Uncategorized

Final Projects!

This quarter for my ILC, I have been teaching yoga classes and planning and organizing the student group, as well as attending classes in local studios and special workshops on campus. My goal was to make something that displays the mind, body, spirit connections that happen all the time during our existence. I want to show how our internal selves, or inner minds, produce the world around us, and are blueprints for what we physically make, as well as our physical bodies.  I was particularly inspired by the Chunliang Al Huang workshop in many ways, especially in the way he would live draw Chinese calligraphy symbols to teach postures and meanings. I felt that this ties together visual arts and movement extremely well, and from this felt compelled to learn Sanskrit calligraphy. I took a few online classes, and decided to write in Sanskrit some of the mantras (chants) I teach during my class. I also drew three mudras, Om mudra (left), Lotus mudra (center), and Mayura mudra (right). I drew the symbols to inspire the connections between words, sounds, gestures, and physical movement and posture, to help the onlooker realize they are all the same. How what we say, what we think, how we move, the sounds we make, all are connected and affecting each other at all times, and the practice of meditation and yoga can help improve our well being and purify ourselves for optimal function.sanskrit calligraphy

 

jewelry

Four my group project, I created a necklace that was inspired by the ancient Egyptian jewelry. I used the lotus in the center because I have been working with this symbol throughout the quarter, and learned that in Egypt it was a symbol of sun worship. I placed an eye in the center to give the piece beingness, and to remind the onlooker that it is alive and is looking back at you.

Sublime Ornaments

Week 9

Word Count: 298

“Bryson says (2003: 154), ‘the mark on paper leads as much as it is led’, alternately sewing the line into the mind and the mind into the line in a suturing action that grows ever tighter as the drawing proceeds. Thus the drawing is not the visible shadow of a mental event; it is a process of thinking, not the projection of thought.” (Ingold, 128)

“So long as the main role of craft in society is to symbolize skill and taste in fighting off the onslaught of industry, no reconciliation with industry is possible. But before the Industrial Revolution, craft was not a symbol, it was the way things were made.” (Trilling, 190)

“…architecture has to slow down experience, halt time, and defend the natural slowness and diversity of experience. Architecture must defend us against excessive exposure, noise and communication. Finally, the task of architecture is to maintain and defend silence.” (Pallasmaa, 149-150)

“Nanotechnology entails a new level of abstraction of subatomic matter initiating a virtual action on the capacities of nature to become culture: the capacities of inorganic subatomic matter to become nanotechnological and in turn the capacity of nanotechnology to become enveloped in subatomic worlds.” (Parisi, 160)

“Bruce Conner created a double edged critique of American militarism with female sexuality that creates a sublime experience, sublime being beautiful and terrifying.” (Artist Lecture, Johanna Gosse)

 

The artist lecture experience yesterday was definitely sublime, and watching Bruce Conner’s innovating films inspired me to dabble with films. His work was very striking and powerful, and the psychological effects films have on the minds of people shined through his work.  Films in a sense are where visual arts, music, dance/movement intersect, and the correspondence of all the art forms create powerful peeks into other realms. This intersection of the arts, is what the readings seem to point architecture as well. Architecture creates the space for life, and provides glimpses into the past and future cultures as artifacts. I think that questioning what ornamentation in films/ video is an important question to ask, since we are so immersed in videos. I feel as though Conner’s films were highly ornamented, as the images flashed very quickly and there was a kind of chaotic quality that was intensely busy, more so then other films from the 1960’s.  I think that his purpose of re-creating the sublime relates to ornament, as ornamentation creates a sublime experience in its terrifying beauty. Ornamentation, as Katie put it, is, “bringing things to life,” and films bring a new realm of life to our imagination and fantasy.  It is interesting that in a time where ornamentation was being rejected, a new art form, film, arises. Is film in itself pure ornament?

Could film be a virtual form of architecture?

I have never seen film or architecture in this light, and have never been particularly interested in film making. At this moment, I am not sure what kind of film I would make, or if I would even seriously want to make a film, but seeing film in this way has sparked a deeper appreciation and love of film, and its sublime effects on society.

