Self Portrait Option One

The self-portrait of the back of my head is something that helped me learn more about the art of this type of photo along with a little something about my gender. In the photo of the back of my head you can see my hair is in a knot with my two arms pulling it into this knot on either side of my head. The background of the photo is completely white and there is a spotlight focusing on the knot in my hair. There are many reasons why I chose to take a picture like this and certain works that influenced my creativity for this picture.

Similar to the artist Jeanne Dunning’s pictures I decided to focus on the back of my head. I wanted this picture to display emotion and something more than just hair on a head. In her photo called "Neck" she focuses on the models neck and the beauty of it. I decided to expose my neck as well, but instead of it symbolizing beauty, I wanted it to symbolize confusion and frustration. The hairs on my neck and many strands of hair are loose pointing in different directions. This symbolizes frustration and anger.

The artist Lorna Simpson also influenced my photo by incorporating the white background and black spotlight focusing in on the knot in my hair. In her photo called "Coiffure" she uses a contrast in colors to focus on the neck and back of the model. I thought this was a unique technique and decided to focus on the knot in my hair by having it spotlighted, making it the focus point of the piece of art.

The poem we read for class that was written by Sapphos on jealousy, also inspired this picture. I thought it was brave how she was expressing her feelings and frustration through the poem to the world during a time period when women’s opinions did not matter. When I was reading the many versions of the poem as well as constructing my own poem, I noticed her jealousy and great expression of emotion and it inspired me. I realized that no matter what emotion you are expressing you should express it, gender does not matter. I have a personality where I do not like to say no to people. I want to help everyone out even if it is severely inconveniencing me. This picture displays my frustration and rejection to other people. I think it can be complicated being a woman because women are suppose to be helpful to others, while men have the “I don’t really care attitude.” So through this picture I am displaying what I learned about not having to always say yes, or be the nice girl when I am continually going out of my way for others that don’t reciprocate. This picture is me before, when I was pulling out my hair and when I would get myself in a knot, which isn’t going to happen anymore

Women's World

The building that I created is called WWCC. This stands for Working Women with Children Center. The building is designed to accommodate working women with children by providing a relaxing, family environment. There are many features that this building or house does to better assist women with children better than a regular home.

Since the function of this house is to assist working women with children more efficiently there are four main features. The first helpful feature in this house is the large kitchen. The kitchen is designed to give the mother more room to move about the kitchen and prepare food. There is ample amount of space between the island and the stove so even if the child wants to play with the pots and pans they will not be under foot. The kitchen has high counters and sensory stoves that alert the child when it is too close to the stove which helps to protect the children from getting a burn or a hold of dinner before it is ready. In the kitchen it always smells like great food is cooking including a well-balanced diet so the children are getting all of there nutrients.

The second feature of this house that is different than a regular house is the large family room/ play room. It is in here that the kids are able to play in a large space with all their toys. They have access to the computer, but the internet has child safety sites on it. There is lots of light that gets into the room through the windows to help brighten the atmosphere for the children. Along every wall is storage space for the children’s toys which will keep the house tidy and teaches the children responsibility. This room is kid safe and will allow the children to spend time in there unsupervised.

The third feature that both the mother and children have is separate personalized bathrooms. The children’s bathroom has lower sinks and toilet. It also has a large bathtub to assist in easier bathing for the child. The bathroom has kid soap, kid toothbrushes and toothpaste, everything a child needs for good hygiene. The bathroom has two sinks instead of just one to alleviate the chance of fighting between siblings. By having the smaller sinks and toilets the child learns to be independent early on in childhood. The mother also has a personalized bathroom that is very large and relaxing. When you first enter the bathroom it smells of relaxing lavender. There is a large tub for bubble baths and plenty of mirror space for getting ready.

The last feature that is in this special house that accommodates both the mother and children is their bedrooms. The children have separate beds that are slightly lower than a normal bed to make it easier for them to get in and out of bed. They also have a large space for playing in their room along with another toy box. The light switches are also lower so they can easily turn the light on and off by themselves. The room smells fresh like Lysol because every time they leave the room an automatic fan sprays Lysol to help keep away the germs. The mother’s bedroom is also personalized for her. The room smells of chamomile and is adjacent to the bathroom to make late bathroom trips very easy. There is a whole wall of closet space to hold all of her necessities. The bed is a tempra-pedic mattress to help comfort and support the mother’s back and assists in falling to sleep faster.

The strengths in this house are listed above, but like a regular house every home has it’s weaknesses. The house is designed for a mother with two children that are between the ages of four and ten. The children’s rooms are not designed for babies nor young adult teens due to the smaller beds and bathroom accessories. Therefore, the WWCC is only usable by working mothers with two children that are in elementary school. If a mother has three children a bunk bed can be put in, but the age requirement would limit the amount of time a woman would be able to live here. The building does fulfill its function of assisting working women with children, but it is only practical for a small percentage of women in the working field.

Week Two: Sapphos Poem

The poem that we had to read for class was called Sappho's Translation. I think it was very interesting to see how throughout the years her poem was translated so differently. I recreated my version of her poem, but put a little twist on it, by making it rhyme. To me a poem that rhymes just flows from your lips and makes the whole poem beautiful.

I think the topic of jealousy is one that almost everyone can relate to. Everyone has been jealous sometime in their life even if it was over a relationship or just a friend having something that you want. I think it is important to remember not be jealousy but to be thankful for what you have.

Week One: Introduction

Name, and anything interesting you have to say about it.
My name is Brittany Jennings. One interesting thing about my name is I always have to spell out my first name because no one ever spells it out right, but my last name is easy so I never have to spell that out. Unfortunately, everyone tries to spell my first name like Britney Spears but I have never met anyone who actually spells it like that.

Major/year.
My major is accounting and I am a senior.

Place of origin.
I grew up in the Poconos in Pennsylvania but moved to King of Prussia PA and graduated high school there.

Favorite TV show.
My favorite TV is by far Nip Tuck I watch it every week, it is actually on tonight at 10 on FX if you want to give it a try!

Most detested food.
I really am not a picky eater, but I do not like crab cakes. I like all other kinds of seafood though.

Last thing you read (not for a class).
I really like to read. I like to read mysteries and usually read at least 6 books a summer. The last book that I read was A Scandalous Freedom, which unfortunately was last summer. I never seem to have enough time to read during the school year.

Worst date.
I don't think I have had any terrible dates. I guess just awkward ones where you don't really know what to talk about with the guy.

Comfort level with the on-line technologies required by this course.
I am pretty comfortable with the technology requirements for this course. I have used my Penn State web space before but I just have to refresh my memory a little on it.

How your gender affects your life.
This is a question that I do not think about a lot, but I would definitely say my gender does affect my life. I think because I am a woman I try to prove myself more. I try to be very independent and work really hard to prove that women can do anything!

Include a link to the website you visit most often.
www.google.com