Architectural Interiors

 For my domestic space, I chose my grandparent's living room. When you initially walk in through the front door, you're warmly greeted with an abundance of outside light from a couple different directions. Firstly three windows sit to your left, starting from the furthest wall coming closer to you. Secondly, there is a light source located NW where you walk from the lanai area just past the dining table room. Thirdly, there is a light source to the NE from when you walk in the front door down a hallway that leads to the formal dining room and kitchen. This space in total feels inviting. However, the home's structure feels old, and the higher pointed ceilings make the area feel a bit too open. It takes away from a warm, homey feeling. The space could use some renovation and new design, making the home feel a bit smaller but homier and more inviting. This space flows smoothly and transitions seamlessly between each room, giving the area the openness needed for the altered ceilings. This space aims to hold many people, which my family has, so it serves its purpose well. 

The space I chose for my regular and enjoyable setting would be my living room in my condo. The spaces function serves its purpose very well as it is just I who occupy the space its the perfect size. A smaller space, it is for sure, and everything sits mostly together. The openness and minimized walls allow for a good number of opportunities for decorating. When you initially walk in, you're greeted by an open space that allows natural light in from the right sliding glass door that leads to the lanai. The wall slightly extends from the sliding glass door. It immediately cuts to the left, creating a permitter to block the space out. There are 8-10 feet of space to your left, leading to a wall traveling to the right. This wall is ended by a wine rack, drink station, and cabinet space. In my opinion, the room feels open and inviting. It allows creativity to flow in the room's abundance of potential within the first part of the condo holds. 

Love Again by Philip Larkin

The poem I chose would be a poem of controversy for the use of language and topic; however, I feel Larkin did a phenomenal job in his use of imagery and real-world application. At the beginning of this piece, Larkin is very blunt and straightforward as he tells us that he is masturbating while thinking about a former lover of sorts. Larkin begins to question whether his former lover had been brought home by another man yet or not. The metaphor he uses comparing the bedroom to a hot bakery allows one to step into his shoes. This allows the reader to feel the environment where he is. Larkin tells us how he has this severe pain caused by a serious ailment of the stomach.

Larkin continues to use strong diction as he begins to get a bit vulgar as he refers to his former lover's vagina as a cunt. He then dives into imagining her with someone else. His love for her does show as he imagines someone else getting lost in her eyes. Larkin then discusses how he shouldn't care about what she does. However, he has developed a clearly unhealthy habit as he makes himself suffer more, causing more of his intense pain. His obsession is something he knows is harmful. Larkin knows that he would be better off if he could stop his obsession with his lost lover. 

Larkin then tells us how other people experience love in a sense that carries them like a tree swaying and spreads like roots. Larkin then tells us that he has never had success in love due to some violence from his past. Hard lessons that he had to learn and experience through his life caused more of his failure in love. 

Local Sculptures

 Found in Punta Gorda, a gorgeous sculpture with a fantastic backstory rooted deep in America and its original inhabitants. 

Calostimucu - The Whispering Giant, crafted & carved by Peter Wolf Toth. This Hungarian-born American sculptor has a vast array of similar works throughout the United States, honoring Native Americans and those who have suffered injustices. Calostimucu is one of 74 sculptures in the Trail of the Whispering Giants collection. These pieces truly capture the essence of America's true inhabitants. The Whispering Giants can be found in all 50 U.S. states and even a few other countries. Each Whispering Giant represents the Indians of the area where the sculptures are located. 

Calostimucu was carved from a 20’ Enterolobium Cyclocarpum tree. Also known as an “ear tree,” this particular wood is very similar to mahogany. Dedicated in 1974 and again in 2006, Calostimucu was the 10th sculpture in the Trail of the Whispering Giants. 

Calostimucu portrays the face of a Native American woman looking off into the distance behind you. In my opinion, Toth did an amazing job of giving this sculpture very humbling energy. Taking a moment to observe this sculpture made me stop and honor those whose lives were destroyed, lost, and uprooted. Traditions that were lost and destroyed, eliminating an entire culture. I never even realized Calostimucu was there, even after driving by this spot the last year and a half. 

