This past week in my Aboriginal Culture Class, I had the privilege of listening to several aboriginal identifying speakers who told me about their experiences and about the parts of their culture that they love. The Elder in Residence, Aunty Bronwin Chambers, laid out a huge table display of her own personal archive of…
Category: Australia: TEAN at Newcastle
The Art of Active Intentionality: 18 Mar 2017
Spread from my current art journal for experimental painting methods Since a very young age, my parents have tried ceaselessly to explain the concept of think-before-do to my brother and I. At home we were always reminded to try and think before we spoke and at church we were reminded to think about the repercussions of our actions,…
Trigger Warning
It’s hard to realize how much something in your past will affect you in life until the moment when you feel that shift of energy that says “Remember me? I’m still here.” This can work with positive things, like the realization that the summer camp you worked at impacts how you interact with and view…
NGA: Alex Seton & Ghostly Aesthetics – 10 Mar 2017
In my Contemporary Art Issues class here in Newcastle, the professor began our initiation into the course with a seemingly simple question: What IS Contemporary Art? Many responded with the notion that contemporary art was art that was simply made in the here and now. The only criteria that was needed was for the artist to…
Putting Your Name in the Hat – 4 Mar 2017
In one of the first conversations that my roommate Sam and I had he made a remark about my process of finding and applying for jobs in the area. There had been a really great opportunity at The Watt Space Gallery in Newcastle specifically for students and I hesitated to apply because it looked too intimidating –…
The Lock Up- Feb 25th
Many of the people reading this know that back home in the States I have been known to enjoy being engaged in efforts to promote the arts in my community. Whether that be through getting involved at the Cornell Fine Arts Museum or through my therapy and teaching practice at OCA, I have a fond…
UoN Faculty of Fine Art- Feb 23rd
Yesterday I woke up early (early for my Aussie vacation aka 9 am) and embarked on a long trek across the continent that is he University of Newcastle. It took me twenty minutes to walk from the residential end of campus to the end where Orientation ( and therefore the food) was located. I feel…
The Plague, Night Clubs, and Baths Hewn from Stone- Feb 19th
On the morning of Day 4, I awoke with a strange and unfamiliar tickle in the back of my throat. It was uncomfortable, but manageable after seeking some throat spray from Stuart the Uni Pharmacist. However, over the next couple of days my symptoms continually morphed into fever, chills, headaches, painful coughing fits, and a…
UoNewcastle Day 1-3: This blog post is almost entirely about food- feb 14th
“No mom, I was crying because I wanted a sandwich not because it was a long walk.” This is just a short quote from a skype call that I had with my mother earlier this evening. The topic of conversation was the pas three days that I’ve spent living at the University of Newcastle in…
“Bring me back a kangaroo”- Feb 11th
This past Wednesday was a really interesting day on our trip as we took a journey to a nearby animal reserve and then went on a walking tour through a local rainforest called Mossman Gorge. This was one of those days where we were going to get a chance to get up close and personal…