Transience

Everything is temporary, whether it is our anxieties, our joys, or anything in between. These emotions are fleeting, but it is important to focus on these moments of intense mental states. My current work highlights the micro and macro aspects of emotion and body language with various personal experiences from myself and others. My lifesize drawings focus on the larger narrative and allow a connection between the audience and the work, whereas my screen prints highlight individual features of the human body. The imagery is developed by having conversations with those who identify as women in a specific age demographic as it personally feels the most relatable and comfortable. Sharing mine and other women’s experiences through the work provides a deeper understanding of how diverse our emotions can be. They discuss their experiences about specific body parts they sense emotions and what color may be associated with those feelings. Where do they feel elation, anger, or sadness? It is then highlighted with color to provide a visual language rather than a verbal language. Color psychology is also a factor to the work, and it allows an exploration and a gaining an understanding of how and why we associate colors with specific meanings. This also allows an exploration of how this concept can change with symbolism. The work is a commanding size, allowing women’s emotions to be seen and given attention, regardless of the feeling’s temporariness. This provides the opportunity to discuss discrepancies between males and females and how portraying emotions have been criticized, or often, invalidated women’s feelings altogether. I am inspired by many women artists such as artist and educator Jenny Granberry who also works with the human figure, using more monochromatic themes. Jen Mazza has also been an inspiration for a long time with her intimate compositions and selective color palettes throughout her different series. My work uses a combination of body language and color to create an outward projection of our inner moods, and this has been a focus for the work.https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/art498/1082/thumbnail.jp

Alien Registration- Cox, Sarah (Portland, Cumberland County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/25169/thumbnail.jp

Processing and Characterization of Continuous Basalt Fiber Reinforced Ceramic Matrix Composites Using Polymer Derived Ceramics

The need for high performance vehicles in the aerospace industry requires materials which can withstand high loads and high temperatures. New developments in launch pads and infrastructure must also be made to handle this intense environment with lightweight, reusable, structural materials. By using more functional materials, better performance can be seen in the launch environment, and launch vehicle designs which have not been previously used can be considered. The development of high temperature structural composite materials has been very limited due to the high cost of the materials and the processing needed. Polymer matrix composites can be used for temperatures up to 260°C. Ceramics can take much higher temperatures, but they are difficult to produce and form in bulk volumes. Polymer Derived Ceramics (PDCs) begin as a polymer matrix, allowing a shape to be formed and cured and then to be pyrolized in order to obtain a ceramic with the associated thermal and mechanical properties. The use of basalt in structural and high temperature applications has been under development for over 50 years, yet there has been little published research on the incorporation of basalt fibers as a reinforcement in the composites. In this study, continuous basalt fiber reinforced PDCs have been fabricated and tested for the applicability of this composite system as a high temperature structural composite material. The oxyacetylene torch testing and three point bend testing have been performed on test panels and the test results are presented

Alien Registration- Cox, Sarah (Portland, Cumberland County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/25169/thumbnail.jp

Professional Practices Portfolio

As human beings, we want to look away from something that makes us uncomfortable, but we can be enthralled by it. I am currently creating work about the idea of restriction and confinement, specifically addressing body image. There is an underlying theme of the attraction-repulsion concept. Confronting audiences with less than desirable imagery creates a tension between my work and viewers. Creating that relationship fuels my work and allows me to cross uncomfortable boundaries and discuss our bodies in a contemporary way. I use charcoal and graphite to create work, occasionally with a limited but vivid color palette with soft pastels to emphasize a specific aspect of the drawing. I also have experimented with fabrics and branched into three-dimensional work. The use of watercolors creates very intense images. Utilizing color generates an even more disconcerting effect than plain graphite or charcoal, depending on the subject matter. Value shifts also evoke various emotions, allowing for strong contrast, or chiaroscuro, that creates visually pleasing pieces. My work includes both figures and human-like forms, and I also incorporate animals and meat as a way to communicate the same concept with different subject matter. Compositions vary in scale, and the imagery is often close to life size or larger. Because the human figure is often depicted, very organic forms are used to create a more accurate representation of a figure. Figurative artists such as Jenny Saville, Lucian Freud, and collaborative artists Cara Thayer and Louie Van Patten are an inspiration to my work. I connect with contemporary artists but still admire those in the past, especially Greek artists that projected ideal, natural beauty into sculptures. Their work draws me in with the beauty and softness it possesses from a distance then finding intricate details that give the piece liveliness. I am very inspired by the human figure and the exploration of individual components of our anatomy; there is joy in exploring how to render flesh with two-dimensional medium. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder also lends a role in how I am process-driven by choosing to depict meticulous and detailed imagery that may include repetition, which comes from obsessiveness. This has also inspired an admiration for intimate details of works such as eyelashes or the shine on a fingernail. Using these small details allows viewers to get personal with my work as they delve into the piece. The obsessiveness also lends to consistent worries about health and our instinctual need to rid the body of our ailments. Establishing a tense connection between unsettling imagery and viewers is how I discuss my obsessions with health and the small things we do not typically ponder upon. Joining the obsessive nature with the human figure starts a conversation between not only viewers and the work but also within myself as I explore various aspects of the human figure and how to present it in a way that attracts yet repulses

Optimizing the Involvement of the Members of Voluntary Organization Boards: Keys to Motivation

Not available

Alien Registration- Cox, Sarah (Portland, Cumberland County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/25169/thumbnail.jp

Reverse Revolution: Russia\u27s Constitutional Crisis

Russia is experiencing a crisis that threatens the continued relevance of its Constitution. This is demonstrated first by Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidency and the political crisis it has fueled. Second, it is shown by the Constitution’s inability to remedy the political crisis due to the collapse of separation of powers and federalism in Russia, and severe party underdevelopment. Part A of this note discusses Russia’s political crisis, namely the demise of democracy. Part B discusses the Constitution’s injuries, specifically the collapse of federalism, the demise of the separation of powers, and the state’s party underdevelopment. Together, these factors signify a constitutional crisis which can be cured only through substantive changes to the Constitution and Russia’s electoral laws, and a normative shift in Russian politics

Metaphor and Memory: How Metaphors Instantiate Schemas in and Influence Memory of Narrative

Metaphoric frames are prominently featured in public discourse. They highlight certain aspects of the target issues they are used to describe, thereby encouraging specific patterns of inference. Our goal was to test whether they would influence memory as well. Building off prior work, we contrasted two metaphors for crime: virus and beast. In a pilot study, we identified specific causes, examples, and solutions to crime that were congruent with each frame (one but not the other; e.g., people thought “drug use” better exemplified a crime virus, whereas “murder” better exemplified a crime beast). Participants (n = 469) read or listened to a short metaphorically-framed crime report, completed a filler task, and were prompted for the information they had seen/heard. Results indicated the virus metaphor facilitated memory, overall, but not the specific frame-congruent information, suggesting a more general influence of the frame than predicted