Merry Christmas '10

Merry Christmas from the Chocolate–Loving–Siblings (sporting their new matching pajamas!)

Luke 2: 1-21

¹ In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. ⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” ¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” ¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. ²¹ On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.

Wooden Still life

Yet another still life!
This one didn't take me as long as the other one this semester. I confess, I fought against doing this one, but Bippes talked me into it and I'm kinda glad that he did... I like it (despite the creepy-skull-aspect) This piece is also colored pencil—I really struggled with the wood grain, and I"m still not sure if I solved the problem.
Unfortunately the photo isn't that great, but hopefully a better one will be up soon

Surprised

This is from earlier in the semester, but I never found time to post it! My favorite young man surprised me with a visit while I was working at the art center and brought me flowers!! Horrid picture because it's from my cell phone... but they were beautiful :}

Reflections

My hardest project for the semester. Well, the most time consuming if nothing else. After about 40 hours, if this piece had not made it into the end of semester show, I would have given up—but thankfully, it did :)
This piece was done in colored pencil (my favorite). The glass bottles are sitting on a mirror and there is also a mirror behind the table that also reflects... again!

Chalk Portrait

I hate this thing.
This portrait is still unfinished—I need to fix her hands to match the style of the rest of the drawing, but it's one of those pieces that I doubt will ever get finished. I'm just sick of looking at it at this point!

Anyway, it was a light study and my Bippes had me add more wrinkles than can fit on a horse, and I just want to have a bonfire with it

Abstract Portraits

Okay, here's some more abstraction! We were told to make an abstract portrait out of crayon (picture coming) or out of oil pastels. So I tried both—multiple times! One of these oil pieces was a shape study, while the other was an attempt to work with through a different technique. I personally loath both of the oil pieces—one of which I was really excited about until I overworked it! The shape study features a sunburn on steroids and the other is ghostly and has the highest cheekbones imaginable!
Haha, well the assignment was to explore the media and that's just what I did so I guess I can't complain...

Chalk Pastel Landscape #1

This is one of my final pieces for Drawing 3. I actually really enjoyed doing this one. I wish I had more variety in colors—none of the rich, deep colors were at my disposal (until I stole one from a friend for about 5 seconds—though I still didn't have time to carry it through the entire piece...).
I still need to finish this piece. Bippes had me add in the log, and I agree that the right side was too empty without anything there, but that log doesn't quite do it... and Bippes informed me (after the final was OVER) that I should have just left it out.
Needless to say, I was rather frustrated at the time and I'm still a little irked with the entire situation.
Oh well, it happens :)

Melting Crayons

Well this one was fun—though the photo is awful! I spent an hour or so with an iron in my lap (facing upward), the canvas on top, drawing/painting with the crayons in my hand that melted from the heat of the iron. The result was this slightly crazy piece... that kind of looks like a elementary student did it. Haha, oh well, it was fun to be a kid again for a while :)

Mono-prints

More abstraction! Oh well ;)
We worked with mono-printing this semester and it wasn't exactly my talent! Getting incredibly messy and ending up with something less than satisfying was not my favorite pastime! Bippes liked my technique at first, but after the final (brilliant timing as always) he changed his mind and said he didn't like them
Oh well, it's not something I really shrived for perfection on so I can't really say that I'm horridly upset

Abstract Landscapes

Another series of abstract studies from the beginning of the year: obviously, abstraction isn't exactly my thing... Instead of 'abstract', my pieces are... well, blurry! Haha, the only compliment I was given is that I am good with color. At least I've got that going for me! But I actually enjoyed working with the color—if I had had a chance to work through a few more, I might have come up with suitable abstract pieces, though they would have been more of a color study than anything else :)

Abstract Bottles—Continued

Here's another one of my 'abstract' bottle pieces from the beginning of this semester. He (Bippes) didn't seem too fond of it so I left it out of the portfolio for a while and let my roommates hang it up on our room.

