hi

hi

Saturday, February 20, 2010

RIP Jade Pinkett Smith

I tried so hard to replant my beloved Jade Pinkett Smith, but she never took. The dirt or climate just did not work. A little Korean lady told me that if my lucky jade plant dies, as does my own luck.

fashion friday




I made a skirt today! Took me many hours and a couple instances of "I don't understand what the instructions are saying, so I am just going to wing it."

Still feeling sick. It sucks. Oh well.

After a sizable bacon, eggs, and toast breakfast I went to school to see if JP could print my patterns. He helped me size it so that it printed at a 1:1 ratio. The printer automatically charged m 20$ for printing because it was about 25x50 or whatever, but JP adjusted it much lower because he is awesome like that. Much much lower. What a sweetie. Wayne Bund came in and we chatted about how awesome Fabric Depot is.

On the way back home I stopped by Josephine's Dry Goods and bought a couple zippers.

Relaxed a little. Then I cut out the pattern and got to cutting and sewing! I used some of the fabric Joyce sent me because I wanted to do a trial run of the pattern, fit, and technique before I committed to the nicer gingham I bought. Cutting it out went fine. Sewing the side seams went fine. I learned some things about sewing zippers (namely to not sew near the part that zips it open and closed). Sometimes the instructions got confusing and lacked picture explanations. I was doing a pattern from later in the book, so I'm sure some of the techniques got covered in earlier, and easier, patterns. But I learn better by just doing. Pleating was a challenge. I didn't pleat enough of the skirt so the waist band ended up being a little loose. I didn't have any overlap of the buttons...or the zipper. Next time: pleat a lot more. The instructions also called for slip stitching. I have no clue what that is, but since I didn't mind having the thread show I just did the seams the way I know how. I'm pretty happy with it, for a trial run first try. I still need to sew on the buttons.

At 10 I went over to Mel's. She wanted to check out this bar that she constantly passed. Turned out it was small and near empty. So we walked to The Annex instead and got a table under the stairs in the cellar part. We sat and gabbed for an hour in a half. It was really cozy. She is loaning me Six Feet Under season one. Very excited to start watching.

Friday, February 19, 2010

ohygod you guys ohmygod

I had a great day when it comes to ink washing. I switched to newsprint instead of the pad of bond paper. Worked a lot better. Nicole was our model. Morgan read to us from A World Lit Only by Fire. He also explained why he always wears the same thing day after day: it makes life easier by not having to think about one more thing. Every morning it is a black teeshirt and Levi 501s. If it is cold: shoes, warm: flip flops.

Illustration was a low key day as it turned out. All the plans Martin had sort of fell apart, so it was a work day. My book cover was approved, it was just suggested to think about the icons a little more. I spent some time working on color and text. Lunch was Quiznos and Lucien Freud artbooks in the library. Man I love that guy. Draws hands with the same attention to detail as faces.

At 3pm I joined the life drawing session in 815C. Nicole was our model again! Quick poses and a couple longer ones. Just drew in my sketchbook. It was fun.

It was a brilliantly sunny day. Had a lovely ride home.

At 6ish Madeline called me to ask if I was busy tonight and if I wanted to join her at the Keller Auditorium for Legally Blond: The Musical. I said yes enthusiastically. I dressed in pink and black and met her outside at 7:15ish. Her grandma and great aunt were there as well. Very sweet ladies. The musical was very fun. It had some really good numbers, some sparkly costumes, UPS guy... A brilliant way to end the week. And since I wasn't familiar with the musical version of the movie, it was all new for me.

I put the registration for Stumptown Comics Fest in the mail. I hope we get our half table.

Don't know what I'll do this weekend. Read. Maybe go to school and see about printing out some patterns. Buy some 9" zippers...

Thursday, February 18, 2010

When In Doubt, Draw a Cat

Six color silkscreen.

figure Drawing 3 - 2/18/2010

Figure drawing from Morgan's Figure Drawing class. Ink.
9"x12"

figure Drawing 2 - 2/18/2010

Figure drawing from Morgan's Figure Drawing class. Ink.
9"x12"

Figure Drawing 1 - 2/18/2010

Figure drawing from Morgan's Figure Drawing class. Ink.
9"x12"

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

lovely gifties

I got a late Valentines box this morning from someone who shall remain anonymous. But it was a fella. In the box was an assortment of art supplies, all in shades of pink. Pink colored pencils, pink gouache, pink watercolors, pink acrylic, pink pastel, pink stamp pad, pink oils. A great present. Just simply perfect.

