Hello, and welcome to my blog! This blog is for my summer 2013 Humanities course, on literature and art. It is an online course taught by Ann Hostetler through Goshen College. Ann is the author of Empty Room with Light, and the editor of A Cappella: Mennonite Voices in Poetry.

My name is Melanie Hertzler, and this coming fall will be the beginning of my junior year at Goshen College. I am a theater major with a minor in American Sign Language. I have lived in Goshen all my life, but just recently moved with my family from the outskirts of town, into town, which has given me a new perspective of the town of Goshen.

Ever since I was a small child, I loved doing art projects and drawing, and finding different ways of being creative. Even now, I still enjoy being creative. I took some ceramic classes in high school, and I fell in love with that - working with my hands, being able to mold the clay into anything, and never knowing exactly how each piece would turn out, was an exciting process for me. I myself am not a painter, but I have always enjoyed looking at paintings. The work of Vincent Van Gogh was always been intriguing to me, and I could probably say he is my favorite painter. I look forward to learning more about the visual arts in this course, and being able to discuss different paintings and poems with other people, as well!