On top of the woman, you can see an eagle taking flight. Eagles have long represented Native Americans within our country. After digging around the web, I learned that Florida has one the densest populations for bald eagles within the United States. 

After doing a bit of research and finding bits and pieces of information around the web, I was presently surprised that Calostimucu had an entire other half of the sculpture! On the other side, you can find a very serious-looking man with a buffalo that looks as if it may be dying. This sculpture truly captures a few different aspects of the Native Americans within the area. Buffalos once inhabited Florida long ago when the Natives lived here undisturbed by the Europeans. From being one of the most thriving groups of animals on the planet, the buffalo's numbers have now sadly dwindled to a minuscule fraction of its once vast numbers. After finding this information, the buffalo on its back makes sense, as if the buffalo has died altogether. Within this post, you will find the pictures I took of the woman and the eagle, and I will also attach a photo I found on the internet of the other side depicting the man and buffalo. 

https://medium.com/invironment/boats-beaches-and-buffalo-7b141d7d0856

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Wolf_Toth

https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMZ3Z_10_CALOSTIMUCU_PUNTA_GORDA_FLORIDA

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_of_the_Whispering_Giants

https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/wildlife/bald-eagle/

Abstract Art

 When I first came across this Untitled painting by Nasarollah Afjei from 2013, it brought me back in time to a place where I threw myself into a spiritual fire of transformation and found myself reborn into my highest potential and calling. I instantly felt a rush of emotions and sensations that were once evoked as I was given the tools and experiences to take my life back into my own hands from traumas that were hindering my day-to-day life. 

The ocean-like waves of deep red and orange glow as the energy flowed through my sacral chakra, opening and releasing a large load of emotional pain, physical hurt, shame, guilt, and, most importantly, my anger. The dark mahogany swirls towards the lower right of the painting evoked the rage and shame that once resided in me. Calling me back to a time of constant fear where I felt like the world was out to get me. This raised my awareness of the little boy I once hugged, held, and nurtured during those crucial moments of rebirth. I  felt like I was opened up and coasting through the phases of healing.

As I moved my gaze and focused across the painting, the next aspect that drew me in was the symbols directly above the deep mahogany swirls. However, this time, the dark amber colorations brought me a much different emotion and sensation that warmly flowed from my lower sacral below my belly button upwards above my belly button about an inch. I experienced feelings of warmth, tingles, and a euphoric sensation that had me giddy and filled with child-like joy! 

Reading the description of this painting, we are informed that the artist repeatedly painted the Persian word for love (eshq) over and over again, which brought even more profound meaning and perspective to me. As I once learned to love myself, I was humbled by this piece of art. I was given a reminder of where I came from and realigned with where I was going. 

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/625023

Representative Work

 The piece of art that I felt best represented a significant aspect of myself would have to be the song La Câlin by Serhat Durmus. This particular song stuck out to me the moment I heard it begin to play through my car speakers. I immediately lost myself in the beats, the overdrawn deep tone of one of the singers. It all pulled me in, begging me to listen, again and again, getting lost in its almost lullaby-like properties. I found a piece of myself in this song. I could feel the artist speaking to me as the music melted through the speakers. From the very beginning of the song, one can notice that the singers are not singing in English but rather Ukrainian. The language choice and tones of the singers provide a foreign & mysterious undertone that helps create the symphony that is this song. Just as my muchness can be alien to others, I tend to hold an energy of mystery that draws people in. Others tend to get lost in my beauty. Between my eyes, hair, and poise, others tend to become hypnotized when near me. Something I've noticed and that has been brought to my attention is that people tend to gaze at me even by simply walking in a room. People are like moths were as I am the light as I walk into a room. Tying it all together would have to be the beats and melodies that provide a structure for all the other parts to ebb and flow like the ocean waves playing against the moonlight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWxL43nx07E