NW Automotive Logo

My roommate's dad is the owner of North West Automotive and they asked me to create a logo to go onto the hats of the workers. The deadline ended up being... well about the time I started (thanks for that Mandie... ;] ) so it's nothing witty or brilliant—or even finished for that matter—but they saw it at this point and wanted it as-is. So it's 'done'. . . feedback welcome :]

Semester close

In the words of my Savior: "It is FINISHED!"

The fall semester is finally over. And I am officially worn out! But I'm enjoying a roomie-date-night with some of my favorite people :]
This picture was taken during a walmart run tonight, and we all found our Disney princess (in Barbie form) and took a photo
more later, I'm TIRED

50's Phenomenon

The final portfolio piece for Graphic Design 2! A book cover design in PhotoShop. I had so much frustration with this piece—I had to do it 5 or 6 times! My photoshop files kept giving me trouble :(
Anyway, we were given a list of 3 titles and the rest was up to us! The only requirement was that it be done in PhotoShop, and that it be obvious that it was created in PhotoShop. I wanted the design to hold together when the front and back of the cover were both seen at the same time, so the large "1950" was the beginning of this piece, then I researched and found photos of significant events / fads from the 50's in America and added them in.

Customer Communication

This is my Illustrator piece for the Graphic Design 2 portfolio. We were asked to create a design (without text) that portrayed customer communication. We had to select our own customer and context and after trying absolutely everything I could think of, I selected the communication between a pastor and his congregation.
My original idea incorporated Michelangelo's hands (Adam and God) and I wanted to echo the position in the hands of the other figures.
I picked the more simplistic, shapely style to keep the figures more detached and in order to allow the viewer to connect with them more [and I tend to be so realistic that doing this more abstract style was actually harder for me]

Cooking the Books

My first portfolio piece for Graphic Design 2. We were given the article and then told to create a magazine layout for the piece. I struggled with this piece more than any of the other pieces. Layout isn't my strength and I always second-guess myself.

Climb Every Mountain

PhotoShop project. We had to do a merge of two or more photos (I did 3) in Adobe PhotoShop. The major concerns were light—same strength and direction—and quality. The hardest part was finding images that would work! After that, putting it together wasn't too hard at all. Hopefully the merge was successful—obviously the goal is to make it appear as though the final product actually happened.

Little Heart Throb

Highlight of my day: playing with a 3 year-old. This week has been rather stressful to say the least. And it looks like the rest of the semester will be similar, if not worse. But God is good and will provide—how can I doubt that when He has provided so much for me already? But I digress, I was able to escape a little bit of the stress this afternoon by spending time with little Jackson Luke. He was with one of his babysitters who lives in the building next door—but she is a dear and let me know about it before hand so that I could come over and visit! So we ran around the 'train tracks', ran away from bears, tigers and lions, played hid and seek tag (3 different versions), discussed Operation Christmas Child boxes, looked for and at his fliers and used the word 'why' in every sentence.
After running, swinging, tickling, whispering, jumping, giggling and running even more I was exhausted! But my spirit was refreshed and I have been a little more motivated to do some homework this afternoon.
I love that boy :]

Snow in the Art Center

First snow of the year!!! And if there was any form of precipitation in the art center, I am positive that it would be snowing in here too! 2 sweaters + 2 pairs of socks and I'm still cold?
Yet another poem—I love the image this pulls up (and the memories...)

Sing a song of winter,
Of frosty clouds in air.
Sing a song of snowflakes
Falling everywhere.

Sing a song of winter.
Sing a song of sleds.
Sing a song of tumbling
Over heels and heads.

Up and down a hillside
When the moon is bright,
Sledding is a tiptop
Wintertime delight.

