volver

Woke up bright and early. Way too early. Hot shower, mmmm. Rubie made french toast and packed me a little lunch for the train. The train was half an hour late and I was about half an hour early. The wait went fast enough anyway.

I sat next to a nice lady named Naomi. She wants to run her own salon. We chatted a little bit and then I took a nap.

I climbed into a van cab right as a large family emerged and a small cab pulled up. If they were a little earlier than they could have taken the van and I would have gone with the four door. It is a nice, chill and clear day in Portland.

The lock on my door is magically working again! Hurray! There were lots of moldy and generally spoiled items left in the fridge that needed cleaning out. The cleaners had been and so my place smells fresh. It is empty and quiet and relaxing. The mess I left was mostly just surface damage and a few trashbags later, my place is looking almost neat.

I went to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It was long but well paced with clean effects. I think the second half was a little bit overly sad and predictable and lost the excitement the first half did. Some parts I would have liked a little more time with but overall I enjoyed it and left the theatre feeling moved.

The stroll home along the Park blocks was lovely. Called Jim and Jason to see what's up. Went to Safeway to start adding to my food collection.

I'm sleepy and have a long day ahead of me. Well a long morning.

goodbye seabeck, goodbye ice

Sat in bed for a long time this morning. Eventually I had to get up and pack things up. I received a lot of bulky items this year and had very little space to put them. I didn’t have enough arms to be able to carry everything back with me. Mom is sending two boxes worth of Trill Christmas Stuff to Portland. Hopefully I will get a few presents tucked in there as well. I thought I had everything packed and then I noticed the boxes of cookies and a whole wheely box full of extra stuff. Yeesh everyone was really generous this year. And when I get all my stuff it will be like unwrapping it al over again. I packed Super Munchkin because I know Karen is getting back soon so with almost half the crew we can break it in.

Speaking of Karen, she called me and invited me to a New Years gathering but it is at the Needle and I am going to be in Portland then. I was really bummed about it. I probably won’t go out for New Years because I’ll be up at 4am for work the same day. No fun but what choice do I have?

I watched Taken while Nathan drove to Tacoma. The ride is much shorter than I always thought it was. Taken is a movie that is 20 minutes of dialogue and the rest seems to just be Liam Neeson kicking butt. My kind of action movie. Yeah!

Rain rain rain, makes the snow snow snow go away away away.

Rubie cooked a delicious dinner of meaty meat, cheesy vegetables, and breaded chicken with cheese. Mmm! I ate until I was full and ate some more and then ate some more when she provided tasty ice cream for dessert. After the tasty feast we played Blokus. I won! Rubie came in second or Nathan did…uhh I forget. But I won! I won’t reveal my strategy for victory. After that we played Dominion, a game Natey got for Christmas. We stared at the rules for a while without them making sense but then we got to the hand example and we figured it out. After lots of fun turns Rubie won by a substantial margin with yours truly in a decent second and Nate in, well dead last place. Much fun and I would like to play it again. I love playing games and shall be asking for such items if you so desire to buy me a birthday present. Remember my birthday is the 21st of January.

Now it is time to sleep and get up bright and early so that I can catch my train down to P-town.

Fellini or Bellini?

The Contour and Prius escaped the snow! Barely! We have trouble getting up the hill on the first go but in a few more days we should be okay.

After some bacon and apple, Nate took me to my friend Peelers for a wee visit. Sucks depending on a ride from the old folks because then you depend on them and they always tuck into bed early. Only was able to stay till 8:30 and time passed by fast.

We watched Federico Fellini's Amarcord. I always forget I don't like coming of age stories because they never have a real end and are just a segment of a life. Ryu Murakami can do it right but this, well it was good I guess. The first half was really nice but then it just sort of, drifted about. Ma Peeler made spaghetti and tofu meatballs. It was good. We chatted about school and life in general. Watched crappy cable television. I shared my chocolate and cookies.

Ma and pa picked me up in the Prius. I made popcorn and we watched about the first half hour of The Fall before Mom commanded us to sleep.

everyone's a critic (except llyw)

Another round of Christmas cheer. Another round of struggling in and out of our driveway, which has to be the only driveway in the region that is still horrible. Another day of picking up Rubie.

We started off by visiting Grandma in her cozy little home. She has been moved to a home so that people can take proper care of her. It is more like a private residence and it surely isn't an old folks home where no one cares. We sat about and gave her gifts and talked. She keeps moving and moving and moving. Even if we don't have much to talk about, she is still gracious and kind.

The five of us arrived at Pulali after Jeanette & co. There was Jeanette, Liam, Caleb, and Llyw and later Dorothy and Dan came as well.

I got started with my portrait gifts with a picture of Liam. He said he looked like a girl. The eyes were a little disturbing and I fubbed the jaw but people seemed to dig it. I was only able to portrait Liam, Llyw, Celia, Ben, and Averie. I think I was having an off day or something because I was largely unsatisfied with the portraits. People dug them but I could have done better (or been better prepared with my gifts this year).

Brynne, Dan, Averie, and Ben were there. Brynne made heaps of delicious cookies. I received cookies and an awesome cookbook from Brynne, a magnificent cutting board and a cheese slicer from Averie, a sweetie sampler from Jeanette, and Super Munchkin and Meiji from Llyw.

A large group of us struggled with the Munchkin board game rules and eventually gave up when I opened Super Munchkin. We played that instead. Three fourths of the way through, the Stengels went home so Rubie took over for Caleb and Averie took Llyw's spot. We all got to level 9 and it was the Caleb/Rubie character that won outright. Super Munchkin is a fun deck but it has some of the same follies as Munchkin Fu in that it has many ways to make your character powerful and awesome but not so many monsters or ways to block an opponent from winning.

Liam loved his hat (one of the few bought gifts that I had). He ran about. A lot. But he is a wee one, they do that.

The day got dark fast and it seemed really really early when we eventually went home. The house was freezing so I quickly climbed into bed. Dad, Nate, Rubie and I bundled up and watched the first hour of Dark Knight. It was over when mom came out and yelled at us.

getting all the sleep I need for next semester.

I just woke up like 12 hours ago. I'll be up earlier tomorrow as we are doing the Pulali and Grandma Pedersen thing.

Oh and Tuna Clause visited with his Chex Mix helpers. Hurrah!

Didn't get up to much today. Watched tv, watched Nathan play his games, played Blokus and won. I wonder what it is that makes me successful at games like Blokus and Khet but fail elsewhere. Hmm.

I'm glad none of my presents were dependant on UPS because just today did things start getting delivered. What Nate got me is in Tacoma and Mom's purchases have rolled over to being Birthday Presents. Hurray hurray. 25 days till I turn 21.

Merry Wintersmas

Yay! A lovely delightful Christmas was had! I was the last up and downstairs. Nathan was hopping to get to unwrapping. Cinnamon rolls and bacon and Billy Tea were passed out and we tore into that pile. I received some jammie bottoms and a longjohn set (a most awesome gift), the new Neil Gaiman novel from mom (what a great gift and I didn't even ask for it, she got it just be being aware of what I like and what was out), lots of candy and sweets, a fireman Playmobil complete with two hoses AND two different gas masks, some really awesome layered neon Converse AllStars (I'll have to tote them to work to make sure they stay clean enough to be worked in), a foot massager, a handcrafted, custom built, pop up wooden brush holder made by dad, and, also by dad, a wooden bowl of a unique design limited to a series of four in existence. Rock on! Pretty awesome haul, now I just have to find some sort of room for it on the journey to Portland.

My trip back has been taken care of. I am leaving for Portland bright and early Tuesday morning. I'll be back by noon. Monday will be spent with Nathan and Rubie in Tacoma. Most likely playing Wii.

After the unwrapping and assembling of the traditional Christmas Lego, we slowly got our things together and tested the snow and slush once again. On Rubie's driveway two cars were clueless about ice navigation but we got through it all with not a ding. All five of us were crammed into the truck with gifts double wrapped in trash bags for protection against the elements.

In place of the traditional Christmas Meal, there was cheese and meat as far as the eye could see. All kinds for all types of people were present. Mmm! Rubie unwrapped her gifties. We received cash which will be put towards things like, oh I don't know, bike tires probably. Through the day I painted portraits of people. I think the ones I did of Mom and Grandpa turned out the best in terms of likeness but Nate and Rubie look cool in terms of style. Working on my speed. Can't have the season pass me by without any effort to show for it.

Rubie bested us as karaoke (I'm not sure if she was aware that we are dominantly tone deaf). Mom was quiet by on key. I was all over the place and just terrible.

