Monday, December 13, 2010

Just because I'm kind of proud of it, my final Picasso paper:

I didn't take much proofing time, so, if you see errors, don't tell me until at least a week from now because I just turned  this in today and I wouldn't be able to handle it :) Sometimes it still blows my mind that I can speak as much Spanish as this, and other times I reread what I have written and despair that I don't speak it better. C'est la vie.

Laura Craig
SPN 470
Dr. Mallen
12/11/10
Mis sentimientos y pensamientos del magnífico Pablo Picasso
Es la verdad que, cuando una persona empieza a aprender un tema, la información pasa por su propia visión del mundo.  La información que la persona recibe, aunque es la misma información que el reste de la clase recibe, tiene un efecto singular en cada persona porque cada persona juzga la que recibe a través de la red de sus propios opiniones, creencias, y sus sentimientos individuales.  Durante todo el semestre, yo recibía mucha información de Picasso y cada día de clase la información me obligó a pensar en mis creencias personales.  Yo preguntaba día tras día de clase, cada vez aprendía algo nuevo de la vida de Picasso o de sus obras de arte, “¿Cómo coinciden estos sucesos, o ideas, con mis conocimientos?”  Me interesa mucho esta forma de aprender y voy a regresar a esta idea luego. 
He aprendido mucho de Picasso, al final del curso, y he aprendido mucho de mi vida personal a causa de lo que aprendí sobre Picasso, también.  Al principio de la clase, lo que me afectó lo mas fue la conferencia sobre la muerte de la hermana de Picasso y las cuales que su muerte cambió en la vida de Picasso.  Me fijara mucho en dos cosas que la  muerte de Conchita cambió, o que desarrolló, durante mi estudio de la vida de Picasso: su relación con Dios (que afectaba todo, en mi opinión) y sus ideas y miedos de la muerte.  El afecto de la enfermedad de Conchita  empieza a ser evidente en las pinturas de Picasso cerca del tiempo que se muere en el siete de enero.  La pintura de La fillette aux pieds nus (OPP. 95:003), que Picasso empezó a pintar en el enero de 1895,  muestra un gran sensibilidad de la vida de los pobres.  La cara de la muchacha está llena de la sabiduría del mundo que está más de sus años jóvenes.  Es como ella puede ver dentro de los mentes de los espectadores y también como nosotros, como los espectadores, podemos ver el mensaje de su cuerpo “Yo conozco la privación; he sacrificado mi niñez para vivir.” La pintura muestra una idea del mundo que no es pintoresco, es real e imperfecto.  Picasso, de una edad joven, aprendió que el mundo y la vida no son cosas perfectas.  Él pintó la muchacha con los ojos largos y desequilibrados, y con los pies grandes y deformados para ilustrar sus sentimientos de una vida imperfecta, una existencia que no está siempre justa o fácil, y para ilustrar una vida en que los inocentes sufran, como Conchita y como la muchacha en la pintura.
Pienso que uno de los beneficios de la muerte de la hermana de Picasso fue que Picasso descubrió una compasión y una empatía para la humanidad.  Estas le permitieron ver mejor el sufrimiento en el mundo, como la tragedia siempre da a las personas que tienen corazones humildes.  Sin embargo, lo que los beneficios fueron en la mente y vida de Picasso, el impacto de su muerte se rompió más de lo que agregó.  El impacto se creó un miedo de la muerte dentro de Picasso que asediaba por el resto de su vida.  También, Picasso tenía sentimientos de culpabilidad sobre el suceso porque hizo un ofrece a Dios por la vida de su hermana.  Le ofreció a Dios su vida de pintor, la cual era lo más importante a él.  Es interesante que, cuando una persona está enfrente de una situación o consecuencia muy mal, muchas veces se haga un ofrece a Dios, como un sacrificio, a cambio de la que no quiere.  Es interesante, también, que el ofrece que Picasso hiciera no fue algo pequeño, pero fue la cosa más grande e significativo que pudo sacrificar.  No obstante, se parece como él tenía la idea que la muerte de Conchita fue, en parte, por su culpa.  Es posible que su ofrece no fuera tanto sincero como dio a Dios, pero no es posible saber seguramente.
