my only friend the end

Oh boy. What a day. A day to final it all. We are done with OUR focus week. OURS. My class. Mine. No one elses. All that freaking jazz.

I decided to sleep through the first block of proposals. The 9am-10:30am ones. I'm still a bit sick and needed that time. But I did get up and get to school in time for the 11:00-12:30 ones. So I went to see Sivonna. Her thesis she made this whole product design line around this cyclops owl Muku. So she gave his story and detailed the process of collaboration to make the resin figures and the chocolate molds and she had a fashion show of her tee shirts. Zain, Samala's son, was totally fabulous.

Sivonna gave such a great thesis defense. It is weird how short these things seem when you go through the process.

Oh man, I'm tired. Okay, gotta keep writing.

Lunch was rice and stuff. Had some of it. It was good. Drew people who were at lunch.

Went to Heather "Tibby" McDowell's thesis proposal. It is funny how doing something like sport's photography is so foreign at PNCA. But she defending her proposal very well.

It was a packed house for Diana (the next proposal I went to). She is cataloging the type in the letterpress studio and doing pieces based around type and stuff. That will be cool. I gave some people some more posters and got some caramels in exchange.

After that I went to Jenn's defense. She did these paper dolls and focused on body image in women and DID SO WELL. She takes the awesome stance that acknowledged that stuff like "real women have curves" is just as harmful and how women are great instigators of negative self image and stuff. Anyway, she did great and I almost wanted to cry with how happy I was.

Afterwards there was a little going away party for Tom Mullowny in the commons. There was a band. And a keg. So I had some beer and sat and chatted with all sorts of people. Then we migrated to Yur's, where I partied more. Lots of great conversations and WHOOOOing and hugs and throwing of makeshift confetti. We may have made a bit of a mess, so I tipped well. Met Leo's lovely fiancee Kelly. Then some of us walked home. I dropped my bike off at home and met Beth, Leo, Danny, and Kelly at Muu Muus and had a burger. MMM! And now I am at home and I am tired and tomorrow there will be new Doctor Who. But right now I sleep.

Todays Portrait Is: David Bowie.

wiped

Uhg. So totally wiped out. Woke up at 1:30pm. Yeah. I think I might be getting sick. All the stress and underlying adrenaline that was pushing me forward is dissipating and now I'm totally exhausted. Gaaah. Got to school at 3:00 for Petra's thesis proposal. It is weird how short these focus week proposal and defenses seem now that I am done. No time at all and such short discussions.

Talked to DeAnn about traveling over the summer. Mentioned I might go to Utah and she suggested all these parks that I can't remember the names of. Then I went to Madeline's defense.

Her story illustrations look quite lovely. Lots of work. And she defended the work quite well. Got through her talk clearly and concisely. She had some pretty tough questions though. About pitching stories and the hard tasks of being a story book artist. Still, she did it! Her family was there and we all had a nice chat while waiting for the panel to deliberate. Chatted with her little brother Jackson about Doctor Who. Madeline passed. Whoo! Everyone is passing.

I returned home. Did some shopping. Ate a big salad and had a glass of orange juice and some salami. Need my protein and veggies. I've been eating so irregularly and poorly. Now I'm likely to pass out soon. Tomorrow is a full day of defenses and proposals and then CELEBRATION!

Todays Portrait Is: Martin Freeman & Benedict Cumberbatch.

I passed with astronautical colors

Ohh man, I did SO FREAKING WELL! I got through my defense with good timing. Sure some nerves, but I knew what I was talking about. I knew the subject matter. I knew how to navigate the conversation. And I answered the questions honestly and with insight and damn I did so well.

Got up at 6:50am. Showered, did my hair, did my makeup, all that. Time ran out quick though. Got to Trader Joe's. Bought some orange juice and cookies. Got to my room. Ma and Pa arrived shortly after. Got things all set up. Lindsay arrived. Madeline arrived. I printed out my abstract. I ran through my writing real quick one more time, but found that I knew it. People trickled in. Daniel and Heather. Terry and Colin. Jenn Hayes. Auntie Celia came, but a bit late. Karen, Lacey...around 25 people. A good number.

And so it started. Martin introduced my and away I went. I went through my outline. Talked fluidly. I might have swayed a little. I did go back to my notes but found I knew what I was talking about. I gave the defense as it was yesterday. Didn't add anything about the influences. And the panel asked questions about my influences so I was able to articulate the inspiration that came from David Hockney fluently. I addressed how the folded reduces the formality. And some of the reactions. I also used a David Lynch quote, which I should put in my thesis paper, AND AND AND I managed to get illustraquacious into my defense as well. Boo to the ya. And so in a bit under an hour, it was done.

Everything I've worked towards. The culmination of my learning. My ode to my friends. My senior year. This final project. It is done. Except for the paper.

I waited for about 10, 15 minutes with my family and Lindsay, waiting to get called in by my panel (everyone leaves, the panel talks and then they bring you in and talk to you). They talked to me more about some suggested artists to look up. Asked about the text side a little more. It was the sort of discussion that doesn't happen during defenses (which is just the panel and audience asking questions of your project). So yeah, I passed.

