For my Capstone project I designed and painted a mural on the formerly ugly wall on my block. When I heard of this project, I almost immediately knew what I would be doing. I’ve always liked art, but mostly small things like drawing and small paintings. I knew going into this that a mural would be tough work, and I wasn’t wrong. Getting the materials for this was also tough, because of the way I chose to go about it. I decided that I would not be buying paint for this, so all the paint used here was either trashpicked or something I already had. After the design was done, I started sketching out my work on the prepped wall. Then I painted it. Painting took the longest out of everything, and was definitely the hardest. But I did finish, and I am happy with the product. This mural includes a welcome to my neighborhood, “Francisville”, a map of the place, and some architecture you will see when you visit. I went in on what would be good for my community on this project, and I think I succeeded. Having completed this project, I know all the mistakes I made along the way, and have learned so much. For example, don’t mix oil based paint with acrylic paint because it will turn into sludge. But more importantly, doing something kind for your community is very important, and something everyone should try and do, no matter the size of the action.

Seen above is the completed mural that I designed and painted with all recycled (or trash picked) paint.

“The Road ” is a book that is woven with descriptive and morbid words and events, that creates a truly harrowing story. The two main characters trek across a burned and dead Earth on a voyage to nothing. They take the reader with them as they go, and every little thing is expressed with the utmost of detail. The characters are nameless, and the journey ends without a destination. Although the destination throughout the story is never really decided on, one thing these characters did stick to was the road. The road wasn’t a single solitary road, but a series of different off-chutes and main interstates that made their journey. Because all the reader knows is what the man knows, mapping this trek would be next to impossible. However, a map doesn’t just have to be the physical route they went, so this map is of something a little different.

I decided to guess the area they started out in and how their journey laid out. New York state and New Jersey was my best guess, so that’s what’s on the map. I decided to document most of the times that the dad has an internal monologue and turn those moments into symbols. Then, I guessed a route that seemed accurate and drew those symbols on the map to where they could have happened. The first symbol comes from page 75 when he says, “Golden chalice, good to house a god.” The man is of course talking about the boy here, saying how he sees the essence of god in him. Skipping a few, on page 114, he thinks, “Can you do it? When the time comes?..Curse God and die.” I drew the gun for this moment. The gun holds so much power, they protect it with their lives and in this moment he is willing to use it despite his god. In the third to last one, the boy gets sick and the man says this: “You have to stay near, you have to be quick. So you can be with him. Hold him close.” I picked the blind monster in the beginning to signify that everything wrong that happens to them is really just up to chance and there is nothing deciding their fate. Sickness, the world dying, hunger, they’re all blind. McCarthy shows the ups and downs of their trip in these small looks into the man’s mind, but overall it shows his slow decline in hope and climb in desperation. In the beginning he seems hopeful, “Golden chalice, good to house a god”, but by the end the man has completely lost hope and seems strung-out: “He is coming to steal my eyes. To seal my mouth with dirt.”(261)

My artwork is about the scene where Offred finally talks to her walking buddy Ofglen. It happens when they go by the Soul Scrolls building, and they stop to look in and see the “Holy Rollers” at work. These machines are explained to be prayer machines, writing and speaking prayers that people send in. I decided to go with a sinister look when drawing these praying machines. This was an easy decision. Offred describes them as toneless and metallic, and from their function, they don’t seem visually appealing. The part that I hope stands out on these machines is the eye. Throughout “The Handmaid’s Tale” eyes play a big role in the way the new government “decorates”.They keep the sense of privacy low and people on their best behavior. I drew the eyes looking at Offred and Ofglen, because although they probably aren’t pointed at them in the story, they might as well be.

While they are stopped, Ofglen takes the first step and reaches out to Offred with a risky question: “Do you think God listens to these machines?” After thinking over her options, Offred gives into her curiosity and says no. The conversation that follows is the first of many important conversations that they have together. I think of it as a kind of checkpoint for Offred. Now I want to back up a little because what I drew was the moment right before the dialogue, when they share a moment of eye contact. I think this moment is arguably more important than the conversation, because this eye contact is even more rare than talking is in this world, and it isn’t even face to face, it’s in a reflection! I tried to make this picture look like it was from the point of view of a passerby, an outside perspective, because that’s who we are in this situation. Offred is writing to us, we are looking into her life from what she writes, but if we were to walk by her in person, we would never know who she was. However, if you look closely, you can see a faint reflection in the shatterproof glass of the Soul Scrolls window. This is where I tried to tie it all in with a little bit of symbolism. The machines see the two Handsmaids. they have eyes, and they can see them. They mention bugs (hidden microphones). They could be anywhere, so they can never be one hundred percent sure that they can talk. They are not safe.

