Hi Sean,

Amazing, wonderful post!  I am married to my HS sweetheart... we met when we were 15.. that was 50 years ago...~!  Thanks for sharing your story of your family and twins... very cool.  I think you are going to love your visits to the museums... once you get into the swing of it... The main thing is to write from the heart... not a formal academic research paper...Focus on your favorite piece or artist for the day and enjoy the process...  Your post was a great example to lead the class off on the right foot...  (all 4 of you!)

I normally leave comments in the comment section but there is a glitch tonight that won;t allow me to post there...(and I am the admin!)

Introduction

Greetings All!

Obligatory photo of blogger.

My name is Sean Rallis and it looks like I get to be the inaugural introductory post!

Obligatory photo of children.

I'm 36 and originally from Ansonia, CT but I now live in Bridgeport with my wife and twin year-old children, Max and Penny. They were born on my birthday last year; how cool is that? We've been married for eight years this upcoming June, but we have actually been together since we were 18 (I'm 36, so that's half my life).

Right now I'm working as a contract employee in the accounting industry. Before that I worked at IKEA in New Haven for six years, most of the that time as the in-store accountant. I'm attending Albertus Magnus through the accelerated degree program, studying for my degree in accounting. I should be finished up by the end of mod 1 if all goes well. This semester is going to be a real challenge in order to make that possible. I'm taking four classes, plus raising two children, plus working a full-time job. I was excited to see The Museum Experience as a course offered. I have to admit though, when I read the syllabus for the course last night, I found myself with a bit of shell shock at the format. I can see this course being a real challenge for me.

Once upon a time I had hobbies also; free time is pretty much nonexistent now. I played bass for many years. I mean, I still do, but nowhere near as involved as I once was. I grew up as a kid loving bands like Rush, Metallica, The Beatles (actually, Penny's full name is Penny Layne Rallis. I pushed for Max to be Maxwell Edison but my wife thought this was too cruel to do to him), Grateful Dead, lots of bands with very prominent bass players. In addition to being a Dead Head, I am also a Parrothead. I LOVE Jimmy Buffett! I'm also a big hockey fan; the Chicago Blackhawks are my favorite team and have been as long as I can remember. Among my many tattoos, I have the team's logo on my leg, which I got after their 2015 Stanley Cup win.

So as far as scheduling out my visits to the museums, I am planning on the following:

The Met - Nov 10
The Bruce Museum - Nov 17
Yale Art Gallery - Nov 24
Wadsworth Antheneum - Dec 1
Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum - Dec 8
Florence Griswold Museum - Dec 15

That's about it for me, I guess. I welcome everybody else taking the class with me and I am excited to see where everyone else visits and what they find!

Adios!

Welcome to the Museum Experience!

Hello Everyone!


I want to welcome you to class and hope that you are getting geared up to begin a new Mod....

This online class is unlike any other offered at Albertus.  I have chosen to take the class off of e-Learning and use the powerful resources and the  power of Web 2.0 to make this a richer, easier and I hope more fun experience for you.

This is essentially a travel class.  The focus is on your experiences you encounter in your travel to area museums.  You will take pictures and post a short paper or journal about the focus of your interest in a particular work you encountered in each Museum.

In a nutshell, before the end of the Mod, I'd like you to post 4 journals/papers accompanied by your own images and 2 photo essays highlighting the most interesting things (to you) you encountered.

So here is what you need to succeed:

-The class syllabus... is hosted at my own domain.  I have numerous links for you to check out and images posted with it...Please check it out here

http://jnevins.com/museumsyllabus1.htm

This is actually the textbook for the class too as all of the questions I'd like you to consider and links to rich resources about writing about art and other helpful links are all here.  There is more in the Syllabus than you can possibly cover in each post.  I have a template for you to use in your writing, if you find that easier... In the syllabus it is in the section beginning:

Summary and Template:Don't stress too much about writing your papers. I understand that this is probably your first class in academic art... This template will break it down for you and make the process go much easier...

1) Write one paragraph of your impressions.....

The Class Blog

Don't be afraid...  Blogging is easy!    Click on the link in the email inviting you to join!  This will take you to a page where you can sign in using your Albertus login credentials.    I created a short video on how to blog here

There are links to individual blogs on the right hand side near the top of the page.

By the end of the first week, I am expecting you to post a tentative list of museums and dates to this blog and to post a hello and short autobiography about yourself here as well.  That will get the ball rolling.

Above all, I want you to have fun with this class.  Take friends and family along with you.  Don't shortchange yourself... give yourself a day to visit and travel to each museum.... I want the experience to be so rich for you that you'll have no trouble writing about and showing us about your visit.

If you have any problems or issues don't hesitate to get in touch with me...  I have office hours 4 days a week at Albertus in the later afternoon... you can email me at jnevins@jnevins.com or Jnevins@albertus.edu  or phone me at home

Again, Welcome and let's have fun!

Jerry Nevins