Christmas Break '09

Another semester has come and gone.  Ending with a bang and a sigh of relief.  I was not sure that I would make it about two weeks ago, first with the art show, then final projects and finally exams breeding panic in the pit of my stomach.

The art show ended well, it was a very good show I believe the judges did a good job picking the artwork (with a few exceptions).  I only entered only 3 pieces in this semester as opposed to the usual 4—unfortunately this was just not the greatest 'show' semester for me personally, but rather a growing semester because I was exploring brand new media.  I entered my 'Oxymoron' piece, 'Cappuccino to Go' logo, and my 'Stair' photo.  Both of my typography pieces made it in, but my photo did not... that was a little disappointing, and I took my first trip down the "walk of shame"—which is what we affectionately call the walk to the 2D room right after the show, because everyone knows that means at at least one of your pieces didn't make it in.

I wasn't completely heart broken, I did not have much confidence in my photo and so few photos were chosen this time around that I was not surprised.  But it would not have killed me to have all my pieces make it.

Now I'm home at last!  I have been much better about homesickness this year—but the last 2 weeks or so were difficult.  I was ready for family, rest, and Christmas! Although rest was not something I found right off the bat—my first night I had a 'college age' party, the next morning (Saturday) I spent the day shopping and came back just in time to babysit for the rest of the night.  I returned from that just in time to shower before passing out and going to church the next morning.  Still going strong, after a long lunch with friends mom and I went shopping again and finished up for my siblings before I went back to the church to chaperone the youth Christmas party with Evan and Sarah (photo).  Monday was a much needed lazy day!

Hopefully I will get a chance to update all of the artwork that I've done over the past week or so, but I do not have access to all of the files while I am at home...

Dear Blog...

I am dying to update you.  Really, I am.  Unfortunately, the pressures and demands of college life are holding me back and you will not be touched again until Thursday afternoon—if there is time to be found at that point.

I am truely sorry—and I promise to spend oodles of time updating and providing attention as soon as the final exams and projects of 2009 are non-existent.

Farewell for now,

Me

Visual Chapter Project

This poster represents a chapter in my Intro to GD book.  I was really excited about this piece, and I got an "A-", which isn't bad :)

My poster represents Art Deco and Plakatstil—as well as posters from the World Wars (thus Uncle Sam's addition)

I was really proud of it, but in hind sight it's not that wonderful—and my professor was not very impressed with my plakatstil illustration...

Murphy—long

Third and final "Murphy's Law" headline—the long one!

Played with shadows both in the figure, the photo and the text itself. Trying to convey the feeling of failed invisibility—and hopefully still legible!

Feedback?  This series is due on Friday (11th)

Updated 12/11/09:

The critique for this project was this morning (about 5 minutes ago). This one went over well though it is probably the weakest of the bunch.  Professor Shaw commented on the repetition of the cast shadow in the text (normally something that Graphic Designers try to avoid) not only in the figure but along the entire edge of the image.  The color also was a plus—Nothing on purpose, just the color of my living room wall

Murphy—Middle

This is another one of my "Murphy's Law" headlines.  The "hidden flaw" in the text is that the "a"s and the "e"s are flipped—basically everywhere that you would see an "e", it's really an "a" that has just been flipped upside-down.

This is my Medium headline—long one will be posted soon

Updated 12/11/09:

Critique was today!  My classmates loved the font that I modified which was great.  It's Harabara, but I created the 'leaves' and elongated the descenders/ascenders.  My hidden flaw was also caught which was great.  Professor Shaw also liked that I left a small amount of extra space to the right of the text (something I did on purpose but didn't expect anyone to notice).  The use of color went over well too—it was a really encouraging morning!

Murphy — short

Alright, our final project for Typographic Design is headings.  We have to make 3 different headings, all from one of Murphy's laws—a short, a medium, and a long.

So this is my short as of right now.  It's very simple but I really like it anyway.

Thoughts?