--Norman C. Schlichter

Mint Chocolate Chip Moments

I would like to encourage you all to read my roommate's blog(Britney)—it's pretty great!
Shows some of her quirky side, shares her spiritual growth and gives some much needed encouragement.
I made this for her last Christmas but totally forgot to give it to her! Haha, oh well :)

New Toys

My parents (who are absolutely wonderful) bought me a huge box of colored pencils! And not the very thin—the beautiful oil based pencils :]
Unfortunately I have had a mix of timidity as well as a lack of time (since classes started), and have not had a chance to use them until this past Sunday night.
But I couldn't resist on Sunday—I had to break them out.
And then I fell in love. They flow so beautifully—I just love using them! This is the result of my first experiment—working off of a picture of my friend's youngest boy that I stole. Probably not the wisest selection of photos, but I wanted the 3/4 view and this was the best one I could find on short notice.
I do like it, but I had so much fun doing it that that might have tainted my opinion... I have gotten some good feedback thus far, but unfortunately my professors think it's creepy! I was a little surprised, but I guess I can get over it, haha

Critique welcome of course (I already know that the wings of the nose are too small)

AC logo—finished

Here's the final product. As you can see, my previous brainstorms came up pretty empty! haha, but at least I finally found out what worked (sort of...). I was really excited about this piece, because both myself and my professor liked it and we worked out some of the issues that I had with it. But during the critique on Thursday it was revealed that my classmates were less than thrilled. Actually, I got very little positive feedback. Almost none. It was pretty pathetic to see my professor try to defend me. So yeah, talk about frustrating. But hopefully because I was able to satisfy the customer, I will end up with a better grade. Update soon hopefully!

Updated: 10-26-2010
I got an "A"!!! And it is up on the work of the week board!
I'm super excited, haha—I needed this ego boost

Show Biz

Another day, another show.
Well, two right now actually. I am preparing to enter two upcoming shows—both of which will not take place until January, but the deadline for entries is fast approaching. As I've mentioned before, I am required to enter 3 outside shows before I graduate. It is suggested that I take a local (check), a state show(check), and a national show. The next one coming up is a national show, so the likelihood of me making it in is not very high, but I'm going to try anyway—it's not as though I would be doing it for no reason! As a result, I have a total of 3 shows this semester. As though I wasn't over loaded enough! hah
So I am getting the national show set and ready tonight. For a fixed fee I can enter 2 pieces so that's what I'm going with. I will be entering the chalk drawing of George White and my texture study of the Old Lady. George because I believe it is one of my strongest pieces, and the Old Lady because I still like her, and it's something different and will hopefully stand out somewhat. We'll see!
I will be notified in December, so stay tuned for an update—and hopefully an exciting one!

UPDATE::
Unfortunately I did not get into the show—totally bummed. But, this is a national show, and it is the first show that I have not successfully gotten into since before my high school years. Disappointed? Yes, but not devastated, or even very surprised. The competition was stiff, and it was a long shot, but I will probably enter the show again next year. I will have better work and a better shot :)

Bugs in the Night

Last night was rather eventful.
Mandie went out for the evening and didn't get back until around 12:30am after the rest of us were asleep —Now as a little back up, I am in the habit of gasping and jumping every time an alarm goes off— Anyway, as Mandie was waiting to fall asleep, Britney's phone rang once, causing me to jumped up, gasp, and turn on my light.
Now for my side. I don't remember the phone ringing at all. I distinctly remember seeing a bunch of gnats or some sort of bug fly up from Emily's bed over to the wall next to my bed. I turned on the light so that I could kill them, I adjusted the light so that it would not wake up my roommates. Mandie asked if I was okay and only then did I realize that there were no bugs... I was too tired to do much other than say that I was okay, turn off the light and go back to sleep.
Mandie and I talked about it today and yes, I was sleep walking. Sort of. haha, I clearly remember everything except the phone! Mandie thought the phone was mine and I had gotten bad news. We've been laughing about it all morning and keep re-enacting it for our own amusement.

Story from Mandie

Once upon a time there were 4 beautiful roommates at [the Arborshire]. They had many great times and hung out with guys like Max. They would also have very weird conversations that no one else would understand. They would also grow together. I think that is the best part.

The end

Another laugh from the Mandie-jar.
Oh, and ps, Max is the leader of our favorite dance-workout video.
We don't' hang out with him as much as we should...

