Image: Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus (detail) (c. 1484–1486). Tempera on canvas
Photos of me, my dog Dewey, and some lovely friends!
In keeping with the art theme of my blog, I’ve chosen Botticelli’s Birth of Venus as the cover photo for this page given that it’s one of my favorite paintings of all time. I’ve always immediately fallen in love with the endless depictions of Venus/Aphrodite in art (which is strange, considering I always considered myself a child of Athena while reading Percy Jackson), which I guess is kind of her special talent, being the goddess of beauty and all. The art elements of my page aren’t for purely aesthetic reasons (although they do add quite a nice vibe, if I do say so myself)– I consider it a pretty big part of who I am. While I’m most definitely not an artist, I always find myself deeply relating to the figures, emotions, and narratives that are conveyed through art. I love searching for the tiniest details put in place by the artist– the background figure casting a moody glance directly at the viewer, color composition, allusions to mythology, you name it. It’s like an experiment piecing together the thought process of the artist by analyzing the narrative they crafted for the viewer– like having a conversation with them, even if they’ve been gone for hundreds of years. I absolutely love it.
Besides my love for collecting art and the random tidbits of knowledge surrounding that sphere, here are some more hard facts about me. My name is Olivia and I’m a Student Blogger with the DIS Copenhagen program this semester (the whole reason why I made this blog in the first place). In the U.S., I attend Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee (yeehaw!) where I study Political Science and European Studies. I’m originally from Kansas (yeehaw x2!) and I’m incredibly excited (albeit slightly terrified) to share my journey with you guys as I navigate biking culture, try to sound cultured while exploring the European art scene, and make barely edible creations in the kitchen (I do make killer pancakes, though). Here are some fast facts about me:
- I’m obsessed with the Star Wars franchise, Skyrim, and the Dune series
- I have a (small) collection of vintage National Geographic magazines (including an issue they released covering the moon landing)
- If there’s even the slightest opportunity for me to use a bougie wax seal on something, I’ll take it
- I have a sheltie named Dewey who’s incredibly pampered– but he deserves it, duh
- My favorite shows and movies include Gossip Girl, The Witcher, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, White Lotus, 10 Things I Hate About You, and Emma
I hope y’all are able to learn more about me and my interests in my future blog posts as I explore Copenhagen and beyond. This is a scary chapter in my life, but using this blog as a sort of stream-of-consciousness medium à la Virginia Woolf is weirdly soothing and helps to organize my thoughts. Take a peek into my wildly messy brain and keep on reading, anonymous visitor!
xoxo– olivia! 🙂
Olivia's Odyssey 