Update 12/11/09:

Just finished the critique—all of my headlines went over really well, I've been pleased with the outcome of this project :) Unfortunately, with this project the "don't mess with" didn't go over as well. The italic is 'too feminine', so I've played with it a little more and now it's simply bold text fitted in. The blue shadow was received really well which was nice :)

Starting on the portfolio...

At the end of the semester, I have to have about 10 photos perfected and matted for my portfolio–a major part of the final grade.  I'm starting to work on it now and the pressure is building! 

Feedback is appreciated of course—hopefully there will be updates again soon!

During My Free Moments...

...I like to work on small graphics—usually fun photo edits, or logos (the leaf symbol for example).  Which makes me feel a little better when I doubt my future—you know you'll succeed when you spend your free time doing something similar to what you've done all day!  Here's a photo edit that I did today in between writing a paper and doing photography.

It was fun, but it's nothing very interesting—just thought I should be adding the small things that I do for myself as well as the work that I try to pump out for my classes.

Christmas Lights in the Dorm

Mom bought us some Christmas lights!!! Hurray! haha, we put them up this evening and have been having a great time!  We hung them up around our bedroom window, and they are so pretty :)

I'm kind of geeked, it looks really pretty and with the shade down we still have enough light (soft, pretty light) to see around our room!

I'm excited, and ready for Christmas all of the sudden... haha—it's going to be a long next few weeks!

Christian Photography

Here are the first examples of my photography this semester. I've been using black and white film—SLR camera. This assignment requires that we take 2 Christian photographs and take them to class for a large critique. The photos also have to be around 8x10"—we can crop, no worries. The one of the knees in the grass is actually 5x10", and the photo of the lamp is about 8x9".

I'm really, really hoping that a Christian message is evident. I don't think of any of my art as 'non-Christian' because I am a Christian! So this assignment was very difficult. Trying to convey a Christian message more obviously...

Feedback is appreciated!

Fall '09 — over half way though!

Half an hour until Em-o and I go to pick up the two high school seniors that will be spending the night with us.  Pondering over the night ahead and sick of doing homework: A new post is born!

I can hardly believe that this semester is over half way complete!  It it still only the beginning in my mind.  At the same time, I feel like I never left this place—as though I've been here since mom and dad dropped me off on that horrid move-in day.  I lot has changed this year, my group of close friends has brightened in many corners, and dimmed in a few others.  But I am thankful for each area of growth—it has been an insightful semester.

The classes are certainly harder, especially the art classes (who knew that the upper level classes would be more difficult?).  But I am learning a lot this semester, exploring areas of my mind—creatively—that have not been worked in a long time.  It has been a struggle, and there has been—and will be—frustration, but I love what I am succeeding in! The fight makes it that much more rewarding in the end.

The room situation is also much better this year.  I get to room with my best friend and I love it!  Our room has been full of laughs, tears, venting and companionable silence(rarely, but it does happen once in a while).  I have also had the joy of seeing our home-away-from-home turn into a hang-out for our friends.  The futon has a guest or two on it constantly, and we are often forced to sit on the floor too because there is not enough space at the desks and futon (a GREAT problem to have!!)

It has been exciting, and I am almost afraid for it to end!  I don't even mind the homework—it's the due dates that are the poison to all things right and beautiful! haha  But I truly will be sorry for this semester to pass away.

OH!  It is time to pick up our nervous guests!  Hopefully we will be able to show them a good time and they will end up coming next year.  I'm sure it will be a blast :)

Continued prayers are appreciated!  The stress has only begun, and as the art show begins to peak around the corner, I can feel my heart start to pound!  It's going to be a bumpy ride, but the thrill is half the fun...

Oxymoron Poster

Kind of going for an ironic approach. I found these "oxymorons" and don't really agree with them so I thought I would find verses that would show them as not true oxymorons.

We'll see what Professor Shaw thinks, he might not appreciate the view of oxymorons that aren't really... oxymorons...

oh well :)

Ps. Which color scheme? Monochromatic or contrast? Leaning towards the latter myself

Updated 11/15/09

I've changed a few things—including some of the oxymorons! Once again, feedback is greatly appreciated, and would help a lot!

