Driving Question: How can we model a clay sculpture inspired by Mexican beliefs and religious syncretism (the merging of different beliefs) to represent a fusion of our personal beliefs and values?

Project Summary: Bido calls his sculpture “Al Khail,” which means horse in Arabic. It is intended to show a fusion of his values and beliefs. The wings are a symbol of freedom, ambition, and a representation of spirituality. Al Khail is inspired mainly by nature.

Bido’s belief in “Kama Tudeen Tudan,” meaning “Good Karma,” is represented by the birds on the top of the horse and inspired by the Old Man’s Beard plant grown in Oaxaca’s cloud forest.

Both the plant and the tree live together and are kind to each other as part of the mutualistic symbiosis relationship. Similarly, the horse was kind enough to let the birds live on top of him; it turns out the birds feed on the little creatures on the horse’s body, creating a mutually beneficial relationship that started with an act of kindness.

Student Reflection:
“I had a limiting belief before starting this module that I’m not very artistic — the first time I experimented with clay I found it very difficult; however, I dedicated time to experimenting with different techniques and used digital art and 3D modeling to help create my sculpture. I learned that just by accepting something and working hard for it, we can really achieve more than we expect.”

Driving Question: How can we model a clay sculpture inspired by Mexican beliefs and religious syncretism (the merging of different beliefs) to represent a fusion of our personal beliefs and values?

Project Summary: Life is seen as a transitory stage towards something greater for many belief systems. “El Camino” – meaning “The Path” – represents a merger between the Zapotec and Catholic belief systems in Oaxaca, and the most important one in the construction of Lucas’s faith, Buddhism.

The upper part of Lucas’s sculpture symbolizes the Zapotec’s way towards Mictlan, a place of eternal peace, which consists of a nine-level journey that takes four years to complete. The cross on the opposite end is an element of the Christian faith that embraces the challenges that ultimately become our passports to sanctification. In the middle, they meet to become one, referencing both the syncretism in Oaxaca and the end of duality – a Buddhist concept of spiritual enlightenment.

Student Reflection:
“Over my weeks in Mexico, I could explore in-depth the values of the belief systems that gave birth to Oaxaca’s unique syncretic landscape. As I appreciated the elements of these highly different cultures, I was able to see a multitude of symbols that resembled my own faith everywhere. The final sculpture I constructed is an embracement of both my learnings and some of my most foundational beliefs about life and the universe.”

Driving Question: How can we model a clay sculpture inspired by Mexican beliefs and religious syncretism (the merging of different beliefs) to represent a fusion of our personal beliefs and values?

Project Summary: For her project, Minahil created a sculpture of Qandeel-e-Zeist (Light of Life), which embodies the values and beliefs that guide and enlighten her life.

Minahil’s project blends Zapotec symbolism, the Chinese Yin and Yang, Quranic verses, Urdu poetry, and personal emblems that convey how different cultures, people, and places have shaped the person Minahil is today.

The treasure chest represents her beliefs and values and highlights how the elements in her sculpture are invaluable to her. Leaving the treasure chest open expresses the importance of being open-minded. It further indicates how her values and beliefs are changing.

Student Reflection: “Everyone in the world has a set of values and beliefs that guide and enlighten their lives. Through this module, I learned about my own values and beliefs in-depth, developed a greater understanding and appreciation of the personal values of indigenous cultures in Oaxaca, especially the Zapotecs.”

Driving Question: How can I preserve a part of Zapotec history and give it a new life in the form of VR experiences?

Project Summary:

Aarushi and Alex’s video focused on the Central Valley of Oaxaca and the civilization that emerged known as the “Be’ena’ Za” or “The Cloud People.” The Be’ena’ Za thrived and became one of the largest civilizations in Mesoamerica, and today they are known as the Zapotec.

Alex and Aarushi introduce viewers to the world of the Zapotec through a VR experience. Their video takes you back in time on a journey into the magnificent city of Monte Albán. The pair invite you to embrace the wisdom of the Zapotec through astrology, religious, and ancient beliefs.

