Blog #7-Chapter 7-Worship

A huge part of the Jewish, Early Christian, and Byzantine art was and is religion. However, in my life, religion is not a huge part of it. I listen to other peoples views on religon, beilefs, how they think- but do not have strong feelings on any of it. When reading chapter seven places of worship were shown and talked of which got me thinking about my place of worship. If I was to name a place that I go to "my place of worship" it would have to be either my bedroom or Affordable Treasures. I work at Affordable Treasures, it's a party and more store in Los Gatos. I wouldn't say I worship the store, what I mean is I spend a lot of time there, put a lot of my efforts into what I do there, and it's a place of good means- if that makes sense. Our main goal is to make costumers happy, answer their questions, help them get their party supplies, help them fill a goodie bag for a group of kids the ages 5-12- whatever it is, consider it done and done well at Affordable! Anyways, this- and my bedroom where I take time for myself to either watch television, study, lay down and reflect, sleep, etc- these are my places of worship. Where are your places of worship? Maybe your church? Your gym? Your school? Imagine a place of worship for people totally into TV, just a bunch of TVs and talks about television..people giving speeches and "preeching" sort of speak about different things shown in the media- would people go? Or is this sort of mocking religion? I don't know, just some thoughts.

Chapter #6- Fear Amongst 2 Cities

Pompeii is a city that is half buried/ ashed over in Rome, Italy near the city of Naples. I went to Pompeii some years ago on a trip to Europe with my family- the city amazed me. When I was there I put myself in a Pompeii villagers shoes (did they wear shoes? oops, oh well), the fear one would have having a huge volcano (like Mount Vesuvius) there waiting for the right time to erupt and wash away a city. OH! A good example of this actually is the fear some might have in San Francisco, the fear of a huge earthquake like the one in 1989. So, today I have posted here a map of Pompeii and San Francisco to show it's similarity in design and how Pompeii really was an 'old day' San Francisco to the people who lived there in that time. A few random things I experienced while at Pompeii (this has nothing to do with my comparison of SF to Pompeii)... my tour guy went on and on about everything and we could hardly understand him haha, BUT what was great about all the tours was you got little stories and information that THAT tour guide found interesting. In Pompeii though, I would have almost preferred to just walk the streets and use my imagination..the city spoke for itself with the vibes that were given out by it and the art work (wall decor) and architecture (the buildings, homes, were so well thought out).

Chapter 6- Lights, Camera, Action!

The Theater at Epidauros, 4th Century, was more than a stage but more like similar to a sanctuary for religious beilef through music, poetry, and dance. I think that it's very cool how every country, state, city sort of has it's how places of entertainment and worship. For example, we have century theaters, fine arts theaters, the list goes on. Another huge aspect of entertainment we have is sports, and people live for sports like people live for their beilefs within their religion. So, today I am comparing the Theater at Epidauros to the Santa Clara basketball court. Both are a place for an audience to come together experience the same moment together. PS- I miss the basketball court a little bit, this used to be my sanctuary and life.

Blog #5- The Aegean Medusa

The Aegean Woman or Goddess with Snake is thought to be a fertility figure (because of the amplified breasts) and the snakes are thought to resemble renewal of life (because of the shedding of the skin). At my work right now we are in Halloween mode and get to dress up every day to advertise our costumes, so Halloween is on my mind. When I saw this Aegean figurine I thought of Medusa, my boss wears a Medusa costume from time to time. Don't worry though when my boss wears her Medusa costume she does not turn anyone to stone, ha. Medusa is a mythology character and her name means guardian protector- however, she was beheaded because everyone that she made eye contact with she turned to stone. Similarities between the two are they are both women, both include snakes, and something that I sense which I am not sure of is the vibe both of them give off. The way the Aegean Woman or Goddess with Snake is holding her arms shows gives off a sense of strength in her as does Medusa with her deep stare and poise of her face.

Blog #4- The Desperate Egyptian Housewives

The Stele of Amenemhat I dates back to c.1938-1908 BCE. Instantly when I saw this painted limestone, even before reading what it was really about, I saw a whole dramatic seen in my mind. The colors, the action actually being depicted in the picture, put a vibe out and got me thinking. Plus I watch a lot of dramatic soaps/TV shows such as Desperate Housewives, used to watch Days of our Lives with my mom when I was younger, watched OC when it was running, the list goes on. So, the scene I made up in my head when I saw the picture was that the woman on the far right is heartbroken. She has been working so hard (the items next to her stacked up represents things she had been doing) and she in general is being used by her friend (the girl to the far left) to get closer to her brother. However, the brother doesn't even want to be with his sister's friend, he has found his life (the gentleman to the right of him). I know that this little scene I made up is no where near what it is actually meaning to depict but for the sake of the undirected blog I thought I would share my thoughts on the picture. I will end with what the picture actually means so there is no confusion, it's showing a family at dinner with linked arms to preserve their prayers to the God Osiris.