Updated 11/24/o9

I did end up going with the one on the left—but the colors are slightly different. The gray has more blue in it and the value of the red is darker and more saturated.

I got my grade back on Monday and I got an "A"!!!!! Very excited, I am pleased :)

Out in the Fields with God

The little cares that fretted me,

I lost them yesterday,

Among the fields, above the sea,

Among the winds at play;

Among the lowing of the herds,

The rustling of the trees;

Among the singing of the birds,

The humming of the bees.

The foolish fears of what may happen,

I cast them all away,

Among the clover-scented grass,

Among the new-mown hay;

Among the rustling of the corn,

Where drowsy poppies nod,

Where ill thoughts die and good are born—

Out in the fields with God.

—Elizabeth Bennett Browning

My new favorite poem - I've been singing it to myself for the past few days as I walk across campus (not a good idea...)

Patriotic Program

This is the program I made for Typography. This isn't the finished product, but I have to save the updated version as a jpg again.

We were required to include all of the text that was written on a (poorly written) document, the title, as well as a sponsor and a location (that we had to pick). I did not like my program very much, I think I started off with a few good ideas but I am not at all confident in the end result.

The bad feeling of my work was heightened by the fact that I got the unavoidable B+.

He said that the text on the inside of the program was too choppy - I understand that, but I thought that gave more visual interest... there is only so much that you can do with miles of body copy (the text)!

I plan to try and fix it and update this post with an almost acceptable piece

Trunk-r-Treat

Some of the members of our floor went to Trunk-r-Treat dressed up as 'Apples to Apples' cards! We picked that theme about a year ago, didn't know that we would actually DO IT! haha, but it was a lot of fun!

It was super cold outside, so we all got in a line and started dancing to whatever music came on the radio (there were about 10 of us total).

It was a lot of fun, the kids begged for candy and laughed at our dancing, while the parents laughed at our cards!

Next year we plan on being Eskimos—we want to be WARM next time!

"Cappuccino To Go" Logo

This is one of my logo designs for Typography.  We had to pick out one of the "company" names from a list and design a company logo for them.  I will also have to choose the font that the company will use in all of their advertisements and written documents.

The "go" on the left represents a traffic light - thus the green filled "o" - that would imply speed.

Updated 10/30/09

I have added my new, revised version of the logo.  I made the "go" text within the "traffic light" myself using the pen tool (I'm getting better with using Adobe!)  I was having trouble with the "Cappuccino To Go" font choice.  I was trying to play with different typefaces, but I was never sold on any of them...  What I finally settled on was "Dear Joe 2" (found at DaFont.com)

I do like what I have now.  I might change the value of the green, and maybe decrease the saturation to give it a more organic feel.

Feedback is appreciated!

Updated 11/6/09

I have added the complete, finished set.  I also had to design a letterhead, business cards and and envelope that went with the logo :)

Updated 11/10/09

It's on the WORK OF THE WEEK board!!!!

SO excited!  I got an "A-" on it, the '-' is for going a little overboard with all of the extra items (but I kind of forgot about them until about 2 days before the assignment was due! So I'm okay with that being the reason)

But Professor Shaw also said that the logo was "very creative!" — I don't get that very much, and I'm LOVING it now!

The Mist and All - by Dixie Willson

I like the fall

The mist and all

I like the night owl’s lonely call

And wailing sound

Of wind around

I like the gray

November day

And dead, bare boughs that coldly sway

Against my pane

I like the rain

I like to sit

And laugh at it

And tend my cozy fire a bit

I like the fall

The mist and all

This is one of my favorite poems.  I do LOVE the fall - it is absolutely beautiful!  The colors - bright, cheerful, and crisp!  

I am constantly excited by God's beauty outside...  I love the fall, the mist and all...

Leaf Symbol

This is my first attempt at a logo...

I'm brainstorming for my Intro to Graphic Design class.  We are supposed to create a logo-style design that represents something.