 

Seminar Token 8: Mouth Moving Mind

Week 8

Word count: 248

Font: blog font

“There is an ancient etymological connection between the Lain words for the heart, cor, and for cord or string, chorda, and both – in ‘learning by heart’ as in rewinding – are involved in the production of memory (Carruthers 1990: 172).” (Ingold, 121)

“…the conventional basis of ornament is the same: acceptance of the impossible.” (Trilling, 153)

“The ability to imagine and daydream is surely the most human and essential of our mental capabilities. Perhaps, after all, we are humans not because of our hands or intelligence, but thanks to our capacity for imagination.” (Pallasmaa, 133)

“…I begin to think how learning another language…is, first, a newly aquired memory of the mouth. To learn another language is to take on another culture and all the accumulations of its history into the body. One is touched, and in being touched, one is changed. Then empathy and understanding have a chance.” (Hamilton, 67-68)

“that’s why people work hard, so they can afford beautiful things.” (The Fred Effect-Aaron Tisch)

 

The reading this week, especially the Ann Hamilton reading, created some clear connections between my projects and the readings. With my project I want to unify  mind – body – spirit –  through bridging connections and allowing

awareness to various paths. Connecting the breath, mind, and body in a yoga practice is one path, while connecting breath, mind, and speech/sound through mantra, is another path. Connecting lotus flower, lotus symbolism, and lotus

pose, displays another path-pattern, and connecting  mudras (hand positions) to concepts or mind – postures is another form of bringing union to our lives. Through my experience I am realizing how creating more and more

connections between seemingly disconnected aspects of our lives brings greater clarity, awareness, and union, which can result to liberation. To many people, the realization between what they eat and how they feel is a life-changing

moment, and there are endless connections to be made.

 

For my final ILC making project, I want to bring some of these connections together. I want write in sanskrit calligraphy, a mantra, or a portion of writing that means something to me, and helps make these connections clear. By doing

this I will bridge the sounds of the sanskrit language, with the visual and physical aspects of writing. Over this background of text, I will draw a mudra (or two) coming out of a lotus flower. This connects the physical movement of hand

to mental meanings. The lotus will be the connection between plant and human and earth and animal.

Yoga Class and Trip to Portland!

This began with my first yoga class at Evergreen! A couple people came, which was excellent for how long our advertisements have been out. I received positive feedback, and have been getting regulars since. This is such a great outlet for me to hone my teaching skills while deepening my knowledge of yoga. The yoga team has been so great and supportive, and we will continue having classes and starting on budget proposals.

On friday I visited Portland for the first time. I was amazed at the energy and artisanal culture. I was only there for the day, so I was limited in my explorations, but the strong community was apparent and back-to-roots outlook was visible.  It was really inspiring to see the presence of small businesses and how they seem to flourish much more compared to the rest of the USA. It is a place I will be visiting more often. In Portland I saw a band play called Lettuce.  They are a funk instrumental band, who are known for their awesome shows and fantastic music. A group called Break Science opened for them, who played digital dance music with a live drummer (the drummer from Lettuce). It w

This is a picture of our first partner yoga class!!!!!
partner yoga classI found this picture in Portland and thought it was hilarious. It amazes me how people play with yoga and how many forms it can take.IMG_1957

Thinking tool: Gertrude Stein in Clay

This week I created a clay bust of Gertrude Stein as a collaborative project. I forgot how much I love ceramics, and how calming and meditative the process is. I love the feeling of sculpting and having the total control over the piece that clay offers. In relation to the text, it is like our hands are giving life to the clay, and the union between clay/ material and hands, like woman and man, or In-Vitro process and human give life. Also, the way I learned to approach clay modeling is to start with a ball, then from the ball create an egg. The egg is a starting point where anything can be created. If you want to create a woman, the egg is faced up, for a man, faced down because men are usually more top heavy. Animals and other things can be started from the side or any angle. This reminds me of the process of creation in biology.

Original Gertrude Stein bust.
Original Gertrude Stein bust.

While working on the project, I learned about Stein and her work, and got a taste of the passion that people have over her work. It was inspiring to hear how Kenna and Cameron felt about poetry, and the magic that words had on them.  Personally I have never been an avid reader or poet, and words never had such a strong presence in my life, but hearing their feelings spoken made my connection with text deeper.

Weekly Yoga Classes Are On!

Since the end of last quarter, I have been leading The Evergreen Yoga Service Collective in starting up as a club again and getting a weekly yoga schedule out. Last thursday we released our weekly schedule, and have five classes a week! I am so excited, and it took a lot of work and planning to get here. From meetings, contacting people, getting a new advisor, workshops, and more, I am really proud of the other coordinators and myself.

