The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: life and arts

  • Ring in Spring

    Ring in Spring

    by Nina Hufman

    Originally printed March 22, 2023

    Monday, March 20th marked the spring equinox, the point in the year where daylight hours are equal to night hours. From now until the summer solstice, the amount of daylight will continue to increase, and will take up a majority of the day until the fall equinox. 

    The spring equinox is celebrated in many cultures both past and present. The longer days of spring and summer are a time of renewal, fertility, and possibility. Anyone can take advantage of the effects of the spring equinox. Here are a few ways to celebrate. 

    1. Clean your space. It’s called spring cleaning for a reason. Get rid of stagnant energy and unwanted items. If it’s warm, open a window and let in a spring breeze. 
    2. Go on a walk. Appreciate the warmer weather. Pick some seasonal flowers and dry them; connect with whatever nature surrounds you.
    3. Bake using seasonal ingredients. Lavender, lemon, eggs, ham, mint, and honey are just some ingredients that can be incorporated to symbolize spring.
    4. Create a seasonal shelf. Make a space to put flowers, crystals, herbs, or other objects that feel like spring to you. You can even collect these items on your walk. 
    5. Plant a garden. Sow something that you can reap the benefits of. Plant herbs, flowers, vegetables, and fruit that you can appreciate all spring, summer, and into the fall.
    6. Journal and set goals for yourself. As nature renews itself, so can you. Set intentions for what you want to accomplish in the warmer months. 

    The most important part of celebrating the spring equinox is doing something that allows you to appreciate all that the season has to offer. Connection with nature and the cycles of renewal are at the core of the celebration. 

  • Sexland promotes enthusiastic consent and validation for all 

    by Lidia Grande-Ruiz

    Originally printed April 26, 2023

    On April 15, Sexland came onto campus. Sexland is an event that focuses on exposure to new ways of thinking about sex and sexuality, while also validating sexual experiences and diversity through a lens of enthusiastic consent. The event is put on every spring semester by the Peer Health Education Program and Check-It. 

    “[The] main goal of Sexland is to create a safe and sexual experience for everyone,” says Shelby Shull, an intern at Peer Health and Education.

    Many different clubs and organizations such as Planned Parenthood, North Coast Rape Crisis Center, Students for Violence Prevention, The Trans Task Force, Women’s Resource Center and Eric Rofes Multiculture Queer Resource Center were present at the event. 

    Each community group at the event had a table where students participated in arts and crafts and got information on resources about contraceptives, free condoms, or information on the community groups resources and how to get involved.

    A booth by Planned Parenthood offered pamphlets on contraceptives, along with free lube and condoms.

    The Eric Rofes Queer Resources Center was there to provide various resources for the queer community, such as where to find gender neutral bathrooms or information about the queer library and how/when to access it.

    “This is a great event to show off trans resources,” said Landon White, Outreach Director for the center. 

    “Our center is all about creating a safe space on campus for queer people,” said Art Wardynski, Volunteer & Resource Director. 

    Some people were shy, but sex positivity was everywhere you looked. Everyone was very welcoming which helped calm down the anxiety nerves. Students were asking questions and getting involved in activities like naming the right body part, what is this sex position, etc. 

    There was a long line for a table where people stood wrapped in bondage ropes. They learned about bondage and how to have fun/experiment like chest ties, heart shaped thighs, etc.

    “It’s a really good opportunity for people to get a comfortable experience,” explains Sierra Cosper, who was running the bondage table. “There are a lot of ways to hurt yourself, so that’s why I am handing out pamphlets for everyone to get more informed”. 

    Winners of the raffle received a variety of prizes–from vibrators to books, rainbow embroidered cum-rags, butt plugs, heart crops, vibrators controlled by your phone, finger flogger, to non sex toy prizes like couples diary, exploring trans and queer identities book, a penis shaped neck pillow and so much more.

    Disclaimer: Alana Hackman works at the Peer Health Education Center and was involved in this event.

  • Air guitar competition comes to Northtown Coffee

    Air guitar competition comes to Northtown Coffee

    by Brad Butterfield

    Originally printed February 22, 2023

    Nearly forty people packed into Northtown Coffee on Saturday, Feb. 11th for the first annual Air Guitar Competition. Anticipation built as each contestant’s name boomed through amplifiers to growing applause from the crowd. Stage names like Tokemaster Flex, The Dancing Queens, Sonic Boom, Dr. Fuckinstunt and Sandy Cockburn set an irreverent tone. It was impossible to be in the room and not feel the pulse of childish excitement.

    With so much at stake, and such stiff competition, three local legends were called in for the difficult task of judging the air guitarists. DJ Red (Soul Party), Matt of the Sturgeons, and juggernaut of creativity Jam, would call upon their varied experience to judge the contestants on a few important criteria. A combination of stage presence, outfit, song selection and crowd participation would be considered in the judges’ scoring. Of course, as is true for any fun in life, bribery was not completely off the table. One judge may-or-may-not have stated that the winner would be the one that forked out the biggest bribe. Just after 5 p.m., organizer Serg Mihaylo took the stage and explained the origins of the event. 

    “We’re here today in part to get the word out about our non-profit, The League of Everyday People,” Mihaylo said. “We provide musical instruments and lessons to students in need. They otherwise couldn’t afford it. If you have instruments laying around, you can donate them here [at Northtown Coffee].” 

    The non-profit was created in 2021 by Mihaylo, Clay Adams, and Tanasa Daniel as a way to give back and enrich their community through music. The League of Everyday People works with local music store Wildwood Music to completely refurbish donated instruments before delivering them to young students in need. 

    “We like to have fun,” Mihaylo said. “Does anybody else like having fun? I think it may be the whole point of life… is to have fun.” 

    With excitement in the room at a boiling point, the first contestant took the stage. Without the cumbersome constraints of a physical guitar, the performers were free to incorporate all manner of dance, floor humping and hip thrusting to garner support from the crowd. Dr. Fuckinstunt made a strong case for himself with vigorous head shaking and on-rhythm leg kicks that would make Keith Richards proud. 

    Not to be outdone, the Dancing Queens proved that synchronization is an antiquated operation as they wowed the crowd with the night’s only multi-person performance. The Dancing Queens totally controlled the stage, even climbing on top of a table as the song picked up. 

    Photo by Brad Butterfield | Air guitarist jams out on stage.

    Every performer brought not only obvious knowledge of the craft, but enthusiasm that electrified the entire coffee house. Air guitarist Sandy Cockburn took the stage by storm as Muffin Man by Frank Zappa boomed out of the speakers. Paired with black underwear over green tights, Cockburn wore a crop-top. A silky red bathrobe and curly black wig completed the look and cemented Cockburn as the best-dressed contestant. Cockburn sailed through intricate guitar solos with ease, displaying a remarkable amount of flexibility and confidence on stage.

    The  performance was made even more remarkable with the knowledge of how Cockburn prepared for the event. 

    “I drank and listened to Zappa and got kinda stoned,” Cockburn said. 

    After all the contestants had performed to their chosen songs, the judges decided that the contest was too close to call. The Dancing Queens and Sandy Cockburn were invited to the stage to give one last performance to the judge-chosen song: Smells Like Teen Spirit. Both acts made compelling cases for their right to the title of Champion of the Redwoods. In fact, even after this championship round, the judges felt it was too close for them to make a decision. The champion, in the end, would have to be decided by the people. 

    Though it was close, the audience chanted and hollered Sandy Cockburn into eternal status as Champion of the Redwoods and winner of the 1st Annual Northtown Coffee Air Guitar Competition.

    “I’ve broken so many of these in practice, it’s great to know that I can have a reliable brand. ‘Everyday People’ is the string brand you want when you’re strutting alone in your underwear,”  Cockburn said, upon receiving his honorary air-guitar strings.

    Along with being crowned Champion of the Universe Humboldt, the winner on the night received three packs of air-guitar strings, $60 (redeemable at Northtown Coffee), and the Trophy of Glory. The trophy, which resembled the body of an electric guitar, was the work of local craftsman Justin Schwartzman. It took Schwartzman about a week to complete the masterpiece. The hard work and attention to detail were obvious when looking at the immaculately carved and painted trophy. In plain english, this was a kick-ass trophy and no doubt fanned the flames of competitive spirit in all of the air guitar performers soon to take the stage.

    While the strings were a great bonus, the real prize was Schwartzman’s handmade trophy. Being a true champion of the people, Sandy Cockburn already had plans for it.

    “I thought it would make a pretty fly belt,” Cockburn said. “I want to mount it just high enough so that the top of it stimulates my nipples as I walk around. I think it’ll be really gratifying.” 

    Though each contestant performed with ease and relative grace, it is not as easy as it looks. One can’t simply buy a wig, put on some tights and expect to be crowned champion. It takes a special drive. 

    “The motivation is not giving a fuck,” Cockburn said. “I grew up as a weirdo and everybody made fun of me. And when you get old enough, you just don’t give a shit anymore. The motivation is to just enjoy yourself. As long as you’re amusing yourself, others will follow. That’s kinda what I was born to do, is be ridiculous. That and fall off of things.” 

    To donate to the League of Everyday People visit: https://leagueofeverydaypeople.org/

  • Humboldt talent shines at CCAT open mic

    Humboldt talent shines at CCAT open mic

    by Brad Butterfield

    Originally printed March 1, 2023

    The Campus Center for Appropriate Technology (CCAT)’s first open mic of the semester took place at the Buck House on a snowy February 22nd. The night began without a microphone, which would likely have been an issue at any other performing arts event. However, it seemed the crowd of nearly fifteen students were all aware of the same truth: The only necessary ingredient for an open mic night is willing participants. By all meaningful measures, the night was off to a perfect start. 

    Jack McCann, who goes by the stage name Mushroom Jack, announced to the growing audience that he had an amplifier cord in his room across campus. Then, as if he was a majestic snow bunny, Mushroom Jack sprinted out of the cozy Buck House to retrieve the cord. 

