A sampling...

Well, since I've been home, I showed my family some of the stuff I've done this last semester and I was looking at all of the pictures I have of my work... there aren't a lot of them...I need to take more pictures of all of my stuff. But I decided to give you a little taste of what I've done during my first year in the art program. It has been an absolute experience! And I really have loved it. I have learned and grown so much and I'm so grateful that I have this chance! Here are some projects from my drawing and 2-D Design class from Fall '09.

charcoal still life.


pencil still life. those are tomatoes...but they don't look like it. focus on the boot.


'contemporary.' essentially a blind contour drawing of a bush. I love blind contour. pencil and pen.


this was my final project for drawing. a charcoal and pen triptych. telephone poles and fabric along the bottom.

charcoal still life in class.


2-D. each square was a different 'theme' that our teacher would give us. paper, ink, watercolor, national geographic.


negative space drawings. sharpie.


this was our 'chaos' piece. square of zoo books, black paint, sandpaper, silver spray paint.


repetition piece. craft paint.


watercolor. I did two more of this image, one in red-ish/orange and one in green.

I Can Feel the Sun.

I've been looking forward to summer and no school for so long now, it's hard to really believe that it's here. But it is! I finished (barely) my finals and projects, said goodbye to a few dear friends, passed (hopefully) me cleaning checks, moved apartments- just next door. but still. And now I'm in good old Arizona.

I keep trying to think of the homework assignments and projects that I need to be doing and what tests are coming up, but there aren't any! I'm DONE!! It is truly a great feeling. I am so looking forward to what this summer is going to bring. I am ready for all of the fun and hard work and playing that is going to take place. Speaking of, I want to try and get a part time job at a flower shop so that I don't have to work 40 hours a week in the fish lab. No offense to Dr. S. Or the fish. I also need a bike. At this point, I don't really care what kind of bike it is or what it looks like. I just need one.

So now I'm home with me dear family. I love them so much. And it was so beautiful today! The sun was out and it was just sunny enough. I loved it. I got to play a lot with my beautiful niece and nephew and play games with my siblings. and take a nap.



When I checked my email earlier, I watched this video that I got from one of my aunts. It's one of the earliest 35mm films ever. Filmed in 1906, in San Fransisco right before the earthquake. I know it's long but I watched the whole thing. Twice. And I would suggest muting the music that is on the video and playing Sigur Ros instead while viewing. It probably doesn't matter much which song you listen to but I think I was listening to Hoppipolla at the time (the one from Heima). I thought this video was a really cool window into the past. A place where things moved more slowly. People took their time but still got the important things done. No cell phones, internet, microwaves, televisions, etc. and therefore, no dependency on those objects. I felt refreshed after watching this video and that's why I wanted to share it with you. It filled me with more energy and determination. It got me thinking that I don't want to waste a minute. I'm still going to take my time with things I enjoy, because I think that is important, but I'm going to try and get rid of the things (like dependency on inanimate objects) that are a waste of time and are not helping me progress. And I'm going to see where it leads me.
So please enjoy!

Interrupting.

I often find myself being interrupted. Dreams, conversations, creative thoughts. And it drives me crazy! when I want to finish something and can't. For example, when I get inspired and I get all of these ideas and things that I can do and create. I feel like I just need to get it all out of me immediately or else I will forget and lose some key detail. But a lot of the time I get interrupted. With life. The fact is I have responsibilities that need to be taken care of before I can spend time on the things that I would rather be doing. I'm in school. I have a job and I need to work as much as I can to be able to pay for the things I need.

And right now, I feel guilty writing this post because I should be clocking in and getting to work. But I really want to post something new...

I try not to interrupt people when they are talking because I know what it feels like and how frustrating it can be to want to finish something so badly and not be able to. Now I know that sometimes it's not that big of a deal to interrupt. Especially if the interrupting is mutual. But usually, I just like to sit back and listen to whatever it is that the speaker is saying. I love listening. To me, it (hopefully) shows that I care about you and what you are saying. It allows the speaker to get out everything that they want to say and to form their complete idea or story.

A goal for this summer is to manage my time in a way that I can still work a lot and get everything done that I need, play a lot with friends and family, and still have plenty of time to get all of the lovely, creative baby-ideas out of me and see them develop and grow. And I don't want to let myself be interrupted by anything that will waste my time.


My watercolor teacher, bless her, gave me some really great advice the other day during a review of my paintings. A lot of them weren't very good and she got a little frustrated with me because the reason they weren't good. I am not very confident. And when I get nervous or scared about doing something, I usually wimp out and try to do what other people are doing. In my classes, I try and use the same styles as others so that my work will look as good as theirs. And then my personal touch gets totally lost and it still ends up looking bad. And she could definitely tell.
Sometimes I use the cop-out that I'm a ceramicist. I've never taken a drawing/painting class... Wait until I get to take a ceramics class, then I'll be able to make things that will show I deserve to be an art major... Jeannie, my teacher, said yes, that may be right, but you already got into the program, you already deserve to be here. All you have to do is put yourself into it. Enjoy it. Enjoy everything! And remember what you've learned and use it in things that you will go on to do. Incorporate anything and everything into what you make. And do things the way you like. She said I'm not very good at painting or drawing analytically. (Which is really true.) I like things to be loose. But she said the way I draw/paint is good, I just have to keep doing it and hopefully bring it to the necessary level that will make it good. And that is what I have to remember. I just have to do what I like and explore and find new things and that is when I will grow and progress.

I'm sorry this post turned into a weird, personal pep talk. But really, I think these ideas can and should be applied to any aspect of life. Because that is why we're here, right? To find things out for ourselves. And know and do things independently from other people. We need to get to a point where we aren't relying completely on other people for answers or ideas.

I hope this post sounds optimistic. Because, that is how I'm feeling right now, and I'm sorry if I can't write in a way to express that fully. I'm excited to see what is going to happen and how I'm going to change.




"Breakfast in the Loggia" by John Singer Sargent
I think this painting is really inspiring. I love the lighting and the atmosphere and everything! And I love this quote about Sargent:

"To live with Sargent's watercolors is to live with sunshine captured and held, with the luster of a bright and legible world, 'the refluent shade' and 'the Ambient ardors of the noon.'" -Evan Charteris

This is what happens when...

I'm up too late. But I wanted to write SOMEthing because I haven't posted in a while. I'm not very good at blogging. I want to be good at it.
I have a lot of deadlines coming up. Monday and Tuesday. I need to do a lot of paintings this weekend. I'm an art major.
Also. I really love chips and salsa. It's my favorite food. And french fries. I usually always want them.

I'm making goals for this summer. I just can. not. wait for summer. No school and no homework. I made a summer reading list. It includes The Hobbit, Phantom of the Opera, Through the Looking Glass, and many others. I am also open to new suggestions. I also want to go to antique stores and museums. And go on day trips. And watch the stars. And work a lot so that I can invest in a mutual fund this fall.

April First.

I do not like April Fool's Day. I'm just not much of a prank-person. A couple of individuals wanted me to trick the boys I work with. But I just couldn't. Sorry, Michelle and Rubie. But no one wants a salty brownie.

I did have one successful prank in my life. I was in kindergarten. And I told my teacher that my mom was pregnant. And she believed me. The end.

I want a holiday celebrating serving strangers, or flowers or something.