Visualizing The Smokey Mountains

by Vanessa Reyna

As you feel the breeze grazing across your nose, leaves are swaying and riding along the same path you feel the wind moving. The colors of the leaves are different shades of bright and dark greens, the same color as these mountains. In front of you there are tall vast mountains that stack one upon another in different shapes and sizes. Some are so tall they start to disappear in the puffy white clouds above them. By the looks of how tall they are -- why they seem they are halfway to the sun! 

Flying through the mountains picture several flocks of black birds moving gracefully towards the east side of where we are standing. I know it is spring time, but it gets pretty cold here. Looking up the mountains you can see strips of white ice left over from yesterday’s drizzle of rain. Right below the mountains there is a small river that is conjoined by smaller streams of water coming from the lower parts of the mountains. The river is moving calmly right now, since there is only a breeze, and the water is pretty low. 

We are ways up on top of this scene, just far enough on top to where we are level enough to see the mountains as if it were a painting right in front of us. This beautiful sight is a sight to remember. 

Don’t just remember what I am explaining, but remember the feeling of the breeze across your nose and fingertips as you grasp on to the metal bar right in front of you that separates us from this scenery, remember the sound of my voice as I am describing the picture we are standing in front of, and feel the rhythm of the chirping from the birds that flew east. This way you won’t just have a picture to look back on, you will have a memory to hold on to—the memory of the Smokey Mountains.

What is Praise Dancing?

By Chevelle Simms

Getting dressed was very exciting and fun, but as we stood in front of a full crowd, I could feel my hands and knees shake. I had danced numerous times before, but this time was different; more people were watching. Before the music started to play, I saw everyone pulling out their phones, ready to video and take pictures. That made me more nervous. “What if I mess up,” I thought to myself.  When the music started, I tried to remember what moves comes after the next. After a couple moves, I got excited and I could feel the adrenaline pumping. I could hear people saying “Amen” and “Hallelujah” as the other two girls and I danced. As I danced I could feel my face expressions changing, corresponding with the words of the song. This was a very powerful song. When the song came to an end, the church members were clapping and shouting. In this moment, I felt so good. Praise dancing is more than just entertaining an audience at a church event; it’s about using your body to tell a story and teaching people about the gospel.

Not everyone is aware of what praise dancing is, and the ones that are aware might have misconceptions about it. Praise dancing is using our body to express the word and spirit of the Lord while praising him. To my knowledge, it is practiced mostly in Christian churches. According to the “What is Praise Dancing” article, although dancing was used to express joy and thankfulness to the Lord in ancient times, it was forced out by the Christian churches by the reformation, but was re-entered in the 20^th century. Some people may think that it is just people jumping and acting wild, but it is an actual dance with routines and Christian songs.

Praise dancing shouldn’t just be performed; it should leave both the dancer and the audience feeling a certain way. When performing a praise dance, the dancer needs to be passionate about it. Praise dancers must emphasize the dance moves so the audience can feel it. Facial expressions are also very important. If the song is a happy song, the facial expressions need to be cheerful. If the song is emotional, then the expressions need to portray that. During a praise dance, the audience should learn something from the dance. They should either be in the spirit or feel some type of emotion. If a praise dance is performed without enthusiasm and passion, then the audience is left feeling the same way they did when they walked into the church.

When creating the moves for a praise dance, it is important to listen to the words of the song being danced to. The words in a song are the most powerful, and that’s what the audience hears that makes them emotional. Creating the routines can be easy or difficult depending on the song. If the song includes action or describing words, then it’s easier to come up with the moves. For example, if the song says “I’m praying for you”, the moves might include clasping your hands to portray that your praying and then pointing to the audience, showing who you are praying for. When the song doesn’t have much action or describing words, we incorporate some type of lyrical or ballet moves to make the dance run smoothly.

Praise dancing has different types of movements, so it requires certain types of clothing. When dancing, dancers need to be comfortable and be able to move around. Therefore, the clothing needs to be loose so the dancer can breathe easily. A usual praise dance costume includes a leotard, long tights, long loose fitting dress or skirt, and a shirt that covers both the stomach and the cleavage area. The outfit also needs to be flowing, so when the dancers move it’s soft and neat. In no type of way should the outfits be revealing. Depending on the dancers, white gloves can also be worn.

