Category: Uncategorized

Lulu Coll-

Saw an artwork on the anthroposcene

Lulu Coll-


For my current event drawing, I chose to depict Greta Thunberg, as climate change is an issue I care deeply about. Greta has always inspired me with her passion, fearlessness, and dedication to raising awareness about the climate crisis. I admire how she speaks out, even when facing criticism, and how she continues to fight for a better future. To create a strong contrast in the piece, I drew George Santos next to her. The decision was meant to highlight the stark differences between two very public figures, one known for environmental activism and the other surrounded by political controversy. Placing them side by side was my way of emphasizing the tension between truth, accountability, and public influence in today’s world. The drawing became less about individual personalities and more about the contrast in values and priorities that shape the world we live in.

Lulu Coll-

For my revisionist storytelling project, I decided to draw a beast-like animal surrounded by elements of beauty. I intentionally mixed contrasting themes, raw, animalistic energy (by using a literal moose stuffed animal) with delicate and traditionally “feminine” symbols like makeup, jewelry, and even a small pot of art at the bottom of the piece. I wanted to explore the tension between natural identity and societal expectations, especially the pressure placed on people, particularly women, to look or behave a certain way. There’s this unspoken rule in society that you have to use certain products, wear the right things, or present yourself in a way that fits a specific mold. That pressure can feel overwhelming and unnatural, which is why I chose to depict a beast—something wild and unfiltered—dressed up in a way that doesn’t necessarily feel true to its nature. I wanted to question what “beauty” really means and who gets to define it. The contrast in my piece is meant to feel a little off, maybe even uncomfortable, because I think that’s how many people feel when they’re forced to conform. This project was a chance for me to reflect on those ideas and express them visually in a way that felt personal and real.

Lulu Coll

For my Interstellar assignment, I focused on the alignment of the holy and nature. Inspired by a collage featuring an angel-like figure with a halo effect, I felt drawn to explore spiritual symbolism. While studying in Spain, I was exposed to Gothic art, which influenced my creative approach. I also wanted to reflect elements of nature and suburban life. Bucknell’s rural setting, filled with open plains, greenery, and vibrant flowers-inspired much of the aesthetic in my final project. By combining spiritual, historical, and natural influences, I aimed to create a piece that felt both personal and visually resonant.

Holmes 103

In my Interstellar Drawing, I will portray the profound paradox of Progress and Destruction in the world. For example, humans have made many advances in medicine, technology, the sciences, the humanities, etc. However, we have also majorly contributed to the destruction of the planet. We have been one of the major contributors to climate change and its worsening effects. As we progress, we are also damaging the planet in so many ways. For my drawing, I will show one half of the Earth with booming cities and lots of innovation. On the other side, I will show destruction, pollution, and barren landscapes. 

Art Expose – Samek Art Gallery – Student Art Exhibition, April 17, 2025

Downtown Samek Curatorial Event – April 13 2025

For my current event drawing, I decided to draw about the recent stock market crash following the newly implemented tariffs. I’m unsure which people to include in my drawing but I was considering maybe including Trump since he decided on the tariffs. I was also thinking I could do both a man and a woman stock broker in a piece where their reactions to the declining stocks are shown. I want to represent this event in a manner thats both objective yet realistic. Everyone has been impacted by the declining economy and I think it would be a good topic to show in relation to both current events and politics. I was thinking that I could use a mixture of body language as well as expression to show the emotions. For body language, I was thinking of hands on head in disbelief or an arm outstretch either in anger or looking for an answer. The faces would show either worry, sadness, or frustration. In the background I was thinking of including a stock screen showing the downward trend. I’m really excited for this piece and can’t wait to see how it turns out.

The topic I have chosen is climate change, which is a pressing issue worldwide. Due to human and environmental factors, extreme weather events have only continued to worsen with government officials doing little to stop it. Some main characters that I could include in my drawing consist of people being affected by these natural disasters or protesters holding up signs for an event on climate change. I could also include people disregarding nature or a factory in the background with smoke coming out of it. In addition, I want this drawing to represent a rhetorical view that urges these government officials and industries to do something about climate change. Some emotions that will be most present in this drawing are anger and frustration as well as disappointment and fear. I want to make sure that this drawing shows strong emotions and evokes a sense of urgency or call to action. Overall, climate change is a major issue all over the world that needs to be addressed and talked about more.

For my assignment Im choosing the Ukraine-Russia war, initiated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, leading to significant geopolitical tensions, widespread destruction, and a humanitarian crisis. Russia aims to exert control over Ukraine, while Ukraine, supported by Western nations looks to maintain sovereignty and its territory. The drawing will be focused on the leaders of the two nations and their dynamic together. I will use a rhetorical scope on the drawing with a fairly biased pov in order to display the power difference between the two leaders. The emotions of perseverance and pride will attempted to be shown on the Ukrainian side of the drawing while the Russians will be shown stoic under Putins rule. Both of these emotions will work together to effectively display the countries position in the war. I will attempt to use a darker value range possibly in the background to add a more ominous mood to the piece and displays its tool on both sides.