It was a slow, dark crawl back to Seabeck. Dropped Rubie off at her house. Mom and I walked together to the house while Nate and Dad put chains on the truck. My eyes adjusted and everything was a creepy, snowy black and white with only the light of the house calling us on.

I made my highly notable popcorn and watched Mamma Mia! with mamma and poppa. It has a few...delightful moments but it really isn't my type of thing. Just a little too girly and silly.

Now to sleep in. A day of rest and then it is the Pulali Shindig!

escape from seabeck

Ohh, I should not have just watched The Cell. I'll probably have nightmares or at the very least, have a tough time falling asleep. Beautiful movie, just very scary. Tarsem directed it, he also did The Fall.

We got a few more inches of snow but we also had some warmth and so we were able to drive out and get Rubie to her parents. It was slow going in the truck. Dad had chains. Seabeck roads were mostly slush. Not so bad but probably only really navigable by seasoned drivers. Rubie invited us to Karaoke at her place and I got halfway through Aqua's Cartoon Heroes. Her mum prepared us a massive to go box of assorted meats. We hugged and we were off to do some last minute shopping. Groceries, gifties, stocking stuffers, etc. I was wearing wellies so the slush was no problem. Nathan hopped around in his trainers.

Nathan won at Monopoly. He got the largest property earliest on in the game. I was too nice on him and should have asked for more. Very fun.

I called into work and my Sunday shift was cancelled but I am for sure working markdowns on Wednesday so yeah, I'll be going back to Portland on Tuesday.

stars and shells

Nathan and I played Mario Kart with sleds and snowballs. We went down the hill in sleds at the same time and raced each other and ran into one another and all that. Often we rolled over when we tried to hurl snowballs at each other. Lots of fun. Lots of falling into the ditch. We rolled up some massive snowballs. Nathan got trapped under one and I rushed to take pictures of it. He got out. We made a snow Nessie. My head was not to scale to Nathan's body and tail. We are scheduled to get more snow tomorrow. I think Rubie is going to try and escape from us.

We watched Big Trouble tonight. I made popcorn, another speciality of mine. It took slower on this stove due to the inconsistent heat.

Nate, Dad, Rubie, and Mom played Skip-Bo. I watched. Dad won.

I got my Brain Age down to 24. It is very fun. I wish there were more games to play, just have to unlock more I guess. I'm slowly getting better at it all. I brought Moms Brain Age up by accident. Mmm.

Right now, Nathan, Rubie and I are watching The Fall. We have it synced up on both our laptops. Great great movie.

The word is out and seems like people are being able to escape Portland. I still need to call work and sort it out.

I think we did more today but I can't remember.

teateateateateateateateateatea

Nathan is so farty. And he can totally control it! Gross!

More frolicking in the snow. We made a killer sledding run on both sides of the drive way. When ever mom went down, Holly ran after her. I wiped out and continued to roll down the ground. After all the spinning, it took about a minute to get my bearings back. We moved to try the main hill out for sledding. Someone had driven down it so there were tracks already in place for us. There was a lot of speed and wiping out. One ride down the hill cracked the sled I was on. We really need new sleds, it HAS been about a decade with these ones.

Mom made waffles. MMmm.

Once the sun set, we started playing board games. I had some tea and got really really hyper. We played Chinese Checkers (I won!), Pictionary (mom and I won!), a few rounds of Spoons (dad didn't win), and the game of Life (Rubie and Mom were really close but Mom won!).

It is so nice to just...relax and frolic.

My work schedule came in. They want me to work for three hours on the 28th. Yeah, I'm going to call them and try and sort that out. I don't want to come down just for a shift to earn a measly 25 bucks. They don't have me working at all for the rest of the week either. Sure I want to make a good impression so that they'll keep me around but considering how little work I'm being given for the time they ask of me...argh yeah.

three computers later

Listening to the Kaiser Chiefs. Awesome group, yeah yeah.

Well, we are officially snowed in. 10 inches in the morning and about 13-15 now. The forecast says snow snow snow.

Nathan, Rubie, and I played in the snow. We sledded and threw snowballs. We tried to start a snowman but it was just too fluffy and Mom called us in for breakfast anyway so we dropped that project. Nathan made a Nutella, JetPuff, Banana, and Jelly sandwich. Uhhg. I had bacon with no maple bar attached.

Mom, Rubie, and I played shrinky dinks. I made a little necklace and another piece for my final for Science Friction. Mom made some nice renditions of covers from magazines. Rubie drew some lovely flowers and whatnot. I drew a portrait of Rubie and Nathan. The one of Rubie was much nicer.

Then I scanned my shrinky dink final.
Then I emailed it to my account to try and make a .pdf of it.
Then I went on moms computer to make a .pdf.
Then I went on dads computer to make a .pdf.
Then I made a .pdf.
Then I emailed it to myself and uploaded it to Homeroom on my computer.
Turned in with 20 minutes to spare!

We frolicked in the snow some more. All of us went to see if someone dared to deliver the newspaper. Holly tagged along, stumbling through the very deep snow. I played Snow Zombies and attacked Nathan and he threw me into a drift. I charged him again and tackled him into the snow. All the while I was going, "GGRRRAARRRHHH!!!". Lots of fun and I very much enjoyed getting into dry jeans after that.

We watched Waterhorse. A charming, if stereotypical, kid's movie about Nessie. Nice effects and some lovely shots of the Loch.

I don't think I have enough shrinky dinks to last this snow pile.

Shrinky Dink Future

In the panic of finals, I had a dream. I was transported into the future via a crashed Max. I may have been on the way to work when my commute became time travel. As I emerged I saw Portland in a new state. The Iron Bridge was up to its metaphorical knees in water and plants consumed it. All land was gone save for bountiful rice fields. Buildings pierced these fields and were connected by a complicated system of suspended light rail trains. The rest of it all was water which met the sky in a gray, indiscernible oblivion. The buildings were filled with large lofts and wide staircases and everyone was quite mellow













Pen on Shrinky Dinks. All smaller than 3 1/2"x2". Very tiny.

Love to Kristen and Kris

Nathan was waiting for a package containing a gift for me, sadly it did not arrive by the time we absolutely had to leave at. We ate this egg thingy for breakfast and set out on the road. The time flew for me because I was watching Iron Man on my laptop. Yeah! Iron Man!

The closer we got to Kitsap, the thicker the snow became and the more likely it was that I couldn't make the wedding, which was pushed up to today to accommodate the projected heavy snowfall. We picked up Rubie, and hauled it out to Seabeck to avoid the roads getting too terrible.

Mom was making gingerbread cookies and we gobbled them up with hasty decorations. It was quick to settle in to old times with a fire going and fat animals darting about. I'm resting in my cozy bed. The walls are now an orange color and mom set up lots of my art and knick knacks about the place. It looks so...guest bedroomy.



All my love and fondest wishes go out to Kristen and Kris. Happy wedding and I hope you have a lovely life together! I so wish that I could have made it and shared this day with you.

the return, part two: more returning!

Things I forgot to mention from yesterday:

When Karen and I returned from the puppet show, we saw in the parking garage the same truck that smashed the cars. We took down its information and talked to the front desk if it had been reported. She said there was a report but I don’t trust the front desk so I called the police anyway to see if there was a report in progress. It turns out that there was a report but on a totally different car! The red car had moved so that couldn’t be included but if it gets reported than there is at least one case to tie it to. Hurray. And all that jerk had to do was leave a note.

I burned my fingers on a metal spatula that I was unaware of it having conducted heat from the stove. I picked it up and dropped it in surprise and picked it up a second time, figuring that the pain had been mostly shock and that it wasn’t so hot, but nope. It was hot. I’m burned on both pointer fingers and thumbs as well as a part of my hand. It sucks but it is doing fine. In a day or so it will be ripe for picking.

Today:

MORE SNOW! It snows and then it melts and then it snows and then it melts and then it snows again. Make up your mind Portland! I got everything packed and headed out with more than enough time to get to school. My shoulders were aching and I was over heated when I arrived at school. And it was snowing again. I dropped off everything in the Illustration room and went to photocopy my sketches. Chatted with Jim a little. We will probably see how bad The Spirit really is when I get back from town (provided I don’t see it with Chris first of course).

The first chunk of Illustration was devoted to this lady from the Rose Parade Council coming in and telling us about the history of the floats and what not. She just loved our ideas. She was also a little off her rocker with caffeine as she works on the 9-1-1 line and was just coming off a 6pm-9am shift. She loved them and Chad said we all got A’s. Yay! Bekka won the grand prize for idea (hers had LCDs, a carousel, a moving sculpture, lights, and an umbrella), Dominic got second and Robin got the prize for quirkyness. The prizes, in order, were $50 at Powells and $50 at some eatery, $50 at Powell’s, and $25 at Powell’s. I would have liked to have won but oh well. The winners were fantastic. Robin had a human pyramid sculpture, Dominic was the bridging of Aliens and Lumberjacks. It would be nice if some of ours get picked.