Logo — Art Center

In my GD class this week we are creating logos for the art center. Not as easy as it should be! Here are some of my thoughts, I'm not completely sold on any of these concepts so I would really appreciate some feedback :)

Landscape—Colored Pencil

Here's my 12x12 landscape. I did this in colored pencil and it has been a constant frustration!
Drawing blades of grass and individual leaves is not very entertaining, but at least now I can say that I have done it. And I am glad that I will have one in my portfolio.
Looking at it now I can see that I need to get rid of that single light spot in the foreground, so hopefully I will get a chance to fix that and then update the photo

CD Cover

This is my slightly modified CD cover for GD 2. I liked my idea originally, but I am not completely sold on it anymore
The blue/gray underlay has been added and will probably disappear again, but I was told that I did not push my idea enough (once again) so I tried it. But I admit, it makes me dizzy!

Together Again — SBC

There are few things more encouraging than getting together with a wonderful group of people who share a solid faith. I love my fellow staff members from Somerset Beach and I did not even realize how much I missed them until we were back together again.

And, of course, I got to see my very favorite young man—which was great :)

Abstract Flowers

This is my latest project—only a few hours old actually :)
The assignment is to create 3 abstract floral still lives with crayola crayon. I made a few others, but this one is my favorite so far! Unlike the others, where I drew with the crayons directly onto the paper, I used my x-acto blade with this one and shaved off pieces of the crayon. Then I covered it with wax paper (wax side down) and put the iron on it. The ironing had to be strategic in order to get the different levels of opacity throughout the piece. I still have some work to do—hopefully it will get better after more work has been done, the balance is slightly off... and now it's starting to bug me, hah

Updated 10-16-2010::
I've added another one of my crayon drawings—the second one went over much better (orange/blue). The other one (when finished) was described as something that Bippes would expect if I was his little granddaughter—and he would hang it on his fridge! haha, oh well. Not a compliment by any means, but it was pretty funny.
The second one went over great and Bippes even brought in the Drawing 1 class in to see it, so I guess he liked it.

Abstract Bottles

My first Drawing 3 project: Abstract bottles in chalk pastels.
Abstract isn't really my thing—at all. I really struggled with this project and I am not entirely sure how they turned out. Hah, I just don't fully understand abstract art and this was my first time using pastels.
These photos aren't that great, hopefully I can upload some better ones later...

Feedback welcome :) Especially if you have any tips on abstract art!

September 27, 2010

Today has been very strange in the Arborshire. Some thoughts of the day included:

"I wish I was one of the fairies from Sleeping Beauty. Then I would be able to make the bed by using my wand!"

"You know it's a dull day when you get excited about using new soap"

"Don't you hate it when you can only breath out of one nostril?"

"I don't even have time to die!!"

"I do dishes when I don't feel like doing homework" (dirty dishes don't last long in our room...)

Also, the fire alarm went off and I was in my pajamas... and it was raining outside! haha, oh well, at least this year I wasn't in the shower!

Oh Monday, how thankful I am that you are almost over...

Roomies

My beautiful roommates and myself. We brought Emily food while she was working and took a few photos :)
I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends who are willing to put up with me! We have a ton of fun together and are constantly laughing.
It's going to be a great year

Basket Case

One of my best friends (and roommates), Mandie gave the rest of us a jar of random quotes. Some from Disney movies, wise individuals, etc. They are really funny and there's always something connected that we need to hear. So I pull one out whenever I am feeling blue and/or don't want to do homework.

The quote for tonight: "Don't let your worries get the best of you; remember, Moses started out as a basket case."

I laughed. Yes, I've heard it before, but sometimes it tickles just right—especially when you need to hear it! It is going to be crazy around here, and it's always easier when I remember that I'm not the only one who has dealt with stress, or had to jump into God's arms in order to make it through. I'm not exactly a 'basket case' (no official tears yet), and while I do have a lot of projects to do, at least I don't have to lead an entire nation across the desert!

Props Moses, you are braver than I.

The Artist's Prayer

I stole this from my professor, who apparently stole it from Joan Larsen (2008).