    Indigo Thomspon was first to take the stage. She opened the night with an original poem which she couldn’t remember when she originally wrote. She confidently set the tone for the night and closed with “Fate won’t let you live your life in vain,” to unanimous applause from the crowd.

    In the meantime, our hero Mushroom Jack returned with the amp cord. Unfortunately, lady luck was not doing us any favors and the amplifier chord Mushroom Jack brought required a converter to plug into the amp. Undeterred, Mushroom Jack again braved the elements, to retrieve the right converter from his lair. 

    Without missing a beat, Julia Simmons took to the stage and began dropping joke after joke, as if she were a seasoned road comic. The crowd erupted in laughter and even began firing jokes back at Simmons.

    “What do you call a cow with no legs?” an audience member shouted from the back of the room. “GROUND BEEF!” 

    This was a real hoot and absolute holler, obviously. There is never a bad time for dad jokes, depending on who you ask.

    The atmosphere was so welcoming that I could not stand by like a journalistic fly on the wall. I have one joke ready at all times for critical moments like this. “What is the difference between a cottonball and a lizard? … A lot of things!”

    After some minutes of jokes, there was a general consensus in the room that if we continued with the comedy, Jay Leno would be out of work.  

    Next, James Lara harnessed the now-rowdy room with a heartfelt poem simplifying the complexities of life and attachment, ending his set with “Desire and longing pulls you farther away.”

    Jack Hellesoe, known as Bird Jack, was not to be confused with Mushroom Jack, I was warned. Bird Jack opened with a unique cover of “New Slang” by the Shins to the beat of various audience members on tambourines. Bird Jack then played an original song, written “during a time of social uncertainty.”

    Having endured the chilly night air twice to get both an amplifier chord and converter, Mushroom Jack finally joined Bird Jack onstage. A solid cover of Neil Young’s “Down By The River,” led to an unforgettable original performance of a song detailing the tribulations of a mushroom. It was Flight of the Conchords meets Pink Floyd meets Paul Stamets with a sprinkle of Mid 80’s Ozzy Osbourne. 

    Leaning into the finally functional microphone, Mushroom Jack belly-sang, “What would YOU do if I was a mushhhhhrooooom?” 

    He then paused for a perfectly timed guitar solo as Bird Jack held rhythm on his wonderfully stickered guitar. Reading the crowd’s energy, Mushroom Jack brought us back down like a seasoned symphony conductor, abruptly yelling into the mic with authority, “It’s antibacteriaaaaaaal!” 

    It was a night of firsts, too. With the support of the crowd, Isabella Jug got on stage to sing in front of people for her first time ever. Bird Jack improvised chords even though he’d never played through the song before. The level of talent in the room was only outdone by the complete support from everyone there.

    Danika Zikas and Julia Simmons finished out the night with a song written in the throes of a mushroom trip their freshman year. The fungi-inspired song was being unveiled for the very first time for the audience huddled inside the Buck House. Jug provided gentle harmonies from the couch while Mushroom Jack laid out a soft guitar section to complete the soundscape. It was a beautiful team effort. The final act of the night was the roaring applause from the throng.

    CCAT will be hosting monthly open mics throughout the semester. Find them on instagram @ccat.humboldt.

  • Cal Poly Professor Hosts Weekly Pinball League at Dead Reckoning in Arcata

    Cal Poly Professor Hosts Weekly Pinball League at Dead Reckoning in Arcata

    by Valen Lambert

    Originally printed March 1, 2023

    The 80’s is still alive at Dead Reckoning. Tucked in the back of the bar is a pinball lover’s retro-neon sanctuary, buzzing with the clacks and dings of the shaking machines and steel pinballs blasting against paddles. You can try your hand at the Godzilla or Ghost Busters games, or maybe you’re more of a Revenge on Mars kinda guy. They’re fun, and have definitely eaten up a decent amount of my pocket change, but there’s a whole community surrounding this arcade favorite. 

    Every Tuesday night from 6:30-8:00 p.m, Arcata’s pinball league takes to the bar’s seven machines for their weekly tournaments headed by Cal Poly Humboldt’s very own professor of biological sciences and pinball wizard, Jonathan Montgomery. Everyone is encouraged to join. 

    Montgomery is bent over Revenge on Mars while the crowd and I watch him with the focus of a sports game. He talks to me attentively without breaking his pinball focus. Montgomery got into pinball during his graduate program in Riverside, where he had joined a league. After moving back to Arcata to teach in 2019, he missed having the community of a league and decided to start his own. 

    Believe it or not, the International Flipper Pinball Association writes up a whole internationally recognized framework for the organization of pinball leagues, which Montgomery forms the tournaments around. Folks pay-in a dollar and are randomly assigned to a team. After three games, whoever has the most points takes all the cash. 

    How does one even get good at pinball and take home the gold? Montgomery, who has the highest pinball score at Dead Reckoning of 1.2 billion points, says you first have to stop “double-flipping”, where you push both flippers up at the same time.

    “You end up making a larger gap for the ball to fall through,” Montgomery says. “And secondly, the machine only has so much power. The flippers are weaker if they are powered together”. 

    The next step to pinball stardom is cradling, where you catch the ball, hold it, and time the flip-up to exactly where you want it to go. The sport takes a lot of muscle memory, but despite the rings, dings, and neon lights, people are drawn to it because of its meditative qualities. 

    “The thing I love about pinball is you get in this flow, and this sort of really focused state,” Montgomery says. “It takes all your attention”. 

    Montgomery also favors the physicality of the game, where you’re actually getting to hit a ball around instead of stare at a video game screen. But a lot of the magic lies in the community of pinball, which was something I noticed when I approached the group as a lone pinball noob and received nothing but warm welcomes and good conversation. 

    “Even if you don’t know that a pinball community is near you, it’s there,” says Montgomery. “There’s always a crew of nice, relaxed, people who want to play a fun, Zen game.”

  • Humboldt hosts late-night legend Jay Leno

    Humboldt hosts late-night legend Jay Leno

    by Andres Felix Romero

    Originally printed March 1, 2023

    He’s been burned by gasoline, cracked both his kneecaps after being clotheslined by a wire while riding a motorcycle, and he testified at Michael Jackson’s 2005 trial. He’s the hardest working man in show business, and he’s met several sitting presidents. He’s Jay Leno. 

    The Centre Arts Department of Cal Poly Humboldt hosted two Jay Leno stand-up comedy shows on Feb. 26 at the Arkley Center for Performing Arts in Eureka, CA. Centre Arts puts on many performances for the Humboldt Community, but Leno’s first outing in Eureka is undoubtedly one of the biggest names they’ve booked. 

    I was amazed to see that Jay Leno, an entertainment legend known for his shows such as Jay Leno’s Garage and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, was going to be down the street from campus.

    Being a huge fan of stand-up comedy, I was pleasantly surprised when Leno managed to hit my favorite markers in any comic’s set in his first punchline; personal stories, social commentary, and just the right amount of dark humor. He began his show by telling us how the process of healing from a garage accident last fall had left his face with burns that came with  a surprising expense.

    “The most expensive part of the situation was the gasoline that burned my face,” Leno said to the crowd. 

    Not every joke landed for me, and some plain went over my head. Granted, I don’t always understand humor or sarcasm. Leno also knew his audience and jokes were directed to an audience more his age. I enjoyed the self-awareness the seasoned comedian displayed.

    Despite this, I still appreciated hearing Leno compare different aspects of society from decades ago to today, such as how the Sears catalog is the original Amazon Prime. Also hilarious are his own personal thoughts as an elder in a world that is always changing socially and developing technologically. 

    My favorite parts of Leno’s show came from his social commentary, which he often gave through jokes on topics such as backwards values on violence in entertainment. His set included stories of his wife refusing to watch animal violence on television, but enjoyed a scene where a woman brutally stabs her husband to death. One of the highlights of the night was the story about a mafia member venting to Leno about how The Sopranos was offensive, because a mob boss going to therapy in the show highlights the strange value system in entertainment. 

    “Oh, it’s not the murder and beheadings,” said Leno, “It’s the mental health aspect he’s upset about.”

      Towards the end of his set, Leno began to stray away from personal anecdotes and began to rapid-fire jokes and punchlines on a variety of subject matter, some risky and others lighthearted. Getting the audience to laugh at a topic as heavy as Bill Cosby’s abuse allegations to something as stupid as remote control breast enhancements showed me Leno’s veteran status as a stand-up comedian. 

    My favorite of these punchlines was on the topic of politics and how just about anyone from either side of the political aisle can enjoy them, like when he poked fun at the investigations into Joe Biden.

    “You know what you call someone who digs up dirt on Joe Biden?,” Leno questioned the audience. “An archeologist.”

    After the show, some of Leno’s fans waited behind the Arkley Center for a chance to meet him. A half-hour later, Leno popped out the back door of the building. 

    He greeted us, took pictures, shook hands and signed autographs. He still carried the same calm demeanor he had had on stage that made it feel easy to talk to a man who has a chin known by most of the nation. It was cold outside, he was likely exhausted from flying into Humboldt earlier in the day, but he still took a few minutes to chat with us. It was a great lesson on humility.

    Before he left, I asked Leno if he could share any advice to Cal Poly Humboldt students trying to figure out how to succeed in their fields. Leno recommends that when trying to contact someone in your field, be personable by writing a letter to stand out in a digital age and be professional.

    “But if you actually handwrite a letter, you got to have decent penmanship.” Leno said. “Don’t write in crayon on a paper bag.”

  • John Craigie merges folk with humor at the Van Duzer Theatre

    John Craigie merges folk with humor at the Van Duzer Theatre

    by Brad Butterfield

    John Craigie blended comedic anecdotes with folk music, creating a one-of-a-kind show on March 1 at the Van Duzer Theatre. Describing himself as ‘the love child of John Prine and Mitch Hedberg with a vagabond troubadour edge,’ Craigie embodies his own version of the American singer-songwriter. He avoids cheap recreations of the 60s and 70s, while making subtle nods towards it. Craigie has carved out an irreplicable style of concert that forgoes complex stage theatrics, instead emphasizing audience interaction and storytelling.