Chad brought in VooDoo Doughnuts for the class. Some of them were Maple Bars with BACON ON THEM! It was too much delicious for me and it made me a little ill. There were fruit loop doughnuts, Cap’n Crunch, and some other insane ones.

With that for breakfast, I just had to get a good salad and a smoothie for lunch. Have to balance all that crap out. Mmmn.

The rest of class was spent figuring out the winners and deciding on prizes. Madeline helped carry some of my portfolio to the other building. Luggage, backpack, portfolio, and purse. Uhg, so heavy and cumbersome but worth it. Once I start making comics, I’ll just be able to tote those around instead of the pieces.

This has been a really hard semester. A lot of work and stress was demanded of me and I don’t know how much I conveyed that in my daily writings. It was a lot. It has hit me, this is college. This is the challenge. Yeaah! And now I get a break.

I’m typing this up while sitting in the commons at school but I’m thinking about writing it as past tense from the future tonight when I normally blog.

Sat with Charlie and chatted for a little bit. I showed him the drawing I did of his wife during his thesis proposal and the one of him, of course. Ohh, I need to put the images I scanned from the school computers onto my thumbdrive.

Well that is done now. With plenty of time to spare I decided to embark on the half loop to the train station. It should be a straight shot from the school but the Post Office Headquarter Place is right in the way of it all. Normally I walk to Glisan and go down that to get to Union Station. This time I tried out the method of walking down Lovejoy. Sort of a mistake. It may have been a block shorter but it included going up the sidewalk that was on the route to go onto the Broadway Bridge.

Heather was in front of me at the ticket pickup. When I checked my bags, the man said that my train is actually a bus! Argh, the train is so comfy and the bus isn’t. And the bus may not have food and I’m hungry now. A granola bar can’t get me through 5 hours of sitting and commuting. Boo!! The people at the Greyhound station informed me that Amtrak has its own buses so thankfully I won’t have the Greyhound passengers to deal with. No apple being spat on me this time. The food kiosk at the station is closed so right now I am thinking about how to get some food before 6:15. I don’t think there is any fast food around here. Hmmn.

Didn’t get any food. A long announcement about cancellations and delays indicated that we had to line up for buses now. There is a group of us on express to Tacoma and a packed train of Seattles just left. So I think it will just be on way no stops or whatever. Woah. It is snowing again. Here’s hoping all will go well eh. I’ve been reading Deadpool in preparation for the Wolverine movie.

I sat next to a very nice man named Jason. We chatted about the iconic relationship a viewer has with the stick figure. He asked for my number after all of our chatting. Did I give it to him? Find out next time on Days of Trillians Life.

Tacoma has snow but the roads didn’t seem too bad, still mom told us to stay here for the night. Played Left 4 Dead (zombie game) on Nate’s comp. We ate breaded chicken and potstickers for dinner. Played some Wii. Now to sleep and hopefully get to Seabeck in the afternoon. Snow is scheduled for Sunday. I really, really hope that it doesn’t snow. I want to go to Kristen’s wedding.

dry ice for the puppets

Science Friction has been called off so I get to sleep in! Yay!

Karen drove me to school for the Puppet Show final. They were still setting up so we went to get dry ice from Fred Meyers. As we exited, huge fat snow flakes fell from the sky. Juicy ones and they were sticking! Karen got stuck in a pot hole and I got out to push (imagine that, me trying to PUSH a CAR hahah). A bum came to help and then two other Portland dudes came to help as well. All four of us made a mighty pair and pushed that sucker out of the ditch.

The puppet show was a little timid but there were some awesome highlights. There was a well constructed muppet. Morgan's audio baby from Babylon was surreal and disturbing. The head pivoted open using a pair of scissors and he cut open the dolls head and stuck in some vampire fangs. So when he talked, he moved open the head and amplified the sound of his voice. It was a wonderful performance. Very disturbing. My play was a little mumbled and lack luster. Oh well, I should have picked better? Eh, it was what it was. Morgan bought us doughnuts.

Karen drove us home after class. The snow was turning to snow. I worked on my Illustration final. I watched the latest Pushing Daisies episode. I packed. I tidied up. Everything is coming together.

The painting critique was fairly painless. Yeah I get it, my handwriting is illegible. Otherwise, it went down well. Nothing was extremely like WOW but there was some nice technique. It was clear that this was not anyones main focus. After that, Farel gave us all individual critiques and he decided to go in reverse alphabet and I went first! He said I have great potential and inspire other people. I need to slow down and really study what I am doing so that it doesn't get sloppy. It was nice. He was reading off of a sheet and seemed really sheepish when he was reciting. So that is done.

Only one final to endure and then I go home.

Finished my final. Packed. Tidied. Hung out with Karen and Adam for a bit. Now to sleeeeeeeeeeep!! See you guys soon!

The Importance of Being Earnest Cast

The Paperdoll Puppets for my performance of a scene from The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (for my Figure Drawing final).

The cast in their clothes:

The detachable clothes for the cast:

Starring:
Atlas Mason as John Worthing

Geraldine Geraldine as Lady Bracknell

Happy Green as Gwendolen Fairfax

and Shepard Yes as Algernon Moncrieff


All together now!

I'm ready for my close up.


Each paper doll is roughly 15" tall. They bodies are painted with watercolor, the clothes with gouache. I was going to sing the part I was going to perform. Yeah...

eye witness

I woke up to the sound of screeching tires. A truck was being driven by a moron. He was trying to get it up a hill freshly covered with snow and with no prior tracks to indicate that someone had made it up before him. He screeched and screeched and barely scooted. The ice won and his car reeled back and side swiped two cars. It took out both of the smaller cars mirrors and he dented and scraped the sides majorly. I went to check it out after the truck vanished. He didn't leave a note, I should have gotten his plate number or something, so I could leave a note with the busted car owners. Poor people, they are going to come out and their nice looking automobiles will be hit and runned.

Finished the costume for my last puppet. Need to practice the play a little more.

Did another couple shrinky dinks for my SciFri final.

Need to start in on Illustration work now. I hate how near the end they suddenly demand a digital copy of your work. They should be in practice to have us digitally document our work as part of the turn in process, that way it isn't so hard to just put it on a disk instead of getting it all together when we are busy enough.

I promised some food to be made for class but with the snow and cold in full force, I couldn't leave to get supplies. Oh well, people will just have to be disappointed I guess.

I had a headache and a stomach ache.

a cold wind blows, a pink hat moves

I was going to walk to school with Karen but she decided to sleep in due to reasons of it being too cold. I put on leggings, jeans, socks, boots, long shirt, button up shirt, sweater, jacket, gloves, the bigger gloves, scarf, hat, and finally my coat and off I went with my backpack, tube, and purse. It trudged along 14th, keeping pace with a song and didn't fall at all! I only slid a little.

Figure drawing was on! 8am classes were not cancelled! Hurrah! Due to the small numbers, Morgan treated us to hot chocolate! We drew Anna. I gave her my last drawing of the class (she said she wanted samples of what people have drawn of her). It was a nice little end to the class. Our thought web ended with the idea of Bettie Page as a patron saint of smiling and doing it all in fun. Hmm.

History of Design was a few thesis re-presentations out of nowhere. After lunch we put up our pieces and looked at them for a little bit but none of us really talked about them. It was weird, all that work and no discussion or explanation at all. What? What sort of final was that...

Lunch was hectic. I was frazzled and running about trying to get a big photocopy of my piece for History of Design(thinking she wanted a copy of our work but she didn't) and then got some food from Safeway and had to run about trying to find a fork (Yo gave me one, he rocks). The microwave was taken and I was late returning to class. I don't know how I got so worked up but I did.

Lounged about. In painting class, I finished my final. It is muted and a little easy looking but none the less good. It was a fun, good group. I'll miss them.

The weather is fore casted to be bad and some of the finals may be cancelled. In that event, I would post my work online for the class to see. So the puppet show and science friction may be a no go. I hope not though, I worked hard and had a lot of stress over those pieces. I don't want it to be just some Internet blip.

Took the streetcar home. Cold! No work tomorrow, I get to sleep in. Nice!

Grandpa John

Grandpa.

Ink. Gouache.

my stomach hurts

Another ghastly markdown shift.

