User:TerekV

=Freshman Seminar=

Always Wanted To Schedule

 * Topic

Voodoo Dolls
 * Research Component

Voodoo Dolls
 * week 1

Voodoo
 * week 2

Voodoo
 * week 3

Voodoo Dolls; Begin making one
 * week 4

Voodoo Dolls
 * week 5

Voodoo Dolls; Continue making one
 * week 6

Continue making Voodoo Doll. Paper.
 * week 7

Finish Doll, Have nice draft done.
 * week 8

Doll and Paper and Presentation.

Midterm Assignment 1: Taste & Aesthetics
Taste and Aesthetics General Education class, AIS, Fall Quarter, 2009 Terek W. Varland 11\23\2009

Piece: Persephone Unbound (1999) Artist: Beverly Pepper Born: Dec. 20th, 1922 Nationality: American Field: Painting, Sculpture, Abstract

It was difficult finding a piece of art at the Olympic Sculpture Park I did not like. I seemed to enjoy and appreciate everything I laid eyes on (except for the art piece made of logs, metal bars, and chain—but that one was off-limits, as everyone seemed to dislike that one). Like my musical tastes—ranging from Jack Johnson to Marilyn Manson, from the Ink Spots to Ludacris, and from the Dead Weather to Beethoven—it is extremely rare when I do not like and cannot find some redeeming or alluring qualities in a person or a work of art. However, on my way out of the park, I did find another.

The art piece was called “Persephone Unbound.” It was created in 1999, by the American-born painting and sculpture artist, Beverly Pepper (born in 1922). It basically looked like a bunch of mirrored and elongated picture frames cascading out of each other.

To be honest, when I first initially looked it over, I did not mind it. However, the more I scrutinized it, the more I found myself in a disposition towards it. It just began to bother me, I cannot tell you why exactly, but I assure you, it was definitely looking at me funny.

Maybe it was the way it just seemed so simple… that this “Beverly Pepper” gets paid lavishly to do something that I could have done. Why was I not being made rich and renowned yet? I could just as easily put on display some of my past homework drawings, and still I would not draw multitudes of people from all over the world to want to look at them. What made her so special? Luck of the draw?

I suppose this loathing I suddenly had for lack of effort could have been expelled at almost any of the pieces present. The way the park was laid out bothered me too; that I had to walk everywhere to see piece after piece of “what-in-the-hell” art sculptures. I must have had one of my bi-polar moments or something.

What infuriates me most is the fact that I never really disliked the piece itself. Instead—I hated that I could like such a simplistic piece. There was obviously no real skill or idea involved. I could hear her thought process for the piece exaggerated in my head:

“Hmm… the Olympic Sculpture Park could use another piece of work from me. They liked ‘Perre’s Ventaglio III’ I made in 1967, but they could really use something more modern. More simple, but not overly cliché. Oh! I know! How about I take a big slab of something—why not a rock!—and put it on a base, give it a title, and throw in a bunch of ‘inspiration’ and ‘what-motivated-me-to-make-such-a-piece’ crap to make it seem like I am actually very deep and philosophical! Haha, stupid art critics will see it as an outstanding work of art, and will throw in their own ‘obviously-this-piece-has-many-profound-ideas-behind-it” two-cents to make they look like they know what they’re talking about too! I have a big, recognizable name now, and I could put up a bag of rotting turtle eggs if I wanted to, and it would still be marveled and revered. Life as a lucky artist rocks!”