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! HOOOOO!!!

YEAAH!

Yeah. Just gotta do that damn paper and then I'm holding my Bachelor's of Fine Arts degree from Pacific Northwest College of Art. And now every question I get is "so what is next?" STOP ASKING ME. I DON'T KNOW.

Anyway. Afterwards, Ma, Pa, Celia and I went to Laughing Planet and got lunch. I got the Governator quesedilla, which is mashed potato, broccoli, and cheese. YUM! Then we returned to school, I showed them the print studio set up. Ran into Yoshi and Christy who both congratulated me (the latter even gave me a hug!). And then we took down my show. Folded it up. Hauled it all back to the studio and then back to my apartment. There we all laid down and took a nap. It was very nice.

Celia left to return to Washington (she did a round trip in one day! insane! love her!)

Ma and Pa and I went to school to see Jon's defense. He did WONDERFULLY. Once he got into the discussion of the journey that his pieces represented, he got into his Jon mannerisms and it was wonderful. Packed house. Mom got some good laughs and Dad remarked how his piece really captured the Louisiana swamps. I like having parents who actually get what I'm doing and the world I'm in.

After that we got some pizza. Yum! Then we went to the Art Spiegelman lecture at PNCA. He is a Pulitzer prize winning graphic novelist. He was interview by Joe Sacco. The commons were full of people. I keep forgetting the vulgarity of some of Art's work. But it was a good conversation. I parted ways with Ma and Pa. Loitered in the print lab. Then when it stopped raining I rode my bike out into the night and spent the rest of the day with Rollyn. A perfect day.

Now to finish up this part of my life and then think about the next one. JUST STOP ASKING ME WHAT I'M GOING TO DO, OKAY?

There is no portrait today.

tomorrow tomorrow tomorrow tomorrow tomorrow

OKAY. LET'S DO THIS! Oh wait, blog about today.

Got up nice and early. Showered, got to Robin's defense. A packed crowd for the front of the Stevens Annex. All the printers were there. Robin's defense was eloquent, well spoken, concise, and beautiful. She really brought out the time and depth she spent on her works. She did this photo graveure prints based on these graphite drawings of contemplative moments in her parents house. She was so well researched and thought so in depth about it. Ahhh so good. I helped her take it down after. Whipped out my power tool to undo the screws.

Then I headed over to Samala's defense. Her short animation was lovely. She did a wordless (well dialog less) animation about going to nature after the loss of technology. All hand drawn stop motion beauty. She did so good and her parents asked good questions. Not typical parent questions that normally just indicate their lack of knowledge in their offsprings choices. There is a certain decorum and dialog expected at Focus Week.

After that I wolfed down two sandwiches and went to see if my room (815c) was available. Will was in there talking to his panel, so I went and got tacks and supplies to put my show up with. He was still in there so I loitered and talked to Karen. When I packed up my posters in a box and went back to the room, he had gone. Will's work was still up but it only blocked a small part of my set up. I strung a string from one side of the wall to the other and made sure it was level. Much easier than leveling each piece. Then I started tacking the posters up. I organized them in a manner so that the one straight forward facial position piece (Madeline) was in the middle. And the pieces that gradually looked left went to the left, and the ones that went right to the right. It looks really good. I couldn't have been more pleased. I was half way through tacking them up when I realized that I should use a regular thumb tack (not a flat headed one) to start the hole. My thumbs were so happy when I clued into that. And the posters went up much faster. I hauled my studio table down and piled my distribution posters onto it. Looks so good. Simple, not fussy. Just like my work.

I practiced my speech and worked on making the notes for my actual defense (no reading straight from pages allowed). Martin came in straight from James' defense and so I told him to chill for a moment. I got him a single serve ice cream from Safeway and some cups and napkins for snack time tomorrow. Got him the ice cream in thanks for being such an awesome mentor, and also he is at thesis all day everyday. He deserves a treat. We talked a little and then I got into my defense practice. He was pleased with the progression and order of it and how far I've come since last meeting.

I finished committing my words to notes. OH and Will came and took down his piece as well. In talking to people about potential questions that might come up, I've found I've been able to construct good responses.

I practiced from my notes with Samala and Morgaine and noticed there were places where I wasn't clear what my notes were. So I'm going to go through it one more time tonight and get that all sorted for tomorrow. I'm up EARLY! Food! Hair! Clothes! Makeup! Trader Joe's! Practice! Defend!

After years and years, my thesis defense is here.

It doesn't feel real, but it is.

Todays Portrait Is: Colin Firth.

'illian

It's only 7:30, but I am tiiiiired so I'm blogging now so that whenever my body collapses in on itself, I don't have to worry.

Focus week begins. Now all my lovely friends over the years defend their thesis. Our time at PNCA comes to an end.

I got out of bed at the horrid hour of 7:50am. UHG. Showered, got dressed, made myself pretty, grabbed the bread and hummus and set off to school. First up was Dominic's Defense. His work looked lovely all hung up, and he seemed relatively calm considering that I ran into him last night and he was mighty stressed. Anyway, he got up there and went through his speech. And he did super well! Every time he paused he took the chance to drink water. It gave a nice pace to his defense of his neurotic paintings. It was a room with friends and everyone was enthusiastic. He did very well. The crew waited with him after he defended, and naturally he passed.