At 6:15 am I tumbled out into the weather. I slipped and shuffled along the ice which lay just under the stark white snow. I had neither hat or gloves and the windchill temperature was 5 degrees fahrenheight. The Max was there as I shuffled and I was prepared to wait for another as it scooted away in my narrow miss of it, BUT the nice man behind the controls smiled and waved me aboard. Thank you kind sir! Best wishes to you. My fingers had only begun to unravel when it was time to get off and the trek to the Lloyd was hellish. The parking lot I cross to get to the West Entrance was a barren wasteland of ice and wind. My fingers burned that icy pain and my hooded jacket wouldn't stay up. The feeling took so long to regain, I was so thankful that the mall was open (I'm afraid that one morning the door will be locked).

It took me a little while to warm up but we got right to markdowns once it hit 7am. We did it off the sheets and I thought I was doing well but still, not fast enough. The store simply cannot be done all over by 11am, that's crazy! I was only able to get to the mass of velour when my shift ended at 2:30pm. Paula bought the morning crew hot drinks from Starbucks (I had a tall caramel steamer, like always). During my break, I went to get some tights to go with the dress I am wearing for Kristen's wedding. Picked up some super sale socks as well, some fancy snug gloves that are not fo the worker variety, and a present for someone someone. There were not many customers untill afternoon. Probably due to everything being covered with ice.

Thankfully it was not quite so cold on my return but it still left me pained.

Finished three of the four costumes for my puppet final. Hurrah! One left and to practice the play some more and print it out.

I did an illustration of Grandpa tonight. I never noticed but we sort of have the same eyes...

shinky drinks

Egads! I've lost my keys! I had them in my hand when the door lock was jammed and somewhere between then and Cece letting me in, they vanished. I need those!

It snowed! Snowy pretty snow. Jen messaged me, demanding we meet and frolic and enjoy hot chocolate. I can't resist her so we met at Pioneer Place. I walked there and on the way I stopped in at Bike Gallery to check the prices on tubes and tires (ouch). The guy was very helpful. It isn't even ice yet and all of Portland is at 5 miles per hour.

I arrived before Jen. She had her hair cut in the most adorable way. It is all short and demure. We had some warm food and ventured into the cold. It was below freezing but only our legs were really numb. I showed her the shrinky dinks that I have been making and I managed to pick up on her hints (after she told me) to hang out at my place and make some more! We grabbed a cozy max to the Goose.

Most of Portland closed at 4pm today.

A loud knock on my door presented me with a gift! From Karen! It was a Playmobil! A pirate with bows in his beard and lots of cool swords and stuff! Totally wicked! The three of us gathered around my table and made shrinky dinks. I used the scraps to copy images out of magazines. I know some some Malkovich shards that rock. Jen made a beautiful pendant and an image of a lady from my magazine look book. Karen made some little detailed people.

I had the most wonderful dream. I was on the Max and it crashed into the future and I was walking about. The images were so awesome that I am going to make them into my final for Science Friction and I am using the medium of, you guessed it, SHRINKY DINKS! I LOVE THESE THINGS!! I have two images done already and I'll just do as many as I can because they are really fun and end up as great little images.

Due to snow, some of school is cancelled tomorrow. That doesn't affect me unless Tuesday is missing classes as well. I'll be getting the tires and tubes after I return from Washington.

So I'm on track for finals again.

Hung out with Karen and Robin a little tonight. Lots of chilling, maybe a little too much but don't worry about me. I'll get it done.

dang

The idea I started with for Science Friction had a comment from the teacher as being too broad. So, crap, I'm back to square one. Or maybe square two. I don't know. I really don't know.

Knocked off a huge chunk of my painting final and finished another puppet. Practiced the play. Tomorrows goal is costumes and some part of the SciFri thing.

The tube on my back tire popped. I think it was overinflated. Good thing I wasn't riding on it when it went. Now I have to get new tires. There goes my paycheck. Well, at least I have a paycheck.

I thought I worked through much of the day but it doesn't seem like I did a thing.

one mans trash is a trillian's treasure

Duuuudes and duuuudettes, I found a most awesome thing in the trash room! A stop sign! And it is attached to some wood. It is like a stop sign from a swinging gate or something. I guess a person didn't want it when they were moving out so it is mine now. I made an effort to take it to Karen's to make a grand entrance with it. It is more cumbersome than heavy. Hurray!

Science Friction dealt with what defines scifi, if the art is bad or just dated, and some other stuff. Nicole lead the class for a little bit. We didn't get too deep into the story but regarded it more as a vertex between many different mediums. We got out early because we had to do a teacher evaluation. I said that Trevor is awesome and that was that.

Illustration was great for the first part and sucky for the second. My Madoka Kinoshita forgery went down really well (some said it was the best executed forgery and that they thought it was just another book on the artist and not my piece next to a sample). I remembered to bring Madeline's artist book but forgot the Illustration Now book that Alex referenced. Alex couldn't find an example of his artist because he neglected to write down the exact name of the person (Tavish). The class has really dropped in numbers. Oh well. Marilyn's forgery was very smooth and sweet but still had her humor, Dominic used some lovely flipside blending, Madeline's Hajime Yoshio was neat and tidy, and April's Banksy was a Llama. The only one Chad didn't deem successful was Josh's but we all jumped it an he changed his opinion.

Our assignment was to do a sorta conceptual Illustration based on an excerpt from something overheard. I didn't quite get it (should have read it closer I guess)and did a portrait of Jon while he was eating lunch and talking about his housemates. I tried something new and some new textures and stuff but it wasn't quite right. It looks good but not..quite there. Some of the Illustrations produced were really beautiful and experimental.

One week left.

The rain was quite torrential.

Ate spaghetti and considered my work. I have Saturday and Sunday off so I shall be cranking this out! Yeah!

Diana showed us (Karen and I)her fashion puppet robot. It is awesome.

Phil, Robin, Karen, Diana, Phil's friend Chris, and I all made Shrinky Dinks! You draw on this plastic stuff and you put it in the oven and it shrinks and it becomes hard and solid and the image that you made goes really small. It is good for things like earrings or pendants. We were experimenting. I should consider a shrinky dink comic. Yeah!

While Phil won Munchkin, we were all at level 9 so it was close. With my bonuses, I was at an impressive 32 or something. I had boots and leggings and a shiny cheese grater and an angry wizard hireling, and all this other stuff. I made a good play of keeping other people from winning for a while but in the end, Phil won.

Chris had one of those laptops that you can draw and click straight on the screen. I drew in a program. It was super fun.

stressing out (like everyone else)

ARHHHHHGGGG!!!!!!

I was almost done with my forgery piece for Illustration when I smudged the gouache on the eye and then in trying to clean that up, I smudged the whole thing and pretty much had to go over everything again. The sweater was repainted, the shirt had to be made white again, the hair color and background was changed, and I had to do the black lines all over again. It was an exhaustive, frustrating process. It really killed me when it was smudged. I hate how it looks now. It's so textured and muddy. It lost the softness that it originally had. It's done enough but I really wish it was how it looked before I screwed it up. It all came out with this piece. I just...argh.

Adam knocked on my door to chill while Karen showed up. I texted her that he was here and she called and I went into the other room while they "sorted out" the meeting mix up. They were here while I screwed up my piece and were very nice about the breakdown I had.

Figure drawing was one long tonal pose. Mine looked like a hairball. I don't like this tonal stuff. I feel like I didn't have enough time to apply what I was told during midterm.

I worked on inking my comic during the break. Karen, Diana and I went to Safeway and I had an onion ring/jo jo/macaroni and cheese early lunch. Nicely priced and very filling. I took a nap during the last hour of my break. Farel was out sick so once I finished the inking, I went home.

While watching Land of the Dead and Idiocracy I finished the inking and started on a new forgery. The Kent Williams one was too much like my own style so I embarked on a Madoka Kinoshita. I put down the colors and layered thick, gouache black lines over it. That was my undoing.

Started watching Revolver. It is weird but I kinda dig it. Mark Strong is on my awesome actor list now.

I'm ready for this semester to be over.

Sketchbook: My Panini and a Man

Pages from my sketchbook.

Ink.

My 24 Hour Comic

I just Googled myself and found that someone had scanned and uploaded my comic from the 2008 24 Hour Comics Challenge to a collection (I gave permission for this). So if you are interested, here is the link to the site:
http://www.webcomicsnation.com/pncace/kencohen/series.php?view=archive&chapter=33816&mpe=1&step=1

This was drawn in seventeen hours and fifty three minutes.