I was originally doing a pencil (we had two options), but I couldn't think of anything :'(

SO this is what I've got now.  Trying to convey the seasons and the color changes of the leaves

——

I got the project back today!  And I got an "A"!!!  Excitement is an understatement!  Professor Shaw also showed mine to the class along with 4 other student's work and told me what he liked about it.  I wasn't sure how I did on this one (still figuring this Graphic Design thing out), so I was VERY excited to see the A, I would have guessed a "B", maybe a "B+"

Professor Shaw thought that I should have given the red-brown leaf harder edges to convey a crunchy, dead effect.

Love Note - Bright and Early

I walked out of the dining commons this morning, slightly panicked because I had decided to stay and listen to a friend of mine vent some frustration instead of leaving at my usual time. It was definitely worth it, but after the interesting last few days (more on that later) I was in no mood to have even the slightest amount of stress added to my day. Especially at the very beginning (we're talking 7:50 am here-I've only been up an hour).

Thankfully, my Betrothed was prepared. I walked out to see the BEAUTIFUL sky that God had made! The rising sun was hitting the clouds just right, and had turned the tops pink and yellow. Gorgeous! I suddenly had the energy I needed. God always knows what to do, He knows how much I love color, and how crazy-happy I get when I catch those few moments. Needless to say, I was able to get through today - including 10 hours in the art center

PS. I still made it about 5 minutes before class started. A little late for me, but totally okay :)

Typographic Hierarchy

In my Typographic Design class, I have to create 4 different "flash cards" with one back.  These flash cards need to be part of a selected theme and have a family resemblance.  I choose the Typographic Hierarchy theme (because nobody else was doing it!) and have to tell the viewers different methods of controlling the eye of the viewer.

I'm not sure how I feel about the entire design... I'm really out of my league in the classes right now - mostly because everyone else has had experience with this type of art while I haven't.

Either way, I'm hoping that my professor will like them.  I think I might change a few things on the 4 pieces still - I don't really like the "controlling the eye of the viewer" wrapping around.  I did until a little while ago, but it's just too much as of right now.

Updated:: 10/10/09

This is my final design, we had a critique this morning (well, Friday morning) and that went very well!  I was really scared, but I didn't get many bad comments--in fact, I got a lot of positive feedback!

And Professor Shaw said he liked my cover--the "logo" design.  Which is always a plus!!!

Updated 10/12/09

Turns out that Professor Shaw isn't as fond of my design as I thought... I got a B+ on this piece.

Solution to Problem:: B+

Creativity:: B  (Story of my life)

Technique:: A-

ID cards

This is my first real project in my Intro to Graphic Design class.

It's mostly lecture, but so far it's pretty good.

Anyway, about the assignment!  We have to design 6 different ID cards for the school--let's just say that our current cards leave a little to be desired...

Anyway, while they all need to look similar there are different requirements for each.  There needs to be a Student, Faculty/Staff, a Library.  Also, we have to make 3 vertical designs: Security, maintenance and food service.

Feed back is lovely - it helps =)

This is due next week sometime so hopefully by then I'll have more finished designs posted--these are just my starters...

Oh, I took and edited the photo myself this afternoon. 

Updated 10/15/09

I just got my grade back this morning:  an A-!!  And professor Shaw said that I had the best use of color in the class, which is awesome!  And very encouraging, I have been very discouraged with my design classes.  This is still very new for me, and I'm not always completely positive how good my designs are.

Dear Homework,

Dear Homework,

If you died, I cannot say that I would mourn your loss at all -- even considering all the time we've spent together.

In fact, I would honestly say that you got your just reward. Keeping me from the social aspects of college life, sleep and sanity has made you a nuisance and I no longer enjoy your company--I do not believe I ever did.

