Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center

St. Augustine, FL

March 24th, 2022

https://www.lincolnvillemuseum.org

Description

The Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center is an African American history museum in Lincolnville. The museum occupies the historic Excelsior School Building, which served as the first public black high school in Saint Johns County in 1925. After desegregation, the school was closed and the building housed government offices until the mid 1980s. After the offices were phased out of use, a group of former Excelsior students and community members rallied to save the building from demolition. First operated as the Excelsior Museum and Cultural Center in 2005, the museum obtained its current name in 2012. The Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center's mission is to preserve and promote over 450 years of the African American story through the arts, educational programs, lectures, live performances and exhibits.

Exterior Photo #1

Exterior Photo #2

Artifact #1

The kora is a stringed instrument tied closely to the cultures of West Africa. Found throughout modern-day Senegal, Mali, Gambia, and Guinea, the kora has been deeply embedded in Griot (Jali) culture for hundreds of years. The kora has deep roots as an instrument of storytelling and folklore in West Africa, and has been played by the same musical guilds since the 16th century. 

Until recently, it was only played by men. 

Artifact #2

Manillas are a form of money used in West Africa. They are particularly associated with the Atlantic slave trade. They're made of bronze or copper and were produced in large numbers in a wide range of designs, sizes, and weights. Originating before the colonial period, perhaps as the result of trade with the Portuguese Empire, Manillas continued to serve as money until the late 1940s and are currently still used as decoration in popular culture. 

In Conversation Image #1

https://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=390139

A shrine dedicated to the Buffalo Soldiers reminded me of Bob Marley's song. “Buffalo Soldier” is a famous song by Bob Marley and the Wailers. The lyrics of the song recount the illustrious fight put up by the members of the legendary 10th Cavalry Regiment of the U.S. Army during the American Indian Wars. The Buffalo Soldiers were established by the United States Congress in September 1866 and were famed both for their valor and for the fact that they were the first peacetime regiments made up of only black men in the United States Army. A main task of the Buffalo Soldiers was to protect the white men who settled on Native American lands. They protected these men from being attacked by the Native Americans. 

In Conversation Image #2

https://www.floridashistoriccoast.com/blog/african-american-history-sea-floridas-historic-coast/

Much like the Buffalo Soldier shrine, there was a shrine dedicated to a black man named Frank B. Butler. He moved to St. Augustine in the early 1900's. He settled in the predominantly African-American area known as Lincolnville. At the time of Butler’s arrival, Lincolnville was a thriving community with its own commercial areas, churches and schools along with an arts and entertainment district. In 1914, at the young age of 29, Butler opened his own Palace Market adjacent to his home at 87 Washington Street. The financial success of the market, allowed him to get involved in real estate. Butler’s personality and business sense made him popular with many of the leaders of St. Augustine’s elite white society. As a result, he became privy to information about local foreclosures and other real estate opportunities. In 1925, he established the College Park Realty Company whose slogan was “Own Your Own Home: Pay Rent to Yourself and Provide for the Future.” Like his market, his real estate company was a great success. Selling to black St. Augustinians, Butler was known as a generous real estate salesman and landlord. At that time, Florida's  beaches were for white use only. In 1927, Butler took action on the injustice and purchased oceanfront property on Anastasia Island. He eventually acquired a tract that stretched across the island from the Atlantic to the Matanzas River, and made it an African American beach called Butler Beach. 

Passage/ Concept from ENG202

A passage from ENG202 that reminds me of the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center is "We Aren't the Only Species" by Craig Santos Perez. The poem addresses the comparison of man to animal. Its goal is for us to acknowledge that we in fact aren't the only species. The poem is essentially a list of "who" followed by a verb, all being things that both us and animals do but we fail to compare them as equal to us. The comparison of this poem and the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center become evident as people neglect the fact that animals are equivalent to as just as St. Augustine fails to acknowledge civil rights and black history in this town are just as important as other parts of our history. It is by far one of the greatest impacts in our cities history and it is truly embarrassing that trolley tours don't even ride through Lincolnville. It again is the failure to acknowledge something extremely relevant and equal.