8 1/2"x11". Ink on Bristol.

if you bought more, I wouldn't have to mark it down

I had an epic markdown shift today. Did the sheets for a while. Some pants were so NOT herringbone but the sheet said they were. That took too long so we started just beeping everything. We had about 4500 units to mark down. It is the first wave of trying to reduce the Winter stuff for Spring. There were huge piles of polos and sandwiched in sweaters to mark down. Even with three other people working, it still took till 1:30pm to finish. Well, when I took lunch, some people left. I had to do most of the backroom by myself. Piles and piles. Lots of up and down and up and down. Super strain on my knees because Paula doesn't like seeing people sit while working. Even with all the hard work (Gloria kept encouraging me to work with more immediacy, I was trying my hardest to be immediate!) there were still mutters of it taking too long. THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF THINGS TO MARK DOWN PEOPLE!! It takes time. And there was a complaint about the state of the store after the mark downs. Well you can either have the job done close to the time you ask for and have it be messy after or have it be neat and take twice as long.

Still, lots of hours are good. And I got my paycheck. It was more than I expected but still less than I wanted and my next is going to be smaller. Still, any money is my very hard earned money. There is a Key Bank a block from the Lloyd so I promptly deposited it.

I requested to have the 19th to the 28th off from work. There is the possibility of me going back to Portland on the 28th if they schedule me for the 29th so if you want some Trilly Time, you have to jump on it.

I just didn't have the heart to draw much today. Worked a little on a fourth puppet (three just would make the play too hectic). But I have a lot of time tomorrow between class and my comic isn't that complex. This weekend will be INTENSE to get it finished (but its a three day weekend, hurrah!). Not as on top of it as last year I think.

Oh, got a kazoo for the puppet show as Morgan wants a band for it.

Yoga went by so quickly. I managed to get my palms on the floor! It was a small group but I felt really good after. Kody and I chatted a little bit. He is a cool dude now that I am used to him. Well, used to is a poor phrasing. More like "friends with".


I don't know if I mentioned it but last Friday, Chad handed out a fake assignment to us to try and prank us. It was to do a classical illustration to this hard rock song. It seemed like something he would assign (in line with his humor I mean) so we were very deceived. He's a fun guy.

farewell

My Grandpa passed away this morning. Last holiday he went through my portfolio and marveled at the figure work I was doing. He, with the rest of the family, always encouraged me to apply myself to my art.


More tonal work in figure drawing. Long break. I'm not so keen on this work but it is giving me a better sense of building up the figure. History of Design was spent looking at the websites of Portland based design companies. Some cool videos were watched:


We got out early. Karen, Jim and I looked at more more the Bent Studios videos. Maybe I should get an internship with one of these companies?

Painting was spent sketching out my comic pages. Shouldn't be too difficult to finish. The size is just hard to work with outside of having a desk to do it on, ya know? Jen put on Amelie and we thoroughly enjoyed it. A lovely soundtrack now that I know the tone and scenes on that movie from heart.

Got some apples and bananas from Trader Joes. I wanted to get more healthy stuff but my mind drew a blank. This cute employee chatted me up a little bit. Joked about putting my groceries in my art tube and then asked what it was for. When I said it was a piece for art school he said he went to California College of Arts (before the dropped the ...and Crafts). It was a nice little moment. Then he held up a little cardboard mask and ninja'd away. Tee hee. Had a little chat with the person who rang me up about how my bike wasn't stolen last time I was here when I forgot to lock it. I've had him bag my groceries before, a nice old chap. I really like Trader Joe's as a whole. Great deals on sweeties as always.

Called mom when I got home.

Now I am going to go to bed. Well, have some tea and read a book and then doze off. I have a morning shift again. Hurray.

Wilde at Heart (oh that was a bad pun)

The audio only version of the Importance of Being Earnest was so witty that it put me right to sleep. I had to take a nap 10 minutes into Act II. It also probably wasn't the best idea to listen to it all snuggled up in bed with the handmade doll that Karen made me. She's a witch, she put some sleepy stuff in that doll.

For the majority of the day I just sat around being loathsome because of how little I was accomplishing despite having lots of ideas. Eventually I managed to rattle off two fairly simple paintings for SciFri (there will be at least 5). They are okay. Probably will look better when put side by side.

I really need to go shopping for vegetables. It has been nonstop carbs. Mmm pasta then udon then rice with juice and tea in between.

Also finally settled on my painting final. Going away from all the fun stuff and doing a little comic about how when we do something zany we say, "what was that?" and that is the cue to repeat the motion or noise.

Watched a lot of Nevermind the Buzzcocks. Thankfully with having seen all that appears to be on Youtube, I am out and will have to find a new British Panel show to occupy myself with. Maybe 8 out of 10 Cats.

Today, yeah, not as productive as I would have liked but now I know my course for all my finals so it is time to set sail on it.

well that was redundant

Got another doll finished! Now the plan with them is to perform a scene from The Importance of Being Earnest where my three puppets will change costume to indicate a change in character. Thanks to Llyw for the play suggestion. So now I just need to figure out what scene and make the outfits and then that is done! So much more fun than that 3D thing. Whee!! Is there a career in articulated dolls? I hope so, they are fun.

Jen and I had an afternoon outing. I took the max to meet her at Pioneer Place. The rain was rainy but I had the double protection of a hoodie under another hoodie. We really wanted cheese steak but the place was closed so we opted for Chipotle and had burritos instead. I had steak with goodness added in. It took some deep breathing but I finished it. Not quite the monster burrito from Ole Ole or Cha Cha Cha but still quite good.

We danced between the option of seeing the 3:00 Boy in the Striped Pajamas or going to the theatre to see if Milk is playing soon. Holocaust coming of age story or a biopic of an assassinated political figure. Which is slightly less depressing? Milk was playing at 1:45 and we saw it. At first I didn't think I was getting into it but I really got into it. The performances were across the board phenomenal. Sean Penn was very endearing. I think I maybe would have liked a little more development of his relationship with Scott but their subtle interactions got it all across yeah. Very sad. Even though you know it is coming...

We hugged goodbye and I loafed around at home for a horrible amount of time. I did get something done but really not enough. BUT there is always tomorrow to get something done that would be enough. Perhaps start the painting we will be working on in class on Tuesday. EGADS TWO WEEKS LEFT IN THE SEMESTER! FREAK OUT!

Rewatching Delicatessen tonight. Just a perfect movie.

production and not

Karen and I checked out Button Emporium and Josephine's. She is looking for buttons to complete these dolls she has been making (and her final for Morgan's class). The Button Emporium did not disappoint. They know what they are doing. Walls of buttons! Every type imaginable except the specific perfect kind.

It was a sunny day. Not so bad. I had a hard time getting motivated to start. I work so much better when it is night.

Robin rain checked on the slumber party at her house. Maybe I could have gotten more done if I wasn't loafing at home. Then again I did complete TWO doll bases and an outfit for one of them. That is pretty awesome I think. I was going to go to sleep after I sketched the guy but I was on a roll and just continued straight through with it. If I do a third, she will have yellow underwear and be a blond.

My skin is so bad right now. Argh.

Chatted a little bit with mum today.

I'm having such a hard time deciding which pieces to do for painting and SciFri. I have ideas but no compositions. I have all day Sunday and Monday.

Well Sunday afternoon, Jen and I are getting together for another girly date of sorts. Going to see Milk and eat cheese steak after. Funfun!

Watched Thin Red Line today. Long, very exhausting movie. I think I would be more saddened by it if I wasn't multitasking while watching it. Every time I got psyched about an actor in the movie he died. But that is to be expected from any war movie.

Articulated Puppets: Two of Them!!

Two articulated doll bases and dress. The dress is based after a 1958-1959 Maggy Rouff French New Wave design. These dolls need names, any suggestions?

15". Watercolor.

Articulated Paper Doll Puppet

The first puppet base. She will have clothes.

15" high. Watercolor.

ode to things slimy

Science Friction just barely scratched the surface of Watchmen. I said that we all own it, not just DC or Moore. I brought oatmeal and ate it. The school has a hot water dispenser so hurrah for mush!

In Illustration we talked about what thesis we saw and our ideas for our future. I talked a lot, maybe because I was tired and didn't have a censor. We broke for lunch early and Robin and I got some Yo's. We lounged in the library. Katie and I exchanged quick hellos.

Carson Ellis came into class to talk to us and show her work. She is really cool and super skilled and all famous and well known. Hurrah! Also very much red headed. Our assignment was to draw a forgery. It isn't due till next class so I might redo it. I tried to forge Kent Williams but we had to do it in something opposite our style so I might redo it. Oh I just said that. Err yea. I also sketched, inked, and lightly colored a drawing of Dominic and Sivonna sitting next to each other. They both really dug it so I photocopied it for them. I'm pleased with it as well, they both have great hair to draw.