Blog #3- Representation

The votive figures made of limestone that date back to 2900-2600 BCE are representations of gods and the religious practice of Near Easterners in general. These figures remind me of celebrities actually, which may seem odd, but let me further explain to make the relation seem more clear. Let's use Paris Hilton for an example, a well known rich blonde who I am not even sure why she is so famous,

Blog #3- Representations (Corrected!)

I appologize I somehow accidentally posted my first draft which was a mess up, I changed my mind mid-thought and decided to start over, and then I posted the wrong one...Here is the revised post:)...

The votive figures made of limestone that date back to 2900-2600 BCE are representations of gods and the religious practice of Near Easterners in general. These figures remind me of celebrities actually, which may seem odd, but let me further explain to make the relation seem more clear. For example, Gwen Stafani, who was first known as lead singer of the band No Doubt and now is a single singer doing her own thing. She is known for her wild fashion sense and creative mind-set, both of which keep me interested in her, I think her music is only alright. Anyways, back in 2900 BCE Gods were looked at as almighty, were held on a pedistal, were inspiring, were what made people tick overall. So, people made figures to represent them so they could praise them and this was a tribute to them/ showing appreciation for them. How Gwen Stafani comes into the picture is I see that the world today holds celebrities up on a pedistal. We look at Gwen Stafani, Paris Hilton, etc. as Gods when really they are like you and I but are very sucessful/rich entertainers. I'll admit I love to read magazines giving the latest gossip on these celebrities AND I have Lucille Ball barbie dolls because I collect Lucy stuff, which are two examples that back up my relation with the votive figurines from 2900 BCE.

Blog #2- Vandalizing Artwork

The picture above is from chapter one and is called "Hall of Bulls". It dates back to 15,000 BCE and is in the Lascaux cave in France. When I see this artwork I instantly see a story being told. An artist was trying to get some point across, what we can take from this picture is we knew the animals that were present in 15,000 BCE- bulls, cows, horses, and deer. Very similar to the "Hall of Bulls", but in present day, is graffiti. "Vandalizing" of public walls with art is what graffiti and "Hall of Bulls" is. I personally think it's too bad that the people doing graffiti all over city bridges, signs, buildings, etc- aren't experimenting, doing/working with different art techniques because I think they really have skill and talent with what they do, but if they stuck to a legal technique (rather than vandalizing their art all over the place) then they would be more successful.

Who is this Richelle Werner girl?

Digital Photo shot done by me along Highway 1 on the way to a Cambria, mini vacation with my boyfriend in April '08. Amazing waterfall. If I was to title the shot it would be called "Untouchable" because there was no walk way to the beach therefore the picture was flawless with no foot tracks or trash in sight. I think I like this shot so much because the photo is what I thrive to be, not untouchable, but more confident, more relaxed, more at peace rather than on the defense, and more comfortable- all of which the picture depicts in my eyes.

Lucille Ball pop-art done by my little sister Katie Werner in her art class at Leigh High. She made this for me for my birthday '07. This very cool painting represents my amazing relationship with my little sister. She makes me smile a lot and I love spending time with her. Another thing in this painting that represents something about me is the lights and darks, the shades of pink and harsh black background- some black is let into the face of Lucy but the majority of her face is light pink, magenta, and white. I see these colors as different things in my life and the painting is the balance of the good times and the adversity- with an overall aesthetically pleasing outcome:).

"Just do it" -Nike. Love that quote. Love Nike. This shoe, however, I would never wear. I chose this image for the reason of leopard print is my thing and I am athletic, hence the Nike. I played basketball for 9 years, recently retired, but the game really shaped me. Early on I learned to become a team player, know my role, take action, listen, communicate- not only on the court, but in life. And leopard print, it's all over my room. The spontaneous pattern of the leopard that seems to always look different when you see it but every time it's seen, you know it's leopard print. This represents that I can be wild, or say things out of line, or speak my mind, or get really frustrated, but at the end of the day I find my ground and I am the same old Richelle. This is my Uncle DD, also known as David Boswell, who I believe is the master of jazz. His music is very calming and inspiring. This photo of him represents my love of not only my family but my love for music. My dad being a DJ, I have been around all types of music my whole life, however when I'm not on the clock as his assistant I chose to listen and enjoy my music on my own time. Music is an escape from reality for a second, and once I am back I feel as though I have gained something to better myself. My favorite music I would have to say is John Mayer.

The show Sex and the City also takes me away from the world I live in (a.k.a. the bubble of Los Gatos) and lets me live for an hour through the big city drama, fashion, love lives, friendships, and characters. The ability for a television show to do that for a person I believe is an art for sure. What the show says about me is I don't take life too seriously, I like to sit back and relax every once and while, and I see beauty in the simple things in other "characters" lives.