Creative Component 

For my creative component, I decided to make a collage of popular recipes from the 1920's layered under a photo I found in the Palace Market shrine in the Lincolnville Museum. I made the black and white photo of African Americans in the Palace Market in the shape of an orange slice, representing produce in the market. The Palace Market was opened by Frank Butler. His reasonable prices, high quality goods, and free delivery services prospered Butler's business to the community. There he offered roasts, steaks, ham, sugar, milk, and other foodstuffs to St. Augustine's residents. I made this collage using recipes from an article titled "11 Scrumptious 1920s Recipes Straight From the South"and an app called Collage Maker for the orange slice and Photo Collage Maker PicJointer for the recipes in the background. I have used collage apps before, but neither of these two until I made this creative component.

 Lightner Museum

St. Augustine, FL

March 10th, 2022

https://lightnermuseum.org

Description

The Lightner Museum was founded in 1948 by Chicago publisher, collector, and professional hobbyist Otto C. Lightner. The museum offers an immersive experience of art, architecture, history, and design. The museum was formerly the Alcazar Hotel, a Gilded Age resort hotel commissioned by Henry Flagler. The middle of the museum displays compelling collections from lamps by Louis Comfort Tiffany and shells and geological specimens from across the globe to porcelain produced at Sèvres and Victorian mechanical musical instruments. 

Exterior Photo #1

Exterior Photo #2

Artifact #1

This is the Excelsior. It is a blown and drawn glass steam engine, featured in full working operation in exhibitions throughout the Northeast. William H. Allen and his wife Nora Allen (1850) were the master scientific glass blowers and designers.

Artifact #2

Emperor Moth: Saturnia atlantica. Latest classification: Hyalophora cecropia. Originally Painted on Stretched Canvas Attributed to Charles Willison Johnson. Johnson first came to St. Augustine in 1881. He made extensive collections of chiefly insects, mollusks, and fossils. He helped create the city's first museum, now the Saint Augustine Historical Society. This painting is one of the many enlarged insect paintings original to the museum. It was created to graphically enhance the insect collection then on view. 

In Conversation Image #1

                                       

https://www.upwell.org/hawksbill

In the Lightner Museum, there was a tortoise shell along with materials made from it on display. Tortoiseshell is a material produced from the shells of the larger species of tortoise and turtle, mainly the hawkbill sea turtle. Tortoise shell is a natural thermoplastic material, and behaves very much like certain synthetic or semisynthetic plastics. Using heat and pressure, you can mold and fuse several thin pieces into one thick piece and then form it into desired shapes. Tortoise shell has long been used as an ornamental gem material for art objects, jewelry, and personal items such as combs and eyeglass frames. Though humans have used tortoise shell for thousands of years, the material reached the height of its popularity during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries.  

In Conversation Image #2

                        https://www.microscopemaster.com/history-of-the-microscope.html

R. &J. Beck's (1860) brass microscope was on display which inspirited me to converse about the creation of the first microscope. Grinding glass to use for spectacles and magnifying glasses was common during the 13th century. In the late 16th century several Dutch lens makers designed devices that magnified objects, but in 1609 Galileo Galilei perfected the first device known as a microscope. Dutch spectacle makers Zaccharias Janssen and Hans Lipperhey are noted as the first men to develop the concept of the compound microscope. By placing different types and sizes of lenses in opposite ends of tubes, they discovered that small objects were enlarged.

Passage/ Concept from ENG202

At the heart of the museum’s offerings are its compelling collections. From lamps by Louis Comfort Tiffany and exquisite shells and geological specimens from around the world, to porcelain produced at Sèvres and Victorian mechanical musical instruments, the Lightner Museum’s collections are rich, broad, and engaging. It contains a large variety of different artifacts, and there is great effort in preserving each and every one of them. In "Parable of the Sower" by Octavia Butler, there is a panel at the top of page 21 that Lauren displays her official belief of “God is change” written on loose-leaf paper. Lauren’s note taking system implies preservation of her ideas. Since they are written down on paper, now indexical, they are no longer only in her own mind. If she never decided to journal, her ideas wouldn’t be as preserved because they would solely rely on memory and word of mouth, which isn’t as official and reliable as indexical evidence. The fact that she wrote it down and the valued ideas are accessible to anyone who comes across it makes it strongly preserved. Much like the Lightner Museum, it contains indexical artifacts. And like any other museum, we are able to physically come back to the information whenever we desire to, just like Lauren could with her notes in her journal. We could access the artifacts and embody the moments as we read through or see the valued information preserved the Lightner Museum.