There are so many ways to praise God and praise dancing is one of them. In some ways, it requires technique, but for the most part it’s about feeling the words of a song and translating it into a story. Praise dancing should teach both the dancer and the audience more about God. It’s also about having fun but letting the spirit take over. As the scripture says “let them praise his name in the dance” (The Bible, Psalm 149:3). Even though some churches might not believe in it, there is nothing wrong with dancing for the Lord. 

Works Cited 

“What is Praise Dancing.” Iloveindia, 2016, lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/what-is-praise-dancing-9534.html. 

The Bible. King James version, Rod Parsley, 2000.

Urban Family Day at the Appleton

I have lived in Ocala my entire life and have only been to the Appleton Museum on a field trip in elementary school. When I heard about the Urban Family Day that would combine art and the holidays, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to reconnect with the Appleton. 


The first thing that I noticed was the beautiful holiday trees throughout the museum. I later learned they were decorated by various organizations throughout the community. 

There was a Dicken’s Christmas village set up and a beautiful collection of Nutcrackers from all over the world. I immediately felt the holiday spirit as I walked around the museum and saw all the children and their families participating in holiday crafts and enjoying the beautiful scenery in the Appleton. There was even an opportunity for carriage rides and photos with Santa. 

This picture is my favorite picture from the day’s event. I love the contrast of the Christmas tree decorated in white lights with a painting and sculpture sitting in the background. The holiday season can become all about shopping and presents, but this picture made me stop and realize how important it is to remember the beauty of the holiday season and the beauty of the art work in the Appleton Museum.
 
This event was a fantastic event that I would definitely attend next year. I feel that it is a great opportunity to spread some holiday joy to the community at a museum filled with fabulous art and exhibits!

Artwork from a Different Perspective

by Azaleia Lorenzo

As I walked into the Appleton Museum it brought me back to when I was just eight years old on a field trip with my school. I thought to myself I never remember it being this beautiful. Arthur I. Appleton gifted the city of Ocala with this beautiful museum that was established in 1982 ("History of the Appleton”). Walking around the exhibit I had a better appreciation for the art that was constructed by each artist. It was much more fascinating to me now than it was when I was eight. Each of the paintings I saw made me see a story within them. I looked at each of the paintings and sculptures in awe wondering how amazing each piece of art was. Every detail was beautiful and mesmerizing. The time spent on these artworks had to be incredibly tedious. The creativity that the artists portrayed was outstanding and made me wonder what exactly was their state of mind during the process of creating these masterpieces.

My favorite painting of the entire museum was in the European and American Gallery. The painting was called “When Love Is Young,” a painting by an Italian artist named Vittorio Matteo Corcos. His paintings are made with oil on a canvas. He pays attention to the detail of the colors in his paintings. Corcos is well known for painting images of men and women in beautiful clothes and their composition (“Vittorio Matteo Corcos”).

When Love is Young

When I look at this painting the first thing I can tell is emotion. The emotion I see between the two people in the painting is intimacy. I think the creator's mental state while creating this painting was maybe he was missing his wife or loved one and decided to depict a painting on his feelings. Since there is a chair in the painting and the sailor is on the other side of the railings it seems to me as if the two are separated for some time when he leaves for sea. As the man is gone the women sits waiting for her loved one to return back to her. I can see a possible sense of the two suffering minor depression when they are apart until they are together again united happily. I could also sense some separation anxiety as the woman has a chair beside her waiting for the return of her lover. It seems as if she cannot bear to do anything else but think of when he will come back, so she sits and waits.

The feeling that I get when I see this painting is contentment. The image clearly shows that the two young lovers have been apart from each other, and as they reunite the emotions and joy of their love is shown by the way that they look at each other. When two people are young in love they, cannot even imagine being away from each other, so the painting exhibits an appropriate depiction of what love may be seen as.

Works Cited 

"History of the Appleton." College of Central Florida Appleton Museum of Art,

         2016, appletonmuseum.org/about/history/

"Vittorio Matteo Corcos: Biography." Artnet,   
         2016, http://www.artnet.com/artists/vittorio-matteo-corcos/biography

Secrets

We’ve all got secrets,

So what’s yours?

Mine is that I love doors,

I love shutting them 
So no one can see, 
And when I open them,

No one knows what happened before.

I can be on the fourth floor,

And I can shut the third door,

And then secrets will develop even more.

~~ Anonymous