Troy eCampus  T1 -'08 Culture Project Highlights...

ART1133

Life on your lapel
"As we examine our own cultures we realize that even that becomes a hodge-podge of likes and dislikes that we have either accepted or rejected in response to our human experience.  I have tried to demonstrate a few elements of my culture through this watercolor painting...What would it look like if everybody could see who you truly are by taking a glance at your lapel?"

Cultural Journey
"I grew up on a small farm in southeast Alabama...I would help gather eggs from the hen house. I helped my granddaddy walk the cows to the pasture in the mornings. I learned how to can and freeze fresh vegetables in the summer. I also learned to appreciate homemade ice cream after a hot day of shelling peas and beans. Those times will be forever etched in my memory...I hope to pass on to future generations of my family the gifts of love, sacrifice, faith and generosity."     JacksonPhotoStory.wmv

Starry Night
"I grew up in what I would describe as a typical American family...My parents were both educators-my dad a high school principal and my mom an elementary librarian. So my world has always revolved around the school calendar.  We are not an overly artsy family, but my parents did always covered our walls in oil paintings. Mostly landscapes, cityscapes and seascapes.  That love for oil paintings has carried over into my home as an adult."

Van Gogh Landscape
"I studied how Van Gough used short brush strokes and I tried to recreate his method...When I look at Van Gogh’s work I see that he layers color in short brush strokes. It’s like small petals of color that all meld together to create the painting..."

House vs. Home
"There are many events that are attributed to turning my life around, and all had little life lesson/messages attached.  In the end I was rewarded with the true meaning of life and the difference between a house and a home—LOVE..."

Starry Night
"...I was born in North Carolina. I am an African American female born into a family of five. I moved all around the world with my dad because he was in the United States Army. I am known to be a spoiled army brat...I learned a lot while completing this project...and gained confidence in myself about being creative."

My Version of
Starry Night
"All in all I really enjoyed this project and this class.  It taught me different things about different aspects of art and artist that I would never thought about otherwise...Its difficult to find different ways to do projects especially with this class being online but I think the project made the class better than a lot of the other online classes that I have taken.  The project was easy but not too easy because when you think of duplicating someone else’s art work you don’t really think about the process that the artist had to go through in order to create it until you have to actually do the project yourself."

My Catholic Upbringing
"I did have a program called Photo Story 3 for Windows.  I opened the program and messed around with it for a while.  I found out that I could make a slideshow presentation with it.  I could add narration, music and effects for the show.
The drawings were done when I was a child.  I used to love to draw and trace things, but for some reason, it never stuck with me.  I loved seeing them.  I also found a lot of other drawings, mostly charcoal, that I had created at sometime during my childhood."  

Scream
"I am your average white male of mixed European decent...In this regard, I have no real culture to speak of.  The...media and equality backlash has robbed those like myself of defining ourselves in any meaningful way.  I do not view this as a bad thing though.  I think it might even be justice for three thousand years of oppressing every other culture in the world.  The lack of culture and feelings of mindless, grinding days as just another cog in the machine is why I chose to use Edvard Munch’s The Scream."

A Country Starry Night
"My family has taught me a lot, and the most important thing that we believe is cherish every talent you have, big or small, and make what you can out of it...I always enjoyed drawing with chalk all on the side walk...my idea was a country scene, like where I live...The longest part of this project was sketching this picture over and over until I finally had it exactly how I wanted it."

Starry Night
"Starry Night” is one of my most favorite paintings. I am a big fan of the blues, purples, golds and greens that are present in the original...I had a little trouble with the moon. I was thinking I was going to make it my focal point, but almost towards the end, I changed my mind and decided, for some reason, I liked the tree and the wind the best."

All American Gal
"Being raised mainly in the “country” I feel like my parents were laid back to a certain extent, but also strict on if you want something you must work to get it...This project was very unique to me.  In all of the classes I have taken at Troy University I have never had a real “hands-on” project.  I enjoyed using a different part of my brain, and thought this was a fun and relaxing idea..."

