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Created January 6, 2020
Community? Engagements? Arts? Well, for starters this is a class taught at Transylvania University in Lexington, KY by professors Kremena Todorova and Kurt Gohde. The goal of this class is to form a relationship with the community by engaging in artistic projects with the community. The outcome of this will manifest itself in many ways, some recognizable and others not so much.
CETA 2020: Our first 2 emojis (of hundreds)
Created January 6, 2020
Individual Tasks
Collect addresses, make & write thank-you cards, design pronoun buttons--Anna Davis
Blog Manager--Paige Wessling
Recorder/archivist for This I Believe essays--Sarah Metcalfe
Social Media--Lydia Baggett & Garrett LeVan
Photographic Inventory (3 people)--Yousef Alsdudi, Sarah Bennett, & Faith Boles
Space, raw material, & tool inventory manager AND order enforcer--Emily Neat
Quality Control & Class Ethicist--Alex Toney
Software Design Team (3 people)--Shelby Barker, Emily Cecil, & Abby Pearson
Fabrication Team (3 people)--Brooklyn Greer, Will Hemingway, & Marissa Price
Finishing Team (4 people)--Nannie Baze, Emon Daneshmand, Ally Frederick, & Madison Phillips
Additional photographic documentation--Kremena and Kurt
Working with production design at Kre8Now Makerspace--Kurt and Kremena
Publicity for the class--Kremena and Kurt
Securing materials needed--Kurt and Kremena
I believe in springtime. Spring is my favorite season, despite all the sneezing. I can finally go outside in a sleeveless top and not freeze. I love to see the trees come back to life day by day, their buds blossoming into tiny white flowers that give way to little green leaves. I love the sunny, breezy days and the dark, stormy days. As nature sheds its calloused winter skin, I feel like I can also slough off the sorrows of the previous year.
ReplyDeleteWith each passing spring, I cannot help but reflect on everything I’ve experienced since the last spring. I relive the hope, the yearning, the loss, and the fear that has molded me into a different person. On this particular morning, my timeline throws up of pictures of myself taken exactly a year ago. I barely recognize the person smiling in the camera. I take a long look at the pink hair that grazes her shoulders. I think about all the heartbreak she will face and all of the new things she will discover about herself. After a few minutes, I feel ready to say goodbye to her and to try on a different skin for another year.
I know 365 days from now, I will think about the same things, as well as new things, as I decide whether or not I’m any closer to who I want to be. I will feel the ache of that which has come to pass and the thrill of that which lies ahead. I will stand in the sun, relishing the breeze on my shoulders, eyes closed, exhaling old air and inhaling new. And then I will sneeze violently three to four times before going on with my life, feeling so much lighter with the weight of a year cast off my shoulders.
That line about sneezing violently at the end made me laugh out loud. I love this
DeleteI just drafted my reflection for this (final) week, which is all about the sneezing part! Though I will always say spring is my favorite season, so I am not sure why I chose to focus on the sneezing and the coughing of it :)
DeleteI don’t tend to write about people that make me happy. Ever. So here goes a few because I believe they matter.
ReplyDeleteAva. My beautiful, one year old niece. Her first word (outside of “Mama” and “Dada”) was Jada! At least I think that’s how it went. Although she constantly tries to hang up the FaceTime call, as soon as it connects and she sees me- she smiles. She doesn’t know it yet but, she really helped me. She is motivation. Whenever I’m down, I need to see her. Whenever I’m overwhelmed, I need to see her. I just need her all of the time.
Katherine. My sunshine. Words don’t do her justice. To know that she’s happy makes me overwhelmed with joy. I’ve lived without her before and now that she’s in my life, I never want to do that again. She’s the most loyal person on my team. She always makes sure I’m good in all aspects and for that I’m forever grateful. Her smile is to die for and her color-changing eyes can catch my gaze in a room full of people. Just being in her presence can brighten up my day.
Lily and Trinity. Lily is my cousin and Trinity is her daughter. Growing up, Lily was always there for me even when she needed help herself. She never judged, she understood and explained things. For the first couple of years of Trinity’s life, she got to live with us. She was like a baby sister. Lily moved to New Jersey so we don’t see them anymore. FaceTime calls are the best. Trinity always has so much to catch us up on and Lily always reminisces. Seeing them makes me cry only because I miss them so much. I wish seeing them was as normal as it used to be. They really gave me a sense of home away from home.
