My Humanities

Throughout the month of October, we celebrated all 13 of the humanities!

Anthropology, Archaeology, the Classics, History, Linguistics, Languages, Law, Politics, Literature, Philosophy, Religion, Performing Arts, and Visual Arts. We hope you were able to feel inspired and learn something new about arts & humanities! Which humanities did you find to be the most interesting?

Which humanities meant the most to you?

Did you find a new connection to humanity that you can incorporate into your day-to-day life?

Did following our prompts spark new, creative ideas for you?

Frida Kahlo is known as the master of self-portraits. She created 143 paintings, and 55 of them were self-portraits. Kahlo used physical and psychological interpretations of herself in her paintings. Kahlo said, "I paint myself because I am so often alone and because I am the subject I know best." Her most well-known portrait is Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird.

At the beginning of the month, we created a Humanity tree out of the outline of our hands. For the last prompt of the month, we will be making self-portraits.

Creative Prompt

• Using the humanities that are important to you, create a self-portrait. For example, if you love to dance and love to listen to music, draw yourself surrounded by musical elements. Or if you love to read, draw yourself reading a book. Be as realistic or abstract as you want!
• Mix up your supplies and use all mediums to create this reflection of yourself!

Take it one step further!
Sit with a friend or family member and draw each other. Use their characteristics and favorite items to fill the page.
Set your self-portrait next to the portrait they made of you. Do you notice any differences?

Remember to share your photos on Instagram with us using
#CreateEveryDayRoswell
@RoswellRecandParks

The Art of Law and Politics

Law (a system of rules created) and politics (the way that groups of people make decisions) are two deeply intertwined humanities. They focus on regulations, rules, and societal influence. Law and politics walk hand in hand, ensuring safety, justice, order and structure. Law helps shape how politics are conducted.

But one of the many great things about creativity and art?

Helen Frankenthaler, an American artist, says it best:

"There are no rules. That is how art is born, how breakthroughs happen. Go against the rules or ignore the rules. That is what invention is about."

Creative Prompt

• There are no rules or guidelines to follow today!
• Using your artistic freedom, create art from whatever inspires you today!

Remember to share your photos on Instagram with us using
#CreateEveryDayRoswell
@RoswellRecandParks

Make It Work Costume Design

Theatre, a branch of Performing Arts, has been a vibrant tradition in cultures around the world dating back to Athens and the rise of Greek Theatre in the 6th century BC.

An intricate part of theatrical performances are the characters' costumes! Costume design is the creation of clothing for the overall appearance of a character or performer. Costumes help convey information about the character to the audience. In ancient Greece, tragic actors wore platform shoes to symbolize higher status, while comic actors walked the stage in nothing but socks.

Costuming is essential in movies, theatre productions, and even concerts. An outfit can help set the tone of a story - just like the work of award-winning costume designer Bob Ringwood. He created the 1989 version of the Batsuit, which has remained the basic template on which all subsequent live-action Batsuits are based.

With Halloween this weekend, we felt inspired to dream BIG and use famous costumes as references to make our own!

Creative Prompt

• If you could be anything for Halloween, what would you be?
• Design your ULTIMATE dream costume! Use different textures of things you may have around the house, like cotton balls or feathers!

Remember to share your photos on Instagram with us using
#CreateEveryDayRoswell
@RoswellRecandParks

Creating Creatures from the Classics

The Classics, or classical studies, refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman Cultures - their language, literature, art, history, archaeology, and philosophy. The study of these cultures help deepen societal understanding of the origins of social, political, and cultural values of our world.

Part of these ancient cultures included mythology.

Think monsters, gods, and heroes. All spur from Greek mythology. But Mythology also offers so much more: inspiration for works of arts, understanding human condition, how ancient people made sense of unexplainable phenomena.

Many well-loved creatures come from mythology - unicorns, mermaids, gnomes and fairies. These types of creatures are an important part of culture, appearing in oral stories, books, movies, and video games. Each creature has their own strength and weakness. For example, if you were to gaze into the eyes of Medusa or the snakes on her head, you would turn into stone!

What is your favorite mythological creature? If you could be any mythological creature, what would you be?

Creative Prompt

• Let's create our own mythological creatures!
• Write down a list of animals or creatures - your favorites, ones you find interesting, or maybe even funny
• Write down what features are most interesting to you about each one
• Now, start to combine some of those features together to create brand new creatures
• Illustrate and color your creature - don't forget to include their special powers
• Name your creature and write a background for it - Where does it live? What does it eat? How does it move?


