Art, Art, Art

Outer Journey

Many buildings have beautiful art on them

Just like music, you can't walk the streets of NOLA without seeing some incredible art. The only difference between music on the streets and art on the streets, is that you need a permit to sell art in NOLA. While walking past Pirates Alley there are people that hang up their art along the fences and paint new pictures right in front of you. If you didn't like any of the art walking down the street, there were many art galleries on Royal Street. After visiting many of the art filled galleries, I found Isabelle Dupuy. Dupuy is a French contemporary landscape artist. Her art is a very textured and eye popping style. The very first thing I saw when I walked into this building was one of her pieces. She had painted a field of sunflowers that were textured and used colors of yellows, blues, reds, and greens. When you walked through the gallery, a lot of her paintings were strung throughout. Upon further observation I noticed one of them had a "wet paint" sign. I asked the owner of the gallery about this artist and he said that she does live paintings in the gallery and this had been one of them. I found this very cool because not often do you get to see an artist in action like that. I would have been curious to figure out how she gets the paint to pop off the canvas like she did. The owner of the gallery seemed very impressed with her work and I can understand why as it impressed me as well.

Inner Journey

Isabelle Dupuy is an amazing artist who creates these textured paintings that catch your eye as soon as you enter the gallery. I loved her work because it wasn't average. Not only did it catch your eye, but it caught your touch. I haven't been to an art gallery in a while, but I have never seen paintings like hers. She used extra amounts of paint to create a 3D look and you could also feel the textured paint. This work caught my eye because not only could you see what she had done, but you could feel it. If I could have taken a canvas back with me and if I could have afforded it, I would have bought the sunflower painting that I loved.

The amazing sunflower painting

Many of Isabelle's paintings were of outdoor scenery. She painted natural scenes, but captured their beauty. I am a person who loves to photograph every colorful sunset or sunrise, so her paintings speak to me that she shares that love with me. The world is so big and amazing, but someone 100 miles way from you can see the same sunset as you and I think that Isabelle's paintings show that. It shows that we all can view nature in our own way, but we mostly see the same thing. I like Isabelle's stories told through her paintings because I love outdoors and the positivity of noticing beautiful things just like she does.

Another painting by Isabelle Dupuy

Sunsets Mean New Beginnings

Outer Journey

standing at our favorite place

Today is the day that has seemed to come too soon. I fell like I was just on the train 24 hours ago only getting a wink of sleep and thriving off gross coffee. As a class we all met in front of Café de Monte and said our goodbyes to this amazing city that has brought life to otherwise dead nursing students. Kate, Brynna, and I walked to our favorite spot to document a picture of us in front of the building. We all chose the Presbyter as our favorite place of this whole trip. I would say that this was my favorite place because that is where we learned some deep information about the city. It was where the Katrina exhibit was that brought goosebumps to my skin and tears to my eyes. It made me feel for this city and to be able to experience how they have flourished from this tragedy made me feel so right at home. I would most definitely come back to this museum because Colleen did mention that there were some new things added and even though I took the time to go through it, I feel as though I could have listened/read a lot more due to the building being so full of information. I would recommend this site to anyone coming to New Orleans or the area. It is so informational and helps you understand the city and their strong drive to thrive. I would explain to those coming to visit of how the acoustics, videos, pictures, and real-life stories really make you feel as though you were there. Coming from Illinois most of us have never experienced a hurricane or even any type of big natural disaster, so this experience was a good way to understand it and what NOLA went through. I would explain this to others as a humbling and breathtaking exhibit. We don’t know anyone in the videos or recordings, but you feel like you do when you hear it. The Presbyter exhibit has a way of making you feel that it is real, and you are just hearing the news that you and your family need to evacuate. Truly a chilling and educations experience. 

Inner Journey 

As I sit in the observation car in the train and watch the sun run through the trees, I can’t help but reflect on what a great trip this was. I honestly thought I wouldn’t learn much and that this trip would be sort of boring in the education aspect, but it surprised me. I never thought I wanted to know about New Orleans’ history and hardships, but I am so glad that I did. I would have been 8 years old when Katrina hit, so I have only heard stories of how bad it was. Seeing the city and this exhibit made me feel like it just happened last week. It felt so real to me. This kind of experience contributed to my favorite part of the trip.

My favorite part of this short trip would have been learning about the rich history and how this city was shaped. We learned about the many firsts of New Orleans such as the first apartment buildings, the first pharmacy, women and free people of color having certain rights, and their amazing culinary contributions to the world. This was my favorite because without New Orleans paving the way for these historical markers, who knows where we would be today. This also was my favorite part of the class. We were only there for a week, but I expanded my knowledge in ways I never thought I would. I am not much of a history person, but this trip was so interesting to me and makes me want to learn about each state in the US.