Lorde. Oh my. From her looks to her music to just her speaking. Whenever I’m down my friends send pictures of her because they know it’ll help. Her music has helped me through so much and continues to do so. I about lost my mind seeing her in concert. I am absolutely obsessed with her like, it’s an unhealthy obsession. I feel like I know her whole life story because I was interested enough to read all about it. She is truly the love of my life.
This is my second year at Transy. I have taken seventeen courses so far. None of which have been like this one. This class is of a different breed than any of the others. I was very skeptical of taking this course because I knew it would push me out of my comfort zone, but regardless I put it on my schedule. I needed it to fulfill my category IV requirements so I didn’t really have a choice. Last May term I took Creative Disruption with Kurt and Kremena which was a course that forced me out of my comfort zone completely. Since I took that course I needed another IDS credit to pair with it and I ended up here.
ReplyDeleteOn the first day of class, I didn’t know what to expect. I walked in and looked at my peers, my initial thought was that the only thing we all had in common was that we were in this class. But over time I learned that wasn’t the case. We are all very different but that isn’t a bad thing it just means that we bring our own unique perspectives to the table which allows us to learn and grow with and from one another. In my other classes, I sit there silently not saying a word unless I have to all semester, but that was impossible in this class. Through working in groups on various projects, walking to and from the Plantory in the cold, and making art with the Common Good students this class has created a bond that I haven’t had in other classes. I have actually opened up to my classmates, professors, and guests through our potlucks, jokes, and This I Believe essays.
It surprised me that I enjoyed this class so much. The purpose of CETA is to create a community through art, maybe this semester we didn’t create a close bond with a larger community in Lexington as much, but we made a community with each other and the Common Good students. I believe it’s the quality of the relationships established not the quantity. I wish more people got to experience this course, although maybe then it wouldn’t be as special. I believe in Community Engagements Through the Arts.
I believe in Community Engagement Through the Arts…
ReplyDeleteIn January of this year I had a very difficult decision to make. I had all my credits so I could graduate a semester early or I could stay and take my last semester with the rest of my class. While it might seem like it should be an easy choice it wasn’t. So I went and sat down with the Dean and the registrar and talked about classes. Nothing was really catching my interest, especially the Logic class that they were trying to shove down my throat. Then Dean Bryan mentioned Community Engagement Through the Arts. She explained what the class had done in previous years and while I had convinced myself early on I was not an artist and was extremely intimidated by the idea of possibly having to do art I decided to take the class.
Now coming to the end of the class I don’t know how to describe what it is to others. It is more than the art projects that are completed every year which was how it was explained to me. It is getting to meet new people. Had I not taken this class I do not think that I would have branched out of my group of friends and I would not have gotten the opportunity to meet some truly kick ass genuine people who open my eyes to things that I don’t see. It is recognizing that I have not always been a good neighbor but that this community will still welcome me in and teach me. I believe in the power of art. Our time with the common good students showed me that art is a place where multiple sides can come to the table to share ideas.
I believe this class has changed me for the better.
Kremena
ReplyDeleteApril 8, 2019
There were two stories everyone shared with me when I moved to Kentucky. The first was about the ice storm of 2003, which caused some of my colleagues to camp out at Brown Science Building with their families. It also destroyed the cherry trees lining Old Morrison circle. The second was a cautionary tale sprinkled with dubious pride: that our beloved Bluegrass is the worst place in the United States for developing allergies.
Though I had grown with neither apocalyptic winters nor bodily responses to seasonal change, I didn’t find it hard to imagine the first. But it was near impossible to believe hyperbolic claims about allergies. I came from a country where no one suffered from seasonal allergies. Pronouncements about allergies appeared to me unreasonable, unsupported by science, and gratuitously excessive. In my less-generous moments, I thought of them as a condition well-to-do Americans developed, one that gave them another reason to spend money on themselves. I thought of seasonal allergies in the same way I thought of winter hats and sweaters for pet dogs.
I did that until my throat was sore for a month during my second fall in Kentucky. That fall, I tried anything to make my throat heal: I gargled with salt water; I took 2 Tylenol pills every 4 hours; I drank 2 tablespoons of apple vinegar every morning; I sipped herbal tea meant to cure sore throats. Nothing worked. Then a friend suggested I try Claritin. Desperate, I took both Claritin and Zyrtec. I visited an acclaimed allergist, underwent an allergy test, and was officially diagnosed: I had seasonal allergies. I still do.