Remember to share your photos on Instagram with us using
#CreateEveryDayRoswell
@RoswellRecandParks


Back to the Top

A Sprinkle of History…plus a historic offer!

History is not just the study of past events, but also the discovery, collection, organization, preservation, and presentation of information about these events.

Think about all the history that is always humming around us - in your community, in the buildings you work or live in, in the nature that surrounds us, in the roadways that used to be dirt, and even within your own family.

What pieces of your family history or heritage are most important to you? How has your family documented their history through the decades?

One way many families stay connected to their own history is through recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation.

Family recipes have travelled and modernized through the years, bringing people together for centuries.

Roswell's historic house museums have a long standing tradition of gathering in the kitchen, hearth, and dining room of the family home. These homes showcase the history and evolution of from the 19th century into the 20th century.

In honor of National Arts and Humanities Month, visit one of Roswell's 3 historic house museums and enjoy $1 off your ticket (using the code NAHM) for the week of October 24 – 31. We also offer open-hearth cooking demonstrations at Smith Plantation twice a month and our cooking interpreter will be in the cookhouse on October 24! Come check it out and you may get inspired for your own family meal. Purchase your tickets at www.Roswellgov.com/tickets.

Creative Prompt

• What is one of your favorite family recipes?
• Write the recipe in your creative journal.
• What memories does the recipe hold for you and your family?
• Illustrate your memories and what the recipe's final results looks like.

Take it one step further!
Make your recipe! Spend some time with loved ones, in person or virtually, in the kitchen talking about your family history while making your recipe.

Remember to share your photos on Instagram with us using
#CreateEveryDayRoswell
@RoswellRecandParks

The Color of Music

Music, one of the most loved types of performing arts, is often called "the universal language." It is a tool for connectedness, emotional expression, relaxation and even used for documenting history. Music is found in every known society, both past and present. The earliest known forms of music were drum-based since basic percussion instruments, such as rocks and sticks, were readily available at the time.

Music includes various elements: pitch (melody and harmony), rhythm (tempo and meter), dynamics (loudness and softness), and timbre and texture (the "color" of a musical sound).

Let’s think about the color of music.

Did you know that some people routinely see bold and expressive colors when listening to music? This is a type of Synesthesia.

Synesthesia is when you experience one of your senses through another. For example, you might hear the word "Art" and see blue. Or you might read the word "door" and taste citrus fruit. The American Synesthesia Association’s recent studies suggest around 4% of us have Synesthesia in some form.

As a child, singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams saw burgundy or baby blue when he heard music from the band Earth, Wind and Fire. Williams has said "the ability to see and feel [this way] was a gift given to me, and if it was taken from me suddenly I'm not sure that I could make music. I wouldn't have a measure to understand it."

Have you experienced a form of synesthesia?

What do you hear, taste or see when you hear a certain song or word?

For this creative prompt, let’s focus on what colors and shapes we might see when listening to music.

Creative Prompt

• Grab some coloring tools - watercolors, markers, crayons, etc.
• Play one of your favorite songs
• Listen closely and draw the colors or shapes the song conveys to you

Share your Create Every Day journal entries with us!
#CreateEveryDayRoswell
@RoswellRecandParks

The Architecture of Religion

Throughout human history, Religion has inspired many masterpieces in varying forms - music, painting, literature and even architecture.

Many of the World’s architectural triumphs have been the result of religion. From the Great Pyramid of Giza, standing as a reminder of the ancient Egyptian culture in Egypt, to the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, known for its gothic style and flying buttresses - history and traditions are remembered, celebrated and preserved in places of worship.

Look closer at many of the great religious places or the ones you might drive by or attend in your own community. Although each place is designed in their own unique way, they are all a simple collection of shapes, patterns, and spaces blending together to create a single structure.

An architect applies many skills to bring their vision to life.

What skills do you think an architect needs to design a beautiful place?

Creative Prompt

• You will need extra paper (construction, magazine pages, and books) and glue/tape.
• Looking at the different shapes used to create structures and places, cut out various geometrical shapes. How many can you think of to cut out?
• Circle
• Triangle
• Rectangle
• Rhombus
• Square
• Trapezoid
• Play around with the shapes to form different elements to a building. A triangle may turn into a roof, rectangles stacked on top of each other turn into columns, and a square may become a window or door.
• What structures are your favorite that you created? Tape or glue those into your journal!

Take it one step further!
Recreate a structure known for its architectural greatness or maybe one you would like to visit.

