Thursday, January 26, 2012

How Do You Like Them Apples?

            Yesterday morning my roommates and I discovered the apples.  I can’t say they were best looking apples I’ve ever seen painted, but there they were—captured in watercolor, framed in a nice silver frame, and firmly taped to the glass door of our townhouse.  How this painting got there is a complete mystery to the inhabitants of THV 304, but after asking all of the usual suspects if they had anything to do with it, the townhouse almost unanimously agreed they were somehow connected to me.  I say “almost” because I am the only one who indignantly disagreed, wondering how in the world I could somehow be responsible for this strange still life that somehow materialized between the hours of 1:00 am and 8:00 am.  Their reasoning?  Well you’re the artsy one, Allison. 

            Which sparked my real idea for this week’s blog topic: my UMKC class.  In a previous post I mentioned that I am working on putting together an Art History minor (http://allisonbody.blogspot.com/2011/09/art-of-asking-it-really-is-miracle-that.html), but it requires that I take classes outside of Rockhurst, because we do not technically offer enough upper level Art History classes to constitute a minor.  One way that I am going about getting the rest of those hours this semester is by taking a class at UMKC called History of Modern Art through the KCASE exchange program.  Through KCASE, Rockhurst students can take one class per semester at a variety of other institutions, including UMKC and the Art Institute.  The paperwork seemed a little daunting at first, with getting approval from varies parties at both schools, establishing myself as a visiting scholar, and making sure that my credits would transfer, but luckily the path ended up being fairly straightforward and all of my applications and forms went through smoothly. 

So now twice a week I hoof it over to UMKC to learn more about some of my favorite artists: Christo, Rauschenberg, and Degas, and to learn about some things I’ve never even heard of, such as Japonisme, which refers to the influence of Japanese art on the West in the 19th century, and Musée de l’Orangerie (a name that is just plain delicious to say), which refers to a building in Paris that once housed oranges but now hosts roomfuls of giant Monet paintings.  And I love it.  It’s an opportunity I never thought I would end up taking advantage of but I’m so glad I did.  Rockhurst may be a small school, but it certainly knows how to maximize its resources and connections—something I’m also discovering as I embark on The Great Internship Hunt (but that is another story for another day).  A few chats with advisors, some paperwork at the registrar’s office, and now it looks like I’m actually going to get to be an Art History minor.  How do you like them apples?   
Christo's "Umbrellas" installation in California

Some goodies:
http://www.rockhurst.edu/academic-advising/faqs/#23 - info about KCASE and other registration FAQ's
http://www.buzzfeed.com/burnred/artists-sandwiches-281t - a gem from my UMKC professor for those of you who like both art and sandwiches



Friday, January 20, 2012

Taxidermy and Greek Life

Ahh the week before school starts.  When you’re spending that week back at the Rock, it’s an excellent time to try out fancy cupcake recipes, catch up on YouTube videos, eat the food in your kitchen that you are reasonable sure is still good from before break, and resign yourself to the fact that your living conditions will never be as good (or clean) as they are under your parents’ roof.  I came back to school way early this semester—last Monday and classes just started Wednesday—because I am taking a class at UMKC this semester, which is an adventure for another post.

            But there is only so much sitting around the house one can do, and after catching myself half-watching the same episode of American Stuffers (you guessed it, taxidermy) for the second time that week, I was ready for things to pick up.  Luckily, that’s exactly what they did, because we were on the verge of Sorority Recruitment week.

            Sororities at Rockhurst are a lot different than at bigger schools...recruitment doesn’t take place until second semester, the sororities are fewer and smaller, and inter-Greek and Greek-unaffiliated relations seem to be stronger than they are at bigger schools, going by descriptions of friends at those schools.  Greek life at Rockhurst is a little more relaxed, and that’s what I love about it.

            Nevertheless, recruitment is a serious business, and my sorority (Alpha Sigma Alpha) assembles several days before it starts for Work Week, which involves a frenzy of crafts.  Yes, crafts, a hallmark of sorority recruitment regardless of the size of your school.  I hot-glued safety pins to name tags.  Painted six foot tall letters until 1:00 am.  And somehow achieved the impossible feat of getting Oreos to stand upright on a cupcake (Minnie Mouse ears, they were very cute).  I left the house at 9:00 am and didn’t get back until midnight some days, and I loved every minute of it.  We got plenty of work done, but we also got to be goofy and remind ourselves why we joined ASA in the first place.  Because we can all laugh about our “last night” of Taco Bell and swear up and down that the diet starts tomorrow (a pintrest challenge this time), because we can have a Parent Trap movie night and dress up as different characters, and because burning my arm on a pan while cooking a giant breakfast dinner was totally worth it when there were twelve of us crowded in my dining room laughing and talking.  And now, a week later, we have a whole new class added to our sorority—the Pearls, which is our name for our pledges. 

            I couldn’t think of a better way to kick off the semester.  A little down time to adjust from Christmas break, a lot of bonding with sisters, and a whole new set of girls to get to know.  Hello, 2012!

Junior ASA class...aka "The J Squad"