JENNA DIETRICH
Arts Scholar
PENTATHLON SEMESTER 4
As an experiential component of College Park Arts Scholars, I attended a selection of five art events during my final semester in the Scholars Program. These events ranged in art mediums and each sparked dialogue among my peers.
#VisualArts
Photo Credits: Mojang "Minecraft"
Throughout all of January and February, I experimented with the Javascript version of Minecraft. Minecraft is an online game that gives players a variety of different ways to play surrounding the idea of “mining” and “crafting,” as the name implies. In my experience with Minecraft thus far, I have most enjoyed playing in survival mode, which requires you to craft new tools, find and cook food, build houses, and find new materials, all while avoiding death by monster attacks, lava and water, or simply falling from a great height.
I appreciate the quality of the animations in this game, and the complex features yet simplistic goal. Even down to the blocks themselves, the creativity and detail put into the game is incredible. There are very limited instructions on how to play the game, which made it a bit aggravating at first, but now, I appreciate that the game developers give players the freedom to discover how the game works and complete the objectives that are most meaningful to their gaming experience, whether that be building huge castles or mining for diamonds deep in a dark cave. In general, I was really impressed by the complexity of the animations and game design, especially in comparison to the limited storyline and explicit goals of the game.
I was able to experience this game from a variety of different perspectives as I played as a beginner, learned techniques from my friends, and looked at the game through an artistic lens, which gave me a new appreciation for the game design and animations. Also, being able to discuss the game with my peers and even getting to experiment in the game with them illuminated aspects of the game that I had not considered before, making me more aware of the artistic complexity of this game.
#Music
On February 19th, 2022, I had the prestigious opportunity to perform at the College Band Directors National Association Eastern Division Conference held in Baltimore, Maryland at the Peabody Conservatory. In this concert, we played a total of five pieces that varied in style and technicality: Gustav Holst’s “Marching Song,” “Serenade” by Katahj Copley, “Tuba Concerto” by Bruce Broughton, featuring UMD’s tuba professor, Willie Clark, Stacy Garrop’s “Pandora Undone,” and finally “Einstein on 6th Street” by David Montoya Jr. The “Tuba Concerto” was definitely the most technically and musically challenging for me personally, because I was playing bass clarinet (which I had never played before), and I also had some challenging solo passages that took a lot of time and focus to master in the performance. My personal favorite was “Einstein on 6th Street,” because it had a very laid-back, jazzy feel that we rarely get to experience in a wind ensemble setting. In playing this piece, we experimented with new articulations, techniques, and styles that helped us achieve a really upbeat and fun closing song to the performance.
​
Besides getting to experience the music making process, it was also extremely exciting to get to play at such a distinguished event. It was a really challenging transition because the hall was much larger and had more mature acoustics than any hall we had played in before, and we were also very spaced apart and separated by plexiglass to adhere to the COVID protocols at the venue. These factors definitely added a challenge to our performance, and although I am curious as to how it sounded from the audience’s perspective, I think this performance went incredibly well and I am honored to have been able to participate.
#Presentation
On March 10th, 2022, I attended the Spring Lecture by Stephanie Beatriz presented by Student Entertainment Events at UMD. This event was held in the ballroom at STAMP at 7pm, and lasted about an hour and a half. Overall, this was a really informative event, and I learned a lot about the different aspects of being an actor, especially an actor who is a member of many different minority groups. First, she talked about her experiences as the lead vocal actress in Encanto. She mentioned how much she valued being involved in such a diverse Disney movie, and how she appreciated that this role was very similar to her own personality. I was really inspired by the way that she expressed her experiences being a Hispanic woman in the film and television industry, and how her roles became more and more significant as she continued performing. For example, she explained that she had once played a very stereotypical “maid” role and a salsa dancer in a few television shows, but now, she gets to improvise some of her own lines in her roles, and she voices the lead role in a Disney movie where a young Hispanic girl is the lead, which is a big change from only a few years ago.
I was also really impacted by the way that she talked about her experiences as a bisexual actress, and how she was able to open a space for viewers to come out to their families through her role as Rosa Diaz in Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Her character, Rosa, came out as bisexual to her coworkers and friends halfway through the series, which made viewers consider their personal beliefs, and maybe have some more grace towards members of the LGBTQ+ community. Overall, this was an incredible experience (Stephanie Beatriz is one of my idols, especially because of the way that she can play such a wide variety of roles), and I loved getting to listen to this lecture!
#VisualArts
Throughout the month of March, I have been working on an embroidery project. I had first learned embroidery during the pandemic, but since moving into school, I have had very little time to continue this hobby. In completing this project, I learned a new way to embroider. When I typically embroider things, I use a printed sketch or trace a design onto the fabric before I begin, however in this project, I did most of it free-hand. As seen in the second photo, I sketched the outline of the Nike logo as well as a few basic flower outlines, but in the end, I ended up resizing the flowers so that it looked more like an authentic, imperfect flower garden. I also plan to add a few more details to this crewneck later, such as little bumblebees flying around or leaves that intertwine and dangle from the logo. The freedom from a printed sketch definitely encouraged my creativity through letting me experiment with a variety of designs and turn “mistakes” into opportunities for a more original art project.
​
In relation to my music education major, I definitely think that this experience has added a new perspective to the way that I look at performing music. There are a lot of different ways to perform a certain piece of music, even through playing the same notes and rhythms on an instrument; there are dynamic and phrasing considerations, tone quality, interpretation or ornamentation, and other musical aspects that affect a “good” performance. In this activity, I didn’t worry so much about making it perfect, but just having fun with it and creating something that I enjoyed, whether or not it was perceived as “good” by others, which made it more special to me, and I think this lesson applies to music performance as well. Outside of academics, I am definitely curious about learning how to upcycle and embroider other clothing, which I intend to experiment with during the summer.
#Presentation & #ArtsScholars
On Thursday, April 7th at 5pm in the Cambridge Community Center, I attended the Art Therapy Workshop hosted by Jordyn Salow. In this workshop, I learned how to make art in a very relaxed, welcoming environment that improved my overall mental and emotional health through drawing a picture of either something that made us happy, or a visual representation of our stress. In my drawing, I chose to do both; I started by drawing a representation of my stress in the center in all grayscale colors, then branching out from the “stress,” I drew everything that made me happy in color. Upon entering the workshop and beginning the activity, I had little faith in how much this project would actually contribute to my mindset. However, after participating, my perception on the role of creativity has certainly changed. I not only felt more relaxed and happy, but I felt more creative and excited to pursue the rest of my day, especially in terms of having motivation to do things that I was too tired to do before.
This experience is related to what I have learned in Arts Scholars because we always emphasize the importance of making art for the purpose of making something beautiful, rather than to simply complete an assignment, as well as to assess the impact that art has on our well-being - both of which were emphasized in this workshop. After this event, I am very curious about learning more about art therapy, specifically the different methods of art that can be used such as painting or music, as well as the psychological benefits and how this relaxing exercise affects the brain. Similarly, this experience is connected to my major because I have always been interested in how music is used for therapeutic purposes, as well as how to assess those benefits through psychological analysis.