Share your Create Every Day journal entries with us!
#CreateEveryDayRoswell
@RoswellRecandParks

Linguistics

Linguistics is the study of human speech - including the units, nature, structure, and modification of language. When we speak, we produce clicks and smacks to form words and noises to communicate with. Linguistics asks questions like “What distinguishes human language from other animal communication systems?”

One branch of Linguistics is Phonetics - the study of the production of speech and the interaction of different vocal organs, for example the lips, tongue and teeth, to produce particular sounds.

There are 26 letters in the English language, but over 40 unique sounds we create to help distinguish one word or meaning from another.

Think of the letter B. How do we make the “B” sound in the word “Bird”?

Starting with lips together as air from the lungs is forced over our vocal chords, creating a vibration. The air escapes through the parting of our lips and we get the “B” sound.

We use sounds to understand each other and our surroundings. These different sounds help us communicate - sometimes without the use of words, like a fire truck siren telling us they are on their way or a whistle to get someone’s attention.

Creative Prompt

• With paper and coloring pencils or markers, go outside and find a comfortable place to sit.
• Close your eyes. Tune into the noises around you.
• Do you hear a bird in a tree? A car driving by? People talking nearby?
• Use what you hear to create a map of the sounds you hear.
• Is a fountain to your left and a delivery truck driving by on your right?
• Draw where you hear those noises around you. You can use circles, shapes, doodles and color to illustrate your sound map.
• Think about what all these different sounds might be communicating

Share your Create Every Day journal entries with us!
#CreateEveryDayRoswell
@RoswellRecandParks

It's Literature
Written works and poetry
This is a Haiku

Literature is defined as books and other written works, especially those considered to have creative or artistic merit or lasting value. Some definitions even include spoken or sung texts.

One type of literature that has been loved for centuries is poetry. Poetry even predates written text. The earliest poetry was used to preserve history by being recited or sung.

Let's explore one type of poetry - the Haiku, which is believed to have first appeared in Japanese literature during the 17th century (1601-1700).

"A haiku uses just a few words to capture a moment and create a picture in the reader's mind. It is like a tiny window into a scene much larger than itself."

Haiku is written in three lines:

• Five syllable first line
• Seven syllable second line
• Five syllables third line

Example:

• Let's write a Haiku
• About the changing seasons
• Yellow leaves in Fall

Creative Prompt

• Pick a season
• Write out all the things you love about that season
• Using the words you wrote, piece together a haiku!
• How many Haiku's can you write based on the words you chose?

Share your Create Every Day journal entries with us!
#CreateEveryDayRoswell
@RoswellRecandParks

Breathe into Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of humanity - our evolution and our characteristics. Our similarities and differences as a species, and the diversity of existence and cultures across the world and through time.

Think for a minute or so what we all as humans share. What connects us?

Here is what we came up with:

• All of our hearts beat.
• We all share a sense of community and appreciation for cultural experiences.
• We all breathe in.
• We all breathe out.

To tune into your own connection to being just one human (out of close to 8 billion) living in this collective home of ours, let's take a moment to mindfully draw our breath.

Creative Prompt

• You will need colored pencils, water colors, pens or crayons - something that you can draw with!
• With your pencil or drawing tool in hand, place it to paper
• Take a moment to observe your breathing
• Visualize and draw your breath as a straight line
• Now vary your breathing and draw different patterns to match your breathing.
  • How does this change the design of your straight breath line?
  • Breathe slower - or deeper - how does this change how your drawing represents your breath?
  • Breathe faster or more shallow. Does your line get thicker? Thinner?
  • Breathe in - let your breath guide your pencil.
• Next, draw a few different lines and practice breathing to match these patterns.
• Finally, close your eyes. Inhale. Draw your own line on the exhales.

Take it one step further!
Add some color to your breathing art - what color did you feel your breath for each exercise? Did the color change based on the speed of breath? Are the shallow breaths a different color than the deep breaths? Do the line patterns you drew look darker or brighter than your straight line?

Share your Create Every Day journal entries with us!
#CreateEveryDayRoswell
@RoswellRecandParks

Seeing Dots with Visual Arts

Visual Art is all around us on a daily basis and you probably don't even notice it! From the clothes you wear, to the websites you visit, the car you drive in, to posters, books, packaging, and furniture.

Visual Arts are created primarily for visual perception and even include design of all varieties: graphic, fashion, industrial, interior, landscape.

Visual Art is a large umbrella covering many different kinds of mediums and genres.

One technique used by many famous painters is called Pointillism, which dates back to 1886. Pointillism is a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of color are applied in patterns to form an image.