    The Ballroom Thieves opened the night with Martin Earley on guitar and Calin Peters on cello. Taking turns singing, the artists wove creative storytelling into gentle folk melodies as the crowd filed into the theater. The set jumped between songs dealing with humanity’s endless exploitation of earth’s resources, the dark realities of being touring musicians, and even the tragedy of a parking ticket that the duo received recently.

    Just before 8 p.m., Craigie found his way through the unlit stage to a modest metal chair. A moment of absolute silence preceded his first song, “Beethoven.” The song was hilariously self-aware with lyrics like, “I had a dream where I met Beethoven, and Beethoven told me that I wasn’t very good… I got burned by Beethoven.”

    To an un-primed crowd the song could have shocked the room into a confused, murmured applause. But the loud cheers and hollers indicated that the entire room had long ago boarded the Craigie train; they knew what they were getting into. 

     “What has changed for the better is that I’ve been able to know what rooms and settings are most conducive to the kind of show I put on. So I can be in tune with my audience,” Craigie said, speaking of the evolution of his performing career.

    While some musicians fumble at the slightest crowd interjections, Craigie bathed in every heckle that came his way, with only well-timed and creative ones earning retorts.

    “What people don’t always understand is they’re buying tickets to see a singer/songwriter, but they’re also buying tickets for a stand up comedy show,” said student Carlina Grillo, who enjoyed the show from the first row. “Everyone in the theater was laughing, hard. He’s a beautiful songwriter and truly funny person.” 

    After hilariously recounting the time he performed high on oxygen, Craigie stopped to acknowledge Grillo’s clever sign that read “I <3 John Gravy,” a reference to a joke on his 2018 live album Opening for Steinbeck. 

    Craigie’s 2022 album Mermaid Salt builds upon his folk roots with a much more produced and electronic sound than albums previous.

     “It hasn’t been too difficult playing the songs as they were originally written, but it was a challenge at first to try and make them sound similar to the way they came across on the record,” Craigie said. “It was a fun journey to see how I could marry the heart of the song as a solo piece with elements of the melodies and layers from Mermaid Salt.” 

    After quipping that conventional wisdom advises against a performer playing new songs onstage, Craigie began playing “Distance” off of the new album to a captivated audience. Exemplifying his ability to put universally relatable feelings into words, the song was born partially from the forced solitude of the Covid pandemic.

    “I think that is a refrain I have said many times before lockdown. But it just felt so much more concrete when everyone was stuck at home,” Craigie said. “There were people I wasn’t able to see for years because of it. So it felt like a global emotion that I was tapping into.” 

    “Dissect the Bird,” performed at the end of his set, contains all of the ingredients that Craigie fans have grown to love in his music.  

    Lines like “I’m tryna stay focused and stay in the moment, but all I can think about is if my fly is open,” mix with, “I don’t trust a musician who’s always complaining, it’s hard out here but so is everything.”

    Craigie capitalizes on the impact on the sentiment with his casual delivery, like an old friend would have after a long toke.

    The Ballroom Thieves joined Craigie onstage for the encore song, “I am California.” The song is a beautiful love letter to the golden state, and received a well-earned standing ovation from the crowd. Cragie, ever the diplomat, refused to help settle the hotly contested CPH debate of Norcal vs. Socal. 

    “I feel like a yin yang of NorCal and SoCal,” Craigie said. “Being raised in LA and then having my formative years in Santa Cruz and Mendocino County, I know the good parts and bad parts of both. And my heart is loyal to the whole state.” 

  • Community revives lost indigenous seafaring craft

    Community revives lost indigenous seafaring craft

    by Valen Lambert

    Mind’s Eye is more than just a charming cafe in the center of Ferndale’s downtown. It’s also home to the Manufactory, a makerspace that cafe-goers can watch through glass as artists and craftspeople work on projects. Right now, there is a community at work building a 27-foot-long Unangan canoe called a nigilax̂. 

    Longtime woodworker Marc and his wife Leah Daniels are the owners of Mind’s Eye Manufactory and Coffee Lounge. For several years, Marc Daniels has been collaborating with Unangax̂ to host apprenticeships on the crafting of iqyax̂, or the traditional kayaks of the Unangax̂ people of Alaska’s Aleutian islands. However, this nigilax̂ build is something entirely different.

    The nigilax̂ has not been built in the nearly two centuries since Russian fortune seekers invaded Unangax̂ villages, enslaving the people and cutting off all chances of escape by destroying their nigilax̂ fleet and anyone with the knowledge to build one. Two centuries later the Daniels, Unangax̂ descendants, Wiyot Tribe members, and other non-Native community members are putting together the missing pieces. 

    Some Russian invaders sketched pictures of these boats in the ship’s log. In a few instances, actual draftsmen were on board these invading ships, documenting some of the details of how these vessels were put together. Some of this information was found in the least expected places.

    Marc Daniels was doing some work with the Museum of the Aleutians, which had retrieved 1,500 year old kayak parts that some mummies had been buried with.

    “But then there were these odd parts,” says Daniels. “And turns out, after looking at them for a while, we realized that they were nigilax̂ ribs from that era 1,500 years ago.”

    The project and its materials have the blessing and approval of the Wiyot. The wood was combed from beaches in Humboldt and Alaska, like the 27-foot-long Sitka spruce now serving as the base of the nigilax̂. Traditionally, bull seal skin is used, but this nigilax̂ will be constructed with a ballistic nylon material. The vessel will hold eleven paddlers in addition to another ten to fifteen people. 

    The project has been bringing together Wiyot members and non-Native Humboldt community members, as well as distant Unangax̂ who have come to Ferndale for the build. For Mike Ferguson, an Unangan, working on the nigilax̂ has been a way to connect with his ancestry. 

    Photo courtesy of Mike Ferguson | Marc Daniels teaching people lashings on the lower stringers

    “It feels like the start of a potentially really deep journey,” says Ferguson. “I think there’s many deep stories to explore; some of that has to deal with healing trauma for my family.”

    Ferguson met another Unangan on the build who turned out to be a cousin he hadn’t met, solidifying the feeling that this project was powerful. 

    Leah Daniels finds the communal effort of the build deeply rewarding.

    “It’s a life connection,” Daniels said. “You’re connecting with each other, but you’re connecting with life, with ancestors, with the universe, and that just deepens relationships with people.”

    If blessed by the Kashia Pomo of the area, the ceremonial launch of the nigilax̂ is planned to take place during the Unangax̂-hosted festivities on Alaskan Native Day, May 27, at Fort Ross on the Sonoma Coast. Fort Ross, originally a Kashia Pomo village site named Metini, is a former Russian settlement that many displaced Unangax̂ ended up at. 

    “It’s kind of a full circle thing,” Leah Daniels said. “To rebuild the vessels, and to bring one back into this region, it feels much more powerful to have it launched at that site.”

    The nigilax̂ has an active future ahead, including plans for cultural journeys like Sealaska Celebration in Juneau, and Tribal Journeys in the Salish Sea waters of Washington and British Columbia. It will be made fully available for use by Unangax̂ to connect with their heritage and ancestry. Marc Daniels also plans to take members of the public out into Humboldt Bay once a month so the community can experience the beauty of Humboldt from the water. 

    “I hope that more opportunities like this become available for people of all cultures, backgrounds, and abilities,” Ferguson said. “It’s a really special way to be in community.”

  • Making waves at Moonrise Herbs

    Making waves at Moonrise Herbs

    by Nina Hufman

    Irene Lewis has built a business and a reputation from creativity, a desire to help people, and a passion for plants. Lewis is an herbalist and the proprietor of Moonrise Herbs, located on the plaza. Lewis’s relationship with Moonrise began with her selling herbs to the store. 

    “I had a different business that I owned,” Lewis said. “I had owned that for like 15 years where I was making herbal products and selling them to Moonrise.” 

    Her business was called Irene’s Dream Simply Herbal and was founded in 1990. She made salves, soaps, lotions, creams, and other herbal products that were carried at Moonrise. Years later, she started working in the store doing herbal consultations.

    “I started working a couple days a week back in like 1997,” Lewis said. “I lived out in the hills and I was coming to town so that I could have more social contact and do more herbal consultations here in the store and teach classes.”

    Moonrise Herbs was started by sisters Sarah and Lisa Hoyt in 1985. Lisa Hoyt left soon after the business was created while Sarah Hoyt continued to run the store. It was originally run out of a Victorian-style house before being moved to the plaza location in 1996. The business provided many of the same services it does now: selling books, herbal products, bulk herbs, and educating people about herbalism. 

    In a letter about the store’s history, Lewis wrote of the impact that Moonrise had on her, as well as its role in the Arcata community. 

    “The store was like a dear friend, inspiring many, and had become a retreat for several whom entered the store just simply to breathe,” Lewis wrote. “Irene also came to realize that Moonrise Herbs was and is highly respected by physicians in our area who regularly send in their patients who are seeking herbal knowledge.”

    Sarah Hoyt decided that she was ready to sell the store in 2003. She had owned and run the store for 18 years.

    “The owner of the store was ready to sell when I was ready to do something different with my other business,” Lewis said. “It just worked out that I moved into ownership of the store in 2004.”

    While Moonrise has been a large part of Lewis’s career as an herbalist, it was not her beginning. Lewis’s interest in herbalism began at Columbia Junior College in 1987.

    “I was going to college studying natural resources and hearing the different tidbits about Native American uses for plants,” Lewis said. “That kinda sparked me.” 

    After moving to Humboldt County, Lewis started experimenting with making herbal products simply out of her own interest. 

    “I started making things and I just kept giving them away,” Lewis said. “Then I had more than I could give away and so I started doing fairs.”

    Her experiences at the fairs led Lewis to further educate herself.