Between his and Leo's, I went to Safeway and bought a Red Bull because with about two hours of sleep under my belt, I knew I couldn't survive the day with no assistance.

Drank that and went to Leo's defense of his wordless series of illustrations depicting a revolt in a society dominated by technology dependance. It was a nice little series, and he had pretty much eliminated all uses of the word "like". Good on him! He had a good little defense as well. Chatted with him after till he went in for questions, so then I went to get some food!

Lasagna! Sat with Acey and Arvie and David Ritchie joined us. Apparently Ritchie has met Douglas Adams. After that I went to BT's lecture thingy on setting up a screen printing set up at home. Dad, do you wanna make an at home printing set up with me? It will be fuuuun.

After that, I went to Matthew Miller's thesis proposal. He is proposing to do a series of photos based on gun culture and representing gun owners in their home. He laid it out there that his thesis isn't about if we should have guns, but why. Still his audience asked a lot of heavily biased questions. Probably a good thesis if it will spark such reactions. He is a quality photographer and will pull it off. It will just take a good sense of his argument.

Afterwards I went to August's proposal. He is doing several broadside comics in different formats. His room was packed and he was a bit awkward but he got through it with gusto.

And AFTER that I went to Danny's room to see his set up. His wife Mara brought their just turned one year old daughter Lillian along. OHHH what a cute baby! Just wandering about with big blue eyes and drooling and so happy. I picked her up and gave her tons of kisses on her little baby cheeks. Cutest critter EVER. But I didn't stay for Danny's defense, I went to Beth's. Which ended up being packed. She got through her information in a great manner. Argued it well. Her series of animal pictures based on the group nouns we assign them turned out so beautiful.

AND THEN I went to see We Buy Diamonds. I got my free shirt that they owed me for the printing and then went around school to generate interest. And interest was generated! The doors opened at 5:50 and in five minutes it filled up. And people kept coming. Unfortunately people decided to sit on the floor instead of standing and dancing. So the people coming in didn't really have space, even though if people scooted there would have been space, and standing would provide even more space. But Karen, Mel, and I stood in the back and hollared and hooted and cheered them on like crazy. We shouted the hooks to the songs and shouted responses when they asked questions. We three brought the WBD fandom!

And the show was PHENOMENAL. They performed with vigor and enthusiasm, and nailed the songs. The lights, the set up, the costumes, the everything was spot on. They did so well. They did it! They did it all!

And after that I went home. Kristen and Mark came by and I joined them, and Kristen's parents and brother Anthony for dinner at Sansai. Mmm sushi. Now I'm back and exhausted. So I think I shall wash my face and crash. Tomorrow is two pre-lunch proposals and then lunch and then I set up my thesis and then practice practice practice. I don't know if I'll go to any more things after lunch. I'll just see how I feel. Less that 48 hours till I defend!

Todays Portrait Is: Mark Strong.

I'm so close to being done

Every move I make is agony. I may have reached a limit and may spend tomorrow just with Martin, Yoga, and then in bed with books. It hurts. It hurts a lot.

BUT! Today started off being not in pain. Just very very very tired. Got to school at around 10:40 and scanned and uploaded my two pieces for Illustration. Madeline showed up and I got a ride from her to Pinball Studios, a place where we were having a field trip to today. First I got an energy drink and some doughnuts and we talked Game of Thrones. Then we picked up Kristen. We got there ten minutes late, but most of the rest of the people were a bit later, including the teacher. We got a little tour of the printing studio, which had a fat cat named Mimi, and some cool printing presses. None of which I'm the least bit familiar with. We got some freebies as well. Madeline dropped me off at the studios, I grabbed my paper and went to print!

Printed the first text layer on Diana and Morgan, and the color layer on Lacey and Asha.

We did partner yoga stuff, where we used each other to do some poses. It was interesting stuff. I was teamed with Nico. I felt revived, but then in about three hours I crashed.

Printed the color on DeAnn. Exposed the line art for Asha and Lacey. Printed the final text layer on Morgan and Diana. Folded and editioned those. Headed home, feeling utterly spent. I think I'll let my body recuperate tomorrow and bounce back for the weekend. Too many late nights.

Oh I also added a 17th poster: Madeline. So right now I have the first layer on DeAnn, Lacey, and Asha printed which are posters 14, 15 and 16. I have 13 finished thesis posters. I'm so freaking close. Saturday. I'll conserve my energy and go at it full force. Get a burrito. I also need to design the text sides for the remaining four posters anyway. Yeah, tomorrow I'll rest.

OH OH the first schedule for thesis week was released. And I'm not on it. Maybe my thesis has been approved for being so awesome that I don't have to defend it? But yeah, I emailed Linda about it.

Todays Portrait Is: Dara O'Briain.

slip ups and success!!

Oww I hurt my trick knee AGAIN. Slipped on the stairs at school and landed square on it. Looks like I'll be limping for a few days. Booo.

Last day of Focus Week. My proposal feels like ages ago. Not just five days. Ahh. Yeah.