I am sorry that things have to be this way, but unless you change your nature this is just how life will continue between us,

Katrina

Screaming During Quiet Hours

So there is a space behind the dressers in our room.  It's under the beds so Emily and I don't think about it a whole lot, but you can see it if you look underneath my desk.  More specifically, the only way to get in and out of it is by crawling under my desk.  Needless to say, I am not very fond of that dark, little dwelling.  To top it off, I have a foot phobia.  Nothing major, but it gets bad when something cold is by my feet or when something I don't expect touches/grabs my feet.

For example, if we're sitting on the couch with our feet on an ottoman or something and our feet touch, I will jump and my feet will feel uncomfortable for a few seconds.  Also, when I'm in a lake I try to keep my feet close to my body because I don't like having my feet in the cold water at the bottom (my skin's crawling from the thought).

Anyway, last night (during quiet hours) I came in from the bathroom after brushing my teeth and I started to talk to Emily about something.  After a few minutes I walk towards my desk to grab my notes so that I can study one last time before bed.  Next thing I know, Becky--my RA-- jumps out from under my desk and grabs my feet!!!

I jumped about 5 feet into the air (screaming at the top of my lungs).  It was quite a theatrical accomplishment, and if I had not been so terrified it would have been very funny.  I actually think it's funny now, but at the time I was really shaken up!  So I just ran out of the room.  haha

Stay tuned, there will be revenge.  And it will be amazing.

Blond moments

I have a feeling that this blog will also become a vault where all of the stupid things that I do, and all the funny/terrible/sad/ironic things that happen in college.

I have had quite a few moments in the past two weeks where my blond-ness (that I unknowingly possessed until about 3 weeks ago) has shown itself in the most unreasonable manner.

To start off, we (the roomie and I) have a quote wall in our room now.  While we have a pretty even split written up there, I have noticed that most of the stupid/thoughtless comments that have been made in the day-to-day life of us have been mine!  I just make sure that I write all of Em's down so that I don't feel like such a loner

Saturday is a good example of my newly acquired blondness::

Emily was gone for the weekend and I was quite lonely.  Thankfully it was a good weekend for me to be roommate-less because the amount of homework I had was nothing to brag about.  So Saturday morning, I got ready for the day, went to breakfast and locked the door to my room.  This may sound mean, but I really needed to get this homework done and I knew that unless I locked all of my friends out it would never happen!  (Emily and I have a very social room)  I sleep on the top bunk in our room, and I really like to study up there too - it's just comfortable (extremely!) and out of the way.  

So I was studying Typography up there on this particular morning.  The door is locked, I'm readying large textbooks, eating chocolate, and the ladder is leaning against the bed (rather than being hooked on).  Then I decide that I have to use the bathroom...  

I am about half way down the ladder when it leaves me.  Completely.  So there I am, dangling from my bed.  Thankfully I had grabbed onto my bed so I did not fall all the way down.  I began to envision myself hanging off the side of my bed for the rest of the weekend.  Door locked, pathetically  yelling for my RA to come and help me down.  Then I realized that I could climb down quite easily by stepping on Emily's bed (which is about 2.3 feet under my own).

Needless to say, I felt pretty stupid and the ladder will never again rest on the bed.

Artists Are Among Us - Show

These photos are of my piece in the art show!  Very exciting, I wish I could be there.  I didn't place but I'm okay with that -- the pieces that DID place are a little different to say the least and I am not altogether sure why they did place, but I would really have to see it up close and personal.  They were creative and unique to be sure, which always plays a big part in any contest.  The "Best in Show" piece was fantastic!  Well thought out, and I'm sure that it was very time consuming.

Anyway, mom and dad went to the show opening and took pictures for me.  I wish I could see it, but I'd rather not miss school.

Floor Shirt Ideas

I was asked to design the floor shirts this year!  I'm very excited about it, but I'm nervous too.  I really want to do a good job, and this is my first design that will be used around campus.  Not only will the girls on my floor wear it, but my professors will see it and that will reflect on me (tons!).

Our floor motto is “This changes everything”, and we have lots of black and white with pops of color.  The red flowers/stars are the pops of color - but they would be a little different on each shirt.  We will color the flowers (that will be printed white) in with sharpies so that everyone’s will be a little different.