El miedo de Picasso de la muerte se expresaba mucho durante los años del hombre joven con las pinturas de los arlequines.  Los arlequines son los mensajeros de la muerte pero están vivos.  Se llevan costumbres de los payasos, y pintan sus caras, o, también, se llevan las máscaras para ocultar sus caras.  Picasso estaba fascinada por los arlequines y su relación con la muerte, especialmente después su mejor amigo Carles Casagemas se suicidó—la segunda muerte que afectaba mucho a Picasso.  Su pintura Au 'Lapin Agile' (OPP.04:031) representa un arlequín con una mujer que es, probablemente, Germaine, la ultima amante de Casagemas.  Para entender la significancia de la presencia del arlequín con Germaine, es necesario saber la historia de la muerte de Casagemas y la parte Germaine tenía en el suceso.  Ellos estaban amantes, pero las dos personas tenían dificultades con la depresión, el alcohol, y las drogas.  Se especula que Germaine iba a dejar a Casagemas, entonces Casagemas le disparó a ella e inmediatamente después, se suicidó con la misma pistola.  Sin embargo, Germaine no murió y ella y Picasso mantenía una amistad, aunque Picasso estaba muy inquieta sobre la muerte violenta de su amigo.  En la pintura, el arlequín es Picasso.  Es posible que esté el arlequín porque, otra vez en su vida, se sentía responsable, de algún modo, de la muerte de una.  También es posible que, sin la amistad de Picasso, Casagemas hubiera muerto mucho antes porque Picasso cuidaba a Casagemas como era su hermano menor.  De todas maneras, Picasso no se sentía como así y usaba la figura del arlequín para expresar sus emociones.   Él trataba de escapar la muerte en sus obras de arte y aunque ésta es algo de sus colecciones primeras, no es una excepción.  Picasso no tuvo la capaz de salvar su hermana por el sacrificio del arte, entonces trató de salvarse a sí mismo por el uso del arte.  Para él, fue una manera de controlar la muerte y crear una vida que quería. Por ejemplo, un año antes de pintó Au 'Lapin Agile', pintó la famosa La Vie (OPP.03:001), que es algo como una vida alternada con una Casagema vivo y una Germaine embarazada con su hijo.
La idea de crear y manipular estaba muy seductiva a Picasso.  Siempre pintaba las mujeres en su vida en situaciones o con actitudes  que le gustaban—Fernande Olivier con un bebé (Homme, femme, et enfant  OPP.06:129) aunque ella no podía tener hijos y tampoco no quería ser madre o esposa, Olga Khokhlova en el vestido de España y sentando en una actitud recatada aunque en realidad no era de España o de una personalidad recatada (Portrait d'Olga dans un fauteuil OPP.17:008) —y siempre retrataba la muerte, también.  La retrató  muchas veces con los arlequines, pero hay la muerte en caso todos de sus obras porque le encantaba mostrar la tensión entre la vida y la muerte.  Por ejemplo, Course de taureaux: la mort du torero (OPP.33:094) describa el torero, el caballo, y el toro y las tres representan y maneras diferentes la vida y la muerte, y todos están luchando siempre.  En Guernica (OPP.37:001), se puede ver la compasión que tenía para el sufrimiento de la gente y, en este suceso, especialmente para la gente que se muere en la guerra civil de España.  Otra vez Picasso utilizó las figuras del toro y el caballo en Guernica para representar el contraste de la vida y la muerte.
Pienso que la vida de Picasso estaba gobernada del miedo; estaba gobernada del miedo do las cosas que no podían controlar, como la muerte, y del miedo de no vivir la vida que tenía.   Cuando yo estaba aprendiendo de la vida y las obras de Picasso, tenía mucha simpatía con él porque yo sé que es para luchar con un miedo, y también un miedo que nació de los remordimientos de conciencia—un sentido de culpabilidad que permití a romper mi relación con Dios.  Donde no hay Dios, el miedo puede ser el rey sin oposición.  Porque yo veía la vida de Picasso por la red de mis conocimientos y experiencias, identifiqué con él y pienso que he sido capaz de aprender y entender más si no aprendiera así.  La única diferencia entre yo y Picasso es que Picasso no encontró la libertad de sus miedos.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Adventure, high school essay-style

