Personal Statement #2 by Ericka Grace Pugliese

Influences

erickapugliese — 2024-04-09 01:58:50 UTC

During the Design Module of PCP, I was tasked with writing a poem/letter/prayer to someone whether it be myself or a loved one. I chose to write a letter to my late Grandmother. I recalled my fond childhood memories and throughout my writing began to realize how talented she was in so many different kinds of art. She was a skilled painter, crocheter, sewer, gardening, etc. You name it. Her artistry has influenced me and shown me that it's possible to become skilled in many different ways if you take the time and have the patience to hone in on it. The collage I created signifies her impact on my life and the vivid memories associated with her. Not has she only influenced my artistry, but also how I want to raise my own family one day. She was at every dance recital, hockey game, graduation, etc. She was present in the lives of all twenty-three grandchildren. She was a remarkable woman.

IDENTITY & ROOTS

erickapugliese — 2024-04-25 20:38:14 UTC

Gabi and I both drew on our shared experience of our sister's getting married. In the devising section of PCP, we created a short 5 minute piece that encapsulated all that inevitably goes wrong when planning a wedding. The opening part of our scene began with the wedding cake being delivered and then unexpectedly falling right on to the ground and ending up in crumbs on the floor. Gabi and I's characters quickly worked to amend the cake. A time jump occurs and we see the bride and groom entering to cut the cake, and they seemingly find no problem with the pieced together cake. All that matters is the celebration of love. It was so special to devise a piece that was so prevalent to our lives at the time. Pictured above is me as a bridesmaid in my older sister, Olivia's, wedding. And no, the cake did remain in tact the whole day.

Criticism & Feedback

erickapugliese — 2024-04-25 20:49:51 UTC

Gibby and I worked together to write a scene that incorporated the use of extremely critical feedback. In our scene, I played a young waitress, and Gibby the restaurant manager (disguised as a food critic). We went through the scene and each action my character performed was a point of criticism. It is worth mentioning that I work at a restaurant here in Austin and I derived some of the inspiration for this piece from that experience. It was really enjoyable to over dramaticize the extent to which Gibby's character gave feed back. Ex: The Shirley temple not having the correct ratio of grenadine to sprite. While feedback is an extremely part of growing as an artist, or in any career path you take there is most certainly a respectful way to go about it.