    “In doing fairs people were asking me questions that required more herbal knowledge,” Lewis said. “I started diving in deeper and learning more about herbs through an abundance of ways, different conferences and apprenticeship programs.”

    Lewis also learned from the people she was serving. 

    “I would go back to the same fairs year after year and from the things I was making I was learning from the people too, what they were experiencing from the products I was creating,” Lewis said. 

    As the owner of Moonrise Herbs, Lewis has continued to learn and has inspired others to do the same. 

    Alex Ammon is an herbalist and customer service specialist at Moonrise. She feels that working for Lewis allows her to be creative and learn new things in her workplace. 

    “It was hard for me to conceptualize working for someone because for a lot of years I didn’t,” Ammon said. “It’s nice to go somewhere where I feel really supported by my manager and my boss and they’re always encouraging us to learn. I do learn a lot from the people who come in as well. The constant learning is key for me.”

    Ammon also admires all that Lewis has achieved as an herbalist. 

    “She is super, super cool and she’s done so many things in her life that it’s really inspiring,” Ammon said. “The more I work with her one-on-one the more I’m like, ‘you’re a really rad person.’ She’s my boss but there’s a cool understanding and flexibility.” 

    Heather Sumeriski, another herbalist and customer service specialist, appreciates the creativity and freedom that she has working at Moonrise. 

    “It is the best place I’ve ever worked. It feels the safest and the most comfortable,” Sumeriski said. “We do have some creative leeway here and there. If we come up with some cool idea and present it to the boss she’s often likely to bring it into the store or adapt that idea.”

    Sumeriski feels Lewis creates a sense of community in the shop. All the employees fulfill the same roles, helping customers and making herbal blends. 

    “My boss is amazing in who she hires, we all mesh together really well,” Sumeriski said. “We do have a little bit of a turnaround because Arcata’s just like that. People kind of flow in and out. That’s a little bittersweet, it’s beautiful too.”

    Lewis’s extensive knowledge of herbalism and her connection with the community have made Moonrise an important part of Arcata. 

    “She’s been doing this for like over 20 years,” Sumeriski said. “She has a lot of knowledge about not just herbalism, but about business and changing tides. She’s known herbalists that have come and gone, that have passed. She has had people work here who are now really big herbalists in their own regard and have like published their own books and stuff.”

    Sumeriski feels supported by Lewis’s experience, it creates opportunities for growth. 

    “It feels great to know that you can rely on such a vast amount of knowledge,” Sumeriski said. “It’s there for the taking if you have a minute to ask her ‘hey, what’s your opinion on this?’ She’s always willing to help.” 

    Lewis’s main goal is to serve the community as best she can, helping people with both their physical and mental health. 

    “We’re not allowed to diagnose or prescribe, that’s against the law,” Lewis said. “Our main job is to support people through the process.”

    “We’ve been able to help people through all phases of their life,” Lewis said. “We also deal with life and death and support people through that process as well. If someone has lost somebody close to them, I feel like they’ve come in here and we’ve been able to help them with their grief.”

    Through the pandemic, Moonrise stayed open, continuing to help people with their needs.

    “We just kind of did what we saw people needed and we were doing exactly what herbalism should be,” Lewis said. “It was very gratifying.”

    In the same way that she has supported them, Lewis feels supported by the community. Those who work for her also appreciate the compassion and learning that they have experienced from their customers. 

    “We’ve been in business since 1985. We survived a recession and then the pandemic,” Lewis said. “I think we’re well supported by the community.” 

    “I love community work and sharing this knowledge because I don’t think it should be like just kept to yourself,” Ammon said. “What we need is the upsurgence of the more basic back-to-earth kind of knowledge.” 

    “This is the strongest [community] I’ve ever experienced,” Sumeriski said. “It’s very unique, it’s not common that you find this kind of community.” 

    Now, Lewis deals mostly with the details of running her business. She hires people, delegates tasks, ensuring that the newsletter goes out, social media posts are made, herbs are bought, and teas are blended. However, she still continues to practice. 

    “I still make a product that I sell within our store as well as three other stores that’s from my old days,” Lewis said. “I keep my hands harvesting plants still and making medicine even outside of Moonrise.”

  • Everyones getting into swing

    by Jasmin Shirazian

    Monday nights come to life for swing dancers at Redwood Raks World Dance Collective. After finding out Cal Poly Humboldt offers swing dancing as a class this semester, it became a goal for me to find out about the community here. From 6 P.M. to 7:50 P.M., Professor Phillip Nicklas teaches swing to students in the kinesiology building. Afterwards, he rushes to Redwoods Raks, where he can be found at Monday night swing. He recently mentioned this to his class, leading a few students to join in on the ever-growing swing nightlife. 

    Swing dancing began in Harlem, New York during the 1920s. Most dances came from Black communities, coming in many styles and forms, such as the Lindy Hop, East Coast Swing, and so on. Luckily, the art continues to thrive, including in Humboldt. 

    I watched as people were asked to dance, being swept up off the floor and twirled in fervent circles. I even found myself on the floor after a wonderful man named Tony asked for my hand. He quickly showed me how to do the Charleston and I tried my best to follow. Professor Nickolas was there to keep the spirits up as he DJed through the whole night.

    Growing up here, Nicklas has been dancing since 1996, 2 years after graduating high school; his first Lindy Hop lesson was actually at Redwood Raks. He began teaching in 1997 after joining the military and finding out he was the only one with knowledge of the dance. 

    “I love teaching swing dancing,” says Nicklas. “I notice I’m just in a great mood after I teach.” 

    Many of the students who take his class agree that they can feel his love and passion for the art. Somerset Miles Dwyer, a first time swing dancer, has been taking Nicklas’ class this past semester. 

    “I used to dance a lot when I was younger, and I wanted the opportunity to learn how to dance with a partner,” says Dwyer. “[This class] is a fun way of getting to dance with a lot of different people, and finding someone you like dancing with. People have a lot different styles, and that can teach you a lot more.”

    Other students, such as Kaya Knutzon, struggle with the time that the class is at, and thus prefer going to Monday night swing at Redwood Raks. 

    “I joined swing dancing due to pressure from my roommates, but I just thought it would be a really cool skill to have,” says Knutzon. “I’ve definitely learned a lot with the amount of times I have gone, there’s a surprising amount of moves you don’t realize are going on. I don’t think I’ll take the class next semester, but I’ll definitely be going to the out-of-school activities.” 

    All in all, it seems like swing is alive and well in the Humboldt community. It was really refreshing to see such an array of skill, and it felt nice to not be judged due to my lack of talents. It’s nice to know that if there’s nothing to do on a Monday night, swing dancing is always an option.

  • Holi celebration on the Quad welcomes spring with color and joy

    Holi celebration on the Quad welcomes spring with color and joy

    All photos by Alex Anderson

    Jenny Leon (left) braces for an incoming cloud of flourescent yellow powder being thrown by Minerva Patterson (right) in celebration of this year’s Holi. Leon said that she loves the event, the history behind it and getting completely covered in color with friends.
    Multiple colors of fluorescent powder being thrown in the air by students at this year’s Holi festival.
    Cal Poly Humboldt student Nishaant Sinha shares a colorful exchange with a fellow Holi attendee. Holi brings people together in celebration of love, spring and new beginnings. “It reminds me of home,” Sinha said.
    Dakari Tate, a Cal Poly Humboldt wildlife major has face completely covered in flourescent yellow powder for this year’s Holi festival in celebration of spring outside the Gutswurrak SAC on Mar 24.
  • The Humboldt spoken word community is alive, stomping, snapping, and whistling

    The Humboldt spoken word community is alive, stomping, snapping, and whistling

    by Valen Lambert

    Every Tuesday, Word Humboldt takes over Northtown Coffee to host their free open mic nights, where anyone is welcome to join and perform. From 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., you can expect everything spoken word, from poetry, song, and rap to short stories and improv. The nonprofit builds a thriving poetry scene through safe, supportive, and accessible events for new and seasoned writers of all ages.

    The beginning half of the night is saved for the community to share, and the second half of the night is for seasoned staff writers. To wrap up, everyone writes a line of poetry to add to a collective group poem. 

    Word Humboldt was started six years ago by co-founders Dylan Collins, Wil Gibson, and Susanna Gibson. Eureka poet laureate Wil Gibson prides the organization on curating a radically inclusive environment, where people feel safe in expressing themselves and being vulnerable.

    “The basis of Word Humboldt is to reach out to the community to make poetry accessible for everybody; to amplify and uplift underrepresented voices,” Gibson says. “You can’t be a poet in a vacuum.” 

    Gibson lived many years as a traveling poet and has performed at enough open mics to know what works and what doesn’t. This informed his belief that open mics should be free so that they are accessible to all, to encourage people of all ages and walks of life to attend and share so that everyone has a chance to feel seen. The love that permeates this community is what makes it special.

    “We built this community wanting love to be the main focus,” Gibson says. “You can feel the love between the crowd and the poet.”

    Bamidele Menchu Hotep has been attending the open mics since 2019 and is now on the Word Humboldt board of directors. He sees this community as family.

    “The importance of a writing community is that we’re able to inspire each other through our work,” Menchu Hotep says. “Through our writing we heal, so this is a community of growth and healing.”

    For Julie Avina, an environmental science and management major at Cal Poly Humboldt, Word Humboldt open mics were her first time performing a poem.

    “Everybody was so supportive even though I was so nervous,” Avina says. “They cheer extra loud for you once they know it’s your first time.”

    The crowd is eager to engage with the poems. They snap and stomp for powerful lines, echoing around the small cafe space. They shout ‘rewind!’ when it’s so good they want to hear it again and ‘new shit!’ when the poet shares something new. 

    The room is animated and electric, far from the solemnity that some people may associate with a poetry reading. Susanna Gibson, the executive director of Word Humboldt, starts the night off by hosting the first half with energetic charm and attentiveness, making each poet feel heard and seen by uplifting their performance. 