Even after all that though, I cannot help but liking it against my conscious’s will. The heart wants what the heart wants I suppose. Like a song that repeats the same verse over and over again throughout the course of its play (I can think of many unimaginable songs like this), some of them, I still cannot help but hate to love.

http://media.photobucket.com/image/beverly%20pepper%20olympic%20sculpture%20park/amdraheim/P1030096.jpg (A picture of the piece) http://www.beverlypepper.net/biography.html http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.seattlepi.com/dayart/20070118/226sculpture_pepperpersephone.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.seattlepi.com/visualart/299887_the_art18.html&usg=__v7RMaOA3hhij-lu2SDPgk2bpHeI=&h=226&w=151&sz=8&hl=en&start=59&itbs=1&tbnid=X0Se2ZOc2umJ6M:&tbnh=108&tbnw=72&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbeverly%2Bpepper%2Bolympic%2Bsculpture%2Bpark%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D21%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D42

Midterm Assignment 2: Manipulation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu8y3cAhB6U&feature=related Skittles "Tailor" commercial.

Truth Through Humor. The people in the mirrors are not the man being tailored--one of them is not even pretending to be.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_SFrBe9fSo Geico "Caveman Loyalty" commercial.

False Dilemma (Either/Or reasoning). The cavemen are having a dilemma about loyalty. Basically, if you're a caveman and with Geico, you are the bad guy.

Midterm Assignment 3: Always Wanted To Progress Report (100 words or so)
Midterm Report General Education class, AIS, Fall Quarter, 2009 Terek W. Varland 11\23\2009

I have managed to get a lot done over the course of the seven weeks that I have lived here. I have managed to settle in with my roommate, get comfortable with this strange new city environment, being miles upon miles away from any family, seeing my best friend Jessica every weekend, not get a vehicle, get drunk for the first time (you can blame my bestie for that one), get a crazy girlfriend, not get a job, and get (most) of my homework done in-time. But when it comes to final projects? Not so much….

I have successfully managed to fail at getting past my procrastination tendencies, and now it is crunch-time. Which is okay by me, I tend to work best under pressure. I bought more burlap this weekend for the voodoo doll. It took forever to find it, and with the help of Jessica’s willingness to drive me everywhere to look for it, I eventually found it at a feed store in Sammamish/Issaquah area called The Grange.

Now I intend to go home, eat (finally got groceries after living on two weeks of candy, ramen, and graham crackers and frosting!) and work on that voodoo doll. Wish me luck.

~Terek.

Final Presentation

 * Final Research Topic (10%)

<>


 * Research (20%)

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 * 1) Internet site: "How to Use a Voodoo Doll - wikiHow." WikiHow - The How-to Manual That You Can Edit. Web. 08 Dec. 2009. 


 * 2) Book: Hurbon, Laënnec. Voodoo: Search for the Spirit. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1995. Print.


 * 3) Scholarly Journal:


 * 4) Other (interview, TV show,etc): Voodoo doll I got as a present from my mom when I was twelve, which she bought from New Orleans. In it's coffin-case, the hand-crafted voodoo doll also came with a little note on how to use it. It agrees with the pin-stabbing directions and color-coding of the pins found on WikiHow. Normally I wouldn't use a site like that, but honestly, it's all I could find. It (the note) also explains how to ensnare spiritual energy from a person and insert it into the voodoo doll.


 * Your accomplishment (20%)

<> I made two "self" voodoo dolls--one more than I originally planned. But they didn't come out the way I planned, so being the perfectionist that I am, I am still not exactly happy with them, but still proud I made them. I made a speech outline too, and did some research, but did not get to class in-time to present anything. So I felt I came pretty close to accomplishing my goal, and am pleased with the results.


 * Project Review (50%)
 * 1)What went well:

Burlap is cheap.

I already had antique buttons and sewing equipment, so I didn't have to buy any of that.

I liked my voodoo doll concept art for it.

I had a lot of buttons to choose from.


 * 2)What went poorly:

Took forever to find a place that had burlap.

Burlap edges are very fragile and shred way too easily.

Had to learn how to sew--which I did not do well.

Neither did appropriately cutting out the right sizes of burlap.

Research was almost impossible. Seattle Library had nothing. AIS Library had nothing. Internet has nothing. I basically know what I know about Voodoo dolls from the Voodoo religion and what I've learned over time.