Introduction

Sometimes the adventure of living is real enough to me that I believe it is an adventure, but most of the time it passes me by and I don't recognize it. Adventures are, more often than not, plodding down a road not knowing what to plan for or what to do except place one foot in front of the other and deal with the mundane things of life. 

Two examples:

  • Example #1


Did you know, or ever think about, what it was like to be a sailor?  I am in love with the idea of sailing on a real ship someday.  I grew up reading books like Kidnapped and Treasure Island,  and later The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. I read a lot other places on ships and what it was like to live on them.  Between daring exploits of plundering or defending plunder, and in between squalls, were calm seas, itty bitty living spaces, and nothing to do for weeks and weeks at a time except to go through the motions of caring for a ship, like swabbing the decks and keeping the rigging in good order for the moments when it would save heir lives.  Times like these were what led captains to worry because tempers would run high and discontent would infect and flourish with lack of distraction.


  • Example #2


When Ron, Hermione, and Harry set off on their glamorous quest (I'm going to try not to spoil things for any of you who haven't read/watched these stories, so don't be very afraid), eighty percent of their time was spent sitting around waiting to either figure something out so they could move forward, or waiting for something to happen to push them forward.  They were becalmed. They had nothing to do except go through the motions of everyday living.  Of course, they were always ready for what could happen, but the minutia of life frustrated and angered them.  They couldn't move forward or go backward and it was easy to waver in determination, easy to loose their tempers, and easy to find things to complain about.  And this was their adventure.

Conclusion

This is life.  What stands out in our memories are the exceptionally good or exceptionally hard times.  Those things are what get written down in books.  But the hardest part of life and the most trying times in stories are the moments that don't get much mention.  Days and days of schoolwork or long hours on your shift, week after week of eating nothing but Lembas bread, sleeping in a cold prairie, noisy dorm room, or lonely apartment, and fighting to remember why we do the things we do and who we do them for when it seems like there's no point to anything anyway.  This is just as much a part of the adventure as the climb to Mount Doom or the mission trip you hope to take next summer.  Don't forget it. You'll miss out on good stuff that prepares you for the memorable times.

But I forget all the time, which is why I love epic movies and stories.  Try reading Colossians, or another one of the short books, in one sitting.  Sometimes it helps to forget about the early church context and remember that it's also a personal letter to you, too.  And marching orders.  And the big speech before battle and the debriefing after.  And...a letter, like I already said :)

The end

Monday, November 22, 2010

Some music for your auditory and visual pleasure

"Death In His Grave"
John Mark McMillan

Though the Earth Cried out for blood
Satisfied her hunger was
Her billows calmed on raging seas
for the souls on men she craved

Sun and moon from balcony
Turned their head in disbelief
Their precious Love would taste the sting
disfigured and disdained

On Friday a thief
On Sunday a King
Laid down in grief
But awoke with keys
Of Hell on that day
The first born of the slain
The Man Jesus Christ
Laid death in his grave

So three days in darkness slept
The Morning Sun of righteousness
But rose to shame the throes of death
And over turn his rule

Now daughters and the sons of men
Would pay not their dues again
The debt of blood they owed was rent
When the day rolled a new

On Friday a thief
On Sunday a King
Laid down in grief
But awoke holding keys
To Hell on that day
The first born of the slain
The Man Jesus Christ
Laid death in his grave

On Friday a thief
On Sunday a King
Laid down in grief
But awoke with keys
Of Hell on that day
The first born of the slain
The Man Jesus Christ
Laid death in his grave

He has cheated
Hell and seated
Us above the fall
In desperate places
He paid our wages
One time once and for all


Thursday, November 11, 2010

Dual Credit

This is "Ma Jolie". I did a presentation over it not too long ago.
Are any of you familiar with Picasso? Did any of you know him personally?  Do any of you have his art hanging on your walls?  Have you ever taken a semester long course all about his life and works?  (Oh golly, quelle class!) << name that movie reference for extra credit >>

Well, if weren't able to answer yes to any of the above, then I hope you get the bonus points I just offered because I don't have the time to give a lecture right now. I know a lot about him, though, believe me!  You can study him all on your own here.

My professor's awesome. He knows tons of Picasso facts and he let us English speakers write our in-class essay tests in English!  He gets my vote as far as teaching goes and this post is not a criticism of his abilities. It's a criticism of mine.

I have this problem.  There's a filter in my brain that causes me to focus on information in my professors' lectures that to them is a minor detail.  For example, while I don't doubt that Byron's Manfred is simply brilliant and says oodles about whatever the Romantics had to say about life, all I think of is how the wretched guy wanted forgiveness and didn't go to the right places to get it.  My lit professor at the time didn't see this as a significant point.  In my cultural geography class (this is a field of study I find hard to explain, but it's fascinating), I saw how the phenomena of graffiti originated because the writers had a desperate desire to be known and to let the world know they exist. (Sound like Anyone Else we know?) My professor there doesn't disagree, he just hoped that I would take away something different from the video.

Sometimes I get so lost in what the material shows me about the human condition that I don't see what I am supposed to be learning until my teachers point it out to me bluntly (after I have raised my hand and answered the question, wrongly, for all to hear).

None of this bothers me.  I kind of like it, even, and sometimes I get kind of smug (which is wrong). I realize that I have knowledge my teachers don't have. I realize that I had the ability to better understand Milton's Paradise Lost as an untaught freshman than some scholars who have studied it for more years than I have been alive.  It shouldn't make me smug.  It should make me sad, probably a little angry, and mostly determined.

