Sakai Discussion Post

Just like most of the people here, I'm also an illustration major. I'm originally from Venezuela but have lived in Florida for about eight years. Before that, I also lived in Puerto Rico for a year. I have not completely mastered the english language yet, but I want to learn as many other languages as I can. I love music, almost any kind. I'm a big movie person and watch just about anything. I particularly love Disney movies and I think they're my inspiration when it comes to art. My ideal job would be at Disney. My goals are set for being a storyboard artist but that could easily change as I learn about other careers that are involved in the movie making process. I also love reading. Before this summer, I never really got into any books, but now I can devour them the same day I buy them. I enjoy suspense thrillers and Harlan Coben would be my favorite author in that genre. But I also love fantasy/romantic novels (yes, like Twilight). My favorite author is Richelle Mead, and I feel that her books, although very entertaining, have left a deeper impression on me. I like the way her main characters are and the cynical way she views so many things. Although I love reading, writing isn't something that drives me crazy. I don't think I'm necessarily bad at it but after being in an AP class last year and listening to some amazing essay, I have to admit that mine are pretty simple. I don't like writing because I feel like I can't fully express myself when it comes to a certain topic, but I will try my best to improve my writing because I know that it's essential in the careers I have my sights set on.

Blink Critique

When I first received the book, I was unsure about reading and enjoying it. However, as I ventured my way through it, I realized how interesting it really is. All the different experiments and studies were intriguing but the results were even more incredible. The way the mind works is truly unimaginable. The chapter that stands out the most to me, is chapter two: The Locked Door: The Secret Life of Snap Decisions. There was one study that truly caught my attention. A psychologist gave a list of nonsense sentences including words such as: old, wrinkles, Florida, slow, etc. Once the people being tested came out of the room, they walked slower down the hallway than when they walked into the room. This is because the feeling of being old was implemented into their adaptive unconscious. There was another study that amazed me. Two groups of students took a test. The first group was told to visualize playing soccer and having fun. The other group was told to visualize being a professor. The group that visualized being a professor did considerably better on the test because of the way their mind was trained before the exam. All these test show the reader that the mind is a powerful thing.

Free Write on Drowne's Wooden Image

Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story “Drowne's Wooden Image” is very meaningful to me as an artist. Drowne is an exceptional carving artist who creates beautiful carvings and is requested a special carving for a ship. The end product is so stunning people believe that his work of art has come to life as this beautiful, young woman. However, this isn't why this short story is so meaningful to me. Drowne shows real personality when it comes to his work. People such as Copley are try to influence artists into creating their art into what they want it to be or creating it in order to sell it. Drowne does neither of these things. Copley attempts to have him paint his beautiful carving or create it in marble in order to sell it. However, his responses really inspire me. He says that he doesn't create his works of art for money, which should be true for any true artist out there. As artists we should create art because we love it.

First Formal Paper

Two Mice

The painting from the children's book A Lucky Thing by Alice Schertle is fascinating. It is very simple, yet it depicts a greater message. This watercolor painting portrays a small, brown mouse gazing down with shiny eyes, pointy nose and alert ears at a simple, white, two-buttoned computer mouse. These two mice are the main focus of the painting and many elements point to them. For example, to the left edge of the painting the painting shows small, silver paperclip placed at a diagonal angle and falling off the edge of the painting. The paperclip falls in a gap between the two mice, directing the viewer's eye towards them. To the right edge of the paper a pointy, yellow pencil is doing the same task: falling between the mice directing our eyes towards the middle of the painting. Above in the top right corner, a portion of a red book is painted, covering a white note that is hardly readable. All these items sit on a light-colored, wooden desk.

The lighting is very significant in this painting and it seems like there is a light, maybe from a desk lamp, shining down on the computer mouse, therefore directing the viewer's attention to it. The small, live mouse is creeping forward, towards the light, curiously looking at this strange object that shares its name. Since the lighting above the computer mouse is very bright, towards the top of the painting, shadows are shown that cause the desk to seem a dark umber. The red book pops out because it hardly contains any shadows itself.

The concept of this painting is intriguing. There is a curiosity depicted in the live mouse's face that is very obvious by the way he is painted. The mouse's expression is as if the live, natural, organic mouse meets with the modern, man-made mouse. This watercolor painting shows a juxtaposition between the two mice. They are literally placed side by side to be compared by the viewer. The placement of the two mice expresses the many technological advances that are created everyday and how the world is adapting to them. The breathing mouse represents today's society: curious and eager, yet reluctant to accept the many technological advances created everyday. This is seen by the way the live mouse is reluctantly inching forward to gaze at this new object. Could there be more behind the composition of these two mice or is it merely a comical, entertaining children's book cover?

Schertle, Alice. A Lucky Thing. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1999. Print.

Second Formal Paper

Comedy and Tragedy

In his time, William Shakespeare created many plays, both comedies and tragedies. Among them were Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing. Although they differ in the play types, they also have various similarities. Carefully analyzed, it seems as though Shakespeare created these similarities on purpose rather than by mistake.