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for the artistic abilities you have given me. The vein of creativity in me has sometimes been wide as a river, and other times as narrow as a thread.
With your divine guidance, I ask that you would open my mind and heart to the creativity you planted in me from before I was born.
May my art work be an inspiration to others, but more importantly, always be honoring to you.
Amen

I just might have to add this to my morning rutine. My artistic abilities have always been extremely important to me—and losing them, or not being 'good enough', one of my greatest fears. But as I learned last year (and continue to learn), it is when I finally give over my gifts and talents that God can really use them and further my growth.
Creativity has always been my weakness. Sometimes I wonder if I even have creativity as wide as the thread that Larsen claimed was so narrow... I've found myself praying something similar to the second line many times, though hardly as well said. That will always be a struggle for me, but a positive attitude, constant prayer and hard work will go a long way :)
Here's to an awesome semester of growth!

Pencil Symbol

This project is from intro to graphic design. I didn't end up going with this one, and handed in the leaf symbol instead (you can read more about the assignment by clicking on the link). But I liked this project anyway and started thinking about it a little while ago so I thought I would post it. It's still could use a little something, but I'm not sure what... Anyway, I didn't end up going in this direction so I never needed to explore my options.
I was trying to visually show a child's creativity / imagination. Not sure how well I did...
We'll see if it ever goes anywhere in the future...

A Girl and Her Guitar

Sister and I needed some bonding this week. So I took my rock-star sister, her guitar and my camera to the HF Estate. I don't have a lot of experience with photography but it was fun! She's such a goof (in a good way of course!) and we had a lot of laughs.
There are sure to be plenty more in the future, so stay posted :)

Still Unfinished Work

Another update on some unfinished work. I've spent about 30 hours on this piece and I only have to finish up the background and it's done... but I have very little motivation to do that after so many hours!
So I think tomorrow afternoon will conclude this piece and a true illustration of how I waste my time will be available for ridicule from the public.

I'll also post a photo of the model so that you can correct all of my mistakes.
Until later

Roses are Red...

The day of my birth was celebrated earlier this week and here is a photo my biggest surprise :) A stunningly beautiful bunch of roses from my favorite young man! I'm afraid to imagine how much they must have cost, but I do love them.

They're so beautiful! This photo does such a bad job of showing them off, but it's all I've got

Let's Face It

So here are some of my head shots. Oddly enough most of these are profiles—but I guess that's because most of what liked that was 3/4 view ended up hanging up somewhere around campus. Keep in mind that most of these are unfinished and will probably remain so...
The contour of the girl with the under-bite was my first success of the semester. I was having a lot of trouble catching a decent likeness until Amber modeled—after that I had an easier time. Thankfully something finally clicked!
All of these drawings were done in pencil—most likely HB, B or 2B on Newsprint (top two) and drawing paper (bottom two).

Better Late than Never...

Okay so here are some of my drawings from Figure Drawing this past spring. These first few were done in colored pencil. Just a small peak at what I spent most of the semester doing. I am still unsure if I will be showing any of my other full-figure drawings...

Much Needed 'Snippets'

I love how God works.
Sometimes I don't recognize it at first--actually, I probably still miss a lot of things--but I love looking back and seeing how God placed little things in my life/week/day that helped me get through. This past week felt longer than most (for a collection of reasons), but every time I thought I was about to break down someone gave me a hug, or shared a laugh, or left me an encouragement note. I would not have survived without these little 'snippets' of love, and I am so thankful for them!
The need for Christians to love each other was emphasized again in my life--another reminder to think of others before myself and remember that when I am feeling down (or even if I'm feeling great) there is someone else who needs to be encouraged and loved.
The easiest way to show how much we love God is to love His people.

...He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." (John 21:16b)

Trailblazer Hour

This poem has been on my mind all week, I think it's appropriate after a week with nine Trailblazers (7-9 year olds). I was blessed with another great group of beautiful girls. This age group was wonderful in the fact that they were willing to love me almost instantly--which made my job much easier! And we played a lot of games that required imagination and a sense of humor! It was so fun to have my pathetic ideas jumped on by these little girls who actually enjoyed them!
I love those girls and I have locked them up forever "in the round-tower of my heart"(read below). I miss them a lot, but I admit, I'm glad I don't have so many under my wing right now! It's not easy to be the instant mother of 9 little ones...