First up was Morgaine! I got there right on time. Her thesis is about body modification and ways we represent ourselves. It was a very broad topic, and the panel sort of questioned her about ways to get it down. Still, quite good.

From there I went to the library to return books, and that was where I slipped. Ow.

It gets a bit exhausting to go to a thesis in almost every block (save for defenses). I have seen so much, and next semester around I'll see a ton and it will be mostly defenses. It will be interesting to see how that works out.

Followed next was Josh. He is doing promotional materials for a band Larry and His Flask. Sweet posters, and other stuff. Not quite branding, but it fits well and it should produce some good work.

Lunch time! More bloody sandwiches. No enchiladas this focus week. Boo.

I was trying to think of what to do during my lunch, when I realized I had enough time to print my shirts! So I got the stuff from the studio, and set up. There was a drum binding demo, but it was okay to print and use the pressure washer. The shirts got printed in a fantastic jiffy. Love them.

Got to Jennifer's proposal with time to spare even. She is doing six large scale paper dolls about body types and relating them to how they get "corrected" by vintage fashion media. She has spent all week being nervous but knocked it out of the park! Go her. Another round of good questions and answers and suggestions. She made it really evident from the start that she knew her research.

From there I went to the final proposal of the week: Samala! She is proposing a 2-3 minute animation about reliance on media and what happens when it all comes apart. She has the art for the project, just meeting the time and animation technique stuff will be tricky. It is a lot of learning to do real quick. That was what most people questioned. The logistics of the project and what she can realistically get accomplished. Still, another good proposal.

AND THEN WE WERE FINISHED! Fall 2010 Focus Week! My Focus Week!

I scanned and then helped Karen bag her art work. Chad stopped by and we three chatted. Then Karen and I went to the studios and dropped off stuff and then Safeway and then studios and then Rogue to meet up with James, Jon, Josh, Dom, Samala, and Morgaine. It is Jon's birthday today!! So the party was getting started there and Karen owed me a beer. So I had the delicious Shakespeare Stout and did a sketch of the table. We came a little bit late, so they moved on to the next spot on the East side while we stuck around for some food. Chicken fingers and fries! Before we left, Karen and I joined Rogue Nation. You get seventy five cents off pints and free stuff on your birthday! Hurray!

I went back home, and decided not to join the shindig on the other side. Knee too gimpy and I had errands. Went to Fred Meyer to get chili making supplies as per Brynne's recipe. It was a nice night for a walk, even one with a big bag of groceries.

I'm sooo tired.

I heat set the shirts while watching Peep Show and Never Mind the Buzzcocks. Now I'm going to crawl into bed, and get up at nineish and put the crock pot on with the chili and then clean the apartment. Well, mostly clean my room and get everything in order for our Focus Week Survival Luncheon! I'll also make a run to Trader Joe's for some veggies and drinks. Juice drinks, not booze drinks.

Owww my knee.

Fall Thesis Sketches - 5

Josh and Jennifer proposing.

Jennifer proposing.

Samala proposing. Last proposal of the week!!!

Sketches done during proposals and defenses.

Micron in a moleskin

fall Thesis Sketches - 4

Morgan, Lenny, and Daniel observing Heather's defense.

Kristen and Tabitha proposing.

Beth proposing.

Sivonna proposing.

Morgaine proposing. Chad observing. Muku blocking the way.

Sketches done during proposals and defenses.

Micron in a moleskin

a beth of beagles

It's been a fairly long day. Well, it was an early day. And early days lead into long feeling days. But it was a great day.

Heather's thesis defense was this morning. She made these beautiful etchings depicting these fables of hers. Morgan said it was the best aquatint he has ever seen at PNCA. Really intricate work. Lots of thought and depth. The panel kinda got into a critique about it, but the conversation was good and long. They actually had to stop it so they could continue onto the next stage. I was looking at some of my past thesis write ups, and they were more extensive than this. Heather is such a talented artist and an amazing, intelligent individual.

Got a way too salty pretzel from Safeway for a snack. Sat with Karen at the first half of Kristen and Tabitha's joint proposal. They started with a video, and launched into their proposal. They went back and forth pretty well. Kristen was nervous and spoke fast. It was a double length proposal, so we left during some of the questions. But they knew ahead of time, and it was probably expected that some would leave.

Beth! What a great thesis. Animal grouping in visual form and what it reflects. It was a packed house also. I got front row right in front of the podium. She was nervous but did really well. Answered the questions well. Borrowed and returned my pen well.

Lunch time! Lasagna! Ate with Madeline, Amanda, Rachel, Amanda, and Jaymee. Chatted about stuff. Showed them how to fold a zine down.

Then scanned some stuff. Chatted with more people.

Eckard was doing a performance where he had a candelabra strapped to his legs that bound them in this raised position (but they were also propped) and he was laying on the floor and dragging himself around this crack on the floor with a little pick and this tube. He cleaned the crack on the floor and blew the dust away. It was odd but then it became just a background detail as I talked to BT about promoting positivity and high fives all day every day.

I went to Sivonna's Muku Mania proposal. I got a sticker from it! Yay! It was a nice proposal. I've already heard it a bunch of times. She lost her voice for about 10 seconds during it, but that passed.