I left a little early and rushed home to catch the office before it closed. I got my packaged at like, 4:58. Yeah for teeshirts! They look great and fit me perfectly. I'm wearing my Octadecapus teeshirt now.

Did my laundry. The towels didn't fit and I did them by hand. They are going to take forever to dry.

Did some quick little articulated figures to give to the Munchkin crew. Also handed out a stack of comics to Adam and Phil. They all loved my little moving images of them. Robin had a rotating tea arm, Adam had an arm to put around Karen, Karen had two arms, Phil had a high-fiving arm, Diana had a hand holding arm, and I also had a hand holding arm. Everyone was all "awww that's so sweet!" and I got hugs.

Diana won Munchkin via the Divine Intervention card which gave her a winnable level. I had a pretty awesome character which included, but was not limited to, a fire breathing, farting, flying war horse and a divine stepladder. I drew out characters and then drew Robin smoking and looking sultry.

I have the snuffles. I think I caught a chill last night from not having a proper amount of pajamas on.

Tomorrow I am going with Robin to house sit and work work work! I'll be away from the distractions of my apartment so that should be good. Also there is a button quest at noon with Karen. Hurray!

dilly of a day

Ahk, what a day.

Figure drawing was a focus on more tonal buildup. Lots of long poses. Whatever.

Inked in some of my sketchbook. Looks great even though one page smudged onto the opposite drawing. Still is acceptable. Scanned those in. Checked email.

Ate at Hot Lips. Sketched another picture. My method makes it really a simple thing to produce work. Read Watchmen.

I broke down a little before painting and Jen and Bryan were both very sweet. I have great friends. Got it together in time for class and Farel brought in another buddy to show off: Jesse Reklaw! He showed us his technique and we all joked about. It was nice. Farel assigned us our final (with two weeks left in the semester).

Karen stopped by to give me some brads for my puppet.

Earlier in the day we (Karen and I) purchased some items from the Holiday Art Sale. I have a budget and I have not gone over it! I got a comic bundle from BT, a print that I really wanted from Anthony Roberto for cheapsies (hurrah!!), a print of Darya's, and a present for a someone someone. People priced a little high this year and there isn't as much really interesting work. Still, it is cool to see everyone come together.

I spent hours working on my sketchbook before noting the due date is the 19th. What the hell? Argh. So I had to stay up even later than I had to to finish my homework that is actually due. But I got it.

Cecine is leaving after this semester. My new roommate is named Katie. She has a cat. She is in my Science Friction class, is an intermedia major, and seems like a cool Caterpillar.

Maddison and Charlie

Pages from my sketchbook. Inked Maddison from his thesis proposal and a sketched Charie.

Ink.

brads and lines

I thought friends were nice and let you sleep in but noooo they schedule group breakfasts at 9:30am and make fancy foods when you bring juice.

Robin, Diana, Adam, Karen, Phil, Andrew, and I all grouped together for a morning feast. There was spicy hash browns (which were too much for me), scrambled eggs with too many unidentifiable bits in it, french toast, store bought juice, blueberry pancakes, and apple spread. I was teased for being a picky eater. I'm not picky, I'm bland and with a sensitive tongue! I kept nagging at Adam to read Watchmen in the proper order instead of jumping into the interesting bits.

After the food we decided to play a non-Munchkin card game. No amount of suggesting and pouting could get people to play Spoons so we played Karen's Insane Card Game. Which was Uno with a couple twists. It was fun but it ended really quick once everyone decided we needed to get to work.

I finished, I guess, my History of Design piece and go to work on a few preliminary puppets (did I mention I changed my concept?). It wasn't all that productive but a stiff neck was paining me all day. The weekend is upon me and I have plenty of time...I hope. This finals period has been really bad for me.

covered with the sweat of virgins

I went to see Dir en Grey tonight. My first real concert concert.

Jaymee and I met at Diana's and she drove us to the Hawthorne Theatre. It was a nice cool night but we dressed light and just wore jackets for the line. I haven't listened to Dir en Grey in a while (since I was 18 or so) but for nostalgia and for my first real show, I bought a ticket. The audience was mostly made up of teens between 14 and 18. Lots of youngins with intense makeup and way too much clothing for a packed show. We had some giggles at the fashion choices and also felt old because just being 20 put us in the minority of "older" listeners. The line was right near traffic and we kept getting honks. Some cars drove dangerously close. The Monster Soda truck swerved onto the curb and gave out free energy drinks to the teens. Nuts!

When we got close to the entrance, Jaymee and Diana took our coats to the car (which was only like a block and a half away, score!) and I held a spot for them. It was cold but it was the best choice as I became soaked through the show. The theatre was designed for about 300-500 people, I don't quite know the number for sure but it was small. Lots of little girls all shoved into the place. The first band was The Human Abstract. American and not that interesting. The audience had no energy for them and they generated none. Just some wanky looking guys, whatever. Some of the audience were fans though. During the break Diana gave us shoulder rubs and we made fun of people. Some of the shoving of the audience made girls put there hands up in "back off" motions. I jerked my thumb in a "you should get away from the front because you will be stomped" motion. Seriously, who enforces personal space when they are 10 feet away from the stage?

The crowd cheered for each Asian that came on stage and then stopped when they realised it wasn't a member of the band. I was screaming jokes about that something like, "YEAH ALL ASIANS LOOK ALIKE!" and "YEAH ROADIES YEAH!"

When Dir en Grey came on it went mental. Everyone crowded and pushed and clawed to get closer. Kyo, the lead singer, was shirtless and was so controlled in his snake like contortions. It was just mental. Screaming, pushing, elbows, sweat, arms, hands, bodies, fabric, skin, spit, everything together in one shifting waving mass. Kyo spat on his audience for the start and we reveled in it. I was mostly within the cluster with slight movement. We were not locked in place but we shoved onwards and forwards.

People had their cellphones and cameras out for such long portions. They just HAD TO PROVE how close they were and how awesome it was. I would rather just experience the show instead of documenting it to relive it. Can't relive something you barely live.

This lady behind me shoved me more than pushed me. I didn't elbow her in the nose but I wanted to. Every time I saw her, her face was grumpy and irked. Like she was dragged there by her boyfriend. She just didn't want to be close or anything. I pushed back into her a little harder than I was pushed. Seriously, why stand so close if you don't want to be touched?

The little girls put up a good fight. My hair was soaked and sticking to my face. I jumped and danced and screamed and screamed. I escaped to the back when their main set was done and scooted closer when they came out for their encore. I wish I was closer when the other band members came up for the last gestures but I had room to jump in the back.

The night was sweet and refreshing when I emerged. A guy chatted me up while I waited for my friends to show. We screamed each others names and jumped on each other in triumph of the show.

Fred Meyer's gave us sweet sweet liquid to consume and hydrate ourselves.

We sat in Diana's car and unwound. I called Chris and gushed the details. When we got chilly it was time to go home and crash.


The Thesis Presentations:

Jason: Brilliant. He knew how to word things and how to put together a slide show to explain what he was going to do. The room was filled with easily 40 people. Karen, Robin, and I sat on the couch and didn't have the best view but still got a good general idea. Jason is doing a life size sculpture of those spitting dinosaurs from Jurassic Park. It is on a wrecked car and will be spitting toxic stuff. It deals with childhood pop culture and the inclusion of radioactive material in it. He phrased it in such a way that it was perfect. He is an illustration major but he has already mastered all that there needs to be mastered in technique and examples of stuff. He is set for life that boy.

Natalie: Could have had more character sketches and a better idea of the final concept. There was some major nit-picking. I think the end result has some great potential. She was very nervous but as we asked, her thesis got more fleshed out. She is doing 15 illustrations based after the Norwegian story about the girl and the polar bear.

Matt: Beautiful slide show. Perfect amount of time spent in explanation and he really knew what he was drawing from to create the story. It is a steampunk comic about the relationship between two brothers. I think he will add more pages because 15 is such an odd number.

Maddison: He had a loop of ominous music playing while we filed in. His project is a sequential scroll based upon Lucifer's fall from Heaven. He was dressed like he was going to sell us Ice Cream and the under lighting of the podium gave him a very sinister look. Some people asked him some silly questions which seemed more about showing off their own knowledge of the subject. I wanted to ask how he was going to use the scroll aspect in its design.

Charlie: I sat next to Charlie's darling wife Karie. Wonderful woman. This was Charlie's oral final thesis presentation. Months of work lead up to this and he did not disappoint. He wrote a book and illustrated it and got it printed up through Lulu (print on demand service). It looks really nice. The oral was so personal and he really bared a lot of himself in the glare of the lights. He knew every word. There was no doubt. He gave us all pamphlets of his work as well. Goodies! Next paycheck, I think I will order a copy of his story. His art style is amazing. We all adore Charlie so much, I'm going to miss him.