Anyway, this poem is called "The Children's Hour", and it was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in the early 1800s.

Between the dark and the daylight,
When the night is beginning to lower,
Comes a pause in the day's occupations,
That is known as the Children's Hour.

I hear in the chamber above me
The patter of little feet,
The sound of a door that is opened,
And voices soft and sweet.

From my study I see in the lamplight,
Descending the broad hall stair,
Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra,
And Edith with golden hair.

A whisper, and then a silence:
Yet I know by their merry eyes
They are plotting and planning together
To take me by surprise.

A sudden rush from the stairway,
A sudden raid from the hall!
By three doors left unguarded
They enter my castle wall!

They climb up into my turret
O'er the arms and back of my chair;
If I try to escape, they surround me;
They seem to be everywhere.

They almost devour me with kisses,
Their arms about me entwine,
Till I think of the Bishop of Bingen
In his Mouse-Tower on the Rhine!

Do you think, o blue-eyed banditti,
Because you have scaled the wall,
Such an old mustache as I am
Is not a match for you all!

I have you fast in my fortress,
And will not let you depart,
But put you down into the dungeon
In the round-tower of my heart.

And there will I keep you forever,
Yes, forever and a day,
Till the walls shall crumble to ruin,
And moulder in dust away!

Shout Out

This is a shout out to my darling Hillary! My most faithful reader and a great friend.

I miss you tons Hillary and I can't wait to see you again in the fall--I have so much to share with you and I am so excited to hear all about your summer!

<3

You could scramble an egg on the sidewalk

Wow, it is HOT today! I was walking to breakfast early this morning and was almost knocked over from surprise by the heat! I usually walk around in the morning with a light sweater--but not today! Even before 9:00 am I was trying to think of something cooler that I could put on instead of soccer shorts and a T-shirt.
It's amazing how powerful God is. The heat of the day isn't even here yet and I am already sluggish and lazy (shamefully so!). The sun is so far away that it takes somewhere around 8 years for the light/heat to reach us. I can't even imagine the power of the sun close up, let alone the God who controls it!

Sunscreen is a necessity today! Drink plenty of water and stay cool

"All the Girls in the Bathroom Talking...

...who they gonna take to the Sadie Hawkins...?" If you are not familiar with that song then I am very sorry.
"Sadie Hawkins" by Reliant K was the song that my senior high girls and I performed for the rest of the campground. If you know me very well at all, then you know that performing is entirely outside of my comfort zone. So when I heard that every cabin was going to have to perform a lip-sync I was not too thrilled. In fact, my attitude towards the entire affair was inexcusably bad. Thankfully God blessed me with a wonderful group of girls and we ended up having a blast (even me)! My girls really stepped up to the plate and took charge of this project! They (eventually) picked a song and then took off with it! While I still cringe whenever I see the video and have no desire to do it ever again, I am so thankful that God provided the motivation and the love that I needed in order to do something like that for my girls.
There were so many things during the past week that had a similar pattern. The first night I can remember laying in bed and praying most of the night. I didn't think the girls liked me at all and I was already discouraged about being able to unify the group in any way. But again, God provided everything (why do I still doubt?!?). My girls ended up clicking really well in the end, and even the encouragement that I needed came just in time through surprise letters, a much needed hug or just an extra smile. It was wonderful--I am so blessed!
Praise God!

www.somersetbeach.org

Sleep-Away-Camp

Sleep Away Camp—or should it be, 'lack-of-sleep-while-away-at-camp'?

My mental clock has officially switched to camp-time. I have been awake since about 6am and unable to fall back to sleep. This is not exactly habitual for me. I'm more the type to sleep for 24 hours rather than not be able to sleep...
Oh, silliness

Along Lake Michigan

Nobody can beat God when it comes to breath-taking beauty! This photo is from the SBC counselor trip to Lake Michigan. I wish I could say that this photo translates God's power accurately, but it's just not possible!