But I digress.  PICASSO.  Oh, that man!  Sometimes he makes me want to cry for his pathetic plight and other times I wish he were still alive so that I could shake him until he decided to fall to his knees and ACCEPT THE TRUTH.

Today we watched a video detailing one of his crucifixion paintings.  Look it up, if you want. I was frustrated, to say the least, of what this Catholic-raised man had made of it--he knew better. I was saddened by everyone else's ignorance. And then I got angry about the grotesque elements involved in its creation--namely, the many studies Picasso did on the subject.  Don't look them up.

I was so irritated with the whole lot of them (Picasso, the dumb narrator who pronounced "grimacing" as "grim-ACE-ing", my professor, and all the other people in the world that think he's just the bees' knees) that I was on a righteous tirade in my head to God.

And then, the boom-snap.  The, "Oh dang."  The, "Dude."

In other words: the conviction.

As the narrator talked about the many grotesque and blasphemous studies he said something like this: "It's really like looking at the journal of what Picasso was going through at the time, struggling with his faith and everything that was going wrong in his life."

Crap.

His journal.

I have a journal and I don't always write glorifying things in it.  Stupid pride.

That word made me remember that Picasso was a real man. He was a man in need of Grace and Mercy, just like I am in need of them, and all the while he drew those things and painted those things and went from woman to woman to find satisfaction in life, God was there the whole time, loving him, pursuing him, being sad for him, and always ready to forgive him.  When I thought of things that way, the sad irony of Picasso's crucifixion painting made me love Jesus even more, and it made me remember not to be so judgmental.

It was a weird and humbling moment when I identified with Picasso and I didn't really like it. But it made me remember that this whole class is really all about one man's struggle with not accepting the grace and lordship of Christ in his life and the consequences he and others suffered because of it. That makes it kind of ministerially relevant, doesn't it? How funny that I get college credit for it, too!

I don't really know what my professor wanted me to get out of the video or the painting, but his test isn't the one that concerns me the most :)

Friday, October 8, 2010

Without further ado: Arizona, Part Deux

I know, I have been remiss in my posting duties.  This school year started off with several bangs and lots of transitions and, well, my blog certainly took a back seat.  As it should have :)

The following is my portion of the update letter from the Arizona mission trip.  I apologize that it has not gotten into the mail yet, but it will soon, and I also apologize that you will have already read half of it when it does :)  Robert's section is probably much more interesting than mine, though, so make sure you read it! (when it comes. which it will. soon.)

Here's the letter:

Although I went on this mission trip last summer, my time in Arizona this summer could not have been more different.  We stayed with at the same church we did last time, and worked with the same missionaries, but the kind of work we did was stretching in a new way.  Instead of working on the camp grounds to make it ready for the people to come, we worked during the camp to minister to the people.  Our physical, emotional, and spiritual limits were all tested and pushed and I know that our whole team, one by one, came to the breaking point in which we had to fully rely on God’s strength in us through His Holy Spirit.
The work I did on this trip was not the only thing about it that was different for me.  My role on the team last year was very simple: go, do what you’re told, and do it with a Godly attitude.  This year, I worked closely with our team leader, Emily, who is the same age as I and a steadfast woman of God.  Because of this, I glimpsed the leadership side of a mission trip on a much more personal level.  I have worked before at Conroe Bible Church as a youth sponsor and I also spent this last school year leading a small group and God began, during these times, to teach me things about our relationship.  One of the lessons I have been learning most is that of loneliness.
While I experienced the wonderful fellowship that comes with serving on a mission team, the experience this year was different than it has been before.  I left for Arizona with Emily a day earlier than the rest of the team in order to help her prepare for our trip into the White Mountains.  I learned practical things like how to tip hotel shuttle drivers and rent vans, but I also learned that being a leader is lonely.  This is not a bad thing.  Loneliness is good for us because it means we are experiencing something that only the Lord can share with us and that only the Lord can understand.  The loneliness I learned as a small group leader is that the burden I carry for my girls can only be understood by the Lord and on the mission trip I learned that leadership means that one is separated from the rest of the team by responsibility.  Because I was only helping Emily I did not catch the full brunt of this, but it was very healthy to learn.  It made me check myself and my attitude and ask, “Why am I here?”  There were lots and lots of moments when Jesus was the only One working with me and I was tempted to feel left out or afraid until He reminded me that this belonged to us and us alone.  I am thankful for loneliness and thankful that He allowed me to share in His work among in the Apache Nation.
Another thing I have been learning over the course of my life is that God is sovereign.  That is a fact easily known and a concept not easily understood.  It seems like once I understand His sovereignty in one area, I quickly discover another in which I do not understand.  The way the Lord brought His sovereignty to my attention during our time teaching vacation Bible school at the camp in Whiteriver was to show me His warriors.  Most of the children we loved on came from broken and hurting families where they were often hurt by their families.  Some children I could only pray for but I had the privilege to join with others in prayer.  I was astounded by the spiritual burdens some of them had for their mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters.  To see their hearts was encouraging, saddening, and humbling.  I was at once angry that they were in these positions and hopeful for the rest of their nation because of where they were.  I realized that God has called them to be a light in this world in a way that I have not been nor likely ever will be called.  I learned that He is not afraid to give young children His Word and send them out to fight for His Kingdom.  I was awed by the faith I saw in them and encouraged in my walk by their determination. 
Some children heard about the Lord for the first time.  One morning, I had the honor of doing the craft and I shared the plan of Salvation with them in small groups through making wordless book bracelets.  They had so much fun making them and listening to the story I told for each bead.  I know the Lord will use the missionaries there to continue to teach them those truths.
The love God has for these Apache boys and girls was made abundantly clear throughout the time we were with them and I am thankful to have been able to be a part of sharing it!  Please keep them in your prayers and thank you again for partnering with me in this.  May God bless you richly!