I did about 6 sketches during the proposals and final. Plenty to ink and finalize!

During lunch Jaymee came up to Diana and started talking about the Dir en Grey concert. I decided to get a ticket if it was not sold out, and it wasn't so I got one. So quick with the Internet. The long lunch was long and I decided to change my puppet because the plaster just isn't working the way I want it to.

I only got about 10 minutes between getting home from the thesis stuff and going to Diana's. Karen was a doll and drove Robin and I there and back. Karen so rocks.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAHHH!!!!

Beardsley Homage (work in progress)

Final for History of Design. Work in progress.

15"x22". Ink.

it is time

Just spent the last three or so hours inking and the hours before that drawing. Working on my History of Design final. I might end up redoing it more like Aubrey Beardsley's style (it is a homage) because I'm not sure how strongly it reads as it right now. Still, needs to be finished. I am very pleased with the image on its own. Working big isn't such a daunting task anymore and my style shows.

Early in the day, Diana, Karen and I went to Powell's. I left my wallet at home. First we looked at Google Earth on Diana's computer because Google Earth is AWESOME. We walked all the way there but it was good company so the time went fast. Karen bought a copy of Illustration Now (twice she has gone to Powell's to get something that I bought the day prior). She found some great art books and some books to manipulate with her modified book art stuff that she does. Afterwards we talked about going to Powell's as a bookstore to explore and find new things and going to a place like Barnes and Noble to find specific things to read (sometimes Powell's falls short in the stock department). It is such a beautiful store.

I finished watching 3:10 to Yuma. Westerns are not really my thing but it was okay. It felt short and like it needed...more.

And yeah, pretty much worked on my project.

My bike tire now is lumpy. It doesn't ride evenly and it rattles if I go really fast.

Tomorrow is the day to check out Thesis a plenty. I shall have my sketchbook in hand for sketching (I have an assignment to do some "journalism" sketches and need to get working on them).

Happy Birthday Seiji!!

winner

Saw a man in a yellow jacket but he didn't cycle through the max, thank heavens for that! First I sweeped up the store and wiped the mirrors. Paula asked why I was so nervous around her. I ran around the store finding stuff for this dudes exchange. No Gap cards. Even though we were busy I was still let off after only three hours of work due to poor sales. Saying we need 5 Gap Cards and five thousand in sales just seems to be expecting so much from people. Demanding more and more and more. But hey, business is business.

Got some sheets of watercolor paper and ink on the way home. I'm all set for finals now. Did a quick little drawing and gave it to Karen. Then she and I went to Diana and Robin's and chilled. Robin is working on a great painting. She gave us ornaments as gifts. How lovely! And then we started playing Munchkin. This game has gotten serious for us. We all know the rules now. Also, as for the second game, I WON!!! Finally. And it took several hard earned rounds to win it fair and square without people letting up. I did it! Yay! The third game went to 2 am and Adam joined it. He won I think, well Robin sorta won. It was a long night. I was expecting to do anything.

3:10 to Yuma has so many notable actors in it beyond Bale and Crowe.

It is Advent Calendar time!

copper

Quick study of two characters that are going to probably appear in my History of Design final. Breaking in the new brush.

Got my scanner working, just need to find the best setting to scan with.

2.5"x3.5". Ink.

v

Got my piece thumbnailed for History of Design. Going to draw some modern day Beardsley women. Did some quick ink studies of them as well. Started writing down ideas for the science friction paintings as well. Going to go with retro paintings of modern technological advances. Sort of how we live in sci-fi today type thing. It'll be cool. Not sure how big I will paint them but I might just do it my standard 10x14 size just because I have so much of that paper laying about. Need a large sheet for the Beardsley though.

Returned some library books and got one back. Used my new blinky light so cars can be aware of me when it is dark out.

Ate a turkey sandwich.

Read some Watchmen. Watched some True Blood, a HBO show about southern vampires. It's cute.

Molded some puppet parts but I'm not satisfied with them, thankfully working like this makes it easy to start again. I think I might go smaller than I thought. Hmmmn. Just need to keep working at it and eventually I will get there.

Or maybe just an awakened determination...

Last day with the family. The time went by so fast. They got on the Yellow and ended up walking to my place so we took it easy for about an hour. Dad made some turkey sandwiches for us. Mmmm. Eventually we decided to just wander down towards Little Finnegan's and see where the rest of the day took us. Mom found a delightful cowboy lunchbox that she liked as well as some bike streamers. Big Finnegan's had a wonderful noisy ray gun that is the perfect prop. It was splendid. And the nice parents bought me the Playmobil Advent Calendar that my heart desired so strongly. It is now assembled and waiting to be enjoyed during my finals month (finals week is for suckers). I also got a new bike light because mine was stolen.

There is a printed book exhibit at the library and included some Kelmscott Press selections.

Mom's ice cream cone fell apart when she was trying to undress it from its paper holder.

The massage chairs at Brookstone are lovely.

The crowds were very crowdy. Nordstrom Rack was insane, we were in there fore barely five minutes and we had to escape.

The last hour was spent in enjoyment of the Chinese Gardens. We had some late afternoon tea in the tea shop (as well as a mooncake and some dumplings). I had the Monkey King again (same kind of tea I had when I went there with mom a few years ago). We sat and talked about stuff, you know. Nathan took lots of pictures, of few of which I'd like to see. The family got to the train station just in time. We hugged and hugged and then they were off to Tacoma.

The clouds were overhead but no rain came down. It made for a rather pleasant walk to Powell's. I was just snug enough. I found a present for a someone someone amid the sale racks as well as some other things for me in the sale section (namely JPod, which had an approach in the narrative that intrigued me, a paperback of Atwood's Oryx and Crake with a Bosch cover , and the new edition of Illustration Now for $15). It wasn't that crowded but Powell's probably didn't have any Black Friday sales. The streetcar was packed and my arm was tired of reaching up and grasping the rail tight. I've done tight streetcars before and no one smelled so it was fine.

I assembled the Playmobil Advent Calendar, put some stuff away, put on a sweater, and kicked back. Tomorrow I am throwing myself at work with a profound vigor, yeah!

Mom Makes Magnificet Meat

Climbed into bed and then I remembered that I had totally forgot to write! Oops!

I was up way before everyone arrived and managed to put away the dishes, watch the new episode of House, wash some more dishes, and get everything in general order for the day.

The turkey took four hours and while waiting we played a game of Munchkin. I almost won but Nathan succeeded. Mom was willing to let me win but that isn't so much fun when you know it is going down. Dad made us some scrambled eggs and cheese. Mmm! After Munchkin we sat about and read and talked. I worked on my puppet and did a few prelimiary casts. It works! Sort of! Still needs some fine tuning and practice but in general I think this system will work for the structure of it.

We had a pretty standard Thanksgiving of turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, yams, salad, and home made apple cider. It was all very good and filling. My taste has broadened and I enjoyed the salad very much. All the left overs are going to be sticking around in my fridge so I shall be well fed for the next week. All that work culminated in a sort of quick, early afternoon feast.

It was followed by some more time spent reading and eating chocolate. We all gathered together and watched Black Sheep. I made popcorn and explained my process so that the joy of pan popcorn can be spread far and wide. Mom and Dad and Nate seemed to like the movie regardless of its violence. Whee!

Thanksgiving was nice. A simple little dinner and just about us getting together and enjoying it. Nothing too stressful. It was nice. Except for me not winning Munchkin.

playmobil, how I love thee

Ma, Pa, and Nate arrived safe and sound. Their train arrived early. I was lagging behind because the Max I was on had malfunctioning doors so we ended up meeting at the crosswalk at 1st and Everett. Dad was easy to spot, Nathan and Mom less so. We hugged and boarded the next train so they could check into their hotel. We crammed shoulder to shoulder in with our bags and portable cooler, thankfully the stop for their hotel was the one at the Convention Center. Dad scored a room at the Holiday Inn and they are on the quiet floor. No children allowed. We settled in and watched some TV (Cash Cab and a bit of Star Wars). Mom shoved snacks at us and we left to board the Max to go to my place.

We settled on having Bellagio's for dinner instead of eating out. We had the Garlic Chicken and it was good. We played Scattergories and Mom bested Nate by a few points. After that game, Nathan stayed behind reading comics while we went to Safeway to get the stuff I neglected to buy earlier. Udon, gravy, pie, tinfoil, and ice cream were ours!! Dad and I enjoyed some ice cream, he had chocolate sauce and I had this lavender honey that Adam and Karen made. Mmmm!! Mom was getting yawny so they all left early. Probably going to watch TV on their big screen. Ma and Pa are so adorable. Dad showed off some scratches he got from a battle with a thorny bush.

