Baltimore's The Book Thing and Red Emma's

So, as Amber previously stated, we went to The Book Thing near the Johns Hopkins area. I found it so cool that anyone can go there and take as many books as you want! They have everything from children's books, to fiction, to outdated computer books, and old magazines (I got a lot of National Geographics). It is so great to have such a resource near you. It just makes you want to read. It doesn't cost you a thing...you just cant resell the books or something like that.
Well, I also went to Red Emma's bookstore/coffeehouse with Marlee. It is a pretty interesting place with interesting books. The first thing that popped into my mind when I walked in was "anarchist bookstore". It reminded me of Atomic Books over in Hampden. That's not necessarily a bad thing (anarchist bookstore)....it's just that even though the place itself was nice and homey, the books didn't appeal to me. I felt really out of place there. I don't get too into politics and stuff like that. There were some interesting books though that grabbed my attention. Then there were other books that were common categories that you could find at the more "mainstream" bookstores like Barnes and Nobles for example. But the ones that most jumped out at me were ones that dealt with communism, marxism, socialism, activism, war, etc. There were a lot like that.I mean it's great that there's that point of view being shared and available information on them. However, I don't think Red Emma's is a place for me.
-Richelle

Federal Hill

For my trip I visited Federal Hill.

Federal Hill is located directly south of the Inner Harbor and is home to Federal Hill Park, The American Visionary Arts Museum and Cross Street Market along with may restaurants and shops.Federal Hill got its name in 1789 when it served as the location of the end of a parade following the ratification of the "Federal" Constitution.

When I visited the park I was very interested in the military statues and cannons and wondered what role the park and these general played in the Revolutionary War. The most notable statue in the park is of Samuel Smith who was a captain and major for the Continental Army but more notably represented the citizens of Maryland by being a congressman and later a senator. Smith was also the Mayor of Baltimore. Smith also was a member of a branch of American Colonization Society that was dedicated to return Africans to Liberia so they could lead free lives. Interestingly enough the satute of Smith was also made by Hans Schuler a notable sculptor and graduate of MICA who served as president of MICA for over 25 years.

Although Smith had a role in the revolutionary war… I discovered that Federal Hill Park didn't play a signifigant part. Although it had no huge part in the revolutionary war, in 1824 when the british attacked North Point good old Samuel Smith lead 10,000 Americans to a victory by blocking the invading army. Federal Hill Park was also used in 1861 to protect Baltimore from Confederate spies. They referred to the camp as Fort Federal Hill.

Federal Hill is also home to the American Visionary Arts Museum which I absolutely love and sadly can never display my art in because it is only for untrained artists. The American Visionary Arts Museum currently has its exhibit "All Things Round". This museum features art made up of all sorts of mediums including paper plates like Wendy Brackman's amazing mandala or Scott Weavers awe inspiring rolling through the bay made out of over 100,000 toothpicks. I had seen this work before online but to see it in person was incredible. I just wish i had been able to see the actual thing in action but luckily their was a theater where you could see it. I was also really surprised by the American Visionary Art Museums connection with Post Secret and was delighted to find out the Post Secret headquarters is so local. I loved the feminine room because it channeled feminine spirituality as well as fertility and creation. Also in stark contrast to Weavers gargantuan work (yet fragile as well) was Greg Morts tiny little universe which is an oxymoron. I liked his piece because It provided such a contrast to many of the works which are bold and playful with color.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to spend much time in the museum or in Federal Hill so I was unable to take pictures ( your not allowed to take pictures in the museum anyway). This trip and my continued reading about the area has made me desperate to get back and explore the area.

Leone

School 33

Today, we went to School 33, a local gallery space, in the Federal Hill neighborhood. This gallery curates the works of artist in the area, including MICA faculty member Paul Jeanes (Dead Reckoning).  School 33 also offer low cost studio classes, and sponsors community events. While the hours are odd, and the space is limited, the staff is gracious and works hard to bring interesting exhibitions to the space.

Out of the three exhibitions we saw, our favorite was "Let there be Light", by Shahrzad Taavoni. In Taavoni's interactive mixed media piece, she incorporated gum ball machine domes, and an audio track. The domes were painted were hung as lanterns, and decorated externally with puffy paint to cast vibrant shadows on the wall. The audio was a mixture of soothing wind instruments, and voice over giving what seemed to be meditation instructions. After each segment the phrase, "let there be light" was repeated. We found the room extremely soothing, and we actually lay on the floor and stayed awhile, watching the light shadows change ever so slightly.

Overall, we really enjoyed ourselves, and would recommend going. Below are pictures documenting the last exhibit, and us interacting with it.

H(Allie)

THE BOOK THING!!!! :)

So Julia, Richelle and I went to the book thing because we found the map really confusing haha but the book thing is pretty cool anyway so oh well. For anyone who hasn't heard of it, the book thing is a place where you can go to get as many free books as you want. No lies. It's awesome. It's kept going by donations made to them from anyone who had books to spare. and there are sooo many of them. They give you boxes so you can take as many as you want. It's not far from MICA either so it's pretty convenient.

I think the book thing is a really good place for a community to have because it provides reading materials of all types for anyone who wants them. This way, it is more accessible for those who dont have a ton of money to shell out at barnes and nobles or the time to make it to the library.
-Amber

Lancaster Poetry Paths.

 While home this past holiday I learned about a community arts program in Lancaster: Poetry Paths is a public visual and literary art project founded and produced by the Philadelphia Alumni Writers House at Franklin & Marshall College with funding from the Lancaster County Community Foundation. The goal of Poetry Paths is to bring enduring and inspiring poetry and visual art into people’s everyday lives through both poetry programming in public schools and community centers AND a city-wide public art project.

Poetry Paths in the Schools and Community sponsors poetry writing workshops for three hundred children annually in Lancaster’s public elementary and middle schools. Poetry Paths in the Streets, the public art project, will introduce poetry’s words into the Lancaster streetscape by installing art that features poetry throughout the city. Completed pieces may include sculpture, pavement inserts, fencing, street furniture, murals, and interactive pieces. They will have the pieces installed in December 2011 and spring 2012. I hope to keep you all updated. Maybe this might be something someone in our class could do for their final????

-Naomi

What I appreciate about Baltimore

I appreciate the lightrail the most. I really enjoy that Baltimore has a lot to offer (i.e. libraries, museums, clubs, aquariums, airports), but I realize they do us no good as students if we can't access them. The lightrail connects us to the harder to reach parts of Baltimore (or just gets us there for cheap when we're feeling too lazy to walk). I love that there's a stop right on campus, so it's easy to access.  It's just plain useful.  - Lauren