Here are some pictures that you probably won't see in the mailed letter (it's so exciting!):


We took this on the way back down the mountain.  It was too amazing to pass up!

 We played lots of relay games with the children.  LOTS of them.  The best one was Drip Drip Splash which has the same rules as Duck Duck Goose, except in this one a cup of water dumped on your head means you're "it". Remember it for next summer.  You won't regret it.

 For the worship time and game time the younger ones would come and hang out with us.  Trevin was a hoot and a half :) Just ask Molly, Rachel, and Mariah who worked with the preschool


The preschool.

 Frybread and beans is a staple meal on the reservation.  You don't even know how good it is! I'll make some for dinner sometime and invite you over.

 Just like any VBS, we had to first learn the songs. The theme was "Jesus Is My Superhero." Can't you tell?

 The guys were so holy.

And then they threw water balloons at us... With help and instigation from some Apache boys at the camp.

 Molly was a devious pro.
I think she must do this a lot in her spare time.

One morning the sound equipment took too long to get set up, so we improvised.  I loved it :)

On our last day in the White Mountains, we went to the movies!  It was fun to chill with everyone after working so hard.

We had the best hosts ever at the White River Assembly of God church!  I love the Jimenez and Warwick families!  Thank you for the opportunity to serve with you, and thank you for taking such good care of us!  I am in awe of what God is doing through all of you.

I owe all my picture gratitude to Mariah Straughan :)

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Once upon a time in

Arizona....

My blog began with a post about it, and it has made recurring appearances in my life. Hmm...

Have you ever noticed that God doesn't let us stay in our comfort zones? I mean, if we are willing to follow Him, He doesn't. Sometimes we stay in them anyway because we are unwilling to grow. When that happens, sometimes He lets us ignore Him for a while before making the world go all topsy-turvy on us. It's good for us to stretch; it's healthy. Ask any fitness instructor. Heck, ask God, because He invented muscles and He knows all about stretching. Can you imagine what it would be like doing a warm-up routine with God.....? Yeah, if you got a weird mental image of sweatbands and stuff then we were totally just in the same place. Thanks for sharing that semi-awkward moment with me. I appreciate it. I mean, I really feel like we're closer now than we were before. And I really hope God doesn't wear sweatpants in the big RL (<-- "real life").

Moving right along.

So, this post is really just a teaser post. Know why? I bet not. Want me to tell you? Aw, you're so sweet, of course I'll tell you!

Reason number one:  It's late, but half of my brain still thinks it's only midnight, which makes weird things come out of my fingers onto the keyboard and then onto the screen.

Reason number two:  I really do have a super-cool post in mind that I want to write, but I got sidetracked by the new template designs, as you can see by my new and rad page.

Reason number three: I can't, in my current mental state, effectively relate all the stellar points I want to make and drive home the many "Dude, God did this" moments, so I want to wait until later, when I can.
                                        (crap.  i just talked myself up so now I have to bring it.)

Basically, the whole point of this post was to work out the kinks in my unused typing muscles and let everyone who reads this know that I am back and just itching to write!!!!!!!!!! (and just so you know, my face doesn't match those exclamation points.  I'm like, totally dead-pan right now.  Kinda makes me want to lol and such.)

Buenas noches!