fun week

it's definitely been a blasty blast of a week. it was good to just have fun and not worry about much. the end of the semester is coming up really fast and i still have a ton to do, but i think i'm feeling a little refreshed after taking a breather. i just need to hit the studio hard the next few weeks to make sure i'm on track.

still to do:

finish 9x12 etching

6x9 etching

9x12 linocut

80 more photos shot and developed

contact sheets for those 80

prints galore

final prints, retouched, mounted

handbuilt piece in ceramics

glaze 8 jars and above piece

ceramics paper

art history paper

art history exams

phew. i can do it. soon enough i'll be looking at one more semester down which is great. next semester i will not stretch myself so thin. i am working about 30 hours a week and going to school for 3 studio classes and 1 lecture totaling about 21 hours of actual in class time. my only day off is sunday. it is really difficult to keep going like that. next semester i will only have 2 studios and won't have class until 1 on MWF and 11 on TTh. I'm planning on working about 25 hours and definately having more than just sunday off. i can't wait!

off to bed to wake up for another glorious monday.

playing catch-up.

i skipped my ceramics class and art history class today to play catch-up and work on photos for my critique tomorrow. slightly counter-productive huh? i went to joann's and walmart to get stuff for the still life set up and came back with the intention of taking 10 photos, but when i went to load my film, i realized i only had 4 pieces. it ended up working out ok because i didn't have enough time to take more than 4 anyway. 

i made it to my printmaking class a little late after shooting those four and worked on my plate a while. i'm being a little "ambitious" with this piece, but i think we decided that's not a bad thing. :-) it will be a lot of work, but i'm up to the challenge. i'm going to work on it some this weekend and try and get ahead on it.

i spent a few hours in the dark room finishing up my prints for the critique tomorrow. i ended up printing the 4 negatives i shot this afternoon, and they all looked good enough. one of the set-ups was a little more contemporary which ended up being my favorite. the prints are a little dark, but i didn't want to spend all night in the dark room, so they'll do for the critique. i'm looking forward to hearing what everyone has to say about them.

time to make some tea and read for a while. i'll work on posting some of my work later this week.

new week, new stuff

we started glazing some of my pots today in ceramics. i am excited to see how they all come out because glazes are so unpredictable.

i also started my 9x12 etching. all i've really done is trace and transfer the drawing onto the plate. i'll start etching on wednesday. i am really excited to work on this piece. 

i am feeling slightly lost at this point in the semester. i don't feel like i've got anything quality to show for one. i also feel all mixed up on where my progress needs to be in a couple of my classes. i need to shoot about 100 more pieces of film in my photo class in the next month and a half, which is a kind daunting idea. it gives me hope at the same time, though, because 100 pieces of film means a 100 more opportunities to make photos i am happy with. and i need to stop skipping my art history class so that i'm not so lost in there! agh..

allll alone

well, i am sitting at home all alone tonite. none of my roomates are home, and i don't even have this slobberface to keep me company-

this is my rylee. she likes to play soccer.

she has very effective puppy dog eyes.

and she likes to sleep, and cuddle, and snore.

ok... apparently i'm missing her or something.. i've actually never had to spend a night without her since i've had her, so it's gonna be a lonely weekend. she took a visit to my parent's house for the weekend to go to the vet and so "grandma and grandpa" could spend some time with her. yes, she's basically treated like my child. i think my mom and dad love her more than me. oh well, that's understandable-just look at her.. 

speaking of dogs, here is what i want a couple years from now-

this is a harlequin great dane. i fell in love when i saw one downtown the other day. 

enough about dogs. (am i bored?)

i am going to make a chai, perhaps watch a movie, and relax on this quiet night. 

it's finally fall break!

i'm so happy to have a break from school. perhaps i will use my time wisely this weekend and get ahead on my work...that's the plan anyway..

i went to the bookstore today and purchased a couple of gems:

Art and Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking

this one i'm hoping will help me to get over myself and start working.

and

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

just heard it was good, and needed a good read.

also,

i was thumbing through a mag and came across this lovely artist:

Stella Im Hultberg

i just fell in love with her stuff today and thought i'd share. cheers.

apathetic

it's been another one of those days for me. i have just felt apathetic and unmotivated. i worked for 3 hours and came home with every intention of taking a few shots for my large format class and then going to class. none of the above happened. instead i went to sleep, and didn't get up until 5:30ish. i need a swift kick in the butt.

i'm supposed to have 9 drawings done by tomorrow at 3, but it's starting to look like i'll just have 9 crappy sketches. ugh. i feel like i've had a lifetime of artist block, and need something big to happen to inspire me. i look at other people's art online and i just feel so inadequate. i aspire to be as good, and really am capable of it, i just can't focus on being so with everything else going on, and that sucks, and it's a lame excuse. i'll just have to keep pushing through this...

random thoughts.

1. i have blue and teal hair.

2. my roomates cheer me up on my blah days by hump-dancing the air and buying junk food.

3. i am slightly fed up with my relief and etching in print, and am really ready to start on my own stuff.

4. i can't wait to see luke, and go out on a date.

5. i went shopping this weekend and got 6 pair of jeans, 3 shirts, a cardigan, 2 necklaces, a hat, and perhaps a few other things.

6. it is fall break this week.

7. there are only 38 more days of class until dead day.

8. i love fall.

rambles

i really need to focus on my artmaking. i feel like my personal creativity suffers because i spend so much time doing other things--like work.  i think i am going to make it a non-debatable issue from here on out to work on at least one or two things for myself at a time. 

jimmie was pretty approving of my photo project direction. i think i finally have something to look forward to with that! 

i'm also pretty excited to start new plates in print. i am not enthusiastic at all about what i have produced thus far, but i guess they were both just learning pieces. 

just rambling...

e.r.

just got home from an evening/morning in the emergency room. amanda has kidney stones, yahoo! on the plus side, i had my sketchbook and doodled a fun little drawing. i'll post that when i have a bit more motivation to do so..

i think i'll go to sleep now, although my 50 lb dog just decided to lay right between my legs when there's a whole half of a bed available to her. sigh..

politics

i am completely an utterly disgusted with, and tired of politics. funny how something so "patriotic" is so divisive. i'm watching the debate right now, and i am just sick of the stupid passive-aggressive remarks between both parties. 

...

i developed a few sheets of film today. they were the first attempt at the still life series. i am actually really happy with them. i'll need to work on the lighting a little bit, but they came out very nice for the first attempt. 

maybe i'm on track for my semester project? i certainly hope so..

overflow

i can't sleep because my mind is racing with thoughts. mostly images and ideas. perhaps if i just share a few things that i am thinking of..

i fell in love with this today:

it is Michelangelo's "The Pieta"

absolutely beautiful..it amazes me the detail, and the realism of the fabric and the physique. i love the serene look on Mary's face as well. just so breathtaking..

and here is what i'm experimenting with for my large format project:

this is by Douglas Mellor.

he has a group of images that are inspired by flemish paintings from the renaissance period. i'm playing around with this concept for my project. i'll post some stuff when i get it done.

that's all for now...i think i can fall asleep now.

huh

busy busy busy.. due before and by next wednesday:

one etching (2) editions

one relief (4) editions

nine drawings for future projects

six regular ceramic bowls, trimmed

three large ceramic bowls, trimmed

ten 4x5 images using the zone system

lots of other negs for printing for next critique

and i have an exam in my photo class..

yay!

i love being an art student! [really]