Interning at the Fringe festival

My summer internship was actually more of a fall internship, because I did it with the Ombelico Mask Ensemble and their Fringe Festival play that premiered on September 19^th. I was supposed to have a three week internship that would've started on the 1^st of September, but I ran into some personal problems and had to leave Philadelphia, so I wasn't available to start until the next week, on the 8^th. My supervisor at Ombelico, UArts alumni Brendon, was nice enough to think things over so that I could start at the later date and still contribute as well as learn as much as possible.

I eventually became a sort of a “publicity intern”, working with contacting the press and other Fringe shows as well as distributing flyers and interacting with the audience to make sure the show received maximum exposure. This was for the most part fun to do since the show was not only free, but also very good, so it's not like I had to market a difficult product. The show was commedia dell'arte, meaning in the old Italian tradition of theatre with specific types of characters the partially improvised and masked comedy revolves around. As a big fan of both theatre in general and commedia dell'arte in particular, this aspect was one of the biggest reasons I wanted to do the internship in the first place and I greatly enjoyed seeing something like this performed live.

In terms of what I learned about this internship experience, I would say I understood how important it is to communicate clearly and honestly to avoid confusion or misunderstandings. As a non-native speaker this is always challenging to me both for lingual and cultural reasons, but having a two week opportunity to interact with people within the audience as well as the theatre company really helped me to see what I need to work on. I also now know a lot about what goes into marketing and promoting a theatre show so that all the work you put into perfecting the performance doesn't go to waste if there is no one to see it – after all, one of the main ideas of the Fringe festival is bringing theatre and performance to the people in some more unusual places like the park Ombelico performed in.

It was a challenging, but also very rewarding two weeks and as I embark on my second internship next week I know I can take a lot with me from this short experience that will make me a better intern than I would have been those two short weeks ago.  

My Experience with Kay Healy

It has been several weeks since my internship with Kay Healy has ended. The last week before my Senior year, I did a lot of reflecting on my last summer as a college student. The Summer Fellows Program was absolutely one of the highlights. Working with Kay improved my screen printing/sewing abilities and broadened my knowledge of fine artists and illustrators. It also made me realize how important it is to have a solid concept. Kay spends so much time gathering stories for her projects. A piece that is well crafted but says nothing, really doesn't accomplish much. Work that is beautifully made and tells a story is truly good artwork. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to work with Kay through the Summer Fellows Program. Remember, her opening is October 2 at the Free Library of Philadelphia!

Final Reflection

Hi y'all.  I hope everyone has had a meaningful experience as a 2014 Summer Fellow.  My experience was pretty chill.  I helped out Shelley Spector for 2 months.  I assisted her in doing many simple things that she herself could do, but for the sake of time, I can replace her.  She would make the educated decisions in terms of her work and if something physical and minor had to be done, there I was.  She was very calm about everything she did, for she budgets her time well and is aware of when something needs to be done and how soon.  On top of being a full-time artist, Shelley is a mother and a wife.  She really balances it all out.  I do not know if I could have a family of my own and get really into my art. I think I would have to see where I go on my own while I am young and have the energy.  Sure I'll have a companion or something of the sort, maybe, but kids are just a whole realm I am not ready for.  My only offspring is my body of work, which I am still very much trying to render and define.  But Shelley is well into her adulthood, so whatever.
   I plan to continue helping Shelley out.  I think I will continue to learn from her and maybe even meet some nice people along the way.  I am also planning to intern at a local gallery, The Kugel Collaborative.  It is an art space provided by the Chabad organization of Uarts and surrounding Philly art schools.  All of the displayed work is created by Jewish students or graduates.  It is relatively new and we are trying to make it a dominant presence in the art community.  I have shown work there on occasion, and now I have the chance to have a part time position as a curator and gallery manager.  In the past we have only had the gallery open during receptions, because nobody really works there or anything; the Rabbi is a busy man and can not always be in there during the day.  But now if there are people who commit time to keeping the gallery open during daytime hours, who knows who could stumble on in and see the cool work that is exhibited.
I am really looking forward to the year to come.  I hope everyone has gained something from this and will proceed to prosper in the art community.

NCSU Learning Styles & Strategies Assessment

     I recently took the learning styles assessment on the provided link from North Carolina State University.  There are 4 categories of different scales. Active versus reflective learning; sensing versus intuitive learning; visual versus verbal learning; sequential versus global learning.
     My results show that I am both an active learner and a reflective learner. Active learning means that when I learn something new, I have to do a physical practice of this thing, draw it out, or tell someone about it, rather than just doing it.  Reflective learning is simply thinking about the newly learned skill.   This makes a lot of sense because while I tend to think a lot about doing something before I actually do it, once I actually do it, all of it clicks.
     I am more of an intuitive learner than a sensing learner, which means that I enjoy learning about possibilities and relationships more than concrete, factual things.  I like innovation more than repetition.  Hence, I want to do different things all the time.  The last thing I want to do is to work for the machine in a cubicle or something like that.  I want to do different projects and achieve different goals, all the time.  I want to travel and experience new, different cultures.
      On the scale between verbal and visual learning, I placed a 9 out of 11.  I am extremely visual, for if someone is lecturing, it would help if they had a picture to go along with it. This would explain why I do quite well in my art history classes. If I see something, I get it.

     Between sequential and global learning, I am sequential, meaning I learn better in small or individual learning levels, with steps on how to do something– as opposed to learning in large groups and getting the solution in unorthodox ways.  Although I sometimes, rarely, learn in a global manner, I am much more inclined to understand after rigorous explanation and visual aid, which includes looking at a list of steps.  Rarely will I present a solution without explaining myself.  This can be related to the art I produce.  The decisions I make are well thought out.  Sometimes it takes me a while to produce a solution, but when I do, it works.  And I am able to explain it when the time comes.

   

How have you observed your alumni host demonstrating leadership in his or her current position?

      Kay Healy demonstrates leadership in her work environment by having complete control of her studio space. She is dedicated to her work and I not only look up to her as an artist but a mentor. She is always open to ideas and will listen to what anyone has to say. The way she talks about her life experiences reassured me that I am doing what I love to do and headed in the right direction. The way she teaches and let's her interns and fellows learn form her is beneficial because she treats you with so much respect.   

· Describe a challenging situation you’ve experienced as a Summer Fellow. How did you handle it, and what did you learn in the process?

e   One of the most challenging things about working as a fellow was being a part of someone else's artwork and vision that wasn't my own. I enjoyed the new view on making because through school and my own experience it's always been about why am I doing X Y and Z, but as a fellow I did not have to pick my brain apart, all I had to do was think more about technique and the task at hand. That does not mean I did not have any moments where I thought or used skills that I have used in my own work. But overall that was one of the most challenging experiences to overcome.

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What Art Sanctuary has taught me

With classes already started, summer  has finally ceased for us college students. However, my time outside of the studio was still filled with learning. My time at art Sanctuary has been an experience for since the beginning. Working with a group that is so involved with the community opened new perspectives as fair as art goes. Being opened to new art forms as well as ideas and inspirations, I met interesting professionals in their craft. They shared their advice as well as their stories and I learned about their journey. Through flexibility and professionalism, Art Sanctuary has shown me that while in the field of non-profit art organizations it takes both drive and patience to succeed. Holding this in mind, I hope to take the lessons I learned and move forward this year. It is great to know that even though this program has ended, I have been made a new addition to a great team