Hannah Green Introductions

1. What has been your favorite course of study in or out of school? Why?

My favorite course of study has by far been art, both studio and art history. Despite having only taking the first studio class, I love it. I am the type of person who does better under deadlines and tasks. Making art just for myself is something that I can never justify the time for it has to be for someone or something. I also enjoy dipping my feet into different mediums and processes that I wouldn’t learn otherwise. Art history is one of those subjects that I will be perpetually learning about until I die. In my family, art is always a topic of conversation. My dad has this insurmountable knowledge about art history that I hope I will have someday.

2. How many pages was the longest paper you have written? Did it include endnotes and bibliography?

16 pages including endnotes and bibliography

3. Which was your favorite paper? Please tell us about the topic in a couple of sentences.

My favorite paper was actually one I wrote in Spanish about the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico’s Copper Canyon. The Tarahumara are known for their ability to run, and by run I mean distances ranging from 10k to over 100 miles.

4. Is there a particular kind of writing you love to do?

I particularly like research papers that involve a topic of interest. Whether directly related to the topic or not I always learn way more than I expect after sifting through so much information.

5. Which books have you read lately: art, fiction, non-fiction, sci-fi, poetry, environmental, film? Any comments are welcome.

Oh geez, it sounds horrible but I honestly have not read a book for pleasure outside of school in over a year due to a busy schedule. I do read short articles and blogs daily just no books. The last one I finished, however, was Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall and loved it. A while back I started Stories in Stone, by David Williams, which is about a discovering geological history through the stones and architecture of urban buildings.

6. Which artist or writer really impresses you? Why?

So many artists and writers really impress me that it is impossible to choose one. After googling some ceramic artists for my studio class I discovered the work of Nathan Craven. His pieces are so unexpected when you realize they are ceramic. The intricate, yet contemporary and modern look of his work is unlike anything I have seen recently.

7. What is your main interest besides writing, art, music, (i.e., the humanities)?

Running on the trails, never the treadmill, whether it’s 95 degress or 5 degrees I am out there…except now I have an injury and still have not mustered up the willpower to drag myself into a pool. It has been years since I actually swam laps, the last time was probably in high school. Needless to say, I am more comfortable on land.

8. Please describe briefly an article in a newspaper or a magazine that got you thinking lately.

Recently I was reading an article about Detroit, The Future of Detroit: How to Shrink a City by Daniel Okrent and Steven Gray, because my brother and his wife relocated there last year while he is doing his residency for medical school. The article talked about how so many people have a negative connotation of Detroit that has caused the city’s population to drop drastically as a result of the economic decline. The article was interesting because it focused more on the way Detroit could be revived. By condensing the city and congregating the residents into a smaller area the city might be more appealing. Detroit literally has blocks where only one house is either inhabited or habitable by citizens. After visiting Detroit, it was interesting to see all the entrepreneurial businesses that are thriving in smaller, peripheral communities such as Royal Oak and Ferndale, while the actual center of Detroit proper only has skyscrapers and offices. The city has the potential to be resurrected so long as people are willing to change and reconvene to make a community.

9. Which recent cultural event has really impressed you? This can be a museum, a concert, or anything like that, but also a sports game (if you consider this a cultural event, for which there are good reasons).

Not exactly recent, but last summer I went to Lady Gaga’s concert in Denver. Prior to this, I thought she was just like any other famous person doing whatever it takes to be known (I didn’t even know most of her music). Since then though I have been impressed with everything about her, from her cultural revolution of telling people it’s okay to be themselves and love themselves, to the quality of her music, and the charitable work she is constantly engaged in. She has become a cultural event herself. I would even go so far as to say she is making more of an impact on her audience than Madonna or Michael Jackson because she really focuses on her fans, or “little monsters” as she calls them, and inspiring each to be the best he or she can be. It doesn’t matter your religious, sexual, political preferences so long as you are true to yourself.

10. Is there another, non-cultural event that has affected you deeply.

The death of my uncle when I was in high school truly affected me. He was the uncle my siblings and I were closest to and loved the most. He died from liver failure after a drinking problem had consumed his non-working hours. Alcohol has been a struggle in the family, but his death probably saved my mom’s life. She realized her alcholoism was killing herself and the family and has been sober since his death. I look up to and appreciate everything she has done for me. As they say, through death comes life.

11. Please share with us a thought or an idea that really widened your intellectual horizon. If possible, give a source for this idea so that those who are interested know where to go.

The idea of being truthful has really allowed me to expand intellectually. I can not bring myself to lie about anything and therefore I don’t do anything that would ever make me consider of lying. I am always on a quest to do, write, say, what I honestly think. Although, I must admit that being kind comes before lying. After all, you don’t ever tell someone they are fat if she asks, that’s just rude.