Just Call Me "Gimpy"

Unfortunately, I've had a small 'challenge' of my own to face this past weekend. After watching the England / USA world cup soccer game on Saturday, the ex-soccer players in the group couldn't resist playing a quick game of pick-up (myself included). It has been a few years since I've played, but I was thankful that some of the footwork came back after a few minutes of messing with the ball. It was a lot of fun, and we had some good laughs.
However, one of my past specialties did not return as quickly as the others: hopping over a slide tackle. I had never been hit by a single slide tackle--that is, before Saturday at 8:10pm. I was always able to see them out of the corner of my eye and hop just in time to get out with the ball on the other side. But on Saturday, one of my dear friends--who shares the same competitive nature that I am guilty of--slide tackled and accidentally hit me instead of the ball. I was down instantly, and a sprained ankle has been my constant companion ever since. But thanks to great friends, prayer support from home, and God of course, I have been healing quickly and even ran during the "Amazing Race: SBC addition" this evening (which may have been a bad idea, but it was fun).
The swelling is still pretty bad, and after the race I acquired a new shade of purple, but the pain has decreased to a point that I can get around without too many breaks or piggy-back rides. Though I'm afraid to say that I look like an obese penguin when try to walk! haha
At least I am able to provide some entertainment for everyone :)

SBC--Friends and Lake Michigan

Okay, so we're already into the second week of camp, but I haven't had much time to contribute to the blog. That might not be a good excuse, but it's all I've got.
We were camping on Lake Michigan for the first two days, which is absolutely breath taking! It was a great time to get to know everyone on the counseling staff(- 2). We were also given some serious God-time, which was wonderful! Just listening to God--something that has been lacking in a bad way in my life. Who knew that you had to listen to God to hear Him?? (enter sarcasm here)
Hopefully I will have photos of that part of my adventure up soon. Unfortunately I don't have my own laptop here, or the cable that transfers my photos, so it might not happen for a while.
We (the counseling staff) also had the privilege of participating in all of the games / challenges that our campers will do in the next few weeks. That was a blast, and I only wish we could do more! We work well together (in my opinion anyway) and I just enjoy being around everyone on our team. I am so blessed to have each one of them!

365 Project

I just realized that I have not advertised my new hobby (that is currently on hold... hmm). I have recently begun participating in the 365 Project. It's a great way for me to practice my photography and keep developing my artistic eye (which is embarrassingly poor) while I am on vacation this summer.
At camp I will be unable to load any photos, but whenever I am back home I will load a large amount at a time. So, if you're even slightly interested, the link to my account is the highlighted '365 Project' above.

Enjoy!

Bippes

For those of you who have heard me talk about my dear (and crazy) drawing professor, Bippes, here's a photo of him when he was modeling for us. He wasn't very good at staying still so I'm glad that we are not paying him for his modeling abilities, but rather for the instruction afterwords! haha

Neglect

I would like to make a formal apology to everyone that I have been less than attentive to over the past two or three weeks. I have been moving non-stop and anything that didn't have a due date or involved the word "show" in any sense was pushed onto the back burner.

While those few days—largely within the past two weeks—were really rough, with God's help I was able to make it through, and even had some very satisfying results in the end. But I am thankful that it is all over and I can now start responding to my various Emails, catch up with some neglected friends, sleep, and post on everything you have missed in the past month!

It has been hard, but I've grown so much! It has been proven once again that I can do nothing without God, and I am still loving my major despite the effort that it requires :) I'm not quite done yet though, I'm working on the last bit of homework as I type!

Thank you for all of the prayers that have been lifted on my behalf—I felt each one and appreciate them so much!

Busy summer ahead—more posts soon :)

Art Show—Spring 2010

The art show has come once again. And two of my pieces are in the show! I am very excited, though I am a little disappointed that my other two pieces did not get into the show. I was also selected by my professors to receive the "William L. Bippes Art Scholarship"! This scholarship is given based on work ethic and performance along with a few other aspects. The scholarship is given to a sophomore or a junior every year—as a sophomore I feel so honored! I'm the third person to win it since it began, and I am so excited to have my name in the art building :D It sounds so stupid, but I look so forward to coming to visit after I graduate and seeing my name. Featured are the pieces I have hanging up in the art center :)