Ergonomic Egg
"We have never traced our heritage and our name doesn’t indicate where our ancestors may have come from. So I’m proud to be just an American with values from a small town where everyone cares about each other...I must have forgotten the hardness that plaster dries to. It is closer to cement than the pliable stuff I remembered. That 6-8 hours for sculpting this thing didn’t take into account my skill level. So don’t make fun of my project until you try it..."   Recommended site: http://www.expertvillage.com/expert/363.htm

A Mix of Culture
"As I explored my options for this project, I was at a loss for a single “culture” or group to which I belong.  I began to think in terms of labels I apply to myself – civil rights advocate, political activist, military wife, feminist, student of Middle Eastern and South Asian studies, and soon-to-be mother.  I believe that the groups which we pursue (as opposed to ones into which we are born) are a perfect representation of our passions, our selves." 
Sarver.wmv

Pop Art
"I believe my family is a good example of the “melting pot” America...As a child I never even realized that my paternal grandfather was of Arab descent. His family was Americanized in every aspect of life. Our family took the name Joseph at Ellis Island.  The only traditional Syrian heritage I knew came in the form of food. My grandfather would prepare Middle-Eastern dishes on special occasions, but as a child I did not realize other people did not enjoy such dishes. It was only later in life did I realize that I had a different heritage and appreciate it."

Pop Art
"I choose to do a pop Art painting of myself because it looked like it would be fun and interesting. I used a poster board, poster paint, brushes, a pencil, piece of art traceable paper along with directions from the sample. I had fun with this project once I got on the right track and the nerviness left..."

Starry Night
"I grew up in a poor country community. A lot of the times we didn’t have water or lights on in our home. I feel like now that I am older and went through the things that I did when I was younger it made me want more in life. I am more driven and I go after what I want...I have friends and family of all different types of race and background..."

Fighting for your Country
"Being in Iraq is really destitution...You first deal with being away from home, living in a strange environment... Missing your love one, and some of the comforts of home, becomes hard for one to cope with at times. However, being committed to serve your country and...looking out for fellow soldiers... becomes your main [priority] throughout your deployment..."

Being an African-American Christian
"Growing up in America, as a part of the African-American culture, God was always in the midst of a conversation...Thinking back to when I was a child growing up, every Sunday was spent in the church during the morning, and having family dinner during the evening.  There was not a meal eaten without first thanking God for that meal and for gathering together for a joyous occasion."

Starry Night
"Well my culture is a combination of things. I am Native-American and African-America or one can just say America. I don't necessarily identify with any group, because I believe that is what is holding us back as a society. Instead of just identifying with a certain culture I try to mesh with all. I guess you could call my culture, multi-culture!"

Growing Up
"I am a Caucasian female.  I am married with one child who is 11 years old.  My husband and I both work full-time and my husband also pastors a church.  We live in a rural community in northwest Florida.  My church and my family are the biggest parts of my culture...I chose photography as my medium." 

Life
"All of us in this life are born equally. Our situations we are born into are all different, but the choices we make on this journey affect everything having to do with our quality of life. With hard work, discipline, and a good understanding of the world as a whole anything you could ever want is at our fingertips. As far as we know we only get one chance to live life to the fullest. Live well, Love much, and Laugh often...No matter where I go in this world I always try to arm myself with a trusty camera. In my mind I want to have some kind of a reference as to what I’ve been up to, something to jog my memory about different people, places, and events that have occurred in such a short time.

Lumbee Indians…Who knew I was one of them?
"We are a very colorful family, with very distinct jaw lines and reddish tones in our skin. When my grandfather died, family came from everywhere and we saw more people that looked like us. They shared pictures and other artifacts that answered our questions, we are African American and Lumbee Indian...so very rich in color and full of expression. The colors in these cultures is what makes me love art, music and allows me to tap into the creative side of who I am.  I’ve appreciated this art class because I have learned to appreciate my heritage and realized how much influence we have had on the art community as a whole."

