CHECK OUT THIS Link (Links to an external site.) on Johannes Vermeer's painting Woman in Blue Reading a Letter. (http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/vermeer/)

BLOG 9 asks you to create a character inspired in the woman painted by Vermeer.

as you are creating your character, ask yourself the following questions:

1-what motivates the existence of this character in the context presented within the painting? Imagine the story of her life, her personality, hopes and struggles.

2-What personality traits your character possesses based on what you infer from Vermeer's painting? what is your character's point of view/perspective?

3-Observe the painting in detail, see the use of light, the objects, the furniture...what do they suggest about the woman in the painting?

Write your description of your character, what you image or envision about her way of life, and of her personal traits and paste it on this discussion thread: BLOG 9.

Then, proceed to post as reply to your own post, your BLOG 10, which should be the first line/s of the letter that Vermeer's "Woman in Blue" is reading as you have imagined her/it. Be sure to write the intro to the letter congruently matching the character you've created (as round character) as addressee and a character (which would however remain "flat") as the author of the letter.

CHECK OUT THIS Link (Links to an external site.to observe (and be inspired) by other writers imagining the opening of the letter that Vermeer's Woman in Blue is reading.(http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/write-the-opening-line-to-vermeers-lady-in-blue/)

Be creative but sophisticated, be imaginative but insightful. Enjoy!

PS. If you are remotely interested in knowing more about Johannes Vermeer, here is a wonderful video explaining his extraordinary techniques Link (Links to an external site.)

(http://www.openculture.com/2013/08/master-of-light-a-close-look-at-the-paintings-of-johannes-vermeer-narrated-by-meryl-streep.html)

Example 1

Blog 9

It is the darkness and the empty chairs that create an odd atmosphere. A beautiful girl, all by herself in an empty room, looking down at a small piece of paper she is holding in her hand, which she has written to herself. It is as though she has imprisoned herself in that room, because of a fear she has. Aside from all the darkness and shadow in the painting, however, the blue color of her shirt is what catches the viewer's eyes; and under that shirt, she seems to be carrying a baby. A baby, or even babies, that is her only hope to push herself and go on, no matter what the difficult times have turned her life into. The color blue is often associated with sadness and depression, which can definitely be seen in this painting. Ironically enough, it can also represent a sense of hope, which shows that the girl has not given up yet. The small blue shadows on the wall, although faded and not vividly visible, seem to come from a hidden window in front of her, which also represent the hope she has. With these observations, the shadow and her hope take over any negative symbols in the painting, such as depression and the darkness, and somehow makes the viewer connect with the girl; because if the viewer is fighting the hardest battle of his/her life, he/she can see that there is always hope.

Blog 10

Dear fear,

I am breaking up with you. You can no longer control my actions and interfere with my decisions. I am going to live a life of my own and will not allow you to enter my life ever again. I have to be able to build a world for my soon to be born baby, where he/she can live his/her life with no limits and especially, NO FEAR. If I let you stay in my life, you will make his/her life as miserable as mine. I do not want him/her to find himself/herself in a situation like mine right now, standing in a dark room all by myself, because of how you have controlled me and my life. When I first fell in love with you, you helped make the right decisions and made my life better. Then you involved yourself in every decision I tried to make which was crossing the line, and is why we are here now. I am sorry of what we have become, but I have to do this for my baby, and myself. I am sorry.

Example 2

Blog9 Part 1 Cr

Sadness , sorrow, misery. That is the life of the woman in the blue dress. However, a sense of hope is all that keeps her alive through her suicidal life. She lives a life of repetition; cleans the house leaving it spotless where when the sun hits everything shines yet at night when everything is in place she knocks everything over and makes a mess. She does this to clean the house the next day again. However, through all this darkness there is a bit of life left in her. Her love who is out fighting the war waits to come home to her. All she has left of him is a letter. The painting describes all this perfectly. The color blue is widely known for its association with sadness however in this painting it is a symbol of hope. The blue color is the only glowing color in the painting. It represents the little bit of light that she has in her life when she is reading that letter from her love. Then the rest of the painting is a dark shadow with the painting colors being really dull. There is no life in those colors; exactly how her life is.

Blog 10 Part 2 Cr

Dear love,

I miss you very dearly. I dream about you every single day and the times we had together. My love for you is the only thing that keeps me alive. It is hard out here, so much death and agony. My platoon has been ordered to the front lines. War is everywhere you look. However do not worry, as my only goal in life is to come back to you. I long for your love and I will keep fighting to be back home. I only dream of the day where I will see your beautiful eyes and have dinner at our table in those blue with gold chairs you have picked out.