My interpretation of the reflection was sort of like a fourth dimension, a safe space to talk for these two renegades. It is meant to seem crazy or weird, because well, the fact that they have to take these precautions just to talk is pretty crazy and weird. I also wanted to portray a sense of disconnect from the surrounding area and the clothes they wear to what they really have their minds on. I wanted to show the shell that they are encased in, and what lies beneath.

The Handmaid’s Tale is a story about a human’s experience in life. Margaret Atwood wrote this story through the point of view of Offred, a woman living in a dystopian society. A dystopian society is not something that any reader would have lived through, because it’s dystopian, it’s futuristic, it’s what could happen, right? Well, Atwood takes that definition and flips it, saying that she can only include things that happened in our own world history. So when Offred encounters something horrifying or crazy in her day-to-day life, it makes the encounter even more scary because most likely the reader knows people it has happened to, and how it very well could happen to them. This kind of writing keeps readers on their toes, keeps them curious, because at times, the reader can find themselves reading something of a memory.

Writing that appeals to the senses can also keep a reader interested. Using descriptive words that go above and beyond to describe even the littlest things, like a dresser or a flower entices the reader. Atwood’s use of this writing style is extremely effective at drawing the reader in and pretty much forcing them into situations that they aren’t really in. This can be an enjoyable experience, but it can also be uncomfortable, even off putting. Sometimes it almost makes the reader want to put the book down and take a cold shower, maybe take a walk in the city, enjoy the life they live instead of the one they’re being sucked into. It can also be confusing, the words at times are nothing normal and are structured in run on sentences that lead on and on into a vague answer.

The section that is most descriptive and resonating is the laughing scene. Here’s the context: Offred has just been to her first meeting with the Commander, and she’s reminiscing about what went on. She’s confused, flustered, relieved, and so much more. She feels like there could be an ulterior motive for the Commander to invite her into his room. She thinks, “Is this really just to play scrabble and give a quick kiss?” Nevertheless, she’s back in her room, safe and sound, with no harm done. She starts to remember a documentary that she saw as a little girl on the TV. It was about a woman who was with this Natzi and fourty years later is being interviewed about it. Her appearance is notable in its description: “She was carefully made up, heavy in the mascara on her eyelashes, rouge on the bones of her cheeks, over which the skin was stretched like a rubber glove pulled tight.” She goes on to explain how this woman defends her Natzi husband to this day, but days after the interview commits suicide. Offred then says the most she remembers of this is the makeup.

Perhaps this memory is what triggers the following scene, which is nothing like the one before, and isn’t like any other scene in the book so far. “Then I hear something, inside my body. I’ve broken, something has cracked, that must be it. Noise is coming up, coming out of the broken place, in my face.” Hold on. This sounds very similar to one of my experiences. Let’s continue: “Without warning: I wasn’t thinking about here or there or anything. If I let the noise get out into the air it will be laughter, too loud, too much of it, someone is bound to hear, and then there will be hurrying footsteps and commands and who knows? Judgment.” These few sentences described down to a tee one of my experiences from my past. When I was smaller I used to get panic attacks, and the first time I had one, it pretty much went down just like this. This scene was so descriptive that it brought me back to that moment, I remembered it clearly as day. It was freaky. It was uncomfortable. I remember the fear of other people finding out about it, the judgment. The judgment that Offred faces is far more dangerous than mine would’ve been, but to a ten year old’s brain, it isn’t much different. The only thing is that I would replace the word laughter with crying. In that lies an irony that really brings to life the mental anguish that Offred is put through. Atwood wraps up the chapter as well as the scene with, “All I can hear now is the sound of my own heart, opening and closing, opening and closing, opening–”. It ends with just a blank space, no more punctuation, just the rest of the page blank. I imagine Offred lying there, listening to her heartbeat, hoping it doesn’t rise again, and ultimately succumbing to sleep, just as I have done many times before.