My World
"Culture today is best defined by race, religion, job description or geographical area. However, in many ways culture can evolve as a person goes through life and redefines their culture. Last Sunday while listening to National Public Radio I heard Joan Baez give an interview on how her culture has changed since the 1960s. And that now her life is part of a “culture”. My life has gone through changes like this as well...I spend time culturally involved with dog groups, dog shows and all that implies. So my primary culture has been defined in my project of The Story of Pip...showing how the lives of my dogs have impacted my personal culture."

We Can Still
Catch You
"The culture that I identify with is the Police culture. I am a Police Officer...I have been doing this job for about eight years. I love what I do. This is the only culture that I can truly identify with...Although there are musicians and artists we are all still blue...I named my project “WE CAN STILL CATCH YOU” because as in my sculpture the cars the city provides us with are all horrible cars. That is why the front of the police car is not finished." 

A Perspective of Dawn’s Light
"Growing up in rural mid-America I was not exposed to many cultures because everyone in my everyday life was Christian and Caucasian. Now that I have grown up and moved away from home sweet home I have enjoyed learning and experiencing other cultures. In the last few years I have been with a Hispanic man...I have been learning a lot about how he grew up and about the Hispanic culture. I am also starting to learn the Spanish language."

Starry Night
"I decided to do my project using the Starry Night painting by Vincent Van Gogh...because I remember when I was younger and spent some nights looking up at the stars at night. I love paintings, pictures, or drawings of nature. It always amazed me at how many stars there are and to later learn that some of them are actually planets. It always makes me feel relaxed and happy when ever I look at the night sky. I live in the city now and it is hard to see any stars at night..."

Starry Night
"My family is of African American descent and as a close knit family we take 3 to 4 days out of a year and travel to different location in the United States. My father owns a charter bus company and every since I was about 3 years old we have traveled across the country...in 2004, we journeyed to California and I was able to see the Golden Gate Bridge...Before I had my heart transplant in 2006, I would often lay in the hospital beds and think about some of the fun times I had in the past. One night that Golden Gate Bridge came into my boggled mind and I pictured it once again on a dark night and it brought a smile to my face...one small memory made me forget about the trials and tribulation I was going through. This project allowed me to put it on paper..."

My Culture
"Growing up in Wisconsin, church was not a major part of my life.  We went on holidays or when there was a funeral.  After marrying my husband, who had a very church centered life, we decided that we wanted the same life for our children.  We now are more involved in church than he was as a child...The military is the other culture that I have to say I most identify with...I really feel like our church supports my husband being in the military...This is why I feel I can identify with both my church and the military and have them be a major part of who my family is..."

The Face of Cancer
"In June 2008, my mother was diagnosed with Small-Cell Neuroendocrine Carcinoma...When we got the diagnosis, we were shocked.  We were not shocked that she had cancer, but shocked that we could not fix it...My projects focuses on the many faces cancer has given my mother...Cancer can change your body, your hair, even your face, but it can also change your attitude.  My mother has been blessed by her diagnosis of cancer.  If cancer has taught us nothing else, it is that the most important thing in life is family and your love for your family."

Wire Sculpture
"For my art project, I chose to do a wire sculpture...I looked on the internet for ideas and decided that I should do my project on something I know well and that means a lot to me.  My purse addiction immediately came to mind. I think the purse is a complete symbol of a woman’s life.  She puts everything she needs into that purse and carries it with her through life."

Starry Night
"My culture is a very important aspect of my life.  I was born and raised a white Christian.  I have a quarter of Cherokee Indian in me.  I’m somewhat of a spiritual person, but I’m not very artistic.  I have a very good imagination...I’m pretty much a southern lady by heart...The medium I chose to use in this project is drawing with crayons.  I learned the basic background history of Vincent Van Gogh..."

Picture Perfect
"I guess you can say that I inherited the photography genes because I love to take pictures of various events & especially of my family. I guess you can say that photography is the way that I express my true feelings about myself because I love pictures....the saying goes, “A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words”. I truly and honestly believe that saying in my heart."

Pop Art
"Pop Art...I decided on this because I love the expression with the bold colors and the attention grabbing ability that it gives off...During the process I sketched an image of myself by the guide of graph lines...I added color by paint and some use of color marker for lines..."

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