Creative Component 

I decided to make a few finger bowls in honor of the room full of glassware in the Lightner Museum. I personally have never made any ceramic piece, but my sister is really into it. I was able to make these three pots by going to the clay studio with professor Mongiovi a few times. The first day, she showed me where the clay was as well as tools to make little patterns or designs. I came in the next day and made them, which probably took a little over an hour. I then went back to the studio a week later after they were dry to glaze them. After the glazing, they were fired and I was able to take them home two days later. The one in the front is colored with lime green glaze, the flower one to the right is colored with strawberry for the petals and dark yellow for the center, and finally the one to the left uses the dark yellow for the outside and a glaze that contains little beads that burst into color after being fired for the inside.

Tolomato Cemetery

St. Augustine, FL

February 24th, 2022

http://www.tolomatocemetery.com

Description

The Tolomato Cemetery is located in the oldest European-founded city in the United States (St. Augustine), and was in use as a cemetery from the 18th century until 1884. This cemetery is less than an acre but around 1,000 St. Augustinians remain, including many people important to the history of Florida and the United States. Burials include those of people from Spain, Cuba, Ireland, Minorca, Italy, Greece, Africa, Haiti, France and the American South and Northeast. Also the graves of soldiers from both sides of the Civil War are included, and even the burial place of a man important in the history of Cuba, who may one day be declared a saint, Fr. Felix Varela. It started with the First Spanish Period, when Tolomato was a Franciscan mission, and went through its use as a cemetery during the British Period and the Second Spanish Period and then on through Florida's Territorial and early Statehood periods. 

Exterior Photo #1

Exterior Photo #2

Artifact #1

Here is a symbol on Michael O'Reilly's grave of the first greek initials of the word "christ" which was also on Father Miguel O'Reilly's. Protestant England was involved in Catholic fait. In 1768, indentured servants were recruited by the British on the island of Minorca to work an Indigo plantation in Florida, south of St. Augustine. When living conditions became intolerable in 1777, the settlers and their priest were given sanctuary in St. Augustine. Father O’Reilly became pastor of the St. Augustine parish. In 1797, he dedicated the new parish church (now the Cathedral-Basilica) that was begun five years earlier. Father O’Reilly would serve the parishioners of St. Augustine for 28 years until his death in 1812. In addition to the Cathedral, Father O’Reilly’s legacy includes the house that bears his name, which he had wished to leave in his will to a teaching order of nuns, and one of his students who took his lessons at the O’Reilly House (Felix Varela). These cemetery walls eventually began to deteriorate. The decorative coquina band was fragile and would have to be removed along with a sizable portion of a crumbling corner.  They re-pointed coquina blocks and reformed the coquina band and re-plaster the vault walls.

Artifact #2

This is Elizabeth Forrester's grave, and the oldest marked grave in the state of Florida. She was buried in 1798 and grave robbers came and stole her clothing because of the value clothing had then. It is presumed she was wearing precious, marketable clothing because she came from a rather wealthy family at the time which also shows through the fact that it is a marble grave above the ground, Spanish style grave. It was discovered that the grave robbers were two soldiers from the Castillo, which later led to the resolution of putting a guard and fence around the cemetery. 

In Conversation Image #1

https://talesofthecocktail.org/history/how-bacardi-bat-became-one-worlds-most-well-known-logos/

At the Tolomato Cemetery, there is a plaque on the outside of the chapel that says "This chapel was erected by the Cubans in 1853 to preserve the ashes of Father Varela." The plaque also contained a symbol of a bat. In Cuba, bats symbolize luck and good fortune. The first Bacardi warehouse was operated in Santiago de Cuba. Don Facundo Bacardi Masso set up Bacardi’s first distillery. Spotted by Don Facundo’s wife, Doña Amalia Bacardi, hundreds of fruit bats were living in the rafters of the family distillery. She recognized the importance to the Spanish and Cuban Taíno Indians as symbols of good health, family unity, and good fortune. Bats are also natural friends of the rum industry as they pollinate the sugarcane crops and prey on insects that damage them. Rather than exterminating the fruit bats, the family embraced the bats and let them be. The face of the brand was born through their great fortune.