After I talked to Samala, and then Dom, Thom, Jon, and I did a Chinatown loop walk. First to Utrecht. Jon got some paper. Then Everett Street so Dom and Jon could pick up their art from a show. Today was First Thursday. Too bad I made plans. Oh well. Jon went back to school to print. Finally was Floating World Comics. I got an email reminding me of my much neglected box. I gotta show up at least twice a year to get my MAJOR backlog of comics. So I did that. Then we walked back towards the studios. Thom is in town for the next few months again, totally awesome. He is going to teach English in China! Just needs to save for the ticket. Way way cool.

I headed back home after that. Relaxed a bit. Called Rollyn to confirm that we were still on for bowling. Unfortunately the bowling alley at PSU was all reserved for a special deal. So we stayed in, ordered pizza, and watched Goldfinger. Then spent a lot of time comparing what movies we have and haven't seen. I should have taken his bet when he said that Tampopo wasn't in the 1001 Movies to See Before You Die book, because it totally was. It was a nice night.

Tomorrow after the proposals, I will print my shirts. Not participate in the crazy drinking that takes place at Yur's following the finals and instead go and buy fixings for chili! Whoo! And then listen to audio books and clean the apartment. Jon is having a birthday celebration roaming party thing, but that doesn't start till later. I want to focus on cleaning the apartment. Put it into good shape for the Saturday Luncheon.

Tomorrow is the last day of proposals! Morgaine, Josh, Jennifer, and Samala! And then print shirts!

Fall Thesis Sketches - 3

Dominic proposing.

Rachel and Robin proposing.

Mel proposing and Karen defending.

Karen defending. BT observing.

Heather defending.

Sketches done during proposals and defenses.

Micron in a moleskin

another brilliant day in thesis land

I think my hair is totally improving with the better conditioner. Unfortunately I use a lot and it isn't a big container.

Anyway, another day of Focus Week. Relaxing, kicking back, supporting awesome people

First up was Dominic. 201 was crowded. The seats were filled and plenty of people sat. I sat next to Jennifer and Abbie, who was at my proposal and she complimented me again about it. Hurrah! Anyway, back to Dom. Again, another person who did extremely well. Got through his cards. Answered the questions well. Was clear and all that good stuff. He is doing illustrations about neurosis. Should be awesome.

Before Rachel's, I went to Safeway and grabbed a muffin and Perrier and some cash.

Rachel's proposal was also good. Unfortunately the podium light was facing towards me, so I couldn't get a good drawing of her. Still, I tried. Rachel is doing illustrations representative of the visual kei type of Japanese rock..stuff. Uhh. I'm a little unsure of what it is exactly, but it fits her artistic style.

Lunch was sandwiches and salad. It was good. I've had an odd appetite lately. I haven't been able to finish a lot. Not eating in the portions that I once did. Sat with the illustration cronies.

Karen went to a salon to get her hair styled for her thesis. She was also wearing a nice sweater tucked into a black pencil skirt, heels, and tights. She looked GREAT. It's that dressing up for the game/the show/the situation thing that gives one extra confidence. She looked hot. I whistled and Madeline cat called at her. And when she got close I said "yeah baby, I'm so going to objectify you". She seemed pleased with the reaction. I dropped my bike off at the studio (I was running late so I had to park it at school, so I could get to Dom's thesis in time). We chilled in the library.

I went to Robin's. It was a packed room. Stuffed to the gills. Fifty plus. Robin is so sweet, and makes some breath taking works of art. Her thesis is photo graveure prints of contemplative interiors. Lots of light and shadow. Just beautiful. A really complicated process, but it works perfectly for what she is best at. Her proposal was succinct and she handled the suggestions and questions masterfully. Really good.

I claimed a seat at Mel's and went back to talk to Eva, Asha, and Asha's fiancée while waiting for Robin to come out with the meeting with her panel. It is weird. Every now and again I stop and think "I'm here. I have one semester left. That is it. Huh." All these years, all this study, all the work. It is coming together.

I'm really understanding why I do art, and what my goals are, and understanding my unique aesthetic and view point. I'm unarchival, I'm accessible, I'm not terribly picky...but I like friends and portraits and I'd rather achieve a piece that represents a soul than technical beauty alone. Or something like that. I'm still thinking, but I'm on the right road I feel. And it makes me feel so good and so satisfied.

Anyway, Mel blew us away with her thesis. She is designing signs for people that have ugly signs in their store. Sort of giving good design as a gift, and doing it in this last sort of chance before she leaves college and has to make money and stuff. There is a lot more to it than that, and her slide show was brilliant considering it crashed two days ago and she had to start over. It was also a packed room. Lots of people showing their love for Mel. I'm excited for her project to start taking shape. She already did one sign as a practice run, and they put it up. She isn't telling people she is doing the signs for them, just making them and leaving a note card with some info. It is an interesting topic and raised a lot of questions, which she handled very well.

Chatted to Nicolo, a yoga buddy whose name I now finally know!

