Best Buddies Tie Die

            Can tie die be considered an art form?  I believe it can.  Tie die became fashionable in the late 1960s, popularized by musicians such as The Grateful Dead and Joe Cocker, becoming a staple for any true hippie of the 70s.  The earliest examples of tie die date from 500 A.D. and originated in Peru.  It was also popular in Japan, West Africa, and India before it was brought to the U.S. acting as a uniform for the hippie movement.  If possible, I would tie die every single piece in my wardrobe.  You name it and I would like it to be loud, colorful and spiraled.  While this would probably be overkill, I think there are few people who would disagree with the idea of tie-died socks.  Considering myself to be a self-diagnosed tie-dieaholic, coming to college meant no more dye sessions in my backyard.  I finally got my chance to fulfill my tie die cravings at the Best Buddies meeting last week. 

            Best Buddies is a club here at UD that allows students to be matched up with another student from the Dayton area with special needs.  I was lucky enough to be paired up with Michael who will be my buddy for the next four years.  There are weekly meetings as well as events to attend with your buddy.  You provide outside interaction for your buddy and your buddy provides a world of opportunities for you.  Having a brother with special needs, being away from home has made me miss being around people with different needs making the Best Buddies club the perfect place for me.

            Now for the art connection.  My ultimate goal is to one day become an art therapist.  Currently, I am studying to be an art teacher in hopes of receiving a master’s degree in art therapy after working as a teacher.  The American Art Therapy Association defines art therapy as “the therapeutic use of art making, within a professional relationship, by people who experience illness, trauma, or challenges in living, and by people who seek personal development”.  It is believed that “through creating art and reflecting on the art products and processes, people can increase awareness of self and others, cope with symptoms, stress, and traumatic experiences; enhance cognitive abilities; and enjoy the life-affirming pleasures of making art”.

            Using art to work with people with special needs has been my goal for years and I love that Best Buddies allowed me to begin doing that.  Seeing people of all walks of life coming together to tie die was by far the highlight of my week.  I believe that art is a powerful thing and if used correctly can help people get through a lot.  Hopefully on day I will be able to use my love of art to help people in need.  Perhaps tie die is the answer to everyone’s problems. 

Art Therapy. Web. 25 Sept. 2010. <http://www.art-therapy.us/art_therapy.htm>.    

Writing and The Arts LLC Thurs. Night Live

Having attended (and loved) a Thursday Night Live from earlier this year, it was interesting going back knowing what to expect, the only problem being that this week was nothing like the last.  The focus of this week’s performances was the Writing and the Arts LLC.  This meant that all of the performers as well as a majority of the audience were freshman with many of the same classes and interests.  Unlike my first Thursday Night Live experience, it did not take place in the cozy coffee shop but in the outdoor theater by Art Street.  The vibe was completely different from past weeks with loud music, rappers, and DJs.  It was like an alternate universe compared to the mellow feel of the past.  It was interesting to see the different music styles of people who live right around the corner.  It was a different way to meet people with similar interests.  While it may not have been the relaxed Thursday Night live of my past, I can assure you that I will attend many more during my years here at UD.     

Trouble the Water

I will be the first to admit that I am not a huge fan of documentaries.  I would prefer, when given the chance, to be swept away to anywhere other than reality.  Between this fact and my unwillingness to sit through two hours of upsetting footage I was somehow coerced into the viewing of Trouble the Water.  Art Street held a Friday night viewing of the documentary focusing on the events before, during and after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. I have never left a movie with such a strange mix of emotions.  The film managed to leave me feeling saddened, hopeful, joyous, unhelpful and very, very fortunate. 

 A majority of the movie was filmed by a family forced to stay in their home during the hurricane and allowed the viewers to experience their hardships first hand.  Their lack of steady income was the reason they could not afford a car resulting in the entire family almost drowning after being forced to flee to their attic in order to avoid the water.  Although the family was stuck narrowly avoiding death from the flood and a lack of food, they managed to capture some amazing footage of the storm that caused so much damage.  While the watching the storm unfold was shocking, nothing could prepare me for the footage from the aftermath.  

Surviving the hurricane was one thing.  Surviving after the hurricane was a whole different story.  As if I was not already stressed from watching the waters rise and food supply diminish as well as sea sick from the amateur camera work, all I needed was to experience the family’s struggles for the next two months of their lives.  With no home, no money, no car and no support, the family was forced to continue with their struggle to survive. Along with being with the family through their struggle to find a new life where they clearly were not welcome it was heartbreaking to see the state of New Orleans even months after he hurricane hit. 

After they lost everything, the family swore they were going to leave and start a new life.  Their positive outlook on a horrid situation was what managed to make the film bearable for me.  The sad part was watching them fall back into the same situations, forced to return home to a place destructed by the natural disaster because of a lack of opportunity.  The fact that there is still so much left unnoticed by the media, forgotten by the public left me saddened.  The fact that a family could go through so much and still stay so strong left me hopeful.  The fact that people can still stay so positive after something so horrific left me joyful.  The fact that I am here and not there doing what I can left me feeling unhelpful.  The fact that I am able to leave the film (which managed to turn me into a documentary appreciator) and walk back to my dorm to learn more things to help me be successful and have the ability to see the and appreciate the people I love left me feeling very, very fortunate.          

Trouble the Water Film Information

   

Thursday Night Live

I am not going to lie.  I am a major sucker for a good coffee shop.  Coming from a small New England town with the stereotypical East Coast downtown complete with matching old brick buildings, cobblestone sidewalks and matching lampposts, I must admit I was saddened by our lack of good, independent coffee shop.  The one Starbucks with constant line out the door seemed to have that job covered.  I had always envisioned a tiny, dim, mellow shop with whimsical decorations and indulgent foods constantly smelling like strong coffee and baked goods packed with calories and an ambiance full of folk music and whining espresso machines.  So fed up with my caramel frappuccino with trademark green straw and stale cookie, I was convinced I would have to open my own coffee shop to feed my caffeine addiction, crossing my fingers that Starbucks, the king of coffee, would not put me out of business.  Why couldn’t my town get it right?  Everyone needs a place where the music addicts could go listen to live music illuminated by the light of their computer screens while sipping on enough caffeine to last a lifetime.

Art Street was one of the many aspects of the University of Dayton that moved me 651.48 miles away from my home in Darien, Connecticut.  I had finally found my little coffee shop.  Any place that decides to name their foods after famous artists is an automatic winner in my book.  The Art Street Café was the coffee shop that I had been dying to open back home.  Sadly, I have already begun decoration plans for my Art Street suite that I hope to occupy in just three short years.  To my knowledge, no other campus has any place where students are allowed to immerse themselves so deeply into the art world.  Wanting to become an art teacher and later on in life an art therapist I appreciate the effort put forth to provide students easy access to the arts. 

Thursday Night Live was just what I needed.  It was the perfect break from a full week of homework, my very regimented time always ready to become unstable.  I walked in to the atmospheric café to soft guitar music and a full crowd of music hungry college students.  The performers were good and they were very capable of feeding my love of music.  I think I could argue that Art Street has already managed to become my favorite place on campus.  While this is true now, I’m not sure if I will feel the same way while trudging through the snow and rain to get to said location.  I am glad that UD was finally able to provide me with the coffee shop I had always wanted.