For our next prompt, Pointillism is the game and Yayoi Kusama, George Seurat, Vincent Van Gogh, and Paul Signac are the names!

Take a moment to look up the paintings of these artists for inspiration!

Creative Prompt

• Find a place outside with an inspiring landscape
• Using the idea of pointillism and your medium of choice (pencil, marker, crayon, paint, fingerprints, etc.), create a pointillist version of your chosen landscape.
• Combine other techniques to make your art unique - try out realism, abstract, or impressionistic!

Take it one step further!
Ask your friends and family members what their quote would be!

Share your Create Every Day journal entries with us!
#CreateEveryDayRoswell
@RoswellRecandParks

It's all Greek to Me Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of the nature of knowledge, reality, and existence. More simply, it is a way of thinking about the world, the universe, and society - and the connections between them and ourselves. We have been referencing and reflecting on the words and works of the world's greatest philosophers for centuries. Many philosophers' ideas and quotes have stood the test of time.

"The only thing I know is that I know nothing" - Socrates, Greek Philosopher

"I think therefore I am" ("Cogito, ergo sum") - René Descartes, French Philosopher

"No man's knowledge here can go beyond his experience" - John Locke, British Philosopher

Creative Prompt

• In your journal, write your own life philosophy quote: What are your guiding principles? How do you connect with those around you? What values are important to you?
• Can you think of more than one?

Take it one step further!
Ask your friends and family members what their quote would be!

Share your Create Every Day journal entries with us!
#CreateEveryDayRoswell
@RoswellRecandParks

Learning Languages

Language is a system of spoken, manual (signed), or written symbols that allow human beings to express themselves within a social group or culture.

There are about 6,500 different languages used around the world!
How many different languages do you know?
Which ones would you like to learn?

Creative Prompt

• Pick one of your favorite words.
• Research that word in three different languages.
  • Google Translate is a great resource for this.
• Write out or illustrate each language in your journal.
  • For example, we chose the word humanities (English)
    • Humanidades (Spanish)
    • Humanités (French)
    • Scienze Umane (Italian)
• Think about how the words look similar or different.
• If you wanted to create your own language, what would the word sound like? How would you spell it?

Take it one step further!
Sit down with a friend or family member and create your own language - maybe you want to create a language that uses only symbols like the Egyptians used hieroglyphics.

Share your Create Every Day journal entries with us!
#CreateEveryDayRoswell
@RoswellRecandParks

Digging Archaeology

Archaeology is the study of human history and prehistory through examining historic sites and analyzing artifacts.

Did you know one of the most famous discoveries occurred in 1974 when a farmer was simply digging around and stumbled upon the tomb of China’s first emperor? This tomb houses over 9,000 sculptures of soldiers, chariots, horses and even musicians!

Creative Prompt

• Exploring outside, how many different colors of dirt or soil can you dig up?
• Collect a small bit of each color.
• Create simple dirt drawings or prints using the dirt as your artistic medium and items such as paint brush, water, fingers, and leaves as tools.
• Does one dirt hold to the paper better than the others? What happens if you add water and paint with the dirt?
• Think about each type of dirt as you create - imagining how long it has been around and what might be buried deep underneath it.
• Write about what you found near each type of dirt.

Take it one step further!
Dig a small hole and see if you can find your very own discovery! Make sure you keep a record in your journal of what you find.

Share your Create Every Day journal entries with us!
#CreateEveryDayRoswell
@RoswellRecandParks

An Introduction to the Arts and Humanities

What are the arts and humanities? At the heart of the matter, it is the study of human society and culture - the way we perceive the world and how we appreciate it. Specifically, they combine the disciplines of Anthropology, Archaeology, the Classics, History, Linguistics, Languages, Law, Politics, Literature, Philosophy, Religion, Performing Arts, and Visual Arts.

Take a moment to think about arts and humanities in your life.
Imagine a world without art and without the core subjects that make up the humanities. Does that sound boring? Dull? Unimaginative?
What are the most important ones to you?
How do they impact your ideas, interactions and role in your community?

Which ones are relevant in your day-to-day life?

We will be highlighting a different one with each prompt we release - so get ready to explore, learn and create!

Creative Prompt

• Trace your hand on a piece of paper.
• Congrats! You have drawn the trunk and branches of your Arts and Humanities Tree!
• Make each branch (finger) a specific art or humanity and brainstorm how you connect to it - or maybe list one you want to learn more about.
• Add doodles, words, inspiration and color to your tree to help inspire you to connect and learn more!

Share your Create Every Day journal entries with us!
#CreateEveryDayRoswell
@RoswellRecandParks