Even though I got a decent amount of sleep, I went full groggy after 3pm. Heather gave a little presentation that was well thought out and presented clearly. Not the disaster that mine was. Then we talked about earth works and The West for an hour.

Karen and I sorted out our Stumptown Comics Fest form during lunch. We are going in halvsies on a half table. Registration is still open, so hopefully they will find a place to smoosh us that isn't too stuffed away. A full table would be ideal, but we don't have a stock pile of work ready. It would also create incentive to make displays for our work. Go vertical instead of horizontal. Very exciting. Marketing work and promoting yourself. I think I'll print a coloring book, that is an easy project. Need at least two new materials in editions of at least 60. Hmmn.

After lunch, we watched a bit from Jeremiah Johnson and The Outlaw Josey Wales. Robert Redford and Clint Eastwood. I think I should watch more westerns. I checked out The Searchers from the library, unfortunately that has just been added to the pile with Zorba the Greek and The Bicycle Thieves. I'll get around to them when I feel in the mood, until then I shall renew renew renew.

The third video was about a Cuban land artist. We watched the full thing and I fell asleep. Don't know why, I got a good amount of sleep. Well I nodded off and back up and off again. Phil told me I was breathing really heavily through my nose (I have the snuffles). Goddammit! I actually did get through the reading this week and everything. Argh. I felt bad. I told Phil he was allowed to nudge me.

We chatted some more and then critiqued Phil, Tabitha, and Sandra's pieces. Phil did an etching about his disappointment with the desert from his point of view (he is from Hawaii). Sandra took some air, water, and land samples from a park, and Tabitha did a video compilation of various westerns.

I napped for 20 minutes, then got my bum handed to me by yoga. Again. I'm so out of shape. I could barely hold any pose. So not fun!

For my next illustration project I am doing a cover for Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne. I have some ideas, just need to bounce them off Martin. Why this book? Uhh, maybe because doing Oliver Twist would be too obvious? Eh.

Time to sleep now. Still coughing. It sucks.

the ginger puppet master

Just reviewing some of the reading. Trying to absorb some more stuff about earth works and the like. Blaaah.

We drew for an hour and a bit in The Figure. More construction proportion drawings. Apparently perspective is coming up soon. Talked to Serenity in the library.

For the rest of class we had a marionette guy! He gave us a little demonstration with one of his puppets and explained the dynamics of making them and doing stages and all that. He only had two puppets on him, and they were both insanely stringed. They were very expressive. It was an awesome way to spend class time. He said he was teaching a marionette carving class. If I didn't feel so drained so often, I would totally love to sign up and do it. Maybe he will do another during the summer. It seems really cool. I would love to make a proper marionette, too bad I am also awful at carving.

I have a horrible dry cough. It sucks.

Critique day in printmaking. Well, it was really a review day. We just put up our projects, wherever we were in them. Most were done. Patsy had a huge bird silkscreen print. Seriously large and magnificent. That girl has skills. Robin's porch light piece was beautiful as well. Very striking and bold, and it still retained that quality that her work has. My stuff was pretty well received. Mostly a conversation about paper and being precious and how to fine tune the zine projects I do in the future. Amazing how a 23 person illustration class gets through pieces in an hour and a half, and a 9 person printmaking class takes around three hours to get through 6 people. Hmnn.

Walked around with Karen during break. Documented my cat. Karen and I rode our bikes over to button emporium. Needed to get some buttons. Can't make a shirt without buttons. Got black, red, and gray, and two square orange ones for the tulip skirt I want to make. I'll do a run through with some fabric that Aunty Joyce sent me, and then if that turns out I will make it again using the blue gingham plaid that I bought at Fabric Depot. All I want to do is relax and sew, but it seems like I keep needing things to get to that point. Fabric...zippers...patterns.

Went home. Coughed. Started reading stuff. Watched stuff. Ate leftover pizza. I hate being sick in a dry, can't do anything about it sort of way.

