Art: Inner Jouney

From the start of the class, I knew I was most excited to see the art in New Orleans. Before transferring to nursing school, I spent my first year of college studying art. I love art so much, and am so lucky to know what I know about all aspects of art like color, texture, and lines. I love that I can analyze a piece of art using my knowledge. When walking down Royal street and glancing in all of the galleries, I wanted I was most attracted to the colorful pieces of art. That is one thing that I have learned about myself during this trip. I'm attracted to color, and New Orleans does color so well. From the art to the buildings, there was color everywhere. I also thought about how much work had to go into one of her pieces of art. She applied layers of oil paint on her canvases. Because oil paint takes so long to dry, she would of had to wait days for each layer to dry. When I first laid my eyes on a piece of Isabelle Dupuy's art on display in one of the art gallery's window, I immediately thought of home. The colors of the tree and sky reminded me of the season fall in my little hometown. There are trees, similar to what was in Isabelle Dupuy's paintings, lining the streets. It made New Orleans feel a little bit more like home. That is why I was attracted to her art so much...because it felt like home. I think her art tells the story of the seasons. Each picture is filled with aspects of nature during a beautiful season she probably witnessed in France, where she was born. I love this story because, if I were an artist, I would write a similar story. I love sunsets, sunrises, and beautiful foliage so much that I would also want it to be the center of attention.

Isabelle Dupuy's Work in Sutton Galleries

Sutton Galleries

Art: Outer Journey

As I walked down Royal street, I was so excited to look through the art galleries. One of the first galleries we walked into, there were these beautiful oil paintings displayed. The artists name was Isabelle Dupuy. The first painting of hers that caught my eye was a painting of a big tree dressed in orange leaves placed in front of a pretty blue sky. All of her paintings were amazing. She would layer the oil paint in very thick layers in the most beautiful vibrant colors. As we walked through the gallery, I asked the man in the gallery about Isabelle Dupuy. He said that most of her work was inspired by the landscape of France, where she was born and raised. He also said that Isabelle would, instead of framing her paintings, paint all the way to the edge and on the sides of her canvases to create the illusion that the landscape she is painting exist beyond these boarders. Something I've always been a fan of when it comes to art is bold colors. Isabelle Dupuy definitely used bold colors, which she expresses through complementary combinations. The texture she created with layers of oil paints was magical, and made me want to reach out a touch her paintings. Her painting aesthetic fit perfectly in the streets of New Orleans. The colors used in her paintings matched the brightly colored building with ferns hanging from their balconies. It was so hard for me to walk out of the gallery because my eyes couldn't get enough.

Mapel Colors in the Water

Mapel of Bright Delight

Autumn Sycamores along Calm Waters 

Music: Inner Journey

Music is definitely something that plays a huge role in New Orleans culture. Music is everywhere. It's on every street corner, in every bar, and playing in every restaurant. I've learned a lot about my music taste since I've been in New Orleans. New Orleans is all about Jazz. I didn't think I was a big fan of Jazz before going on the trip, but once I walked past all of the bars and listened to all of the different band, I leanred that I like Jazz, just a certain type of jazz. The jazz that intrigued me the most was jazz that had a lot of soul. Any band with an amazing trumpet player and some other funky horns was right up my alley. Every time my friends and I stumbled upon someone playing music, we rarely kept walking. You could tell that music was something New Orleans was proud of. It's like really good white noise that never ends. I need the sound a fan to fall asleep, but New Orleans needs jazz music. Listening to all of this music, made me appreciate these local musicians. They get up everyday to do what they love and entertain people that they don't even know. It made me think about how many kids raised in New Orleans want to grow up and be a musician when they grow up because of how much music they listen to when they are little. I've learned that New Orleans speaks through music because it is a way of life.

Here is a video showing all of the differnt kind of music and musicians in New Orleans:

Music: Outer Journey

I had a lot of amazing experiences with music during my trip to New Orleans. One time that stuck out to me was when Kendra, Marcy, and I were spending some of our free time exploring random streets in the French Quarter. We stumbled upon a jazz band playing on Frenchmen street. They had a crown enjoying their talent on both sides of the street. It was impossible to keep walking past them. We stood and listened to one song, and they were so amazing. It was so refreshing how laid back and chill every one of the band members acted. You could tell that they had been playing for a long time because of how confident they were in their abilities. One of my favorite parts was that they had a dog laying in the middle of them. The dog way laying in a big instrument case with its eyes closed, taking a nap. You could tell that this was a normal activity it probably did most days.

Another time where music stopped me in my tracks was on the very last day we were in New Orleans. We broke from our class meeting and decided that we wanted one last beignets before heading home. There was a trumpet player and a guitarist standing outside Cafe Du Monde singing the blues. It was so beautiful. The trumpet player sang notes so beautifully I could've sat there all day and listened. We stayed long enough to listen to two songs, and after each, the whole cafe applauded. He was seriously talented and belonged on stage instead of a sidewalk.