Romeo and Juliet is a play and story many people have grown up knowing about. It's about a man, Romeo, who comes from the Montague family and a woman, Juliet, who comes from the Capulet family. They fall in love regardless of their family's feud and secretly try to meet and be together. In the end, because of miscommunication, Romeo believes Juliet to be dead, therefore killing himself, and once Juliet wakes up and finds Romeo dead, she also commits suicide. Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies. In comparison, Much Ado About Nothing is one of Shakespeare's comedies. It revolves around the lives and relationships of two couples: Hero and Claudio, and Beatrice and Benedick. They experience many hardships, also due to miscommunication, which leads to humiliation, but eventually ends in love and happiness.

Love at first sight occurs in both of these plays. As soon as Romeo sets his eyes on Juliet he devotes himself to her. Both of their feelings were so immensely strong that they forgot about their previous lovers and to even tell each other their names. It is not much different in Much Ado About Nothing. However, it is less spectacular than Romeo and Juliet's. Claudio says that he has liked Hero, but when he sees her in her father's balcony, welcoming home their soldiers, he decides that he is in love with Hero but is too afraid to woo her. The difference between Romeo and Claudio, is that Romeo

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saw Juliet and went to her right away. Claudio was more conservative about it and had Don Pedro woo Hero for him.

The masque in both plays is a key element in the way the lovers meet and fall for each other. It initiates the love plot in both plays. In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo hears about the party and decides to attend the masquerade thinking that he might be able to get away with defying his family. When he arrives he sees Juliet, bursts into a sonnet about how beautiful and radiant she is and falls in love with her at first sight. The masquerade party in Much Ado About Nothing is rather similar to Romeo and Juliet's. Claudio had seen Hero once before and fallen in love with her, but the masquerade party served as part of their engagement. Claudio, being shy and nervous, confided in Don Pedro to ask for Hero's hand for him. Don John, trying to ruin Don Pedro's plans, told Claudio that Don Pedro was asking for Hero's hand for himself. This created tension between Don Pedro and Claudio, but was resolved almost immediately as soon as they got together to clear the misunderstanding up. In comparison to Romeo and Juliet's masquerade, Much Ado About Nothing contains the usual negative feelings and mishaps that then leading to the positive love. Without the masquerade, the love plot in these plays could've been completely different, therefore they were a crucial part to both of Shakespeare's plays.

The balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet is well-known because it's so crucial to the story. It depicts Juliet's depth of personality and she is perceived as happily and helplessly in love with Romeo (Mansour 206). The balcony scene is so important because Juliet declares her love for Romeo unaware that he's hiding in the bushes beneath her room. As he overhears Juliet's love declaration, he steps out, surprising Juliet and announcing his love for her. They decide to get married during the scene played in Juliet's balcony. In contrast with Romeo and Juliet's balcony scene, Much Ado About Nothing also contains a significant scene placed in a balcony. Don John, the mischievous brother of Don Pedro, lures Claudio to Hero's balcony. As they approach, Don John leads them to believe that Borachio, his accomplice, is making love to Hero, which is Claudio's fiance (Moisan 165). It is curious that

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Shakespeare places two similar balcony scenes in both of his plays. Although they take place in equivalent places, they are different because Romeo and Juliet's balcony scene leads to a positive form of love between then two lovers. However, Much Ado About Nothing contains a balcony scene that leads to a negative form of love and separation between Hero and Claudio.

Religion is also an important role in Shakespeare's plays and is displayed in the form of a Catholic figure, a friar. In Romeo and Juliet, the Friar Lawrence, a “holy man,” helps the young couple (Miola 25). Towards the end of Romeo and Juliet, the problems in their relationship and their family increase and they are forced to do something drastic in order to be together. Therefore, the friar aids them in performing the perfect plan. He helps Juliet seem dead until Romeo can get to her. Unfortunately, it doesn't end well when Romeo believes Juliet to be truly dead, thus killing himself. Once Juliet wakes up and finds her lover with a knife protruding from his chest, she also stabs herself and dies. Although the plan didn't work, the friar still attempted to rescue the young lovers. In Much Ado About Nothing, Friar Francis comes up with the plan to help Hero escape the humiliation that Don Pedro and Claudio put her through on her wedding day. After the catastrophe of the balcony scene took place, Claudio decided to humiliate her and accuse her of lechery in front of everyone. Thankfully, the friar believed Hero, and he defended her and, like Romeo and Juliet, he had her pretend to be dead. It is interesting that Shakespeare displays such positive versions of the Catholic priests were displayed on stage. As Paul Voss states, “If a real Friar Francis were to have walked off the stage at the Globe Theater and practiced his faith in public, he would have been immediately arrested and eventually executed” (Miola 25).