Monday, February 15, 2010

presidents day is a pointless holiday

Cough cough cough bleh. I hate having a cough.

Another dense day of class. Professor had a stamp from a club on his wrist. Tee hee. We delved into the Cogito chapter. I understand what he is explaining, but I can't get my brain to expunge it.

Went to Trader Joe's for some food stuffs. Delicious food stuffs. Celery, huge cucumber, apples galore.

Then homeward. To sit and do stuff. Eventually. Worked on sketch for figure. We are doing a three week long, multiple figure drawing. It has to be around 18x24. I have a sketch that is okay, but I know I can do better.

Katie's pop came over and tried to unjam her bike chain. He was unsuccessful. Katie's friend Paula was also visiting. We pitched in together and got a pizza and hot wings for lunch. We gorged and watched The Departed.

My entries a few years ago were so long. I was able to say so much about my days. It is really exhausting to try and sum up every day for closing in on three years now. But I will keep at it! At least till I graduate...and probably since it will be a habit by then, for however many years after. Maybe less frequently.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

merleau ponty is HARD

This Existentialist Phenomenology reading is bloody difficult. And I have a whole pile of Homeland readings on top of that. I wish I had dropped one of these (probably Homeland, to be honest, it isn't up my alley at all and I'm not being very successful in branching out into it). It is a whole lot of reading...and I am very very slow at reading. Bleehh.

Bacon and eggs for breakfast! My favorite. I have no bread. Really must get bread. Without it I can't make sandwiches, which are a staple part of my diet. Also no pasta.

Watched some Project Runway Canada. I need to get some buttons and zippers, so I can sew stuff. All the fabric I have has no stretch, so I can't just free style some tee shirts. Need to figure out how to print patterns at school using the epic huge printers they have. JP said he could discount the cost based on the fact I won't be printing quality. I want to make this tulip skirt so bad, but I need to get a lot better at sewing first. Don't want to muck up the nice fabric I bought.

A pretty do nothing day, aside from reading.

This coming week is fairly low impact. Reading for Phenomenology and Homeland, sketching for Figure and Illustration, and editioning my print for Intermediate Screen. Nothing major due. It is a nice feeling. Last week SUCKED. I still don't feel recovered from it.

birthdays are fun

Whooo! Just came back from Mel's 21st Birthday! Yay!

Slept in. It was good. Slow morning. Ate pasta and sauce and bacon for breakfast. Mmm.

At around 2pm I left for school to go print. The lab was full of people finishing up the Sandow Birk print thing. Basically being print monkeys for a famous print maker. So I loitered in the library for an hour. When I got back a table had opened up, so I took and and started printing.

I really liked the three color prints, but we had to do a four color assignment so I added three more layers. Right now I'm too close to the project to correctly judge its quality. I feel that I mucked up a lot of prints by not being careful enough. Some look good. I added two darker layers and a more reddish final color. Some looked okay. But like I wrote, I need to wait and look at them all with a fresh eye. Right now I'm kind of psissed and feel that I ruined a great print by over working it. Just need to relax.

Went to Safeway. Picked up some food stuffs. Went home. Got my party face on.

Went to Mel and Melissa's for Mel's 21st. I bought her a bottle of vodka. A nice basic mixer I felt. The majority of people who came stayed for about forty five minutes to an hour and a half. So there was a constant shift of people. A lot of design majors, most of whom I have never seen because they are all cooped up in their little department. And a lot of coworkers. I mostly talked to Chris Bodven, Taylor, and Melissa. Sipped drinks, ate candy and chips. There was even a pinata. I spun Mel in a circle 21 times before she hit it. As people left, I remained. Jim showed up when things had calmed down. In the end, Zaneta, Jim and I took Mel to The Matador for her first ever bar experience.

I bought her a shot, Zaneta bought her a shot and a drink. She was pretty well drunk by the end. Dancing happy drunk though, not having to drag her home and plop her down. We just loitered near the bar and boogied. Mel lives about 10 blocks from me, which is super convenient. We brought her home in once piece. I poured her a glass of water. Made sure she was okay and made my way home. I was fairly responsible the whole night, except for the amount of candy I consumed. It was fun. Nice meeting people from PNCA who I have never seen in the almost three years of being here.

Not looking forward to homework filled Sunday, but oh well. It is what it is.