L-R: Fern Viking, Emily Whitehurst, and Lorena Cruz on the first night back in class

After a month-long break, Free Minds students and faculty jumped into the new semester with a dynamic interdisciplinary class on Maxine Hong Kingston's short story, "No Name Woman." Each professor interpreted the story from his or her particular field of study, encouraging students to think like historians, literary scholars, rhetoricians, and creative writers.

After that, students turned to the humanities unit and began to read one of the weightiest books on the syllabus: The Arabian Nights. Through the tales, they explored and analyzed different cultural beliefs and values.
   
Later, students will tackle Sandra Cisneros's The House on Mango Street and Gregory Burke's Black Watch, a Scottish play about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The play raises questions about the thin line between fiction and reality and the responsibility of art to push social and political buttons.
   
In March, students will continue to explore these questions when they read Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried and welcome special classroom guest Lawrence Wright, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction for The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11.

April showers bring poetry to Free Minds. At the start of the month, students will begin playing with form, rhyme, rhythm and imagery as they learn how to tell their own stories in verse.

The semester ends with the American history unit, prompting students to consider how various groups have agitated for their rights through the centuries. They will consider questions about what it means to be an American: What is freedom? What is the relationship between education and equality? Whose stories get told and why is that important?

Over the course of the semester, students will continue to explore the question of how and why we tell our stories. 

On January 20, Annette Carlozzi, Deputy Director of Art & Programs at the Blanton Museum, treated Free Minds students and faculty to a tour of the American and Contemporary collections. 

We began with a long consideration of Teresita Fernández's Stacked Waters, the 3,100 square feet of acrylic that cover the atrium walls in a striped blue pattern. Carlozzi reminded us that we experience art not just with our eyes, but with our whole bodies.

We explored Melissa Miller's vivid Zebras and Hyenas and the stunning tapestry made of liquor bottle tops by the West African artist El Anatsui. We stopped by Karl Zerbe's striking painting Woman on Trapeze, where project director Vivé Griffith shared the poem she wrote for the Blanton Poetry Project. We considered the abstract Light Pink Octagon by Richard Tuttle and how it challenges us to question the boundaries of art.

Beyond introducing students to the art, Carlozzi shared why selecting, exhibiting, and cultivating visual art has been her life's work. "Often I look at a piece of art and the hair on my arms stands up," she said, "Art has the power to make me think and feel and see in a different way." 

Later, when viewing the video installation "Black Ghost Blues Redux," student Andrea Greiner turned to Carlozzi and said, "I'm getting those chills you talked about."  

We all left the museum with a new perspective on how artists see the world.

This spring Free Minds is offering a unique opportunity to explore your creative potential, share your stories, and improve your comfort and skill as a writer. In partnership with Foundation Communities, we are hosting a free eight-week writing workshop at the Trails at Vintage Creek apartments (7224 Northeast Drive). Every Monday evening between February 28 and April 18, we'll meet to do guided writing exercises in a supportive group environment. All writing will be done during the weekly workshops. Contact the Free Minds office by e-mail or phone at (512) 232-6093 to register or ask questions.