Oh, the Places You’ll Go: Travel Writing Class
by Alexander Ray
Photo Courtesy of Alexander Ray
Pitt-Greensburg’s writing department is among one of the most humble at the university. There are not as many courses to choose from compared to the bigger departments, like the sciences. However, probably the most interesting option for a writing class just resurged after several years this spring. That would be the travel writing class taught by Professor Lori Jakiela.
Meeting (typically) every other Saturday at around 11 a.m., travel writing class is structurally much different than any other writing course that has ever been offered. Rather than congregating in a classroom, apart from a few occasions, the class is centered around getting together in various locations around southwestern Pennsylvania.
These locations include some very interesting and exciting things, such as museums, festivals, and tourist attractions. As a travel writer in the class, your goal is to interview at least three people and take as many pictures as you can.
You will end up using the information from your interviews as well as your collected photos to create an online travel blog, which is the central purpose of the many journeys you will take during the semester.
As a member of the current travel class this spring, I have been to many memorable places in the short span of the last three months. Most recently, I had the pleasure of visiting the Westmoreland Museum of American Art.
Our class had the opportunity to embark on a guided tour of the museum once we arrived. The tour was led by a museum docent named Annie Quiggle.
Quiggle was a wonderful wealth of knowledge who was clearly passionate about the museum’s most recent exhibit, “Our Own Work, Our Own Way.” It was an exhibit that showcased art pieces from 48 different women artists who lived in the southern United States.
There were so many beautiful works on display in the exhibit, but my personal favorite was one called “Charlatan” by New Orleans artist Caroline Durieux (see photo for reference).
“This is a very unique piece since it showcases a technique that Caroline invented called ‘electron printmaking.’ She used radioactive ink to create it during the Depression era,” Quiggle said.
Charlatan by Caroline Durieux
Another piece in the exhibit that, as a class, we agreed to find especially interesting was a piece done with a mixture of pastels and graphite called “Still Life With Cyclamen.” It was created by Zelda Fitzgerald, the wife of famous writer F. Scott Fitzgerald (see photo for reference).
Still Life With Cyclamen by Zelda Fitzgerald
Outside of the museum’s women artists exhibit, there were a couple of other pieces in their permanent exhibit that I was drawn to as well.
One such piece was a beautifully done oil-paint portrait of George Washington created by Philadelphia artist Rembrandt Peale around 1824 (see photo for reference).
George Washington by Rembrandt Peale
According to Annie Quiggle, there are about 72 other Washington portraits made by the same artist, all showing the former president at various ages. One of these portraits is on display in the Oval Office in the White House in Washington.
The other museum-owned piece that seemed to attract the attention of many people was a mixed-media sculpture called, “Parade to the Baptism” (see photo for reference). It was created by an artist named Vanessa German from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Parade to the Baptism by Vanessa German
I spoke to a couple who were observing this piece at the same time that I was, a man named Richard and his wife Darla. I had a short conversation with them about the sculpture and about the museum as a whole.
“It’s really neat to see so many different pieces under one roof. It definitely makes you appreciate all of the artists and the work they’ve done,” Richard said.
Darla seemed particularly intrigued by Vanessa German’s piece, and she was keen to share her thoughts about it.
“This one [she gestured to the sculpture] is especially very interesting. I like how it’s pretty much made of everyday pieces you’d find around the house. I find that very inspiring because, to me, it stands for how anyone can do art, and with anything,” she said.
Talking to people you would otherwise never get to know is one of the key features of being in travel writing class. It is just one of the many worthwhile experiences to be had in any location you visit.
If the course seems like something you would be interested in, Professor Jakiela encourages anyone who is available to join us on our trips. You do not necessarily need to be enrolled in the class or be held responsible for any work either. It can simply be a chance to have a fun day out, even if you never plan to enroll in the course in the future.
Jakiela can be reached at her email, loj@pitt.edu, if you want to talk to her about joining the class on the next trip that we take.
If you would like to view all of the past experiences the class has had this semester, you can freely browse my travel blog as well as the blog of fellow student Geneva Webber-Smith. They are both linked below:
The Insider 
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