just the image. I kind of like that idea, it will just depend on how much I can do in the time we have. This project is due on Tuesday, which doesn't give us much time. I hope it turns out how I pictured it and everything works.