The H.O. Botanical Gardens

Last Monday was the first time I had been to the Penn State Arboretum. The experience for me was wonderful. I was able to explore the gardens and see all the beautiful flowers and trees. To my surprise that day of the week it was nice enough to truly enjoy the arboretum. Although, it was a little cold when the wind blew, the sun was shining brightly.

 Due to the great weather I was able to take several pictures depicting the different aspects of the botanical gardens. One of my favorite photos from Monday was a tree with a large open landscape behind it with Mount Nittany towering over Happy Valley. Also, I was fascinated by the sundial located near the sunflower section of the arboretum. The large stones on the middle grass patch surrounded by a perimeter of various flowers caught my eye quickly.

I found the botanical gardens both peaceful and breath-taking because of all the vibrant colors and relaxed atmosphere. i could see myself sitting on a bench there studying or reading. I also could visit the arboretum again with a small group of friends. We could just take a stroll, talk and enjoy the tranquility after a busy week of classes.

Oddly enough I am not a nature enthusiast, but this place reeled me in like a fish on a hook. I have already told many people about the arboretum and stated how they must visit before winter arrives. You will truly not understand how large or majestic this place is until you visit in person.

As I walked around the arboretum it reminded me of when I was a little kid and would visit other botanical gardens in Florida. When I was a child i could not nor did not appreciate the value of being able to see the various types of flowers and trees. Now I appreciate the tranquility the arboretum gives off. Overall, the H.O Botanical Gardens' field trip was pleasant. it was nice to observe nature and get out of the classroom to walk around. I can't wait for spring to visit and see all the flowers blooming!

Palmer Museum of Art

The piece I chose to write my blog about was the painting done by Louis Lang called, Trimming the Christmas Tree. This piece was painted in the mid to late 1860's and depicts the tradition of a family decorating the Christmas tree. Lang's painting comments on the idea of the mother and daughter preparing for Christmas by decorating. I think since Lang chose to only show a mother and her daughter in the piece that it goes along with the idea of women always do the decorating for holidays. Especially, in that era when women were homemakers and daughters were taught at young age household chores and things to know in order to raise a family.

Another reason why I chose this piece to write about was because as soon as i looked at it it made me think back to decorating the tree with my mother. The piece makes me think about Christmas and also look forward to the upcoming holiday. I am able to take myself back to the times of when I was a child and always wanted to decorate the tree. When I was a little girl decorating was the highlight of the Christmas Season for me. I could not wait for when my Mom would ask me to help her because I felt as if my help was bringing me closer to my mother.

The artist of the painting is Louis Lang who was born in the year 1814 and died in 1893. He arrived in the United States in 1838 where he had a studio in Philadelphia for several years. He has painted many other pieces and his father was also a great painter. Before his death in 1893 Lang was elected a National Academician in 1852 and was also a member of the Artist's Fund Society.
I think overall Lang is trying to depict a mother and daughter bonding together by getting ready for Christmas. He is showing how families of that era who celebrated Christmas would prepare for the holiday. I think that he has done a good job with showing how it was back then because he shows detail in the house decor and also how the women are dressed.

My overall experience at the Palmer was a good one. I enjoy going to different museums and seeing what different places have to offer. Also, it was my first time at this art museum; however i have been to other museums in the states I use to live in or have visited. I can see myself visiting again with my mother to show her the painting that inspired me and because she too enjoys art.

First Blog!

Template: Once I thought of a clever title for my blog I was able to finally start the creation process of my blog. I chose this template because all of the funky different colors seemed very fun and artsy. Also, the template went along with this blog being done by a girl. My template has vibrant colors, but it has a light cream background for the blogs I will write making it easier for others to read.

Title: My title is very relevant to this blog it describes the arts that my blog will focus on and also mentions where these arts will take place at, such as Penn State! Another reason I decided to use State of the Arts as my title is whenever the president talks about something important it can be a called a State of the union or address. I feel that this English 015s blog is very important so it deserved a worthy title.

Font: I really like looking at all the different fonts and trying to choose one to capture the reader's eye without it being too boring or distracting from the content he or she is reading. To achieve this goal I chose this font that looked like actual handwriting. Many people have told me i have really nice handwriting that it looks like font on a computer so I found it fitting for a blog written by me. Also, the title has a different font that goes along with the artsy and funky template I chose.

Other Parts: I am pretty new to the world of blogging. This has caused me not to figure out how to add all the different gadgets for my page, but once I start getting the hang of it I can guarantee a lot more links, tabs and pages added to this blog!

About Me: My name is Cristina D'Angelo and as I said before I am the youngest of SEVEN kids. i have FIVE brothers and ONE sister! I was born in Jacksonville,FL moved to Monterey,CA in 2007 and moved to Ebensburg,PA in 2010. I am so happy I'm here in happy valley(: I love it here and feel like I've been here at Penn State for months even though its been a couple weeks. Anyways, I'm nice and pretty fun. I'm usually the smallest one, so if you see a small brunette it might be me.