Yesterday in my Modern Art class, the entire class participated in a creative activity that dealt with both writing and drawing. The class was split into groups, and each group member took turns either drawing or writing on the same piece of paper. The first group member either began drawing or wrote a sentence, folded over the paper, and handed the paper to the next group member. In this way, the subsequent group members were unable to see what the previous member had written or drawn. The activity was slightly altered later in the class, as subsequent group members were able to see the last three words of the sentence, and the bottom of the drawings in order to connect the lines. This activity occurred during our study of Surrealism in art, which is often disjointed, whimsical, and inspired by the subconscious. It was interesting to try to make connections from the last three words of a sentence and to see how much sense the finished poem made. Similarly, the drawings were shared among the three groups, so it was interesting to see the finished product and to see if there were any recurring motifs by chance. This would be a fun, creative activity to try with friends (almost like Mad Libs!), which is sure to produce funny, surprising results.

Stuffed mushrooms are a creative meal idea because they can be suited to anyone's taste and stuffed with whatever one would like! Senior Kelly Ehrenfeuchter shares her recipe for stuffed mushrooms:

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Italian-style dried bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 28 large (2 1/2-inch-diameter) white mushrooms, stemmed

Directions Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Stir the bread crumbs, Pecorino Romano, garlic, parsley, mint, salt and pepper, to taste, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium bowl to blend.

Drizzle a heavy large baking sheet with about 1 tablespoon olive oil, to coat. Spoon the filling into the mushroom cavities and arrange on the baking sheet, cavity side up. Drizzle remaining oil over the filling in each mushroom. Bake until the mushrooms are tender and the filling is heated through and golden on top, about 25 minutes. Serve.

 

The Writing Center is proud to host its annual Writer’s Showcase in the Writing Center on Monday, April 22nd, at 6pm.

If you have written any poetry, short stories, novels, digital narratives, plays, songs, or any other kind of creative work, we encourage you to participate in the showcase and share your work with students and faculty!

If you are interested, e-mail your name, title of work, and kind of work (i.e. poetry, short story, excerpt from novel) to [email protected] by Friday, April 19th.

I have participated in this event for two consecutive years in the past, and it is a great way to share your creative efforts with an interested audience. This year, the type of material presented has expanded, allowing for different types of creative work, including digital narratives, songs, and more. This will add exciting new elements to the event, and it will be worthwhile to submit your work and get the opportunity to present your creative work!

You can read my short story submission I presented at last year's Showcase under the Creative Writing tab of my blog.

Please take a minute to explore my new questionnaire with personal and revealing responses from Lebanon Valley College faculty and staff. Responses from coaches, students, administration, and more are to follow. Titled the Proust Questionnaire taken from the same type of questionnaire of the same name found in Vanity Fair magazine, the website can also be found under the Blogs section of LaVie online. 

Below is one of the questionnaires received from Art History Professor Grant Taylor:

1. What is your favorite quote? 
I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.  ~Pablo Picasso

2. What is your most treasured possession? 
My wedding ring

3. When was the happiest moment of your life? 
The birth of my daughter

4. Who is your favorite fictional hero? 
Heracles

5. Which talent would you most like to have? 
Classical guitar

6. Who are the people you look up to as heroes? 
Historical figures who endured great stress, like Lincoln and Churchill  

7. What are you most looking forward to in the future? 
The summer  

8. In what historical time period would you most like to live? 
1900 Paris

9. What do you most value in friendships? 
Humor

10. Who is your favorite musician? 
Vivienne Taylor (my daughter)


For more questionnaires, please visit http://lvcproustquestionnaire.weebly.com/

On Wednesday night, March 13, many LVC students and community members gathered at MJs coffee shop to listen to music performed by talented LVC students. Nick Cove '15 and Chris Dunlap '15 shared covers of other bands' songs as well as creative, original music with friends.