    Beyond the open mics, Wil Gibson hosts three poetry workshops throughout the week: Sundays 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Epitome Gallery in Eureka, Mondays 6 p.m.-7 p.m. at Fit Coast in Sunnybrae, and Thursdays 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at The Thing in Arcata. Each workshop is a $3-$5 donation, but no one is turned away for lack of funds.

    “We believe every poet has value in the future,” Gibson says. “Every poet deserves to learn.”

    On the second Saturday of each month starting at 6:30 p.m., Word Humboldt hosts the Redwood Poetry Slam at The Thing. Poetry slams are competitions with a cash prize, using elimination rounds in front of a panel of judges and a lively, engaged crowd.

    Word Humboldt is also co-organizing the second annual Redwood Poetry Festival taking place April 23-29 which boasts performances from local and national award winning talent, as well as workshops and community building.

    Whether you’re looking to dip your toes into poetry or are a seasoned writer, Word Humboldt hosts an array of events to make you feel at home in a community.

    “Poetry saved my life,” Gibson says. “I just want to give back.”

  • Van life on campus is not for the weak

    Van life on campus is not for the weak

    by Brad Butterfield

    It was Spring semester’s first Monday, 11 p.m., 40 degrees fahrenheit. I was strumming through a sloppy chord progression in an empty campus parking lot with a fellow student I’d just met named Ryan Kelly. We tag-teamed a pasta dinner topped heavily with Egyptian hot sauce that sent me into a sweat. 

    Kelly’s right-hand-drive Toyota Hius van was parked next to my home on wheels – an all white Chevy 3500 christened ‘The Dump Truck.’ We are both student vanlifers. This unplanned, laughter filled jam session only tells a small aspect of what it means to live in a van. 

    In fact, my first week on campus was mostly colored by a lack of showering and being cold. This is to be expected. I have owned The Dump Truck for nearly three years now and have weathered a number of uncomfortable days in some strange places. 

    By week two on campus, I had found the best shower locations and was pleased to meet a handful of other fine folks choosing the same lifestyle as me. Vanlife is a lifestyle that attracts vastly varied characters with differing goals. 

    Wildlife major Steven Childs put it bluntly to me one evening in Bigfoot Burgers. 

    “It shows sheer willpower, and some intelligence,” Childs said “You don’t do this by fluke. Its not like one day you happen upon an RV or a van and are like -oh fuck it im going to college. You plan it out. You’ve thought about the things you need to do, and some people are willing to go a little further than other people to make it happen. Or their situation puts them in that position.” 

    Childs said there are also financial motivations behind his lifestyle choice. 

    “A room, which is about 500-600 dollars a month and utilities…that’s going to really put me in a financial bind,” Childs said. “On top of tuition and books -and then trying to juggle that- I’d put a bigger burden on my wife. And so, the idea was born.” 

    Obviously, it isn’t just frugality that leads to sleeping in the back of a van. 

    Ryan Kelly explained his sleeping setup to me, which consists of an inflatable camping mattress laid diagonally under his table and thermal undergarments to stay warm. 

    “I’m more mobile, it’s convenient,” Kelly said. “I want to see places and be able to travel and save money. Living in a van is the way to do that.”

    When I pressed him on the lack of creature comforts afforded in our chosen way of life, Ryan doubled down without hesitation. 

    “If you want to live in a house and be comfortable, that’s fine,” Kelly said. “I don’t need much. Just got to have the bare essentials. A place to stay dry. Something to sleep on is good.”

    Students are in a unique bubble here in Humboldt county. There is a lack of housing and lack of jobs. What jobs there are, are often low paying, particularly when compared to the jobs that students have left behind. 

    “I had come from bartending in San Diego in a very rich area and was making really good money and then came here,” said Bobby Howser, another vanlifer.“I passed out resumes for two weeks, didn’t hear back from anybody for two months and then got a bussing position at a spot. I was more experienced than the people that worked above me.”

    Howser is content with his situation.

    “Camping is my favorite thing,” Howser said. “I don’t need a lot to be happy. A comfy bed and I can figure the rest out. It’s about perspective.” 

    Of course, there are the unavoidable inconveniences that come along with sleeping in a vehicle. Vanlife is about perspective, as Howser said, but it is also about reality. And reality can be a gross beast. 

    “When you have an all metal interior, it’s the condensation that gets you,” Howser said. “Things don’t ever dry out here because it’s so moist. When it’s really wet outside, and my breathing is causing condensation on the walls, mold can grow. I had that happen last semester which sucked. And water will drip off the ceiling and hit me in the face while I’m sleeping, you know… Like super fucking cold.” 

    Walking up a cold, steep hill in the morning just to take a piss is less than ideal. I don’t want to have a conversation through the shower curtain either. These are the sacrifices that come when one doesn’t pay rent though; acceptance of these trade-offs was the common theme of all of the conversations I had with van dwellers this week.

    In the past, I’ve used a propane heater to take the edge off of freezing nights. They don’t burn very efficiently and the safety of using one in an enclosed space is highly questionable. Arcata nights are cold, but thankfully not freezing. I have a few fluffy Costco blankets (thanks mom) that keep me comfortable through the night. 

    All of the vanlifers I spoke to were dealing with the chilly nights in a similar fashion. Layers, layers, layers. Of course at some point in the morning one has to depart their blanket cocoon and face the Humboldt dawn hour.

    Childs has served in the military and is no stranger to sub-par sleeping situations. Still, sometimes the reality of the current situation drowns out perspective.

    “When you wake up in your vehicle in the morning, that’s the snap to reality,” Childs said. “That’s when shit gets really real. When you wake up there’s no escaping that you’ve slept in a vehicle. The most challenging thing is to put on chilly pants in the morning.”

  • SZA’s second album gives a blunt evaluation of all those toxic relationships

    SZA’s second album gives a blunt evaluation of all those toxic relationships

    by Alana Hackman

    Following the release of her 2017 debut album, “CTRL,” SZA has graced us again. Known off-stage as Solána Imani Rowe, the singer recently delivered the juicy 23-track album “SOS.” It includes powerful vocal features from Travis Scott, Phoebe Bridgers, Don Toliver, and even a posthumous sample from Wu Tang Clan’s Ol Dirty Bastard.lmwd

    “SOS” is on the search for blood following SZA’s 2017 triple-platinum album “CTRL.”  Now “CTRL Deluxe” with the arrival of seven unreleased tracks this past June 2022, where she delivered a brutally honest 14-track journal entry assessing where she falls short in her relationships due to insecurities. 

     From apologetic melodies about her unshaven legs and lack of attractiveness to her ex in “Drew Barrymore” to longing for her father to be proud of her in “Normal Girl,” SZA has come back for vengeance with “SOS.” 

    Throughout the one-hour and eight-minute album, SZA enters an internal feud where she weighs the pros, cons, and desires she longs for within her past and present intimate relationships. Brutally honest once again, SZA doesn’t hold back in her sophomore album. 

    The 23 tracks are so personal and well-paced it feels like we’re listening to SZA’s stream of consciousness on a facetime call as her best friend.

    SZA approaches all of her tracks from a critical lens of herself and her past partners. She begs plenty of questions listeners have probably asked themselves at some point, which makes the album that much more relatable and enjoyable. 

    Does she want a committed relationship? Is she searching for validation and meaning from her romantic partners? Why can’t she seem to end things with her ex? Is she the toxic partner in these relationships? 

    SZA explores all of these questions in a straightforward conversational manner throughout the album. SOS spans multiple genres, presenting loyal listeners with a twist on the R&B genre we’ve associated with the St. Louis artist in previous years.

    We get a taste of SZA’s rapping abilities in “Smoking on my Ex Pack,” where the singer addresses the rumors and hate her exes have spewed towards her in previous years. The singer also spoils us with the indie-inspired hit “Kill Bill,” detailing her dramatic urge to kill her ex even though she still loves him. 

    She openly displays toxic traits in the alt-rock inspired track “F2F,” her vocals in which bear a striking similarity to Hayley Williams’, staged over a Paramore-esque beat. The lyrics dive into her pattern of having sex with other men just cause she misses her ex whom she continues to ignore for her own enjoyment.

    The honesty that defines the entirety of “SOS” is what has made it so addicting to returning fans and new listeners. 

    SZA doesn’t hide the lack of shame she feels after getting her ‘body done’ in “Conceited.” She candidly sings about her sexual past and how her “pussy precedes” her in “Blind.”

     Anyone who has been stuck in a whirlwind of lackluster situationships, or any intimate relationship that’s short of love and respect outside of the bedroom, can feel connected to SZA’s truthful verses. 

    It’s refreshing to see a female artist be so upfront about her sex life and toxic relationship traits. Which may be why she has gained newly devoted followers after “SOS” and kept the loyal fanbase she’s had since the release of “CTRL.”

    SZA’s fresh melodies and beats on “SOS” paired with her open honesty have allowed the album to break the Billboard record for the biggest streaming week for an R&B record. The album also is in its fifth week on No. 1 for Billboard’s top 200. 

    SZA has brought a relatable and open edge to the R&B table once again and has obviously earned her seat with the big dogs within the genre.

  • Native film showcase brings culture to Eureka Theater

    Native film showcase brings culture to Eureka Theater

    by August Linton

    A great, warm sense of community filled the Eureka Theater during the Da’Luk Native Film Showcase on Saturday. Native American youth, their families and community members gathered to watch short films on Indigenous life in Humboldt, produced by participants in the Voices From the Center and Weaving Culture into Wellness short film projects. These set out to document Native American people’s experiences and ways they found meaning and health by giving them the tools and assistance to set them to video.

    The critically-acclaimed 2022 short documentary “Long Line of Ladies” was also shown. It follows one Humboldt County family’s revitalization of the Karuk Ihuk ceremony, a traditional rite of passage for young women that had not been practiced in generations. 

