Tag: field trip

No Time Like Now by Celeste Alisse

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How should one define the difference between the good times and the great times? It’s all based on the shine you see in someone’s eyes; when you see the crinkly, wrinkly smile lines appear. That’s the look you see in the eyes of us Creative Writers, especially during community weeks. 

The first few weeks of every school year begin with bonding adventures, camping trips and field trips. What’s better than having fun while becoming smarter? Absolutely nothing. That’s why Creative Writing is so loved, it’s an equal balance of smiles and furrowed, concentrated eyebrows. A walk in the park with your friends while writing poems. A fun field trip where you learn and laugh. With every seemingly “boring” part of Creative Writing, there is something accompanying, making it enjoyable. There are no wants to go home or complaints about the day being too long because Creative Writing makes you forget about all that. You are home when you are in Creative Writing, you are with your family of friends that you have built since you got here. I, for one, love it there!

However the best thing about community weeks are the friendships we build during them. Community weeks are our chance to get closer to the freshman, closer to the others in our grade and every other grade there is! All my best-friends that I’ve made in Creative Writing were a direct result of these event-filled weeks. With treasure hunts, buddy projects and more, there’s no way for community weeks to go wrong and that is because of the community we have built in Creative Writing. A community that loves, supports and helps each other. In my opinion, that is what makes community weeks so special: because there is no other time like it.

Watching “Sonny’s Bridge” by Teya Cooksey-Voytenko

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It was quiet, except for the occasional squeak of someone’s sneaker, and the low hum of people muttering to one another, discussing ideas and thoughts on different pieces. One out of a pair of headphones was lazily hanging from my shirt neck, the other was tucked into my ear playing some version of a slow song. I was sitting on a bench having angled myself to face “Sonny’s Bridge,” one of Faith Ringgold’s quilt canvas pieces, which was quietly tucked into a back corner of the second exhibition room. The piece caught my eye the moment I noticed it. The colors with the bridge had made such an interesting connection, and my heart almost sang with inspiration when I got a good look at it. 

I could see the outlines of all the other people surrounding me in my peripheral vision. I couldn’t care to pay attention to them though, I was mesmerized, watching my pencil move up and down scratching its lead into the paper, seeing the steady motion, watching as it formed letters and later words. Slowly crafting every piece of the poem, glancing up at the art piece every so often to see if I could glimpse more insight into where to take my writing; trying to fit the meaning of Faith Ringgold’s work into my work. Trying to find the connection between the two worlds. Working to weave the colors, take the strands of cotton, and sew them into my story, tell my thoughts, my journey through the poem. It became a sort of carpal vision: just me and “Sonny’s Bridge.” For the moment in time, it was just us. The whole world revolved around us. 

I sat for twenty minutes, writing, just me and my thoughts. At this point I had put in my other earphone, completely tuning out the world. It was just me and my writing, just me trying to figure out the connection between my thoughts. Trying to think and put it down on paper, where it was just me and my writing. My writing and my thoughts.

Trip to Scanners

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Today’s Adventure Tuesday (as opposed to the usual Adventure Friday) was to the temporary bookstore Scanners, on 14th and Valencia. It will only be open for a month; the store is using a gallery as its space, and it looks it. The books are wacky, visually interesting, on a vast variety of topics, and most are out-of-print. We were given a talk by Scanner’s co-owner, Nick Hoff, about the store and the value of used books. Nick is our own Maia Ipp’s partner, and has in the past come in to teach Creative Writing II. We all were tickled pink with delight at this cornucopia of books; most of our time was spent searching and appreciating the store’s wares. (Many eager purchases were made, some for the Creative Writing room’s collection.) If you have the time, definitely check this rarity of a store out.

-Reba

Cultured Trip

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Today the department took to the underground to visit the Contemporary Jewish Art Museum, located across the street from the Metreon’s backyard. We were there to explore the Gertrude Stein and Charlotte Salomon exhibits, both of which took full advantage of form in their content. Stein classified herself as a “cubist with words,” and Salomon often included text and music with her paintings. All in all, a successful field trip, leaving us all feeling mighty cultured.

-Reba