Afterwards I grabbed a seat at Karen's. Well I grabbed several seats. Wanted to save one for Madeline, but because of shuffling and stuff and lack of clarity on my part, it ended up not being saved. But she got a seat anyway. Karen's attendance for her defense was seventy plus strong. Bloody amazing! She had pie and sweet tea and a little give away that was most excellent. It really completed her thesis. Anyway, foxy Karen NAAAILLLED IT. Bam bam bam got through all of her points and the importance of looking back and yay America and history and stuff. Really clear. Good viewpoint. One of the panel members said "well, I don't have much to ask" or something like that. She got lots of applause and lots of hoots and cheers. I scanned some stuff, and waited around. Lacey and I escorted her to Yur's when all was done and done. I didn't have anything to drink. Just sat and sketched and chatted and listened. It was a nice crowd jammed in to the booth. BT, Karen, Sandra, Miles, Dom, James, Chris, Jim, Mel, Phil, Patrick, Robin, Diana...well some sat in chairs and others came and went. But it was a good bunch of people, all talking and having a good time. THESIS!!! YEAHH!

I left at 7:45, a bit early compared to the rest of the crew. Met new friend Rollyn at Blue Moon. I was hungry so I had a pint and a grilled cheese. Chatted about movies and school mostly. Not much to say about the evening really. Wouldn't classify it as a date. Ended early, and now I'm set to relax. Tomorrow is a shorter day. Not going to as many things. Heather, Tabitha & Kristen, Beth, lunch, Sivonna and then home I guess. Home to work on animation. I think I'll set the goal of having the backgrounds for the animation done. So I can have a starting point. Been slacking.

Fall Thesis Sketches - 2

Asha proposing.

Jon proposing. Martin observing. Cherish defending.

Cherish defending.

Sketches done during proposals and defenses.

Micron in a moleskin

need more flashion

I fell nicely asleep at nine ish. And unnicely woke up at 3am. I sort of laid about for a few hours, and when I realized I wasn't falling asleep, at 6:20ish I got up and had some tea, did half the dishes, and had some bacon and egg. Then I sat about and relaxed for the next few hours. Didn't go to a morning defense.

Started with Jeff, who unknowingly had spelt his last name wrong. It looked good aesthetically, so I didn't question it. He is doing propaganda posters. Jeff is coming from an interesting point of view, visually, because he came to PNCA as photo, then intermedia, and now illustration. It was a good little proposal.

I helped Karen briefly before Madeline's. Just put paper to dry on the racks.

Madeline's proposal was also very good! She had a great speaking pace, good humor, good art in the show. All around, very nice. She was nervous but did fine. Madeline is writing a children's picture book. The questions were answered well. Then she left to go relax and sleep off the stress.

Lunch was burritos that were perpetually running out. Maybe because each one had to be made, instead of making trays of enchiladas. I sat with Kevin and Sivonna. I lost interest half way through my burrito. I mean, I lost interest in the burrito. Not my company. For the rest of lunch I was in the library helping Dom with his crossword (wasn't that much of help) and chatted with the Illo people.

After lunch was Asha! Her thesis and mine both have a similar axis point with opposite materials and audience/distribution. We are both making something to freely give, and while mine is focused on mantra, hers has a meditation aspect. But where hers will have fine craft with letter press and other printing techniques, mine follows the aesthetic of lacking archival qualities, as well as "anal retentive registration". And while her audience is the unsuspecting who find her hidden pieces, mine will be who I force my posters on. There are a lot of similarities, but some big differences. Quite cool. I hung around a bit after. Got to talk to Morgan about my zine. Got my ego nursed a bit more. Heh heh.

And then I saw this guy who is the male version of me, style wise. I'm glad that I wore my striped sweater and green shirt, because if I had gone gray with black hoodie, we would have been identically dressed. He had black and white sneakers, straight dark jeans, gray shirt (my favorite color for shirts these days) plaid button up layer under a black hoodie layer, and with the topper: a brown leather jacket. I pointed it out to Jon and he agreed that it was the male me.

Somewhere between that point, going to the studio, and going to Jon's thesis, I got a huge blob of white screenprinting ink on my jacket. I must have set it down, and picked it up. I didn't notice it for a while, which was strange. It also meant that I got a lot of it in my hair and on my sleeve and down my jacket. Boo!

Jon gave a pretty good proposal. He probably got some of the most complex questions I've heard at the proposals thus far. More in depth stuff about the importance of the time and format. He had good responses, all though I spaced on the last half of his proposal because that was when I noticed all the ink on me.

Thom May is in town! I gave him one of my few precious remaining zines. And dashed to the print making studio to scrub the ink off my jacket. It came off no problem, all though all the scrubbing and water probably wasn't good for my already beat to hell jacket. When I love a garment, I loooove it and it gets so worn out. I wear the Romeos, even though they have no traction and when its wet I'm one slide away from a banged up knee. I'll figure out how to add traction to them some how. Anyway, cleaned the jacket and then went to Cherish's defense. Saved Karen a seat.

Cherish knocked it out of the park! Almost no notes needed. Just clear about her process and the meaning and how it relates. She did pieces and an installation and distillation about home. Really beautiful work, especially the "book" that she did, that was clips of spaces and written memories on vellum and other precious papers. She also had a snack table with tea and pumpkin roll and rice candy. Yum! Perfect way to end the day. She responded to the questions with intrigue. A really good piece of work.