    Da’Luk Youth Program Coordinator Vincent Feliz opened the event with information about how the program serves Indigenous youth. This division of the Northern California Indian Development Council (NCIDC) focuses on engaging youth with culturally rooted lessons and activities in Humboldt and Del Norte counties. 

    Da’Luk means ‘words and talking’ in Wiyot, a meaning that Feliz feels speaks to the ultimate purpose of the program: to connect youth to each other and ready them to participate in their community.

    The NCIDC offers mental health, anti-discrimination, and educational support to Indigenous youth, and has recently completed several mural projects in Eureka and Arcata.

    At the film showcase, community member Julian Lang also spoke about how language can build community.

    “Look for your language, that’s really important to understanding who you are as a human being; who you are as a tribe, a group, a village,” Lang said. “Not to heal but to reconnect your brain…your soul to where it’s supposed to be connected.”

    Lang then performed an opening song/prayer for the event, which he encouraged others to sing along to if they knew the words. The final descending note rang off the high ceilings with many voices.

    The Voices from the Center film project focused on native youth and elders as the subjects, consisting of many short films ranging from one minute to around five.

    One film documented the experience of building a Yurok plank house, including the healing experience of residing in a traditional Indigenous space. A brief film taught viewers to count to ten in Karuck, using acorns as visuals, while another film explored one woman’s passion for making and wearing regalia, such as bark skirts and deer-skin dresses.

    COVID-19 isolation gave one of the filmmakers, Celinda Gonzales, more time to engage in traditional practices such as beadwork. Her film compares the strength and resilience of her community with how new plants grow out of the burn scar of wildfires. 

    “You see these flowers, the trees coming back, the grasses coming back, you see beauty in the midst of that,” said Gonzales. “With COVID, even though we were all separated out, there was still beauty in that…I had more time at home, I was weaving more, talking to family more.”

    Robbie Lara’s film was about her connection with the plants in the garden she cultivates, and her realization that plants have souls like any other creature. She spoke of her gratitude to the plants for nourishing her and encouraged the audience to keep gardens.

    “It came to me that while I’m passing by all these trees and all this greenery, why can’t I give that my attention,” Lara said. “What I hope that the video does is help you have a relationship with the plant world.” 

    A second collection of short films was shown, produced by the United Indian Health Services’ Weaving Culture into Wellness project. Facilitator Jude Marshall said he started the project after traditional cultural practices improved his health. It was made possible with funding from UIHS and from the Rural Indian Health Board’s program to reduce chronic diseases in Native communities.

    Ernie Albers Jr. starred in a film about the gym that he runs, Lifted Arcata. He described his ‘human-specific’ approach to working out. This means incorporating postures and motions which he said mirror those used in traditional lifestyles.

    Another film in this collection focused on food sovereignty. Liz Lewis  shows the process of making salmon head soup, and speaks on the role of food in reclaiming one’s culture. She uses salmon fished locally by Native people and peppers from the UIHS’ Potawot Community Garden.

    “Not everyone may be able to do all the practices that we used to do, but cooking is a great way to be connected [to your culture,]” Lewis said. 

    In Willard Carlson’s film, he recounts his experiences fighting for river access and fishing rights in the 70s. 

    “We never ever want to give up our cultural identity and where we came from,” Carlson said. “I feel good, optimistic about our future…coming into this inheritance is very special.” 

    These documentaries eloquently showed how deeply supportive and connected the community around their production was through food, song, and stories.

    Daniel Aipa, the Native Hawaiian producer of the Weaving Culture into Wellness films, believes in the power of spreading Indigenous stories.

    “When you tell one story …it becomes 50 or 100 different stories, depending on what you take from it,” Aipa said. “And that’s Native culture. Our oral history is everything to us.”

    “Long Line of Ladies” was shown next, following the Allen family, their spiritual family, and their preparations for Ahtyirahm “Ahty” Allen’s Ihuk coming of age ceremony. The Ihuk is performed for Karuk young women once they have their first period, and was revived in 1995 after a long dormancy. 

    “There’s points [in life] where we all come together, and that’s something that Native people have lost,” said Pimm Tripp-Allen. “This is the kind of thing that we’re supposed to be doing for our young people.”

    The family lives in McKinleyville, and many scenes are set in familiar Humboldt locations, such as the walking path across the Mad River trestle bridge. The documentary has been shown at Sundance, SXSW, and other film festivals. It is available to stream through the end of November on New York Times Op Docs, a platform for independent short films. 

    The family felt at ease among the home crowd attendees, and opened up about funny and personal experiences they’d had during production. 

    “We’re talking to you guys a little different than we talk to other communities,” said Alme Allen. “Because we’re back home, and you’re our people.”

  • Rooted and Rising puts Black voices onstage

    Rooted and Rising puts Black voices onstage

    by Sophia Escudero

    In five years at Cal Poly Humboldt, lecturer Dionna Ndlovu had not seen a single production written by a Black playwright. On Monday, Oct. 24, she will direct one. 

    Rooted and Rising is a series of staged readings produced by CDOR and the Umoja Center for Pan African Student Excellence in collaboration with the Theatre Arts Department, beginning this semester with a reading of “Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992” by Anna Deavere Smith. Each work, including this one, will be one written by a Black writer.

    “The staged reading series will happen twice a year, once in the fall, once in the spring,” Ndlovu said. “It’s a collaboration between multiple departments, faculty, staff, students, and community members.” 

    A staged reading differs from a play in that there is not a set or full costumes. Traditionally, the cast reads off scripts, and there is minimal stage movement, allowing for a lower investment of time and energy while still creating theater. Ndlovu was personally drawn to theater by listening to and participating in staged readings.

    “When I looked at our season, I noticed we didn’t have one staged reading, and we didn’t have use of our second stage space, which is our studio theater,” Ndlovu said. “It creates an opportunity for students who are maybe looking for more performance opportunities, for faculty and staff who want to participate, at low stakes.”

    To Ndlovu, another important aspect of the staged reading format is that it is often followed by a talkback between the audience and the cast and crew. This work, she believes, is part of an important dialogue to be had in the Humboldt community. 

    “Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992” is a series of monologues about the 1992 Los Angeles Uprising, a six-day series of riots. The conflict was born from the acquittal of four police officers in the beating of Rodney King, the killing of 15-year-old Latasha Harlins by a Korean convenience store owner, and years of racial tensions, particularly between the Black and Korean communities. When the riots ended, 63 people were dead, 2,383 more were injured, and over 12,000 had been arrested. All of the monologues are derived from real interviews with people who were involved or directly affected, their words translated directly to the page. 

    Performer Jennifer Be, born in LA county, is very aware of the history behind the show. 

    “I did some research on what the production was going to be, and saw that it was something I could contribute to,” Be said. “It showcases so many perspectives and experiences after the riots, that felt like something I wanted to contribute to and be a part of.” 

    The cast is composed of eight actors, including Ndlovu, of various races, ethnicities, genders, and ages. Casting was entirely open— some actors are students, others members of the greater Humboldt community. Every performer delivers several monologues, each one from a different person’s perspective. 

    “I’m reading four folks, and they all have very contrasting backgrounds,” Be said. “They’re all from different socioeconomic experiences, and what sort of their purpose was during that time was very contrasting as well. There’s such a juxtaposition, that’s really fun, but the most important thing is that there’s something relatable about everyone’s experience.” 

    Several performers had not had any previous experience with theater. Performer Elijah Moore had not acted before, but found himself intrigued by a casting call flyer and joined the production. He says he’s proud of the opportunity to present such powerful monologues on a crucial topic. 

    “It’s groundbreaking work, of course,” Moore said. “The written word is very important, and I think highlighting the massacres and the terrible things that happened during the riots is really important to understand that police brutality is really a thing. Being able to highlight those topics in a performance is really cool.” 

    Patricia Iwok, also new to performance, found the experience to be educational as well. She had never heard about the Los Angeles Uprising before, and feels that she has learned a lot from her involvement. She particularly appreciated the staged reading format. 

    “I feel like it’s the most stress-free experience, like it’s really nice,” Iwok said. “Just reading lines, experiencing what we’re reading, I feel like that’s cool. It’s something new, something exciting.” 

    Fellow performer Binta Wright finds Rooted and Rising to be incredibly significant for Humboldt’s Black community, and an important step forward for representation locally. 

    “To be part of something like this where we are is unprecedented,” Wright said. “Humboldt has never had a focus on Black works, and stage readings have been just as scarce. It’s refreshing and I’m excited that there will be more presence of Black playwrights and stories told in theater here at Cal Poly in the near future.”

    “Twilight: Los Angeles 1992” will be performed at 7 pm Oct. 24 in the JVD Studio Theater, and is free to attend and open to everyone. The reading will be followed by a talkback with the audience.

  • Close-knit friends

    Close-knit friends

    by Victoria Olsen

    Tucked away on the second floor of the library, students gather with plastic needles and metalhooks to partake in the weekly Cal Poly Humboldt knitting group, Close-Knit Friends. This is the group’s first year back since the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020. The group was founded by Katrina Maynez, who started knitting in middle school and has enjoyed it ever since. 

    “I love doing different crafts and such, and so I really wanted to have a space where people could be creative and have that time to really be themselves and just relax and destress,” Maynez said. 

    Knitting needles and crochet hooks as well as yarn are all provided. They also provide “how-to” books and a bunch of other books with pattern ideas and ways to knit or crochet different items. 

    You are also welcome to bring your own supplies and projects if you have them.  

    Haleigh Singleton was one of many people at this event, but one of the few crocheters.

    “I taught myself during COVID, and then I’m kind of relearning as we speak,” Singleton said, intently focused on her project. 

    Close-Knit Friends welcomes all skill-levels of knitters and crocheters. If you are a pro, you are more than welcome to come by and relax with everyone. Or if you are interested in learning, they are more than happy to get you started. 

    Julien Jones’s first time ever knitting was a week prior, and they’d already made tremendous progress on their project. 