Radiolarians are microscopic marine organisms that have unique, complex shapes. When closely viewed, their tiny bodies are intricate and designed so beautifully. This goes to show that even if something is small in form, there still can be so much meaning behind it. It was interesting to learn about how Haeckel was both an artist and scientist because you don’t really see these two fields connect a lot. He intertwined the two subjects and sketched drawings of these radiolarians. It was also interesting to learn that he viewed all life and living things as connected in one big continuous cycle. In addition, I never really thought about how art can help people better understand science. Art can break down these complex ideas of science and make them easier to recognize and observe. Furthermore, it was thought-provoking to think about how the mind and the body are both separate but connected. As well as how the mind might not need the body to exist which is a complicated concept. Overall, I really enjoyed this film and thought it was interesting to learn about how humans, nature, and technology are all interconnected in a variety of ways. Also how art can be used to better understand the world around us, especially science. 

Finding Connection in a Racialized World

Paolo Morales
Visiting Assistant Professor
Department of Art and Art History
Bucknell University
January 29, 2025

Ratatouille is the story of remy, a rat with a dream of becoming a chef. He lives in Paris and is highly skilled at cooking. Remy ends up in the kitchen of a famous restaurant, Gusteau’s, where he forms an meets Linguini, who works as a garbage boy but wants to be a chef.

Remy secretly helps Linguini improve his cooking by hiding under his chef’s hat and guiding him with his expertise. As the two work together, they gain attention, but their success is threatened by the other chefs. Eventually, Remy’s cooking skills are revealed, and he is accepted despite being a rat. The film ends with Remy achieving his dream of becoming a chef and opening his own restaurant.

One of the key points in the story is the moment when Remy is revealed to the other chefs from beneath linguini’s hat. I want to do a twist on this idea by making another revelation, that Remy was also being controlled by a small human underneath his hat. This twist one of the most surprising moments in the movie by adding another layer of depth to the reveal.

In my version, Remy was also a struggling rat who wanted to learn how to cook, and was able to get help from this small person. I think it offers an ironic mirror of Remy and Linguini’s situations, where they were more different before.

I decided to do my revisionist storytelling piece based on the story of Cinderella. I chose this story because it has always been one of my favorites and is a classic. In my opinion, the biggest turning point of the story was when Cinderella’s fairy godmother transformed her rags into riches, a beautiful ball gown and glass slippers. Those slippers then became the most valuable thing Cinderella ever has. Not only did the slippers lead Cinderella to true love, but they helped her escape her previous lifestyle of servitude and transition into a world of wealth and prestige as a princess.

I decided to transform this story into a more modern version that’s intertwined with society’s use of cell phones and social media. Rather than a fairy godmother transforming Cinderella into who she wants to be, she follows other people’s social media influence and online orders the outfit she wants. I want to alter it in this way because it’s much more relatable to society today. Consumerism is at an all time high because people want to fit in with global social trends and I intend to show this through my design. Cinderella is able to use social media to become the “ideal” version of herself more quickly than she would have been able to in her original story. While in a sense she is more independent without the godmother, she is unintentionally more dependent on her phone.

Jean-Honoré Fragonard is known for paintings of lovers, elegant ladies, and bucolic scenes. The girl holding the book loosely represents an association with the fantasy figures in formal terms. There are a series of “Fantasy Figures” within his collection. However, in the Young Girl Reading, she is absorbed by her book, whereas the others are facing the viewer. The Young Girl Reading is not a portrait concerned with getting every detail of the girl/sitter. The artist wanted to capture the wealthy lifestyle. 

The painting depicts a woman sitting in a chair reading a book. She is in a fancy yellow dress with ruffles and has her hair up. Her left arm is sitting on a wooden rail and is leaning against a pillow. The piece’s title is Young Girl Reading, which describes exactly what is happening in the painting. 

This painting shows a young girl reading, a very common hobby for women back in the day. Once a woman has kids, she would tend to the children, but most would spend their time reading books. This seems to symbolize what was expected of women back then; to sit and look pretty. Since women were seen more as property and materialistic. 

The expression on the young girl’s face seems sad or bored. When doing the same thing every single day, it can get old. She is trying to get through the day. The undertones I see in this painting are wanting more out of her life than sitting around and waiting. 

In this drawing, I would like to put a title on the book since women back in the day were not a high priority in education. It would be a complicated subject she is learning about. I would also like to change the expression a little in the drawing from being bored to interested in what she is reading. 

I would like to have a pattern related to education. There could be many numbers in the background that match the subject of the book she is reading. If not mathematics, then flowers show that even if she is learning about a complex subject, she still can have a feminine side.