After that I scanned in my sketches thus far, and then went to the studios. Chilled with BT and Karen for a bit. Then returned to my fair apartment.

I still haven't picked up the animation work that I sorely need to be doing. I figure I'll just be at school non stop after Focus Week, and it will feel like a breeze compared. I just need to draw and scan and sequence. And not get too mad at After Effects. Watched me some Glee and Raising Hope (not as good as some of the other episodes, a little too gimmick heavy).

Tomorrow is Dom, Rachel, Robin, Mel, and then Karen! Then a little bit of a celebration after that I suspect. But I'm having a rendezvous at 8, so I won't get getting down and funky with the whole bunch for much longer after Karen's.

Still haven't been at a proposal that rivaled my attendance amount, I suspect I'll be getting a run for my money tomorrow.

Fall Thesis Sketches - 1

Sandra defending her thesis.

Leo and Danny proposing their thesis.

Karen drawing me at my thesis proposal.

Jeff and Madeline proposing. Gordon observing.

Sketches done during proposals and defenses.

Micron in a moleskin.

best I've felt in ages

I sort of passed out at 9m, and woke up again just now, so thought I would take 30 minutes to blog and then go back to bed.

Waking up at 7am:

Suuucks. One of the hardest morning ever. Had a huge knot in my stomach for about a minute. Crawled out of bed. Showered. Ate tea and toast. Didn't bother with makeup, as I knew I'd be returning home to do it (and finish prep) anyway.

Defenses and Proposals:

Sandra's thesis defense was beautiful. She touched on all the subjects and themes succinctly and in great order. Her project was these illuminated picture boxes depicting a brothers Grimm story about this well. She constructed sets and photographed people in them. It was really nice. I'm doing thesis sketches again. It will be fun to do, because now I can just chill and draw. I have a lot of screen printing to do in the next couple weeks, but I love screen printing. And art. So yay!

Leo's proposal was full of nerves, but not full of "likes". Lots of pauses instead. Which is good. Better to pause than to use filler words. His thesis is a series of posters about people reacting to a world dominated by technology and their escape from it. His art will be amazing. He's just not the most talkative of fellows.

After that I bought a soda and cradled it preciously as I consumed its delicious caffeine. At this stage I was so tired and out of it and just trying to get nerves to calm down.

Danny's proposal was perfect really. He knew what he was doing (an all picture, no text book for his daughter) and why and the bigger picture of it. He had the art to back it up. His slide show was beautiful. Very dynamic. I can't wait to see his work unfold. We screen printers all offered to show him the ropes, because the printing for his book could be really beautiful if screen printed. White and red on black paper.

Lunch and Prep:

Yay for the school providing lunch. Had my sandwich. Sat with Kristen, Karen, Cherish, Isaiah, Cherish's mom. The latter three left and Terry, Matty, and yoga buddy whose name I keep forgetting joined us. We gabbed about this and that. At 1pm I left to go home to put my war paint on. That is, to put on dramatic makeup to get my mindset into that of a performer and stage presence. I wanted to show up and give my thesis looking awesome. The act of applying the winged eye liner and blush and lipstick and all that calmed my nerves. I also ran through my cards and noted when to switch slides. Got to school at about 2:40. Got my slide show queued up. Got the posters on all the chairs. Printed out the abstract for the panel chairs. Put on my white power boots as well.

And then the room started filling up. People I didn't recognize, people I did...TJ, Matthew Seeley, BT, Cotey, Tippi, Karen, Terry, Matty, Madeline, Michael, Mel, Bryan Columbo, Jon, James J, Dom, Sivonna, Samala, Karen, Rose Bond, Christy, Nicole, Jennifer, Amanda, Rachel, Cameron, Kinoko, Asha, Eva, Robin, Diana, Jim, Tabitha, Petra, Tibby, Heather, uhhm... more people I didn't recognize but are obviously awesome because they came to my thesis. I'm forgetting a ton of people. 10 minutes before I began and it was standing room only. There were chairs enough for 30 people, and I printed 66 posters to hand out. I had set aside six posters for some people. I put one on every chair. Karen and Terry helped pass out the posters to people as they came in. Diana got the last one! There were a couple left over once everyone filed out, but the amount that was given away indicates my thesis proposal was attended by 55-60 people!! How cool is that? Goes to show that enthusiasm breeds enthusiasm and people love free art, just as much as I love giving it out. One of my panel members didn't show, so Rose stepped in. My panel was Martin, Rose, and Kurt. Which was a great panel really. All of them knew me, knew my work, and mainly put forward ideas and suggestions instead of criticism.

The Thesis Proposal:

It went amazingly well! I was soooo nervous, but I got in some good eye contact. I mainly tried to look at Samala and BT and Mel. Try to get the corners and center of the audience when looking out. I was about fifty fifty with notecards and memory, I feel. I relied on them to avoid stumbling, but I tripped over words here and there. But I don't feel bad about it. Really, I don't think it could have gone better. The thesis came. Martin told me to start. So I did. And I went through it. And then I answered questions. It was just so fluid that I didn't really stop to think "wow that was it" till it was over. The questions were tricky, and I don't know how well I answered them. I answered them, sure, but some of the specifics might not have been there. But I left feeling good about it. I didn't spark any controversy. There wasn't a debate about logistics. The crowded room seemed very enthusiastic. And talking to people in the room before hand, people really dug the give away.