In Conversation Image #2

https://www.netmeds.com/health-library/post/yellow-fever-causes-symptoms-and-treatment

Part of the Tolomato Cemetery consisted of a section of burials who passed from yellow fever. Yellow fever is a disease caused by a virus that is most commonly spread through mosquito bites. Symptoms take 3–6 days to develop and include fever, chills, headache, backache, and muscle aches. About 15% of people who get yellow fever develop serious illness that can lead to bleeding, shock, organ failure, and sometimes death.

Passage/ Concept from ENG202

A passage from ENG202 that relates to the Tolomato Cemetery is the final page in "Parable of the Sower." After futuristic America set in the year 2024 fails its citizens by experiencing extreme environmental and economic crises, social chaos is eventually created. A few manage the hardships, while the rest fall. The final page is a scene after the Acorn community makes it to Bankole's family land, and they realize his family is apart of those who didn't make it. Lauren says to Bankole: "Most of us had to walk- or run- away from our unburied dead. We should remember them all. Lay them to rest if we can" (261). They then had a funeral for Bankole's family and for all the friends and family they lost. They also planted live oak trees for their dead in hopes of memorializing them. "Parable of the Sower" and the Tolomato Cemetery share the idea of memorializing and preserving people after they're gone.

Creative Component 

For my creative component, I decided to make a collage of different cemeteries and memorials around Saint Augustine. I walked to the Catholic Cemeteries, Huguenot Cemetery, Memorial Presbyterian Church, Major Dade and his Command Monuments, Father Pedro Camps Memorial, and included the memorial on the wall in the First Congregation Sons of Israel. I used the Instagram Layout app in the process of making a collage using all of these sites photos. This is not my first time making a collage, and I made sure to photograph a variety of different places and ways people have been memorialized. Plaques, graves, buildings, and statues are just a few of the many ways people are memorialized here in Saint Augustine.

 Oldest House Museum Complex

St. Augustine, FL

February 17th, 2022

https://staughs.com/oldest-house-museum-complex/

Description

The Oldest House Museum Complex is ran by the St. Augustine Historical Society. Encountering the Oldest House Museum Complex includes a guided tour of Florida's Oldest House, a detailed history museum, a rotating exhibit gallery, the surf museum, and the Gonzalez-Alvarez House. The Gonzalez-Alvarez house reveals evidence of the First and Second Spanish, British, and American occupations of St. Augustine. There are explanations on the daily lives of the settlers, and insightful discussions on building use, archaeology, lifestyle, and culture on the Florida frontier. We also were given the opportunity to see Professor Mongiovi's indigo room, cotton, rice, sugar, and citrus room, as well as the fur, hide, and coquina room in the top of the Tovar House. Right under was the St. Augustine Surf Culture and History Museum which is interactive and interprets more than fifty oral histories, hundreds of historical images, film, music, artifacts, memorabilia, trophies, articles, and historic surf boards.

Exterior Photo #1

Exterior Photo #2

Artifact #1

This rope is a lead line and an ancient navigational used for sounding, which measures the depth of water. It also picks up items among the ocean floor which provided useful information for piloting and anchoring boats.

Artifact #2

Floridae Americae Provinciae (1591)- 

Sir Walter Raleigh commissioned artist Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues to illustrate expeditions throughout Florida. The map was later engraved by Theodore De Bry. Jacques Le Monye survived the 1565 Spanish attack against the French Huguenots at Matanzas Inlet in effort to push the French out of Spain's territories in the Americas. Le Monye was an artist and recreated this map from memory because most of his work was lost in the attack.

In Conversation Image #1

 https://geology.com/rocks/coquina.shtml

Since the Oldest House was made of coquina, I decided to make it my first in conversation image. Coquina is a sedimentary rock composed almost entirely of sand-size fossil debris (usually mollusk or gastropod shells and shell fragments). The fossil debris of coquina is composed of calcium carbonate, making coquina a variety of limestone. Most coquina forms in shallow coastal waters where a steady and abundant supply of sand-size fossil debris is delivered by wave action and currents. The waves and currents must be strong enough to completely remove clay and silt-size particles, but not so strong that the accumulation of sand-size fossil debris is eroded. Blocks of coquina have been used to construct walls, small buildings, and monuments. In these uses coquina can last for decades. Eventually, it crumbles and fails. This failure can be delayed if the rock is sealed by plastering. As a construction material, coquina usually does not meet durability specifications. The rock has a high porosity, and the grains are poorly cemented together, giving it a low compressive strength and a low abrasion resistance. 