I slept way way in and had to drop off one of my three destinations. I opted for clay and comics (and not Trader Joe's). The clay was put into a backpack and by the time I was done my shoulders were an achey mess. I also got tissue, a new crooked liner brush, and some small watercolor paper. I stepped into Big Finnegan's (it is next door to Art Media) to see if they had Munchkin (they didn't) and walked out with a travel Scattergories set and a Playmobil Bicycle Policeman toy. I got the toy mainly because, for some reason, he had a gun. And it was cheap. In line I saw the most marvelous thing: a Playmobil Advent Calendar. Three different kinds of them! Each day you get a different toy for a set and there was a knight set, a princess one, and a pirate set. I really want the pirate set. They were not badly priced and I probably will rush out and get one once I decided I REALLY NEED one. Playmobils are the best toy because they include every profession and possible set.

Floating World Comics proved to be a cornucopia of must-haves. And with my discount I got a great deal on the pile I did buy. I got Tekkonkinkreet because I have been wanting it for a while, a slim Grant Morrison/Philip Bond, a collection of Becky Cloonan shorts, the new volume of Exterminators, and the new issue of The Boys. And it all came in $30 cheaper than you probably think it is!

Exhausted, I rode my bike to the Max and with the time I had I decided to just go home instead of circling by Trader Joe's. Which worked out for the better because everyone came in earlier than I thought.

A Level, hurrah!

In indication of my feast picture, Morgan said it was "A level work". It was the first thing I thought of after knowing not to do anything to do with food. We spent a lot of time talking and on break. We talked about chickens and owls and animals and hunting and killing your own meat. We also went over our portraits and pointed out some of the best likenesses (my Heather got mention as did Natalie and Lacey's portraits of each other). The last 45 minutes was just to draw Kate and draw it nicely. I worked on scribble shading and some contour. A very easy way to go into break.

We went over the exact same websites in History of Design. No one had the heart to tell her so we saw the same work and the same websites and heard all the same dribble. Karen and I played silent 20 questions (I was Cillian Murphy and a tee shirt, she was a blender) and also played a few sadistic games of hangman where we went to great lengths to draw the figures as we waited for each other to guess the very difficult words.

Student council is really good at sorting things out when there are only 10 people in attendance.

The critique in painting went smoothly enough. The jaw was too narrow and the cheekbones too high to be Keanu but it was very dynamic. James' looked more like him and was much softer. Jen cut her Clint Eastwood out and it was striking and awesome. She pasted it onto black paper and the whole combination just worked. After the uneventful critique, Farel's friend Zachary Flagg Baldus came to class and showed us his work. He went to SVA and has had a pretty solid seeming career since then. Lots of variance and commissions. He works in between computers and traditional a lot. His whole portfolio was so smooth and with a real clear idea as to how he wanted to present things. He used Seamus, a PNCA alumni whose last name begins with an H but I can't remember the rest, as a photo reference. Same dude who taught me how to bind books, small world eh? Our final is still unassigned for that class.

It had stopped-OH DANG I FORGOT THE CLAY AGAIN!! Tomorrow, I'll get it tomorrow. Yes.

My shift tomorrow has been cancelled so I can stay up late and sleep in! I could have done the morning thing but it is nice to have that burden off my shoulders. It gave me time to clean up my apartment. It doesn't look really like my place without the clutter but it probably is better for my lungs (the cough I get from dust has returned). I put up some more art work and put away the dishes and scrubbed the counters and sanitized stuff. My place is ready for Thanksgiving, now all the parents (and Nate) have to do is bring the grub!

Duchamp's Last Work

Marcel Duchamp did everything and thus he was able to do anything. His final work was an example of his marvelous devotion to the creation of art. When he threw himself at chess and became a master, he said that he would never create monumental art again. Everyone believed him and put out books about his work before he had died. His secret was a piece that spanned several decades’ worth of hidden construction: Given: 1. The Waterfall, 2. The Illuminating Gas. While many artists try anything, Duchamp is one of the validated few who could do everything.

Born of Marie-Caroline-Lucie Duchamp and Justin-Isidore Duchamp on July 28th, 1887 in Normandy, Marcel Duchamp had art as a birthright. Descended from an engraver and painter, he and his siblings grew up immersed in it. Of six children, the eldest four pursued everything from painting to sculpting.

At 15, Marcel was painted the Impressionist scenes Church at Blainville and Landscape at Blainville. He departed from painting and worked on intricate studies of his siblings. A few years later his landscapes and portraits were included in shows. In 1904 he joined his brothers in Paris. Up to 1911, his portfolio amassed a varied number of studies from the monochromatic Red Nude to the well rendered yet still loose Portrait of the Artist’s Father. In 1911 his work took a turn towards Cubism and in that one year he produced over 18 remarkable paintings, including the studies which later lent to his infamous Nude Descending a Staircase. Cubist artists were not keen on his style, commenting that it was more on trend with futurism. Scores of paintings later, in 1914, he departed from the medium and turned to finding new forms of expression.

Viewing specific sculptures like To Be Looked at (from the Other Side of the Glass) with One Eyes, Close To, for Almost and Hour and the etching Oculist Witnesses were indicators of what his work would become. Many of his pieces were studies for longer, more lengthy works such as the 1914 painting Chocolate Grinder in his piece The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even (1915-1923). Work like Bicycle Wheel and Comb exemplify his use of the readymade as a medium. In 1935 he did a series of rotoreliefs. Sixteen Miles of String was one of several installations. His production of work slowed in the Twenties and almost stopped in the late Forties and was limited to all but a few studies.

Duchamp’s love of chess started at around the same time his art career did. In 1923 he became much more serious in his devotion to the game and started entering tournaments. Through the Twenties he climbed in rank throughout Europe and participating heavily in the community by designing posters for events and writing articles for magazines. He approached chess as any other piece of art and played games for their beauty and not their brutality.

During the decades that he seriously pursued chess, his output of art was minimal and limited mostly to studies of Rodin and Ingres. After The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even, his individual work was more playful than a serious endeavor. To the world it was clear that he was done with art and it was time to consider his portfolio as a retrospective.

The sculpture Given the Illuminating Gas and the Waterfall wasn’t considered too highly when it debuted as it wasn’t placed in context with the installation it was a study for. It was one part of several sculptures in preparation for Given: 1. The Waterfall, 2. The Illuminating Gas; an installation revealed after Duchamp’s death in 1968. While he worked at becoming a master chess player, he worked on the installation in a hidden room in his New York studio. In 1965 he moved the whole secret project to a commercial building and finished it. The piece was assembled from found bricks and twigs, a door from a house in Spain, a hand constructed life sized mannequin, and a mural manipulated from photos Marcel took on a vacation in 1946, the time when he started this final piece. He had to slowly collect all the materials as to not raise awareness of what he was doing. The leather on the first mannequin cracked and the construction had to be restarted.

All while constructing it, he created a binder detailed the reconstruction which would eventually happen upon its discovery. It was his climax but it wasn’t just for him. The piece can only be viewed in one specific way and has only been photographed in one way. Images of the reinstallation are nonexistent. He left instructions and now the piece is permanently installed in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In his manual he sketched how the doorway would look once permanently installed. Hundreds of photos and 35 pages of notes highlight the fifteen outlined stages of assembly. In the museum it is viewed as an old door and as you approach it a light turns on and you peer through holes in the wood. Through the peephole is a woman laying nude prone on the grass, holding a gas lamp in her hand. Her face is obscured by the silhouette of the brick.

The patience chess requires instilled the discipline required to embark on such a lengthy piece. There is no doubt in the honesty of his devotion to the game, but his pursuit helped ensure the determination needed to keep working on his masterwork. Having grown up with art, there was no other lifestyle present for him. Duchamp’s privacy on the matter of Given: 1. The Waterfall, 2. The Illuminating Gas could have only been achieved by such a childhood. In this day in age, only recluses are able to complete masterpieces that no one else knows about. Duchamp did everything and so he able was to achieve anything.


D’Harnoncourt, Anne and McShine, Kynaston. Marchel Duchamp. New York: The Museum of Modern Art and Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1973.

Tomkins, Calvin. Duchamp: A Biography. New York: Henry Holt and Company, Inc. 1996.

Schwarz, Arturo. The Complete Works of Marcel Duchamp. New York: Delano Greenidge Editions, 2000.