    Emma Lowe was one of the other few crocheters among the group and was working on a fairly elaborate cardigan.

    “I love crocheting, and I came last week and they taught me how to knit, so that was really cool,” Lowe said. 

    There were a variety of skill levels. Some had been at this for years, others a few months, some a week or so, and others were in the process of learning.  

    If you are interested in knitting or crocheting projects and also interested in volunteering, Y.E.S. provides a knitting group every Wednesday from 12-12:50 pm. in the library basement, Suite 1. There they work on projects such as scarves, gloves, socks, hats, etc to donate. 

    If you are feeling crafty and happen to have a free afternoon on Mondays check out “Close-Knit Friends” in the Makerspace on the second floor of the Library in room 205. They meet every Monday from 3-5 pm. 

  • El Centro celebrates Latinx community in Heritage Month kickoff

    El Centro celebrates Latinx community in Heritage Month kickoff

    by Sophia Escudero

    National Latinx Heritage Month began on Thursday, Sept. 15, and was commenced on campus in a kickoff event by El Centro Academico Cultural. The event featured performances by Mariachi de Humboldt, Danza Azteca, and Ballet Folklorico, catering by Los Giles Taqueria and Pupuseria San Miguel, and keynote speaker Johanna Toruño. 

    Photo by Sophia Escudero | Dancer Jenny Leon lights the copalero, a traditional vessel in Danza Azteca. In the background, instructor Elizabeth Rivera announces as dancers Covin Sigala and Namixtulu Estevan and drummer Naeem Alston prepare for the dance.

    The event brought in over 100 students and community members of all ages as Humboldt’s Latinx community gathered to celebrate their heritage. 

    According to Fernando Paz, Coordinator for El Centro, community is what the month is all about. 

    “It’s a moment to really recognize and uplift the unique achievements, and celebrate and honor what the Latinx community has accomplished within the United States,” Paz said. 

    This national observation began in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week, and it was expanded to a month, Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, in 1988. The starting date of Sept. 15 is significant as it is the anniversary of independence from Spain for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexican Independence Day and Chilean Independence Day are Sept. 16 and 18, respectively. 

    After a land acknowledgement from El Centro, the event began with several songs by Mariachi de Humboldt. Mariachi de Humboldt features performers from the student body as well as the larger Humboldt community, and they soon amassed an enraptured audience, some singing along with the refrains while others simply listened. 

    Photo by Sophia Escudero | Mariachi de Humboldt violinist Raul Torres focuses on the music.

    Next up was speaker Johanna Toruño, a well-known street artist and activist. Much of her work involves messages of queer pride, Latinx identity, community support, and anticapitalism, and she works to make her art accessible through social media. Toruño was born in El Salvador and immigrated to the United States as a child. Many elements of her life are reflected in her artwork: floral frames in reference to the flowers her mother would buy, and a collage on supporting your own inner child featuring her own childhood photos. 

    Her art contrasts strong political messages with pink and pastel imagery in a deliberate subversion of cisheteronormative gender roles. The messages are soft and feminine, and with that, powerful.

    Toruño answered questions from the audience after her presentation, including one on what influences her art. 

    “People,” Toruño said. “And I know that sounds like a very generic answer, but I mean it. People in the community and the folks that look at this work. The people, the migrants, the people around here living our lives, I think of them when I put up posters and I’m telling you right now, the Dominican salon ladies, the mail folks, the kids who are playing in the street– gente. That’s what inspires my work. 100%.” 

    Photo by Sophia Escudero | Street artist Johanna Toruño explains how her lived experience as a queer migrant inspires her art as she presents traditional El Salvadoran art styles.

    Soon after Toruño wrapped up the questioning, the food was served. Students queued the length of the JGC for tacos, pupusas, beans and rice, and horchatas. Meanwhile, the Danza Azteca club, led by instructor Elizabeth Rivera, performed several dances for the assembled guests, even teaching the steps to audience volunteers and encouraging them to dance along. 

    As Paz and Toruño previously expressed, however, the most important part of the event was the people. Attendees eagerly dug into locally made food, applauded the performers, and danced in small groups as music played over the speakers. There was a sense of community, even as people were meeting for the first time. 

    Student Jess Angulo was one of many who felt at home at the event. 

    “I really enjoy it because I’m Hispanic, Latino, whatever,” Angulo said. “It feels familiar, like even the food feels nostalgic. It’s nice to see people like me.” El Centro will continue to hold events throughout the month, and their event calendar can be found on their website and their social media.

  • Reese Bullen Gallery features faculty artwork

    Reese Bullen Gallery features faculty artwork

    by Nina Hufman

    The Staff and Faculty Exhibition is now open at the Cal Poly Humboldt Reese Bullen Gallery, featuring artwork created by members of the art department.

    The exhibition will run until Oct. 15. It features a variety of mediums from all of the divisions of the art and film departments. Isabela Acosta, a gallery attendant and art history major, was excited about the variety of work presented. 

    “It’s literally every faculty member from every art sector, and they’re presenting their work here which is super cool,” Acosta said. “You have jewelry, ceramics, sculptures, paintings, some videos, there’s some digital art that’s really cool. It’s just like a whole nebula of stuff.” 

    Photo by Angel Barker | Sarah Whorf’s “Palm to Pine”, 2005 at the Reese Bullen Gallery on Friday. The piece is a photo screen print construction.

    Students were excited to see their teachers’ work in a gallery setting. Jack Miklik, an English major, talked about the importance of featuring faculty work.

    “They’re practicing artists and teachers,” Miklik said. “It’s good to like, look and see if you enjoy the work that your instructor is making. I think it’s like one of the more important shows as students for us to see in the art department.” 

    Many of the artists featured in the exhibition were heavily impacted by COVID-19. Their works feature themes of isolation and a desire for connectedness. 

    “A lot of this work I think was done during like COVID so when you read their little manuscripts they just talk about like what they were doing during COVID and what came out of it,” Acosta said. 

    Dave Woody, a photography and film lecturer, has two pieces in the gallery. “Gabe” and “Madeline” are both silver gelatin prints created in 2022. In the card next to his work, Woody discusses how the pandemic has impacted his art.

    Photo by Angel Barker | Sarah Whorf’s “Palm to Pine”, 2005 at the Reese Bullen Gallery on Friday. The piece is a photo screen print construction.

    “The lessons learned during that period of isolation really helped me to value the time that I do have with friends and strangers,” Woody wrote. “These photographs included in this show feel reflective of my current state of thinking about images of people- a desire to connect and to embrace the beauty and mystery of life.”

    Dan Molyneux, a lecturer specializing in ceramics, also wrote about his experience of the pandemic. His featured work “Chroma Teapot” is part of a series of ceramic teapots that were created during the pandemic. 

    “As a ceramic sculptor, it became important to focus on this series of teapots/ewers over the course of the pandemic,” Molyneux wrote. “These are abstract vessels that project an idea of function rather than functionality itself but served me as a touchstone of sharing and community during a very isolated time.”

    COVID-19 was not the only subject of the faculty artworks. Sondra Schwetman, an associate professor who specializes in sculpture. Her piece “Witness” was created in 2019 from fabric, pigment, and steel. In her description of the piece, Schwetman writes about how her work embodies the themes of the female experience. 

    “My current body of work addresses the ambiguous space between reality and fiction where the female form and therefore females often dwell,” Schwetman wrote. “The works in this series concentrate on psychological, religious, cultural, and social issues that impact women everyday such as: reproduction and reproductive rights, illness and COVID-19, class systems, colonization, compliance, silence, and war.” 

    Marilyn Koch, a visiting faculty member who specializes in jewelry and small metals, discussed the concept of “self” in her two featured works, “We are a colony,” and “Year 30: Age Badges.” The pieces utilize unique mediums like hair and synthetic teeth.

    Photo by Angel Barker | Sarah Whorf’s “Palm to Pine”, 2005 at the Reese Bullen Gallery on Friday. The piece is a photo screen print construction.

    “It is egocentric in nature and at first glance, coyly uses replicas of the human body to simultaneously repel and entice us,” Koch wrote. “Beyond the skin, teeth, or hair, are themes of ephemeral youth, community, social norms, and a prominent objective: A desperate attempt to define the Self.”

    A wide variety of mediums and subject matter means that there is something that everyone can connect with. 

    “My favorite piece is this painting over here and it’s called ‘From palms to pines.’ It’s just about moving from SoCal to up here,” Acosta said. “There’s like the map of Los Angeles and Orange County that goes into the map of Humboldt County.”“Gina [Tuzzi]’s paintings are really nice,” said Martin Lopez, an economics and studio art major. “And the cars, the ceramic cars, are pretty sweet. Yeah, that shit’s tight.”

  • Scene Kids Make A Scene At Emo Night

    Scene Kids Make A Scene At Emo Night

    by Ione Dellos

    During the pandemic, the Van Duzer Theater Hall sat empty, no encores, no cheers, just silence. Tonight, that all changed. Dozens of black-clad students flooded the doors of the theater, brimming with anticipation for the chance to see one of their favorite songs from middle school played live before their eyes. There was no shortage of smudged eyeliner among the patrons who filled the theater for the sold-out show. 

    With this level of attendance for a show, there are a lot of moving parts involved. Amanda Kachevas, Programming and Event Coordinator for Center Arts, told me about the planning behind this event. They booked the band six months in advance, and had been setting up the concert since 10 am. The event ends at 1 am, so the Center Arts crew will still be there until 2 am breaking the whole thing down. When I asked Kachevas if she gets to go to sleep, she laughed at the prospect.

    “Never!” Kachevas said.

    At around 8:40 pm the band took the stage, and instantly started the show off with an electrifying on-stage presence. Their lead singer, Marcus Leonardo, belted out beloved emo numbers such as “I’m Not Okay” by My Chemical Romance and “Sugar, We’re Going Down” by Fall Out Boy. The lead guitarist, Stephen Henry, leapt around the stage as he shredded run after run, and would even place his guitar behind his head for complicated solos. 