In Conversation Image #2

https://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/the-effects-of-surfboard-design-in-wave-performance

Inspired by the different surfboards I saw in the Surf Museum, my second in conversation image shows the variety and purpose of different surfboard shapes. Each surfboard shape will behave differently when you take off on a wave, bottom turn, accelerate down the line, and control the surfboard on the face of the wave. Surfboard shapes with a tail that has rounder angles or no angles, is going to help you hold the water for a little longer. This will translate into more control of the board. When you get harder angles in the tail, more water will release and give you a looser, more snappy feel to the board. The overall shape of your board, taking into account nose & tail shape, will essentially determine how your board performs. 

Passage/ Concept from ENG202

The poetry of St. Augustine being “Floridanos, Menorcans, Cattle-Whip Crackers” by Ann Browning Masters has an excerpt titled “In St. Augustine, Land of Flowers, Who Were Floridanos, Menorcans, Cattle-Whip Crackers.” It includes a lot of information from the first Spanish period (1565-1763), the British period (1764-1784), and the second Spanish period (1784-1821). It includes when Spanish citizens born in St. Augustine were recorded as “Floridanos” in the census sent to Spain (first Spanish period), when several Floridano men remained in St. Augustine but most went to Cuba and Spain and indentured servants walked to St. Augustine from failed indigo plantations who are a group of Roman Catholics and Greek Orthodox eventually became known as Menorcans (British period), and when some Floridanos returned to St. Augustine from Cuba and Spain and intermarriage between Floridanos and Menorcans began (second Spanish period).The Oldest House includes the Gonzalez-Alvarez house which reveals evidence of the First Spanish, Second Spanish, and British periods and occupations of St. Augustine. There are explanations on the daily lives of the settlers, and insightful discussions on building use, archaeology, lifestyle, and culture on the Florida frontier. 

Creative Component 

I decided to make a few pies in honor of professor Mongiovi's sugar room. I often make pie's dedicated to holidays or my family members birthday's. I made these two peanut butter and chocolate pies with graham cracker crust topped with Reeses cups while incorporating hidden Reeses pieces inside the peanut butter filling. Since I made them in my dorm, I had to do some improvising. I typically homemake the crust but this case forced me to buy pre-made crust. These are also no-bake pies since I don't have an oven in my dorm- instead I froze them in my mini fridge.

 Saint Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine 

St. Augustine, FL

February 10th, 2022

https://stphotios.org/about/

Description

The Saint Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine is the first national shrine of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in America and is located in the Avero House on St. George Street in St. Augustine, Florida. The Greek Orthodox shrine is dedicated to the first colony of Greek people who came to America in 1768. Starting in St. Augustine, they took supplies and journeyed to the south and helped the New Smyrna colony settle. In the Avero House, the survivors of the New Smyrna Colony found refuge following a decade of tragedy. The Shrine consists of worship through exhibits depicting the life of early Greeks in America and the development of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, as well as the St. Photios Chapel. 

Exterior Photo #1

Exterior Photo #2

Artifact #1

This cross was found in the Avero House on St. George Street in St. Augustine, Florida during archaeological excavations in 1970. It was designated in 1971 by Archbishop Iakovos as the St. Photios Shrine Cross and has been adopted as the symbol of the National Shrine. The three holes are expected to symbolize the Holy Trinity.

Artifact #2

These shoes are known as Tsarouchis. They are the style of shoes worn by the Evzones, which are the Greek Soldiers of the Revolution of 1821 (Late 19th century/ Revolutionary War period, Greece). The pompoms represent the tree of liberty. Within the tip of the Tsarouchia is a knife hidden by the pompom. The blade could extract and was used during hand to hand combat, defending the tree of liberty.