Time management. Waited until the last minute basically. No sleep.

Voodoo dolls did not look as awesome as their drawn versions/blueprints.


 * 3)Future strategies:

I plan to reinforce the first Voodoo doll.

As for future strategies, I would definitely manage my time better, and not consider it "homework," but as fun. As a hobby or something. Because it is something I wanted to do, on my bucket list, but as soon as something I love becomes work or required, I procrastinate and run from it until the last minute, which I frustrate myself in because at the same time, if someone's not making me do something, even if it's something I love, I'm often too lazy to do it.

And sorry about the run-on by-the-way.

(Face of Voodoo Doll attempt #1.) (My mini-me.)  (Yay, my arm fell off!)  (I put my hair and a small weight in this doll's chest.)  (Profile shot.)  (Voodoo Doll attempt #2.)  (Hood, eyes and mouth.)  (Antique button eyes and stitched mouth for added awesomeness.)  (Denim broken heart.)  (Smaller, more compact, and less fragile than first attempt.)  (Extremely deformed.)  (I put my hair in the spinal column of this one.)  (Mug shot.)  (Hooded doll.)  (Another profile.)  (Together forever.)  (Cat eye.)  (Back.)  (Accented shoulder-blades and spine.)  (Showing off flexible neck and arms.)  (Presentation speech outline, page 1.)  (Presentation speech outline, page 2.)

Self-Assessment
Self Assessment General Education class, AIS, Fall Quarter, 2009 Terek W. Varland 12\15\2009

I cannot remember how long this section is supposed to be, but I figure I will just start writing, and see where and how far it takes me.

Altogether, I think I had a pretty nice project going.

I liked my choice of buttons and my original idea/concepts for my voodoo doll. The first voodoo doll, the more fragile and larger one, was an attempt to make it look like I planned. I originally intended to make and give this one to my best friend Jessica, if I ever ended up joining the Marines like I dreamed of.

Since it is my hair inside it (a part of my soul/essence of my being), and she is extremely worried about me joining up, it would be like she still had me in a way, and could watch out for me. She could maybe sleep at night, and if taught how to use the pins (she used to be Mormon, but now she is not and refuses to pray), maybe she would poke the mini-me with one of those good colored pins and wish good things unto me and feel like she is contributing to my safe return. She worries about me like no other (almost as much as I worry about her), so I thought the thought would count on this one, even though we both do not participate in pagan rituals. I know that sounds pretty crazy, but hey—we are. So we get special crazy privileges. Even if I were to die, she would have a part of me; some of my imagination, my love, my soul. We are pretty mushy best friends.

That last paragraph probably seems like all needless information, but that was the sole intent driving me behind this project at the time. Kind of like the idea-to-make-a-voodoo-doll’s creation story or something. Then this class offered told us to get up and do something, and I figured I would kill two stones with one bird.

I know it probably seems unfair that my family was not getting one, but I figured they would be the ones with all my other stuff if I died. But now that I have two “self” voodoo dolls, maybe I will give them one too.

The second one was just made out of scrap burlap and spur-of-the-moment imagination.

I liked my deformed-looking Voodoo dolls, and I think I might continue to make various looking ones of different shapes, sizes and detail—not for voodoo practice or witchcraft, just because they look cool and compliment my curiosity shop of a bedroom quite nicely. Or even stuffed animals or something, and give them to future girlfriends. Would totally melt their hearts!

I am not sure if this is at all what you were looking for in a self assessment, but this is what came out.

I really enjoyed this class, and think you were one of my most understanding and influential teachers in a long time. I have all these things I want to do, all these “needless” skills or things I want to get done in my life, and seeing that you seem to pick something and go with it, rather than procrastinating like I do, has really kind of woke me up.

Cheers, ~Terek

PS: I totally want a concertina now. …but I should probably get off my lazy ass and mess with the guitar and violin I told myself I would learn to play. Or attempt to ride my unicycle… haha.