"Snow" Day

With classes cancelled for today, I thought it would be an appropriate time to update the blog. I use "snow" day liberally because it's not the awesome, white, fluffy stuff that you can sled across and build snowmen out of. No, it's the nasty "mixed" precipitation that accumulates in the form of ice and slush and pelts you with frozen icy bits from the sky. On a funny note, I didn't know class was cancelled until after I spent 30 minutes scraping ice off my car and getting up to campus.

I had a clue class might have been when I saw a completely vacant parking lot at the technical college on my way, and was almost sure when I pulled up and saw that my universities lot looked about the same. Still, like a lost puppy, I parked and checked my phone to be sure. Let it be known that I checked my phone before I left, but the notice was posted on the regular university site which I rarely navigate to. Even after confirming that class was not going to be in session today, I still sat there for another minute or two like some lingering, academics stalker.

This brings me to today's point. I've talked about it before, but I will continue to remind myself (and any potential readers) that I know when I am doing what I love. Genuine heartache filled me when I accepted that I would not be working in the studio today. For most, it would be like a concert, or movie showing being cancelled or an old friend you haven't seen in a while bailing out on plans with you because something unexpected came up. It sounded so fun and you were looking forward to it, weren't you? Well, those feelings of disappointment are shared by me today... Except replace recreational plans with academic pursuits.

I've been having positive anxiety every school night for the last two weeks now. I guess positive anxiety could probably be better described as excitement. The best way that I can explain it is when I lay down to go to bed, I am like a kid on Christmas Eve (or any appropriate holiday based on your particular beliefs). I want it to be tomorrow and I can't wait! The only thing I want is to fall asleep so the next day will hurry up and be here. Of course, the excitement can create a conflict because it's hard to fall asleep when your mind is a flurry of excitement. I can't wait to get back to class and open the next gift of knowledge! Now, it should be noted, these feelings begin to fade somewhere around the six hour mark, but that's my own fault for shoving 12 credit hours into one day.

Either way, it is yet another sign that I am on the right path. My course continues to be corrected and with each alteration, my present and future look much brighter. For instance: I discovered I could fit the five years of planned courses for the Graphic Design and Illustration Dual Major into four years at the cost of removing all free blocks to take extra curricular courses (drawing, painting, etc). I accepted this, but began to lose focus. After some advisement from an instructor on lesser known options (things not included on the Univ. website), I discovered that I have the option to double major. After checking schedule options and what courses would be dropped, I decided to lose the Graphic Design aspect of my degree, focus on Illustration only and double major with drawing (because I love to draw). Even if I can't get a BFA in a second area concurrently, I will still be dropping Graphic Design.

It's all based in the notion of "If it feels wrong, don't do it." I was never too terribly excited about Graphic Design. It seemed boring and pursuing it was a continuation of my left brain practicality saying "This will get you a job, so do it." Well, money isn't everything (still), and I don't want to waste my time and the government's money learning about something that I have little desire to do on a daily basis. Beyond that, Illustrators have the same opportunities as Graphic Designers. Not in the sense that they will apply for and get the same jobs, but often they will work in conjunction at the same firms. Illustration was what excited me and if supplemented with excessive drawing courses (and perhaps an extra painting course), NOTHING CAN STOP ME!!

I suppose that's all for now. I didn't really have a work planned to post here, so I'll dig something up really quickly... Just a moment... Hmm... Oooh, that could work... Now a little Photoshop... And...

I almost forgot that we got to work with some clay last class period. This little dude is made from stoneware clay and the pictures were taken prior to being fired in a kiln (I won't see him again until next Tuesday D:). His dimensions are about 2.5" x 3" x 3", I'll have to get a more accurate measurement next class. Our assignment was to make a creature that could fit within the small box supplied by our instructor. He wanted them small because he planned to fire all 36 clay critters from his two sections at once. I started off trying to make a turtle, but had some difficulty, so I went for a little dragon instead. No, he doesn't have arms, but I like him that way. Every time I tried to give him arms, it looked stupid, so I left them off and added wings instead. I realized later how I could have added the appendages, but I am still pleased with how he (or she, I suppose) turned out.

Okay, so that's definitely it for now. Until next time!

I Survived The Week! HOORAYYyyeezzzZZZzzzZZzzz...

Phew, you know, I wasn't sure I was going to make it through this week. However, after spending a horrendous 36 hours conscious, I managed to pull through and get everything caught up.