In Conversation Image #1

https://www.holytrinitygoc.com

Much like the St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine, there is another Greek Orthodox that goes by Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. It is in a countryside Hellenic community in St. Augustine, which is now made up of Orthodox Christians from many ethnic backgrounds. It's unique blend of history of the first Greek Americans arrived in the New World, and the rich tradition of the earliest and original Christian church. The history of Orthodox Christianity goes back to the Apostles of Jesus Christ. The history of Greek immigrants in America dates back to 1768. Minorcans and Italians ultimately failed, those that survived moved from New Smyrna north to St. Augustine. Those Greek residents practiced their faith in various places, including the building that now houses St.Photios Shrine in the old city area of St Augustine. As more Greeks moved to north Florida in the 1800’s, there was initially no formal Greek Orthodox church in St Augustine. However, as the number of Greek Orthodox families in the area grew, they organized and incorporated a Hellenic Society, which eventually raised enough money to purchase a small church in downtown St Augustine 1976. The parish purchased property five miles west of downtown and built a new church, social hall, and classrooms in 2007. 

In Conversation Image #2

https://www.britannica.com/animal/peacock

On the threshold wall of one of the orthodox's entrances, there was a painted peacock. Peacocks are symbolic of re-growth and rejuvenation, royalty, respect, honor, integrity, masculine power, sisterhood, protection, vision, renewal, and good luck. Peacocks are native to India, Asia, and Central Africa but appear in the mythology and folklore of many diverse cultures. In addition, the peacock spirit animal is an important figure for those who feel a special kinship them. 

Passage/ Concept from ENG202

The main idea of "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" is perspective. As the title suggests, the poem is about different ways of seeing and perceiving the world—with the blackbird being the specific point of focus. The Greek Orthodox shrine is dedicated to the first colony of Greek people who came to America in 1768, who could be considered the "blackbird" in this case. Starting in St. Augustine, they took supplies and journeyed to the south and helped the New Smyrna colony settle. In the Avero House, the survivors of the New Smyrna Colony found refuge following a decade of tragedy. This Shrine consists of worship through exhibits depicting the life of early Greeks in America and the development of the Greek Orthodox Church in America. The shrine was constructed though the perspective of what was endured by the first colony of Greek people who came to America.

Creative Component 

For my creative component, I decided to make a candle because in the St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine, there was a room that had candlesticks in memory of the "Protoporoi"- our parents and grandparents who forged a new life in hopes of freedom and a better life. This wasn't my first time making a candle, as I commonly did it with my neighbors at home. To make candles, we would melt cubed, store-bought wax in a pot over the stove and pour it into a funnel to fill the glass of choice. The glass would have a cut candle wick held in place until the wax dried it in the center. This specific candle is melted with hibiscus (pink) and vanilla (white) scented wax.

First Congregation Sons of Israel

St. Augustine, FL

April 7th, 2022

https://www.firstcongregationsonsofisrael.com

Description

First Congregation Sons of Israel is the oldest synagogue in St. Augustine, Florida. Religious services were held in members’ homes until a Synagogue was constructed. Conservative Judaism is rooted in the wisdom gained at the intersection of heritage and progress. This balance allows Jews to lead truly fulfilled lives and provides a message of compassion, enlightenment, and holiness to the communities everywhere. In the late 1800s, the congregation’s first families came from Russia and Eastern Europe to settle in St. Augustine. In 1908, the congregation was chartered with the State of Florida. In 1958, the beautiful historic stained glass windows were obtained and installed in the sanctuary by Rabbi Jacob and Mrs. Dora Tarlinsky’s three daughters (Sarah Bernstein, Florence Feiden, and Lena Lichter). In the summer of 2013, the windows underwent a much needed restoration done by Ken Hardeman, who is the great-grandson of the original window artist. In late August of 2018, the sanctuary was reopened after restoration and repairs  were completed following the damage from two hurricanes.

Exterior Photo #1

Exterior Photo #2

Artifact #1

Originally, plain clear glass made it too hot in the synagogue. In the late 1950s, the three daughters of the founding Rabbi, discovered a synagogue was being deconstructed, had the windows shipped out and put stained leaded glass in place. The windows were created in 1873, after they located the great grandson of the original artist and he came to restore them.

Artifact #2

 

This Star of David was originally made of plaster but turned to mush so the ceiling was redesigned. A Flagler student involved architectury and contracting in contribution to the construction. The new Star of David had to be mounted then painted on a gorilla lift as one person painted at a time. In addition, there is an electrified chandelier from Miami.