    Concertgoer Liam Boyd, asked if he was having a good time at the show, responded enthusiastically.

    “YEAHHH!” Boyd said. 

    He beamed with joy that the band had played his favorite song, “Welcome to the Black Parade” by My Chemical Romance, just moments before. 

    Photo by Ione Dellos | Marcus Leonardo sings to the crowd at the Van Duzer Theatre on Thursday, September 9.
    Photo by Ione Dellos | Stephen Henry plays guitar for the Emo Nigh Tour on Thursday, September 8
    Photo by Ione Dellos | Guitarist Stephen Henry plays guitar for the Emo Night Tour on Thursday, September 8

    The crowd coursed with energy, further fueled by the band playing nostalgic hit after hit. Songs from the concert included “Sugar, We’re Going Down” by Fall Out Boy, “I’m Not Okay” and “Teenagers” by My Chemical Romance, “King For a Day” by Pierce the Veil, “Dear Maria, Count Me In” by All Time Low, “American Idiot” by Green Day, “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” by Panic! At The Disco, and more. 

    Large crowds need an even larger security detail, so I asked the Center Arts staff what it’s like to work these events. Lavender Deng, a second-year student at Humboldt who works security for Center Arts, told me a little about what it’s like to work security for the school. 

    “It’s fun,” Deng said. “You just get to watch all of the shows and make sure nobody brings in something that they’re not supposed to.”

    Watching the electrifying setlist, I knew that I needed to get closer to truly capture the band’s presence. Thanks to the help of two concertgoers, Vance Fewell and Taylor Danel, I was able to work with the Center Arts staff to get in front of the barricade. Words cannot describe how incredible it was to get to see the musicians perform less than two feet from my face, and feel the barricade shake behind me as the crowd rocked with the music. 

    Overall, this was a wonderful concert, and it was a hell of a way to relive my middle school years (minus the middle school part).

  • Local bands rock the Gutswurrak

    Local bands rock the Gutswurrak

    by Ione Dellos

    Band members wait in front of the bathrooms, eyes anxiously fluttering from the stage to the growing audience in the Gutswurrak Student Activities Center. After the deepest sigh one could possibly take, they make their way to the stage and prepare their set. It’s Local Band Night at the SAC. Humboldt’s local bands overcame their nerves and brought the good times to the stage.

    Starting the night off, local duo Cowboy Daddy took to the stage. Composed of lead vocalist and guitarist Skye Freitas and drummer/keyboard maestro Conner West, the two have performed as Cowboy Daddy for a little over a year. They work well together, always looking to each other while on stage. They lock eyes to land the ending chords of a song, or to check on each other mid-set.

    This was Freitas’s first live performance in over a year, but aside from temporarily losing her guitar pick, the performance went off without a hitch. She soon discovered it in the right hand pocket of her jacket.

    “The right is always right,” Freitas said.

    Photo by Abraham Navarro | Shaggy Joon’s guitarist and vocalist Lily Worthington sings at the Gutswurrak Student Activity Center on April 28.

    The second band to perform was Shaggy Joon, composed of local duo Lily Worthington and Grant Apicella. Worthington plays guitar and sings, and Apicella backs them up from behind the drumset.

    They came up with the name for the band in Worthington’s dorm room, and they’ve been playing together for about a year. Complicated strumming patterns and rapid chord changes are handled without a sweat when Worthington is on stage, and the assured confidence with which they handle a guitar are nothing to point a finger at. Worthington dedicated one of the songs to their girlfriend.

    “If you got somebody you love, pull them tight,” they said.

    They encouraged the crowd to dance a little slower to the song. Concert attendees locked hands and exchanged loving stares as they swayed gently, the gentle guitar riffs and bubble lights setting a dreamy mood.

    Shaggy Joon closed out the set with “2 a.m.,” one of Worthington’s favorite songs to perform live. They thanked the remaining audience for sticking around until the end of the show, and began to pack up their things. Despite the small crowd size, most attendees stuck around until the end of the night.

  • Cal Poly Humboldt Theatre presents the return of the 24 hour play festival

    by Sophia Escudero

    Putting on a play is traditionally no quick process. It takes months to take a script, design the set, costumes, and lights, cast actors, direct it, and have something polished enough to perform. The 24 hour play festival, however, turns that notion on its head. From 7 p.m. Friday night to the same time Saturday, a group of theater students wrote scripts and presented them as a series of short plays before an audience.

    The event was entirely student run and organized, and was produced by Cal Poly Humboldt students Austin Maisler and David Fisher.

    Maisler served as a producer, director, light designer, and stage manager. He had heard about the 24 hour play festival in his first year at Cal Poly Humboldt, but nothing came of it due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When campus reopened, the idea for the festival returned.

    “Spring came along and our department chair, Dr. Troy [Lescher] brought it up, like, ‘hey, does anybody want to run this?’” Maisler said. “I didn’t want to run it, I wanted to act in it, but nobody came forward so I talked to David. David and I decided to step forward and run this thing.”

    The process of organizing the festival was, by its nature, chaotic. Scripts were written overnight, and given to directors at 7 a.m. the next morning. The actors were cast less than twelve hours before they had to be off-book and ready to present the scene, and rehearsals were intermittently interrupted by costume fittings and discussions of the script. Lighting was finalized shortly before the house opened, and many people found themselves taking on roles that they had not previously had experience in.

    “This is the first show I’ve ever designed lights for,” Maisler said. “I’m actually in the lighting class this semester, so I just stepped forward, like, I kind of know how to do this, so I’ll just do it.”

    The four scenes, each about ten minutes long, took on themes of college-aged ennui, failing romance, finding meaning in absurdity, and impending doom. Of the four playwrights, two also participated as actors, and one as a director.

    Actor and writer Ben Wimer had not been involved in a 24 hour play festival before in either capacity. He found writing for a 24 hour play festival to pose a unique challenge. As the script is to be presented less than a day after its completion, certain factors had to be considered.

    “I wanted to write something that was simple, but had an authenticity to it, and had dialogue that was easy for the actors to memorize⁠— hopefully, it was easy to memorize⁠— but still gave them a lot to play around with,” Wimer said.

    Mollie Donaldson had participated in a previous 24 hour play festival at Cal Poly Humboldt in early 2020 as an actor, a role she repeated two years later. She considers the festival to be intense, but rewarding.

    “It’s definitely stressful,” Donaldson said. “You’re handed a script at 8 a.m. and told at 7 p.m. that you’re supposed to perform it and block it and have everything memorized. It’s a stressful thing, but one of my favorite things is kind of shocking myself with how quickly I can memorize things.”

  • Reese Bullen Gallery features Cal Poly Humboldt student artists

    Reese Bullen Gallery features Cal Poly Humboldt student artists

    by Nina Hufman

    The Arts Graduate Exhibition for the class of 2022 is now open at the Reese Bullen Art Gallery at Cal Poly Humboldt.

    Kylie Maxfield, a senior whose work is featured in the exhibit says that having one’s work in a gallery is an integral part of being an artist.

    “Being a student artist myself, I think it’s really important to be able to showcase my work,” Maxfield said. “To feel validated for what I’ve been working on. It inspires me to continue my education in art.”

    Photo by Angel Barker | Reflective Perspective, made of bronze and glass by Lisa Heikka Huber

    The exhibition showcases the work of graduating students in the Art Department. It features work from a variety of mediums including painting, sculpture, illustration, drawing, printmaking, photography, ceramics, and jewelry.

    “There’s a lot more diversity than I would expect,” said student Duncan McDougall.

    Another student, Justin Henderson, also appreciated how diverse the selection of art is within the gallery.

    “Each one is pretty unique,” Henderson said. “I like that there’s a lot of creativity going on.”

    McDougall and Henderson were excited to be able to attend an exhibition of their peers’ art. Student exhibitions allow for their work to be seen by those outside the art department.

    “Otherwise, I wouldn’t see any of their art,” said Henderson. “I don’t have any art classes, so I’m never over here.”

    “There’s a lot of student creativity,” McDougall said. “You don’t really see a lot of these student galleries.”

    Displaying their work also gives student artists new opportunities.

    Photo by Angel Barker | “Present” by Kaitlyn Ladines. This paining invites students to be apart of the exhibit by sitting in the chair. This piece won 2nd place for the Glenn Berry Painting Award.

    “Having this graduate exhibition also gives students the chance to be awarded for what they’ve been working on,” Maxfield said. “I think that if students didn’t have the opportunity to do something like this that feels real, then they probably wouldn’t make as much or be inspired to.”

    One of the opportunities that Cal Poly Humboldt art students have is the opportunity to win the Permanent Collection Purchase Prize award. The honor is given to one student from each graduating class. The work is then added to Cal Poly Humboldt’s permanent collection of student artwork.

    Maxfield says that selecting the correct piece for an exhibition is a challenging task.

    “I think critiques really narrow down, like what are people interested in and what is catching people’s attention,” Maxfield said. “Getting a lot of opinions on what strikes people as an interesting photograph.”

    Maxfield also discussed challenges with her chosen medium, photography.

    “I think that sometimes it’s hard to get through with people,” Maxfield said. “Like a lot of people kind of think ‘oh, well they just press a button.’ With paintings or drawings it’s a lot more evident the amount of work that goes into it, but with photography, not as much.”

    Photo by Angel Barker | “Human Flower” by Emily Newark. Made from low-fire white clay. This ceramic sculpture won the Phoenix Ceramic Award.

    There were many interesting pieces featured in the gallery. One sculpture entitled The Human Flower was the topic of discussion among students.

    “I think The Human Flower rules,” McDougall said. “If I had a million dollars, I’d buy it right now.”

    Another opinion on the piece was offered.

    “I appreciate that a lot of work went into that, but it just freaks me out,” Henderson said.

    The exhibition will run through Saturday, May 14 with a reception to follow the College of Arts Humanities & Social Sciences commencement ceremony.