Farewell to New Orleans: Inner Journey

As we sat on the train heading home from New Orleans, I reminisced on all of the things that made the trip so great. I think learning about New Orlean's food was my favorite part of class, specifically from the food tour. I think it's amazing how these foods haven't changed one bit from when they were originally made. I also loved that I've never had these foods before. It forced me to step outside my comfort zone and try new things, which I appreciated. For example, I'm not a big fan of spicy foods, and many foods that we ate were all very spicy. I genuinely enjoyed all of them, so I'm glad the spice didn't hold me back.

Spicy Shrimp and Turtle Soup

My favorite part of the trip was getting to spend time and learn alongside my classmates. It makes me very happy that I've left the trip with more friends that I started the trip with. Talking and learning from each other was such a lovely experience. You'd think I would be tired of seeing the same people over and over again for a week straight, but I'm already looking forward to seeing them at school once the spring semester starts.

My Classmates and I

The people in New Orleans had a mix of personalities. Some made you feel right at home and some made you want to run away as fast as you could. Obviously, there is a great deal of homeless people in New Orleans. I didn't mind them unless they said rude things. These kind of people made me feel sad and uncomfortable. I quickly learned how to avoid and brush these people off, because these were regular occurrences. There were also people who made you feel right at home. They didn't mind if we were tourists, they minded if we were having a good time. I liked these people the best, and they are one of the reasons I fell in love with New Orleans. I was raised in a small town with about 2,200 people in it, and everyone knows each other and says "hello." When people did this in New Orleans, it made me never want to leave.

This trip taught me so much about myself. It definitely confirmed that I am in introvert. During Saturday and Sunday, when a lot of tourists were clogging the streets, it was exhausting trying to get through everyone and making sure my friends were still right behind me. I also learned that I love to travel. My grandparents owned a fishing resort in Arkansas my whole childhood, so my family would always spend vacations and holidays down there. Because of this, we didn't really travel new places. Now that I'm old enough to make the decision to travel on my own, I've proved to myself that I love it.

Farewell New Orleans: Outer Journey

Our trip has come to a close and it was a bittersweet feeling packing my suitcase to head home. The whole trip was filled with seeing amazing places around the French Quarter, tasting the most delicious food, and meeting the kindest people, but my all time favorite place I visited was Muriel's The first time Muriel's was brought us was on out food tour. We didn't eat their, but our tour guide mentioned that Muriel's had an amazing gallery to sit on and look out over Jackson Square. Kendra, Marcy, and I immediately looked at each other and decided that Muriel's was a mandatory stop on our free day. When our free day arrived we walked into Muriel's and the woman who greeted us was so kind. She made sure we knew exactly where we were going. We headed to get a drink from the bar, and the bartender treated us with the same kindness. We headed up the stairs to the gallery and as we found a table to sit at, we were amazed by the beauty of the city. It was a Monday so there wasn't a lot of tourists crowding the sidewalks and the weather was warm, so we comfortable sitting outside. Another reason why Muriel's was my favorite is because of the story we learned about on our haunted history tour. Yes, Muriel's is haunted. According to our tour guide, slaves were kept before they were auctioned off and where servants were kept each night, This means that many troubled souls could have died there, Down the line, Pierre Antoine Lepardi Jourdan, came into ownership of the building, but had to rebuild half of it after the huge fire of 1788. He didn't have much money afterwords, so he gambled the building off. He lost, and committed suicide because of it. Muriel's is known to be haunted by Mr. Pierre Antoine Lepardi Jourdan. I love Muriel's because of it's beauty and history, as well as how much it made me feel like I was at home. I would definitely recommend sitting on Muriel's gallery for a drink to anyone, and I hope I get the chance to come back some day.

Muriel's

January 7th: Inner Journey

While Kendra, Marcy, and I got ready for the day, I thought about how excited I was to have a free day and not have to follow any schedule for class. I learned that I am way less stressed when there is no schedule and it is a lot of fun wandering around the city on my own. I loved being able to spend as much or as little time at a certain location as I wanted. My favorite part of the day was sitting on Muriel's Gallery to enjoy the evening. This made me realize that I like traveling more when the weather is nice than when it is colder. The first few days of the trip were cooler, whereas today was warmer. It made me sad thinking about how we would all be returning to 20 degree weather in Illinois. New Orleans spoke to me in a way of making me feel like a local. As Kendra, Marcy, and I walked into Muriel's, the hostess was so kind to us. I couldn't help but think she was someone I had known for years. When we ordered a drink from the bar, the bartender was just as nice. It made me feel like I was at home. In the small town that I live in, you walk into a public place and everyone greets you with a smile. These individuals at Murial's made me feel like I had lived in the The Big Easy for years. It was also so peaceful looking over Jackson Square. Because there were way less people there than over the weekend, it made it feel less like a tourist city and more like I actually lived there.

Sitting Outside on Muriel's Gallery