The front of the shirt has the motto on it and the back has Galatians 5:13 on it and will have the names of each girl on the floor.  I haven't picked a spot for "Gainey 2nd South" to go yet, but I'm thinking either before the names (kind of like a header), or in the lower right hand corner on the front...  still thinking about that.

Anyway, I would really appreciate the feedback

Family Portraits

Alright, this is a very bad photo of the drawing, but I will have a better one posted soon.  This is a portrait--both self and non--was done about a month ago.  I've never finished it, but I thought I should post it anyway.  Unfortunately my motivation fled and has never returned for this particular project, but maybe another time.

Anyway, this is Sienna and myself (very poor drawing of myself), unfinished but still here.

35mm SLR - first photos

I was FINALLY able to take some photos with the 35mm SLR that Craig lent me!  I took them to CVS to get them developed.  After failing twice, I was thankful to find that there were actually photos on my film!   Unfortunately I discovered that the film had been damaged while it was going back into the canister (or whatever it's called).  So when I went back to pickup my photos, my coworker Amy talked to me about the damaged film and we decided to try running it through the machine anyway.

Thankfully the machine took the film even though the edges were almost completely torn off.  A lot of my photos didn't turn out, but here are some of the best ones--but I will post more soon.  I am hoping that after seeing these photos, I will be able to modify the way I am using the camera in order to get the effect that I am after.

We'll see how it goes, I obviously have some work to do--but keep in mind that the scanned photos are not as good as the original photo anyway.

Again, the photos posted are a few of the ones that actually turned out the way I wanted - in one way or another.  (although a few of them still have issues that I'm looking into)

19 Going On 12

Hair cut and braces removed (finally!)

My braces came off last week and that was a relief--my teeth have looked pretty much the same since november and I wasn't about to go back to school with them on if I could get away with it. I did end up finding a way and now they're off! At last, my days of being mistaken for a 12 year old were over!

Or so I though.

But then I decided to get my hair cut. The ends were not very happy with me and it just needed to be done. So I told Tina, my hairstylist, that I wanted it shorter and, well, she gave me what I asked for! It's shoulder length, something I have not tackled since 4th grade when I looked like a huge triangle! We'll see how it goes, the way she dried it makes the ends flip out so I look like a kindergartner--all I need is a doll, jumper and matching headband to complete the look.

Thus I made the unfortunate return to middle school, and will doubtless be mistaken for a 12 year old once again.

And the above photo is not what my hair looks like right now, but that is me back when I was about 2.5 years old =)

Blank and Blushing

I was hoping to have some new photos up from the 35mm SLR that I've been using.  And I was excited about the opportunity I had (from CVS) to develop the film myself (just running it through the machine), rather than having someone else develop it.  To be honest, I was a little embarrassed to have my coworkers see my photos--I'm sure that it would be no big deal, but I still didn't like the idea.  On top of it all, I wasn't sure how many of the photos would actually turn out.

Yesterday (Sunday) was my first day as Photo Tech.  I was nervous because the company kinda just throws you into that position without any real training and you have to learn your first day on the job (panicking the whole time, while on the phone with an experienced coworker).  That didn't go too bad, and I only had one roll of film to develop the entire evening.  So about halfway through I thought I would develop my own as another practice.

I prepped my film and developed it in one of our foreign machines.  After my break I excitedly looked over the film to get a sneak peak at my photos.  *GASP*  The entire strip was completely BLANK!  Empty!  Gone!  The photos were never there at all!  I had done something wrong when I had loaded the film and had waisted the entire roll.  Devastated, confused, and frustrated, I was relieved that I had developed the film myself rather than having my blunder discovered by others!

As soon as I experienced this relief, I turned to a coworker who was at the register and told him about it.  Stupid, but oh well.  I made light of it, laughed, and was able to moved on.

I also bought more film so that I'll be able to try again! haha

Hopefully I will have some actual photos up soon...

