Hey! My name is Sresta Bhattacharya and I’m currently a full-time student taking courses both online and in-person at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. I’m on track to graduate with my Associates in English before working towards my Bachelors in Secondary Education with a focus in English. In addition to being a student, I’m also a mother of my wonderful son Rowan who will turn 3 right after this spring semester ends. I lived and grew up in Houston, Texas until I graduated from high school in 2015 when I moved up here for school. Having never been to Fairbanks before, let alone Alaska, it was quite the transition which required plenty of adapting both mentally and physically. I’m still not a fan of the cold! My parents moved to Texas from India before I was born; being a first-generation American brings a unique but rewarding experience.
Personally, don’t partake much in art though I do have an appreciation for it! I’ve included a classic painting from 1857 titled Hunting Dogs with Dead Hare by french artist Gustave Courbet. I find this particular painting to show plenty of character, with both dogs showing more animalistic behavior after killing a hare during a hunt. This is contrast to most art or pictures of dogs we see in society and history where they are shown to be cuddly, cute and friendly. I find this piece of art to be rather interesting, not only because of the uniqueness of it but also because of my love for dogs as a whole. Here I have included a link to The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston where I visited often as a child with my father: https://www.mfah.org/
Art Explorations With Sresta Bhattacharya 
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That is an interesting painting. It asks so many questions. Courbet was an outlier in conventional art circles of his day. His most famous paintings were extremely controversial. Lucky you. So glad your dad took you to the Houston Art Museum.
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That is an intriguing piece. I find it more honest than like you said most of today’s art involving dogs. Their animals and some are used for hunting and working dogs that aren’t your typical cute and cuddly animal.
I also am not too involved in creating art per say but definitely share the appreciation for it.
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Your story sounds so interesting! My mother was also a first generation American with her family from Iraq and she has stories to tell in the same way I’m sure you must have some interesting stories. You chose a very interesting painting. The dogs look almost playful or celebratory because of their kill, yet they don’t look savage or vicious. It’s an interesting contemplation of animalism.
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Your story is amazing! Having never lived anywhere in Alaska and then decide it’s where you will live. I also have a three year son named Matthew. I like the art work you chose, also. It shows just how smart they can be and what types of things they can do for people. Good luck with this semester!
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Hello Sresta. Cool. I like your blog. Good luck.
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