In both plays, there is also a character acting as a liaison between the lovers. For example, in Romeo and Juliet, the young couple can't simply meet each other because of their families' disputes. Therefore, Juliet uses her nurse as a messenger. The nurse makes it possible for Romeo and Juliet to marry since she is the one that sends and receives messages from each other. Meanwhile, in Much Ado

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About Nothing, the intrigue is rather comical. Benedick and Beatrice's friends think that it would be funny if they were to fall in love, even though they loathe each other. As part of their plan, Don Pedro, Claudio and the friar walk to the garden where Benedick is laying down, relaxing and begin to talk about Beatrice's love for him, all of which is a lie. Benedick, whom is hiding from his friends, overhears this and is tricked into loving Beatrice. At the same time, Hero and her maid are discussing Benedick's love for Beatrice, as they see her pass by. Beatrice, thinking she wasn't seen, listens carefully and is also tricked into falling in love with Benedick. This can also be seen as a manipulation of love that, although done different, is rather similar. Beatrice and Benedick were tricked into loving each other after hated each other for so long. Romeo and Juliet also learned to love each other after being taught to hate each other due to their families' troubles. These characters that serve as a liaison for the lovers are crucial to the story because without them couples might have never gotten together or would've gone through a harder time to be together.

Shakespeare created these two amazing plays that were meant to be very different since Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy and Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy. Nonetheless, Shakespeare entwined in both of his plays similar scenes and themes. Could it be that he ran out of ideas while writing his plays? Did Shakespeare have trouble coming up with new scenes? Or where these scenes so imperative in his plays that he couldn't leave them out? Or a better question could be: did Shakespeare create these similarities on purpose or by mistake?

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Douglas Trevor. "Love, Humoralism, and "Soft" Psychoanalysis. " Shakespeare Studies 33.(2005): 87-95. Humanities Module, ProQuest. Web. 18 Oct. 2009.

Mansour, W.. "The Taming of Romeo in Shakespeare's ROMEO AND JULIET. " The Explicator 66.4 (2008): 206-208. Humanities Module, ProQuest. Web. 29 Oct. 2009.

Miola, R.. "Shakespeare's Religion. " First Things 183 (2008): 25-30. Humanities Module, ProQuest. Web. 1 Nov. 2009.

Thomas Moisan. "Deforming sources: Literary antecedents and their traces in Much Ado About Nothing. " Shakespeare Studies 31.(2003): 165. Humanities Module, ProQuest. Web. 29 Oct. 2009.

Final Reflection

A Successful Writing Class

As I walked into my first writing class, I was not excited at all. I asked myself: why do I need to take this class in an art college? However, as I attended class everyday I found myself enjoying the assignments. I learned plenty of things I had not mastered in high school and improved what I had learned.

I am not sure how much my writing has changed, but I know my feelings towards writing have changed. I am accustomed to writing without emotion or opinion but in this writing studio class I was able to express myself and grow as a writer. I no longer complain about essays but find myself engaged in them, buried deep in research, reading and writing.

My first formal paper about the Wendell Minor exhibition was one of my favorite essays. At first I was skeptical about how it turned out but once I revised it with my instructor I felt confident about it. I realized this was another way of writing. I realized I could express my feelings about the painting and share my opinions on what I thought about the Two Mice in the wonderful painting done by Wendell Minor. My second formal paper, in which I compared Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing, came together quite well. I relished researching all the information I needed to make a successful essay. I read the plays, which I love, and got the chance to watch the movies based on Shakespeare's plays. It was awesome finding all the links I did between both plays because, without analyzing them, I thought they were completely different. It was the most challenging because there was so much research involved but it also showed how much my writing has improved during these few months. My third and last formal paper was also a joy to write. The performance I chose to write about was the New Shanghai Circus. It was my first performance and I was mesmerized by it. It had everything I would want in a performance. It was funny and made me laugh but also dangerous and kept me on the edge of my seat. This essay was also challenging because I had to remember the performances and try to explain them while making sense.

One of my favorite activities in the class were the free writes. At first I was confused about what I should write about and if I had to link it to previous readings and talks. However, after a few classes of doing free writes, I became more loose and started writing about anything that came into my mind. My favorite free write was based on painting my nails. As I read it now, I feel like I should have written more because there is so much to say about how nicely painted nails create a good image. I was not very fond of the Sakai discussions but they were quite helpful. It was a productive writing activity that served as practice while we were not writing essays. The presentations were also quite productive. It helped me feel less nervous while speaking to a crowd. It also forced me to read topics I would not have read otherwise and that I learned to like.

Creating my portfolio was easier than I thought it would be. The formal paper I had to choose for myself was the Two Mice because I thought the words I used to describe the image were strong and vibrant. I also thought it was a well organized essay and that it would show how my writing improved from the first formal paper to the second formal paper. Other than that, I chose the free write that sounded most class-related and that I liked writing. The Sakai discussion post was the one describing myself. It was the first discussion post and the one that shows best how I write and how I am.

Walking into this class, I expected something completely different. I thought it would be a strict, difficult, writing class. Instead I looked forward to it each week because it was a class in which I could relax in and let my creative mind fill with new ideas that I could put into my writing. The class overpassed my expectations because I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did.

After reading through the course syllabus, I am sure that my writing studio class has met its goals. My communication, thinking and collaborative skills have improved. I am able to talk to a crowd without stuttering. I'm able to research and think creatively while maintaining a writer's view topics and I'm also able to work with other students and take leadership of a project if needed.