Oh, and the photo is from Mississippi a year ago.

Camera

Craig lent me his 35mm SLR!  I need one for my photo class this fall and I was hoping to find one that I could buy or rent for fairly cheap, but thankfully I was able to talk to Craig and he said I could use his for free!

I'm really excited!  I've been carrying it around with me EVERYWHERE! haha, I feel like such a kid.

I can take totally different photos with this camera than with my digital.  Hopefully the photos that I've taken will turn out.  I would be bummed if none of them turned out.  And absolutely clueless as to how to continue--but I guess that is what my class is for!

Hopefully some photos will be posted soon!

Oh Hush

Once again, I have experienced the importance of putting myself on the back-burner and listening to someone who just needs an ear.  Not only have I personally felt the benefit of someone taking the time to let me talk their ear off, but over the past few years I have learned that God can use me to relieve some of the emotional turmoil that those around me are experiencing.

God wired us to be relational--and it can mean a whole lot for someone to just pay attention to us once in a while.  To set aside their own agenda and put someone else first.  

Is it really that hard to keep our mouths shut for half an hour?

Sorry about the lecture, but sometimes I'm surprised about how out of shape our ears can be while our mouths run marathons daily.

I'm Completely Captivated

I've been reading, Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul, this week.  I am REALLY enjoying it!  Just knowing that the longings and desires that I have had ever since I was a little girl are God planted is an encouragement.  Like most girls, I dreamed of a knight in shinning armor coming to my rescue--saving me from the evil that was holds me captive. (I still get excited at the idea)  Someone who will delight in me, and love me.

I've found the Prince that I've longed to know, love, and adore.  Jesus: my Prince, my King, my God.  He doesn't only love me like as daughter (like I've always thought of it), but as a lover too.  I am someone He longs to be with and to rescue (and He has rescued me)!  Who could ask for more?  I don't need (or even want) another at this point. Who could love me like He does???  

This is just a brief summary of a single chapter - I have been on cloud 9 ever since reading it though!  I am able to re-visit areas in life that I have grown numb too.  The beauty that I find all around me is an example of God's love for me.  He sends me "notes" and "hugs" through the little things that He knows I love: like color, light, textures, sounds, etc. -- I went for a walk this morning and just enjoyed His presence and creation! (photo)

While I've known some of this for a long time, a switch has really gone off in my head.  I needed this, and I LOVE knowing that God loves me so much!

"Artists Are Among Us"

I recently entered an art competition for the County residents who are over 18 years of age (or 18, like me!).  This exhibit is entitled Artists Are Among Us.  Artists can only submit two pieces but may use any media they want.  The pieces must also have been made within the past two years.  Anyway, the deadline was yesterday an I will find out if I got either of my pieces (pictured) into the show on the 31st.  If I did get my pieces in then I will have to deliver them--framed and matted--to the Padzieksi Art Gallery on the 8th of September.  The show will then open 2 days later and then close on the 17th--I will be at the Arborshire for the entire time and will not be able to see the show. 

I was required to make both of my pieces available for sale.  That was a little hard, I did not really want to do that.  THe chances of any of my pieces being selected for purchase is slim-to-none, but the idea still gets to me.  I work hard on my art and don't always want to give it away--or even sell it!  I priced African Safari at $75.  I don't think anyone is crazy enough to want that thing, but it did take a lot of time and effort.  My Glass Bottles (bad title but it was last minute) I put for $600.  I really don't want that one to go--I love it and spent over 24 hours on it!  But it's not THAT good, so I think it's safe at $600! haha

...I should have put a higher price tag on it...

I will update this post when I find out if either of my pieces made it or not

Updated: July 29, 2009

My Glass Bottles piece made it into the show!  I'm so excited!  Not surprised that my other piece didn't make it but I still would have liked to have both in. HURRAY!

Hi. I'm New and Clueless

My tale commences before work, when I was politely informing my mother that I was not looking forward to working the register on Saturday.  AT ALL. Because I have had this awful feeling that my manager is going to throw me in front of the horrid foreign object and say: "if you mess up, you're FIRED!" But thankfully I don't have to worry about that until Saturday, right?

