Spring Break

Spring Break is over and done with.

My plans for Spring break were simple and undemanding. I was to remain on campus, do a bit of homework, photograph my paintings, and get some serious painting and ceramic work done. Of course, it was not to be.

It would seem that no one is allowed to remain on campus during Spring break anymore due to problems last year. Naturally, I did not know this. There was a letter sent out on Monday (four days notice) informing us of such. Unless we're expecting mail no one checks their mail, so I had no idea about this until I overheard someone else talking about in the cafeteria. Even if I had got the letter that would have been only Four. Days. Notice.

So, with no notice whatsoever I had to fine a place to go. Small problem. I got to school in Kansas. I live in California. ARGH. At this late date my friends have already made plans and there was no room in them for me so I spend this afternoon begging Student Life to let me stay. No dice. Instead, I have to have my parents find me a flight back to California by Monday. A very expensive flight, thanks to the short notice. Never, NEVER try to find a flight during Spring break.

Yea verily I am frustrated. A flight was finally hunted down at a ridiculously high cost and I spent a nice few days at home, getting nothing done but a few comics and a bit of reading. Watched a lot of CSI shows. There are so many of those shows.

Oh a brighter note, my mom made me an In Joke T-Shirt. Which really rocks. She put the banner from my In Joke blog for it. Now my friends want some with their characters on them. I'll post the t-shirt designs on The In Joke blog. (theinjoke.blogspot.com)

How I Spent My Fall Break

Fall break was over going on two weeks now, so I thought I'd take a look at that long ago vacation and post some pictures. First off, an example of what I was doing during those blissful four days.

Yes, that is a skull in the middle of my painting project. I set up all my various painterly implements on a table and worked there on and off all break. The skull's name is Yorick, by the way. He's been a great help to me, especially with my current project. Speaking of the Grim Tea Party:

Here's the progress. Truthfully, I've done quite a lot of work since I took this picture. A couple of the pictures (strawberry and green eyes) are entirely different at this point. More pictures will be posted later, promise.

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My next project is probably going to be in the abstract. I decided to do realism for the tea party, since it took me outside my comfort zone and forced me to take a different approach. I was planning to do another series, a continuation of this one, but with time issues, I've decided just to do three abstracts. However, they're inspired by this series, for instance, there'll be one with orange slices and probably one with fruit loops.

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Honestly, no abstracts the whole semester? I'm going through withdrawal.

Fall Break

The break is Fall and Fall is broken. School is out until Monday. Both my roommates have gone home and so I reign supreme within my apartment, free to do . . . everything I usually do just without people watching. Really, I'm already bored.
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Midterms have come and gone with fairly good grades, of which I have no complaints. My graphic design teacher said I needed to be edgier in my artwork, and in Print Making he said I needed to be looser, less precise, as the medium (lino cut) isn't suited for precision. Here's some examples of my work.

I know, flowers, boring. Give me a break, I was sick and creatively stifled. I'm reworking the plates, so expect great things.

I think orange slices are my new thing. I have a few shapes and objects I use a lot, including webbing and paper fans. Orange slices just got added to the list.

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In other news, I had the flu and it hit me real hard. Missed a lot of class, but I caught up with all of it and my absences were excused. All absences due to flu-like symptoms of excused since the swine flu/H1N1 scare is still in effect. Lucky me.

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My previously mentioned project (the painted series, The Grim Tea Party) is progressing very nicely and I should have photos of the works in progress by tomorrow or the day after. I keep forgetting to bring a camera up to the painting classroom.

Long Time No Babble

Hello my loyal Blog Minions! The lapse in posts was caused in part by my life being unnoteworthy and then by the business of packing my unnoteworthy life in hollow cardboard cubes and entrusting them to the You-Pea-Ess. Now I have returned to school and just finished retrieving all the cubes from the mailroom.

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This semester I am in Painting 4. This would be of no particular interest except that I am the only Painting 4 student on campus at this time. The rest are in either Painting 1 or 2. I've been dropped in among the number twos and told to write up a proposal instead of getting assignments.

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Just recently I had discovered the artist Wayne Thiebuad. His is the picture at the beginning of the post. Most of his artwork consists of cakes, pastries and other delicious food items depicted in luscious detail. Since I want to practice my realism and the more technical side of drawing, I found Thiebaud's work the perfect inspiration.

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But how to make it my own?

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What if . . . there was this cookie. Chocolate chip, I think, beautifully rendered. Moist, delicious . . . being held by a horrible monster shadow hand.

Now I'm calling the project "Grim Tea Party". There will be nine to twelve panels, all 8x10 inches, with corresponding images in all of them. The center panel will be a desolate asphalt road with a beautifully set tea table smack in the middle. There will be no color except for some bright lollipops in a vase.

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Pictures of my progress will be posted now and again. I'm looking forward to trying such a different project and doing it all on wood panels instead of canvas for a change.

Procrastination at its Finest

Tomorrow I have to: Turn in my take home Graphic Design History test, go over my Graphic Design Portfolio, do my Literature presentation, and turn in my final painting.

Due to the influences of my History of Graphic Design assignment, I have switched my typeface from Arial, to Verdana. Arial is a cheap ripoff of Helvetica, which is an oft-used typeface, liked for it's comfortable neutrality. Arial made a few minor changes and then marketed it as something completely unlike Helvetica, but you can use in any instance when you need Helvetica! Verdana was created explicitly for legible type on computer monitors. Also, in hope of routing the evil Arial font.

Helvetica: God of Typeface.

Arial: Satan of Typeface.
Verdana: Potential Savior of Typeface.

Is basically how my paper breaks down.

Tonight, when my roommates hear me screaming in my sleep (as I am wont to do) . . . well, I probably won't actually be asleep. Whimper.

Excuse me as I go into a denial tangent. Why the heck doesn't anyone comment on my blog? I have exactly ONE comment and it's from my mother. Happy Mother's Day, by the way, and Happy Birthday. I painted a picture of all of us kids, but you might not like how I did it all in earth tones.

Okay, just took a loonng pause there and did a whole chunk of work on my GD history paper. So, what say you, International, Postmodern, or Contemporary typeface style? I thought so. I'm going to Postmodern, Psychedelic.

I WILL GET THIS DONE. I WILL PREVAIL.

Pray for me.

One Midterm Down

Photography midterm is over.

I feel really unmotivated to write anything else. I think it is because the background music is so ominous.

*Checks iTunes*

As I suspected, from the Passion of the Christ soundtrack,

Flagellation/Dark Choir/Disciples

Wikipedia, here my plea and give me the exact defintion of Flagellation so I may share it with the two people who sometimes read these posts even though they probably already know what it means.

*And Wikipedia doth replied*

Flagellation is the act of whipping (Latin flagellum, "whip") the human body. Typically, whipping is performed on unwilling subjects as a punishment.

Charming. No wonder I'm feeling so absurdly cheerful.

My fellow students and I gathered in the photography lab, hastily finishing up last minute tasks before the teacher arrived to look over our portfolio. Sensing the mood of extreme desperation both printers rose to the occasion and refused to print. The teacher was already closeted in his office critiquing a student’s work and therefore could not fix it for us. There was some wailing and gnashing of teeth.
That was sorted out.
Eventually.
Before anyone harmed themselves.
Much.

Each of us would go into the teacher’s office, one-by-one, and go over our pictures. The teacher assured us that if anyone failed to return after his critique it was not due to foul play. More likely they had left by the other door . . . because they were in tears.
I got through it dry-eyed and was told that my work was not a complete loss (in so many words). So there’s one class that I’m not failing. Yay.