In Conversation Image #1

https://www.timesofisrael.com/american-synagogues-mark-the-100th-anniversary-of-the-first-us-bat-mitzvah/

In many segments of the Jewish community, girls at 12 or 13 years of age have a bat mitzvah. During her Bat Mitzvah, a girl may read from the Torah or she may instead read a prayer from the Siddur. Traditionally, within Judaism, males and females are not thought to have the same responsibilities. As a result, in some Jewish communities, some rules, like the requirement to read from the Torah, are less strict for girls than they are for boys. For American Jews, this process famously began in 1922 when Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, the founder of Reconstructionism, arranged for his daughter Judith to celebrate entering adulthood at a public synagogue ceremony by having a bat mitzvah. In sixth grade I attended my best friends bat mitzvah and was able to witness this first hand.

In Conversation Image #2

https://www.alamy.com/stained-glass-windows-in-dining-hall-of-flagler-college-in-historic-st-augustine-florida-the-former-hotel-ponce-de-leon-is-listed-as-a-national-histor-image185205931.html

Here at Flagler College, it is renowned that our main campus building was once the magnificent Ponce de Leon Hotel, designed by Carrere & Hastings for Henry Flagler. The elaborate hotel opened its doors to its first guests on January 12, 1888. In 1968, when Flagler College acquired the splendidly ornate, architecturally complex resort hotel, it became a college campus. The dining hall in Ponce is an original 3 ½ story, oval Dining Hall, in which jeweled light streaming through 79 Louis Comfort Tiffany stained-glass windows casts a glow on painted murals among the walls and ceiling.

Passage/ Concept from ENG202

Octavia Butler's "Parable of the Sower" depicts how significant religion is to Lauren. She spends the entire graphic novel undergoing a self discovery journey in finding what she truly believes in. She comes to the conclusion that "God is earthseed." It is a "combination of Buddhism, existentialism, sufism..." (219). Her initial claim was on page 21 when she compares her new religion to the second law of thermodynamics, Darwinian evolution, Buddhism, and the third chapter of Ecclesiastes. She revolves her new key values of God being change around several ideas preserved from other religions and science. Her religion is soon enough the foundation of her life. She strives to bring her bright ideas to others and eventually was able to form a community called Acorn that supporting them. The First Congregation Sons of Israel supports conservative Judaism being rooted in the wisdom gained at the intersection of heritage and progress. The balance allows Jews to lead truly fulfilled lives and provides a message of compassion, enlightenment, and holiness to the communities everywhere. Much like the First Congregation Sons of Israel, Lauren hopes to provide a message of compassion, enlightenment, and holiness to communities, as she was even able to form her own through the power of belief in her new religion.

Creative Component 

For my creative component, I decided to create my own stained glass window. I began by sketching an outline of the stained glass window, and went over the outline in black sharpie so the colors wouldn't blend too much together so they could stand out more. The color in this piece is done using water colors. This wasn't my first time painting with water colors, but it definitely has been a few years. I used water colors because of the way it dries. Since you use them by mixing water, it dries with a see-through look, making it appear like stained glass.

Castillo de San Marcos National Monument

St. Augustine, FL

March 31st, 2022

https://www.visitstaugustine.com/thing-to-do/castillo-de-san-marcos

Description

The Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States, and is a large Spanish stone fortress built to protect and defend Spain's claims in the New World. It's a National Monument and, at over 315 years old, it's the oldest structure in St. Augustine. Construction began on the Castillo de San Marcos in 1672 and lasted until 1695. The Castillo is made of coquina and was impenetrable to enemy attack while being fire resistant. The fort came under fire for the first time in 1702 and British forces burned the city, but could not penetrate the Castillo's walls. Subsequent attacks in 1728 and 1740 yielded similar results, and the British were never able to take the city of St. Augustine by force. The Castillo was used as a military prison during the Revolutionary War. At the end of the Revolutionary War, Florida was returned to Spain in 1784 until Florida became a United States Territory in 1821. The Americans called the Castillo Fort Marion, honoring the revolutionary patriot from the Carolinas, General Frances Marion. Congress renamed the fort in 1942, reverting to the Spanish name, the Castillo de San Marcos. At over 315 years old, the fort is a lasting landmark of seventeenth-century St. Augustine.