We are offering FREE yoga classes to STUDENTS and NON STUDENTS, and have a variety of classes from acro/ partner yoga, flow classes, advanced classes and a chakra workshop. We are now aiming to go to the Yoga Service Conference in New York this May, and host other workshops and collaborate with other clubs.

My passion is to share and practice yoga, and having this space to teach and learn from others, while increasing the accessibility for yoga in our community is so fulfilling, and is allowing me to learn quickly.

This week I also wrote a piece of my grant for the grant writing class, and found it an extremely repetitive and timely process, but very rewarding. I am learning how to write with rigid guidelines, and write very directly with as much information in a small amount of space as possible. I feel like its boosting my left brain thinking, which is difficult, but needed.

 

 

Yarden’s Awesome ILC!

Type Individual Learning Contract
Title Plants, Spirituality, and Technology
Term Winter 2015
Credits 16
Related experience My experience for the “growing” aspect of this work has mainly come from my personal studies in plants, meditation, and yoga. I have grown my own veggies in backyards, and have been practicing yoga and meditation for about five years consistently, and have been teaching free yoga classes for two years. My experience with ornament has come from many visual and musical art classes, as I attended two different arts academies. I studied metalworking, woodworking, stone carving, painting, drawing, clay, and various textile works. I also played the piano and saxophone extensively.
Evergreen faculty I have worked with Arlen Speights

Sarah Williams
Student collaborators
Contract description Growing Ornaments and Making Plants is a contract designed to explore the connections of plants, consciousness of humans, ancient languages such as Sanskrit, and modern day art as an extension of the human mind. The student will learn about some ways to intuitively learn from plants, the history and usage of Sanskrit, and further their knowledge of yogic and meditation practices through attending classes and teaching. The end result will be a hybrid, artistic project containing aspects of new technology like 3d printing and old technologies, like growing a plant from a seed. I believe I will be growing a bean sprout while exploring the lotus flower in connection to the lotus yoga pose. The academic work will focus on the class required readings, plus The Secret Teachings of Plants; Buhner, The Metamorphosis of Plants, Goethe, The Grammar of the Lotus, Henry, and a book on sanskrit language.
Area of study Consciousness Studies
Sponsor support My faculty sponsor will meet with me throughout class times to discuss my project.

My faculty sponsor will suggest additional readings on the topic.

My faculty sponsor will read and respond to my work via email and/or paperwork
Evaluation of work
  • Narrative evaluation from sponsor
  • Narrative self-evaluation from student

Learning Objectives and Activities

Learning objective Activities What my sponsor will evaluate
To study plant life and connect the yogic practice through Sanskrit language to explore the internal and external metamorphosis of growth. Being a coordinator for The Evergreen Yoga Service Collective, I will increase my knowledge of yoga and meditation practices with the community and strengthen my own practice as a student and teacher. I will read books such as The Secret Teachings of Plants, Buhner, The Metamorphosis of Plants, Goethe, The Grammar of The Lotus,  Henry, class selected readings,and watch Yoga Unveiled to increase my knowledge on these subjects.

 
My material artistic projects along with the writing in which I will display an understanding of selected texts and/or videos.
To grow a plant from a seed, and 3D print its growth process. I will grow a plant from a seed and document its growth through 3d scanning the plant through its growth process. The seed represents the physical growth that we experience through time. My physical project as well as my writings pertaining to the subject.
To document my or an individual’s growth in a yogic practice through pictures of the same set of poses practiced nearly every day. Being a coordinator for The Evergreen Yoga Service Collective, I will increase my knowledge of yoga and meditation practices with the community and strengthen my own practice as a student and teacher.  I will attend weekly yoga classes mainly by Vivian at The Bandha Room yoga studio, and learn through the movie Yoga Unveiled. My physical project as well as a writings pertaining to the subject.
 To research people and learn from people who have studied and worked with related subjects I visited Joseph, an individual who has lived  off-grid and almost completely immersed in nature for several years and learned about his connection with plants and nature. I will practice with Vivian, a teacher who has been trained by the renowned bringer of Ashtanga Yoga, Patthabi Jois. I will continue research on other individuals and learn through the readings. My writings on the subject as well as physical projects.