Erika Bast - Creative Practice Blogs

November 17, 2024      Hello and welcome to my final blog post! For this series' final artistic medium, I chose poetry. Specifically, I decided to write a poem about the art community.      The art community includes anyone who engages in an artistic practice. In my poem, I referenced the artistic mediums I’ve explored throughout my blog series, but the community itself is so much broader, encompassing countless forms of creative expression. From song writing to crocheting and candle making to sculpting, this community welcomes artists of all types.      The experience of writing this poem was both challenging and rewarding. I had a clear idea of how I wanted to format the poem, but I struggled to find the perfect words. I think I put too much pressure on myself because it was for my final blog post. After stepping away from it for a little while, I returned with a clearer mind, and the words began to flow more easily. While the struggle wasn...

  November 10, 2024 Welcome to another blog post! As a reminder, I am exploring the theme of community, and this week I decided to express community through watercolor painting.     While scrolling through Pinterest, I came across a watercolor painting of birds perched on a telephone wire. At first, I thought it was just a simple and cute painting that I might recreate someday. But after reflecting on it for a while, I realized that it’s actually a perfect symbol of community. Ecologically, the image shows a group of birds interacting in the same area, sharing a common space. On a deeper level, it also evokes the saying, “birds of a feather flock together,” which speaks to the idea of like-minded individuals coming together to form a cohesive group.      Inspired by this realization, I decided to try recreating the painting myself. While it’s definitely not my best work, as I’m still learning how to use watercolor paints, I’m proud of how it turned out. I r...

November 3, 2024     This week, I wanted to explore the dictionary definition of community- a group of people living in the same area. Inspired by last week’s positive experience with poetry, I decided to continue using poetry as my artistic medium      When I thought about people living in the same area, I was drawn to neighborhoods and their universality.  No matter where you go, they exist, bringing together people of all types. Despite these differences they become connected through living side by side. While my poem is short, I feel it captures the essence of what makes neighborhood communities special.      Just like last week, I was feeling overwhelmed with everything on my plate, so I decided to dedicate time to writing poetry. Once again, I ended the experience feeling relaxed and rejuvenated. I am truly so grateful for how much of a positive impact these artistic impacts have had upon my health, especially my mental health. Doors ho...