Exterior Photo #1

Exterior Photo #2

Artifact #1

Many places in St. Augustine are made of coquina, from the Oldest House to the Castillo de San Marcos fort. Tiny coquina clam donax variabilis live in the shallow waters of coastal Florida. As the resident clam dies, the shells accumulated in layers and thousands of years later they form submerged deposits several feet thick. During the last ice age, sea levels dropped, exposing these shell layers to air and rain. Eventually, the shell became covered with soil, then trees and other vegetation. Rain water percolating through the dead vegetation and soil picked up carbon dioxide and became carbonic acid. As this weak acid soaked downward, it dissolved some of the calcium in the shells, producing calcium carbonate, which solidified in lower layers, much like how flowstone and stalactites are formed in caves. This material "glued" the shell fragments together into a porous type of limestone known as coquina (Spanish for tiny shell). The Castillo de San Marcos fort needed something more than a wooden fort was needed to protect St. Augustine and to keep the British from taking over Florida. Since no one had ever built a fort or any large building out of coquina, they had no idea how strong it would be. At least it would not burn, and the termites wouldn’t eat it. They built the walls an average of 12 feet thick. The first phase of construction was completed in 1695. At the time, the Castillo looked very different than it does now (roughly five feet shorter than they are today, and the rooms were half their current size). 

Artifact #2

 

This here is a bastion. A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. This masonry projects from a larger defense work using an angled plan. The bastion usually serves as a gun platform, houses gunpowder or other defensive material, and aids in making blindspots noticeable.

In Conversation Image #1

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/01/16/medieval-castles/?safari=1

The Castillo de San Marcos National Monument had a 60+ year attempt of a moat, but ditched due to the destruction of the coquina it was made of. a moat is a depression surrounding a castle, city wall, or other fortification, usually filled with water. as it prevented moving towers or battering rams from being brought up to the ramparts until the moat had been filled. They served as an obstacle against infantry attacks. 

In Conversation Image #2

https://www.nps.gov/foma/index.htm

Another national monument fort is the Fort Matanzas National Monument, which preserves the fortified coquina watchtower (completed in 1742) and defended the southern approach to the Spanish military settlement of St. Augustine. It also protects approximately 300 acres of Florida coastal environment containing dunes, marsh, maritime forest, and associated flora and fauna, including threatened and endangered species.

Passage/ Concept from ENG202

Craig Santos Perez's "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Glacier" expresses the effects climate change. He says "The sea is rising/ The glacier must be retreating/ It was summer all winter/ It was melting/ and it was going to melt. The last glacier fits/ in our warm hands" as the last stanzas of the poem. Perez is rightfully blaming global warming on us humans, and is addressing a sense of action urgency we need in order to stop the effects of global warming before its irreversible. Glaciers aren't the only thing affected by global warming. Our entire earth is getting the brunt of our habits leading to climate change and global warming. The Castillo de San Marcos National Monument is affected by Florida already being at sea level. The effects of climate change are intensified. The rising sea level will greatly affect the efforts of preserving the fort. To combat the flooding caused by rising sea level, wind, and high tides, the park is hosting the Seawall Improvement Project. This is a big project that will have many parts and will take several years to complete, but when finished it will protect park resources. The Climate Friendly Parks (CFP) Program has initiatives supporting the National Park Service Green Parks Plan. The CFP program provides national parks with support to address climate change. The goals of the CFP Program include measuring park-based greenhouse gas emissions, educating people about climate change and demonstrate ways individuals and groups can take action to address the issue, and developing strategies and specific actions to address sustainability challenges, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and anticipate the impacts of climate change on park resources.

Creative Component 

For my creative component, I decided to draw a birds-eye view of the fort and continuously outlining it. I like doing these types of drawings where I constantly outline the subject because it gives an illusion affect and adds depth. Also doing this helps add emphasis on the subject, and draws more attention to what is the focus of the drawing. To make a drawing like this, I just searched a birds-eye view of the fort on Google Images, then sketched out the fort along with the ledge to the left of it that leads to the water. I then continuously draw lines that are in line with the ones before it, giving the same repeated outline shape throughout the entire 8.5x11 inch piece of paper. I used a grey colored pencil to make this drawing because the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument is made of coquina that appears a stone color (grey).