Getting one last PJ's coffee

One of my goals for this trip was to step outside of my comfort zone. I learned that this can come easier to me than I thought when I am in the right environment and people. This week I had an amazing group of girls to tag along with and even made some new friendships along the way. It can be out of my comfort zone to talk to people and go do things in unfamiliar places, but I didn’t feel hesitant in New Orleans. I learned that I just need to go out and do things. Letting my fear of judgement or unfamiliar places can hinder my growth as a person and I don’t want to let fear get in my way anymore. While on this trip I got a call that I was offered two jobs I applied for last week and I accepted one of them. This new journey scares the absolute daylights out of me but using what I have learned about myself this week I am going to use my fear to fuel my growth in this new career. As the sun is setting outside the train window my mom’s favorite saying comes to mind: “sunsets are for new beginnings tomorrow”.

A City that Grooves

Outer Journey 

 

It is nearly impossible to visit the city of New Orleans and not hear amazing music. We heard so many kinds of music playing on the streets throughout the day. One of the most popular ones seemed to be jazz. One of our tour guides mentioned that jazz is allegedly originated from New Orleans. She also mentioned that NOLA is known as the “Big Easy” due to how easy it is to get a gig being a musician in this town and it showed when walking the streets. The popularity of music on the streets is because you do not need to obtain a permit to play music there. One of my favorite musical experiences was when our group stopped at a restaurant called “BB Kings” and they had live music. This band was my favorite because it was Brynna and Rachael’s birthday, so we made sure to let them know and they made it special. They pulled the girls up to the stage and gave Brynna a cow bell and Rachael a tambourine. The front singer had such a deep voice it sounded like your typical blues singer. Their style was more a blues sound than anything else.  This was one of my favorite experiences because they had great rhythm and knew how to get the crowd involved. Some of the other musicians on the street gave me the vibe they only wanted money and could be rude to people who didn’t contribute anything. These guys made their birthday memorable and sounded great while doing it as well. They didn’t sound like most artists we heard due to their singers unique rough and deep voice.

Inner Journey  

The band with the blues

This city spoke to me in many ways this week, but through the music was a major one. The city spoke to me in the music by showing that everyone has an opportunity to do what they love. As you walked down any street whether it was Frenchman, Bourbon, or Decatur you could hear some exceptional music that would catch your ear. There were younger men who played buckets with drum sticks and even something as simple as that sounded outstanding. It showed how many people have a passion for a beat and how it moves people. Obviously, many of them wanted money because they don’t get paid to play, but some you could tell just loved seeing other’s reactions. This way my favorite part. Seeing people doing what they love and getting to know others in the process is truly a New Orleans thing. If we went to Chicago and someone was playing on the street, you wouldn’t see tons of people stopping or talking to others because they are in such a hurry. New Orleans is a slow-paced city that brings people together whether it be through music, art, food, or alcohol. The music draws people to huddle around and listen to what they are playing. It also speaks to you through the instruments. With lower pitched instruments it can make you feel somber or sad. With higher pitched instruments it can make you feel happy or excited. The artists know how to speak to you and move you with their pieces.

A Day Off

Outer Journey

Kate with her amazing frozen ice coffee

Today was our day to explore the city on our own time. Kate, Brynna, Kayla, and I walked to one of the local shops that sells all sorts of New Orleans attire. We bought some t-shirts and other little things to bring home to remember our time here. After that we went back to our favorite little pub called "Molly's on the Market". After enjoying a delicious frozen coffee there, we went to Jackson Square and indulged in some street performers. There was a group of men dancing and doing different acrobatics. They were so impressive with their moves and how they drew the crowd in. They used tactics such as making jokes and showing off their little moves. After we watched this and gave them some cash, we went to Voodoo authentica. The other three in my group got a reading done by a medium which they said was very personable. I was impressed with their results and it seemed very real. Lastly, we went to the House of Voodoo Museum. While walking through the building you could feel an overwhelming feeling of a energy. It felt like a sacred place. There were little pieces of paper rolled up with money wrapped around it as an offering to the voodoo Gods. Many people wrote their wishes on this paper and prayed for the voodoo to work. The house was full of statues and other pieces that represented this religion. It was amazing to experience the culture that so many people in this area believe in. It was nice to explore the city all day in the way that we wanted to. We got to stay for as long as we wanted wherever we went and we could take the time to sit and listen to music or performers if wanted. I felt like a true New Orleans resident today after finally catching on to directions and local stores.

Inner Journey

Marie Laveau picture in Voodoo Museum

I think the most enlightening part of today was the voodoo Gods that people believe in. As nurses we must be open and aware of other religious practices for our patients. Learning about their beliefs and how they do not treat diseases or illness the same as other religions is refreshing. I believe in alternative medicine and seeking different treatment, so opening my horizons to this is great for my future career. I learned about why this religion does certain practices such as dancing. One of the exhibits explained that the religion dances as a way of becoming possessed by the spirits. They use musical rhythms to call the spirits and then they engage in activities in the real world. It is a way for followers to honor their ancestors and let them "have fun". Before nursing school, it was very easy for me to label out of the norm religious practices as weird or freaky. Now I have widened my horizons and accepted that it is great for there to be cultural differences in this world because it would be so boring without it. Coming on this trip and experiencing many different people and their cultural practices has helped me validate my growth in this area. I hope to continue to have a New Orleans mindset throughout my life and career so that I will always be the best I can be. This city has opened by eyes since day one and has been a blissful experience all the way through.