Student Reflection: This module was really exciting for me. I learned a lot of new things and added multiple new subjects to my skill set. This module was also extremely challenging since I had no real prior knowledge about virtual reality or archaeology, but because of our excursions and guest speakers, I was able to create a video VR experience which I am extremely proud of!”- Aarushi A.

Driving Question: How can I use video to present my investigations (SPEED factors) into the lives of the Zapotec people of Oaxaca, Mexico?

Project Summary: In this project, Zoya looked at the lives of the Zapotec community in Oaxaca, and how their lives are impacted by their exposure to Spanish. Her film explores the different aspects of Spanish language exposure (in education, economy, and stigma) and what it meant for the Zapotec people, with a question left to the audience: What does the future look like for the Zapotec?

Driving Question: How can I use video to present my investigations (SPEED factors) into the lives of the Zapotec people of Oaxaca, Mexico?

Project Summary: For his project, Diego focused on the death of indigenous languages in Oaxaca and how the Zapotec people are fighting to keep their language alive, despite the odds.

Student Reflection:
“Even though I live in Mexico, exploring another side of the culture was really interesting, such as language death. Connecting with people and learning about the story was something special that I can’t really put into words.”

Driving Question: How can I modernize traditional Filipino fashion?

Project Overview: For her mastery project, CM1 Student Gigi Engalla set out to create a fashion collection that modernizes the traditional Filipino. To do so, she mastered elements of couture craftsmanship and developed a deep understanding of Filipino fashion by learning about its significance and how its classic features can be integrated into a modern medium.

Driving Question: How can I apply an understanding of flow state into physical activity and self reflection order to increase my well being?

Project Description:

For this module, as a way to further learn about the flow state, I began learning how to hula hoop. During this process, I documented my practice each week and made a compilation video of my progress. This video shows my progress from when I first got my hoop, only knowing a few simple tricks, to six weeks in, when I have learned several more complex techniques.

Reflection:

“For me, what was most interesting about this project was not so much the hula hooping aspect, but learning about the flow state. I have been interested in neuroscience for quite some time now, and it was fascinating to be learning about something I could so clearly see demonstrated in my life through the practice with hula hooping.”

Driving Question: How might we produce a product or concept that contributes to a more sustainable fashion future?

Final Product: My summative product for this module was a textile art rug bag that visually incorporated ideas of punk and queer fashion. The bag itself is sort of a tote bag style and on each side there is a different design that I hand punched. For the “punk” side of the bag I designed a traditionally punk aesthetic image of an eye, a large X in front of it, and the words “F**k off”. When designing this, I wanted to keep in mind the traditional punk look as well as the values of being anti-capitalist, anti-oppression, and just generally living outside of the traditional social norms. For the other side of the bag, I wanted to express more ideas of the queer self and experience with a rainbow design around a stick figure body. My aim was for it to be colorful and expressive, just like the queercore fashion movements that intersected with the punk subculture. 

What were your goals for this module? How did you achieve them?

I wanted to have fun creating my own unique textile art piece that incorporated different subculture fashions I was interested in exploring. I also wanted to grow in my creativity and continue to make new pieces as an artist. I got to learn a lot more about the history of punk fashion and the queer community’s influence on it. I’m really happy with my final product because I think it’s a very unique piece that not only visually represents the aesthetics of this movement, but because I also made it myself, it embodies the values of the punk and queercore movements as well. 

What did you learn about yourself or about your creative process or about your medium?

I’m pretty new to making rugs, but I’ve absolutely fallen in love with the art form. Making this rug bag was a bit of a risk, but I’m really proud of how it turned out. I like taking creative risks and having fun with my art. In the future, I hope to continue to have fun and practice creativity with any art project I do. 

Driving Question: How can I use creative art practices to engage in discourse and dialogue on counterculture, social justice or everyday life through zines?

Project Description:

In this module I made a zine (book) about the life of Rupert Murdoch, why he does what he does, and how his influence works.

Quote:

I learned that with a little bit of inspiration and a non-judgemental audience, art becomes a lot easier.