I included the paragraph about the Natzi woman not just because it has good descriptions (although it does), but also because I believe that this is directly correlated to this freak-out. See, when I had a freak out, it was usually due to some sort of trigger, like a memory or a setting. But like Offred’s memory of the documentary, these triggers didn’t seem connected at first glance. However If you look deeper you can find connections that make sense. I think her freak out is due to guilt, being with the Commander even though there are terrible things going on, and women that can’t do half of what she does. See the connection between her and the Natzi women? They’re both playing the same role as the mistress who feigns ignorance and keeps living a more enjoyable life. 

In my previous post, I explained what my reason for trying to solve the parking problem was. That reason is mainly because of how much it affects me and my family and everyone around me everyday. When my teacher told me to think about something that related to me and that I wanted to see better, I immediately thought of this. So, the last post is just looking at the problem, and seeing what I could possibly do about this, and why this is even a problem in the first place. Then I conclude with the main reason why people park illegally, which is pretty much just tradition.

Since my last post, new articles have come out due to Covid that are surprisingly related to parking. So because of the city being practically shut down, a lot of the travelers that usually come here to eat, tour, and party, now don’t. That means much less cars, and much more parking spots. Also, no one is going into work, so you can account for that too. I haven’t found many articles on this, but it’s pretty much a given. That being said, parking also may have also gotten a little worse. Let me explain, so restaurants are just now opening back up to their inside seating. So what have they been doing for the past year? Outdoor seating. But where do the seats go, we live in the city. They go right in the street, blocking the way for traffic and parking. I’ve personally seen this many times, but it doesn’t speak for every restaurant, so this is slightly less of an issue.

Wanting to do a little more research on this project, I reached out to my neighbor who works as a meter revenue collector. He told me a lot about how the PPA has worked in the past, and how it is changing today. The interview is linked [here] (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FHjv6_8-NYTpM_P63iPwdAvHs_p7sE1D/view?usp=sharing0) is very interesting and talks more in depth about the coronavirus and how it conflicts parking.

I feel that these changes are much needed. If people see that there are less spots possible to park in, maybe they won’t take the car out as much. There are many different means of public transportation that are cheap and pretty easy to use. This would significantly cut down on traffic, and most of all, parking problems. Road closures for pedestrians and outside seating might just be the accidental solution to this problem.

What I pursued for my agent of change is a bicycle taxi service/informant. Basically, I ride around on my tandem bicycle and pick up people and take them where they want to go. While im riding them, I talk to them about parking issues and inform them on how they can help. This has worked well for me because I don’t even ask for payment, I just ask where they are going. I do this because I think that any trip to center city without a car is a worthwhile trip.

Above is shown parking conjestion

Parking, it’s one thing that you have definitely encountered in your lifetime many times. Whether it be you looking for a spot, or your parents cursing at the wheel when they come up empty. For many people in the world, this problem differs, whether it be in rural towns, or a city like Philadelphia. As you may know, the art of parking in Philadelphia has its ups and downs, but I think we can all agree that it is one of a kind. This article says it best when it says, “Philly has a nationally renowned public transit system.” This fully encapsulates the essence of the experience of parking in Philadelphia. So what’s all of this about putting Philly parking down so much, well let’s see.

Another way of looking at it is statistics. Looking at a satellite view, you can see that there are approximately 2,172,896 parking spots in Philly alone. So what’s the problem? Well, it turns out that %60 of these are private, let alone all of the other issues, and comparisons, like housing density to parking, as seen below.

Things like this wouldn’t be possible without the certain rules and regulations that the Philly Parking Authority have set up, or more importantly, haven’t set up.

One of the main causes of this problem is actually tradition. You may not have thought that, but it’s very true in some parts of Philly. In South Philly, the median parking is one of the weirdest sights for tourists. People that come here to visit see these cars in the middle of the street (as seen above) and probably think they’re crazy, but in reality that’s just what the tradition is. Another huge “tradition” here is parking right on the sidewalk. When asked about this, people usually just say something along the lines of “that’s how it’s been done for years, why would we change?”