My body isn't what it used to be and the lack of sleep plus three Rockstar energy drinks in a 24 hour period probably knocked at least 6 months off of my life span. I'm being serious. It was actually mildly painful when I finally laid down to sleep after my Art History exam. My poor little heart, I really should be nicer to it.

What made me fall behind? Well, I underestimated the time needed to complete a project and due to general laziness over the weekend I put off studying for my first exam in, as mentioned before, Art History. The test ended up not being too terrible, but I wouldn't have felt that way had I not skipped Drawing II to cram for three hours before the test began.

The problem arose with my 3D project. The assignment was to build two walls constructed of 100 pieces of cardboard. Each wall had to use the same shape (although the size and proportions of the shape could vary), one had to be constructed of regular cardboard, the other had to have at least one side with the corrugation exposed, the walls had to either intersect or create tension and the whole thing had to be free standing. Here's what I turned in:

"Conflict in Cardboard"

I had half of the curving wall done when I started work on this Wednesday afternoon. Most of my triangles were cut out and I thought it might take me 4 to 6 hours to get to a point where I could finish the rest in class. What a gross underestimation. I worked on that things for 8 to 10 hours and then ended up using the entire 2 hours in class to finish it. I hadn't factored in cutting out all the squares and while the super glue I used was quick, it didn't cause some issues.

When I found a stopping point Wednesday night, it was actually Thursday morning at 3:45am. Anyone who knows me knows that I will generally choose to pull an all-nighter rather than risk sleeping through my alarm if I'm going to get 3 hours of sleep or less. I knew this would be the case and chose not to risk it. I didn't get much done between 4:00 and 7:00am (I got my back pack ready and watched a whole bunch of Home Movies episodes), but I did leave early to get some extra time in the studio to finish those damned walls.

The whole thing did actually have some meaning for me, so I'll do my best to put it into words. The two walls represent the duality of thought. I am always interested in the conflict between the right and left brain. The curvy triangular wall represents the creative right brain while the uniform square wall represents the rigid left brain. Originally, the triangular wall was the only one that was going to break apart. Very right brain people have a difficult time fitting into the rigid left brain world that society has created. It wasn't until later that I wanted the squared wall to be effected as well. Left brained individuals are very much about logic and step by step process and can sometimes become frustrated when dealing with a right brain who is fluttering in the wind. However, when they both smash together and play their parts well, they can make a beautiful piece of art.

It's not my favorite piece from that class so far, but the first with any meaning. I'll leave you with an image of the last assignment. It was an exercise in movement and repetition. We constructed 12 shapes with the same proportions made of packaging material (cereal boxes, 6 pack carboard, etc). I used boxes of tea and a glued card stock on the other die for color (something everyone got to do because of my ingenuity). I broke the rule for this assignment stating there should be 10% or less area of color. I don't mind the 2 point hit on my grade, though, because I'm really happy with the way it turned out.

"Ice Wrath"

That's all for now. Until next time!

Stone Age Meets Digital Age, Photography Style!

I'm going to try to keep this post as brief as possible, hopefully under 300 words. I am going to do this by trying to stay in the immediate past. Still, I've been known to ramble...

I am in Photography I this semester. It's been over a decade since I've handled film, development chemicals or photo paper and actually knew what I was doing. Needless to say, I don't trust myself (or currently have the time) to study ahead independently on dark room procedures.

Tuesday night I found myself playing around with my negatives. It was too late to go up to the MSU photo lab and, again, I have no confidence in myself (please refer to previous paragraph, sentence 2).

In a fit of innovation, I constructed a (mostly fire proof) light table using a floor lamp and a white sheet of printer paper and took close up shots of the negatives with my phone... I feel like MacGyver when I use more than two tools to solve a problem... Of course, one of those tools is usually my iPhone... Because smart phones are the Swiss Army knife for a digital society. Anyway...

Using a free, mobile Photoshop app, I straightened, cropped and inverted the negatives and was able to pull off some reasonably decent images. Most of the pictures are crap, I'm still figuring out this camera. In 36 shots, I have confidence in the content and technique of 1 image and I am looking forward to seeing a large print of another.

I won't ramble on about what this pictures means to me, but I will say that it has re-sparked the creative flame within me. So, with out further a due, here it is. Until next time! ... That was 291 words, by the way.

'Keep it in Perspective'