Wrongo!

I walked in today and my manager calmly enlightens me on my unexpected, and inevitable doom. Basically a CVS down the road was short a cashier and because the other members of our store did not want to go, I was obliged to rescue the sister store with my lack of experience. I was already brainstorming my final words to the living when he assured me that he was not going to send me off until I had practiced the register.  I had 1 hour to perfect the alien machine before driving to the #1 store in our area, hoping to provide some sort of "help".

If only I had been granted the promised hour!!! After about 30 minutes, my manager returned and informed me that it was time for me to leave (WHAT???).  I’m pretty sure that I had an uncontrollable twitch by this time, however I was not about to say “no” to my new boss.
So after receiving the location of my final resting place, I headed toward my car. As soon as I start the car--after unlocking it and buckling up of course--I call my mom in a panic, and to give her my last testament.

THANKFULLY!  Right as I was pulling out of the parking lot, my manager called my cell phone (that I was trying to call my mom with) and shows mercy on me.  The manager at the #1 store had found a replacement and I was off the hook!  I pulled a hasty U-turn and almost flew back into my store.  After that I was able to successfully avoid the cash register--that is, until tomorrow...

ps.

The picture is from my first month at the Arborshire.  I was avoiding homework and eating chocolate--the usual.  Unfortunately, as an art student I am not physically able to eat M&Ms like a normal human being--but it's more fun the way I do it!

Craziness That Really Isn't

Family camp was this week--fun and crazy like always =)
I wasn't able to be there for very long because of work but while I was there I had a good time. It was great to see some friends from school and to hang out with the church family again!
Work has been keeping me pretty busy--while it's only a part time job, there are a lot of hoops to jump through (like two full days of training that didn't teach me a thing!) and I'm also working for June twice a week. At least work is getting me out of the house, and providing the all important pay check! Oh the things I do for school--I find myself wearing my Arborshire T-shirts to motivate myself, haha
While I am not busy working I've found time to spend with my crazy siblings and parents. Sienna and I play volleyball and soccer together a lot (photo), Hunter and I are going mini-golfing this week, and Connor and I... we just do any weird thing we can find. Nothing new there =)
Anywho, I was kinda stuck in a rut for a while a few weeks ago. I started to feel a little depressed, which is not something that I suffer from very often. Thankfully mom came to my rescue and found a gallery that is open to entries for adults (18+ years) within my county! I can submit 2 pieces and have to pay a fee but I think it would be worth it to get a piece (or both) in! To top it off there are 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes chosen among the pieces that make it into the show!
I hope I'll be able to do it--the deadline is really sneaking up on me and one of the pieces that I wanted to enter is not as quite what I was hoping for (see below).

Safari Drawing - First Reveal

Okay, so this is my unfinished drawing of the safari that I was talking about before. I ended up running out of room and can't add as many animals as I planned/wanted. I've spent somewhere around 36 hours on this thing and unfortunately I hate the thing. I've just become really frustrated with it and I'm not sure if I will ever be able to "finish" it to my satisfaction. (but Da Vinci did say that art was never truly finished, it was simply abandoned--not that that makes me feel any better) I like the elephants but that's about it at this point. Hopefully a more complete copy will appear in future posts--I'm going to try working on it again this afternoon.

African Wildlife

I have recently (as of two days ago) gained an interest in African wildlife; especially zebras, elephants, lions and giraffes. So I did some research via google and picked up some photographs to play with. I want to start working on a larger piece. I'm thinking of an African landscape with the necessary animals as the main focal point. Before I started, I made a few practice sketches to see if I could do a half decent job. Here are my first two sketches, the first being a pencil sketch of a young elephant and the second being an ink sketch of a hyena cub.
I will probably have more sketches up soon as well as the larger finished product. As of right now, my little elephant will be featured in the final piece, however the hyena will not--he's cute, but not quite what I'm looking for.