March and April are especially bad. I cough, sneeze, blow my nose, lose my voice, and wait for the blossoming season to end. This repeats at least once in the fall. Through it all, I’ve come to realize leaving the Bluegrass is good for me. When I am away from here, my body heals.
This is why I believe in staying put and I believe in going away as well.
CETA is the only class I’ve ever walked into to find people preparing for a spontaneous wedding reception-- the room filled with people cutting index cards into makeshift confetti, arranging chairs into an aisle, and finding music to play. I love the support the class builds, announcing each other’s events to consider attending and celebrating good news together.
ReplyDeleteCETA is one of only two classes that has ever asked me to share a meal with my classmates and professors.(1) And it’s the only one that has asked me to participate in a potluck. I love the concept of joining together to talk over dinner with people you may or may not know that well. It forges friendships and sparks conversations that are honest and real, as we usually speak straight from personal experience.
CETA is one of only three classes (as far as college goes) to ask me to write a personal narrative to be shared with the entire class. The other two were August Term and Video and Design (both taught by Kurt.) I remember that in August Term I was never sure what to write about. Now I have more ideas than I needed for the semester. When I look back at my old ones from the beginning of my first year, I think about how much I talk about now that I probably would’ve been reluctant to mention back then. To me, the element of community in this class allows for a level of openness other classes usually don’t come close to, and this is certainly a contributor to how my essays have evolved over time.
CETA is one of many classes to require me to go off campus to see guest speakers, but it is the only one that has ever taken me to the Plantory and it is the only one that has ever started a larger discussion on the history of social issues right here in Lexington and all the things we could be doing to be more inclusive towards our neighbors.
In short, this class is unlike any other I’ve taken.(2) It's fun and full of art, but as Felice puts it, it’s more about the process and the connections we make than the actual tangible things we’ve created by the end.
I am genuinely sad to see the semester is ending so soon but I am glad to have taken nearly two semesters of this class, because it’s one I’ve come to find I can look forward to. I believe in CETA.
---
(1) The other was my French III class last May Term-- Madame Cochis is wonderful and invited us to her home one evening for us to eat French foods for dinner.
(2) Unless you want to count my August Term, because we wrote This I Believe essays and made plastic flowers in Kurt’s August Term 2016, months before CETA 2017 did the same.
I believe in Community.
ReplyDeleteWhen I put CETA on my schedule for this term I didn't expect to truly learn about this community. I am not from Lexington and never thought I would really connect with the city. I convinced myself that this is a temporary home and that I wouldn't invest any time into it.
CETA showed my that even though this may be my temporary home, I can make a meaningful connection to it. I have loved meeting the community members and hearing their thoughts about the city. Lexington has become more important to me because of this class.
I have found community within the classroom too. We are a special group each with our own interests, but were able to come together and make a little family. I will never forget the laughs and conversations we have had together.
Thank you CETA, because of this class I believe in community.
I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to put in words how I’ve feeling been lately. In my head it’s stuck in purgatory between incoherent, discarnate fumes swirling around and actual comprehensible sentences I may be able to share. I’m hoping they’ll make it out soon.
ReplyDeleteI’m not sure, but I think when I was born I came out as a solid block, and every little experience has chipped away at my block. I like to think I’d be made of marble. Every first, every second, every “I’d like to do that again” or “let’s never do that again.” I assume when I die I’ll look perfectly how I was meant to, however that will be.
I think different seasons of life chip away at us differently. My childhood was sweet; maybe I was just sanded, with my pigtails and sundresses and jelly shoes. High school was harsh. High school required my sculptor to wear major safety equipment.
College, though—college has expedited the process. I’m the same person I was four years ago, at the core at least. I’m the same marble slab. But in some ways I’m almost unrecognizable between the time I bought my high school graduation robes to buying the one I’ll be wearing in a few short weeks.
I am so grateful for the opportunities that have been given to me and the ones I have hunted down myself, and I will forever be grateful for my brilliant, kind, tough, creative professors and classmates who have pushed me and encouraged me.
But I’m also so proud of myself. I have chiseled away, shaping myself into a kinder, smarter, healthier, more curious, more driven, more empathetic woman. I have pushed past the voices, externally and internally, that have told me I can’t do it, that I’m not good enough.
I thought this essay would end by saying “I believe in Transylvania,” but I think I actually believe in Emily.