After the proposal, we all leave the room while the panel discusses. I got SO MANY high fives and hugs. It was a high five train for a bit. So much human contact. It was great! A few people stayed behind to chat and give me well wishes and more hugs. So awesome. Sucks I am nearly out of posters, but that speaks to the success of my work. The main feedback I received in the 3 on 1 was to think about what defines the success of this project, keeping track of distribution, the bigger picture outside the community and where it goes from here, and something else. I wrote it down. Also some artists to check out. It was a good little session. I answered some more of their questions, which was nice to do without the pressure of responding in the more formal manner.

So yeah, my thesis was approved. Now to spend the next six months doing it! I need to formulate a project time line. Karen mentioned that I could, based on how I work, do more than seven posters. Which I see as a possibility. The harder part will be coming up with the text. The art, no biggie right now. I have ideas. I'm just excited!! Eeee!!

Celebratin'

Did some little book keeping and bragging around school. Then I rode my bike home, obviously after switching out of my power boots. Decided to treat myself to a nice meal. Went to The Ram's Head and got a pint of Terminator Stout and the Ale Battered Fish and Chips. Popped open Packing for Mars and stuffed my face with deliciousness. The rain is back, but it is the delightful pitter patter kind. It was a good Sunday night meal.

Returned to the apartment. Talked to mom a bit. Watched some telly. Then I felt myself passing out, so I let it happen. I'm up again, but will be back in bed soon enough. I just feel really great. All the stress, all the years of build up, and it came and went and now I have something that I love that I can't wait to start doing.

BOOYAAAH

NAILED IT! Tons of people showed up, gave away all of the posters that I had. Standing room only ten minutes before I started. WHOOO!!! Put my game face on, and wore my power boots.

Spring Thesis Sketches 2010 - Batch 2

Pages from my sketchbook. Drawn during the Spring 2010 Thesis proposals and defenses at PNCA.

Micron in floppy moleskin.

new record of three

I completed my sketchbook zine. Well, I am printing a facsimile of my sketches from thesis, because people like them so much. My final silkscreen project. I'll have to print a lot because A LOT of people want one. It is exactly 16 pages, so it should print well. And I have the cover drawn (which is actually the last to be drawn so it isn't a true facsimile). Anyway, I went to four defenses today.

Bryan's robot mythology was good. Got through the points quite clearly. His thesis reflected the more literary consideration than an immense body of work. The panel for thesis always include a non-department person. And Bryan's had a few weird questions. Like "how do you want me to see this" and Bryan's "I want you to see it right here, right now, like this" was perfect. And not snarky.

Afterwards I called Ames and Big Giant about internship stuff. Ames wasn't too enthused about my questions about what I should send them, but Big Giant was friendly. I had my sketchbook out and Martin approached me to see what more I had drawn. BT even did a little hand motion to represent seeing what I had done. I like that.

Anyway, Madeline went to Rachel's with me. She did four large digital pieces about mother earth (though really it was mistress of the animals or something). Four specific American terrains and man did she have research. Lots of science and creatures. At first they were large pictures of animals, and half woman/half something, but damn...it must have taken ages. Rachel was nervous and had a few second pauses, which must have felt like minutes to her. But she got through it.

It was soup day. Not that great. I like sandwich day better. Sat with Madeline, Kristen, Amanda, and Rachel (other Rachel, no the other other Rachel). Karen and Daniel joined us and we gave Karen some harmless poking about her drunken antics. Robin won the people's choice award in the BFA Juried Show. I didn't get into the Voorhies/Carey prize, but I got three out of four pieces into Illustration Juried show AND a section of my Odd Owl poster is on the flier for the show. Whoo!

Erin McCarty's thesis was next. She had spent the week painting the small illustration room and installing her painting. The white walls were largely black with silhouettes of Alaska trees and Arizona cactus. Her six pieces were beautiful and grotesque and represented feelings that she saw as the root of many problems, feelings of defeat (cowardice, carelessness, dependency) and feelings of aggression (envy, selfishness, pride). The room was dark and close in and there was very limited space. It all culminated into this glorious experience. Erin's work really...yeah. I wish I had pictures. She also had these reoccurring skeletal figures that I think mom would really like.

Between Erin's and Ursula's I got my resume tightened up and edited out a page from my portfolio and sent it off to Big Giant (along with a cover letter). Now just gotta wait through this weekend...

Ursula's road trip memory installation was huge. She did these massive drawings over digital printouts and hung them and had artifacts below, and beverages and cheese potatoes. It was a full experience. Really cool and professional for being just her first installation. She went to all 50 states. She had about 12 large drawings as representations of some of her experiences, and a wall of remainders from the drive. It was just almost overwhelming and ultimately very effective. She had a wonderful humor about it, but knew what she was doing and had a pure passion for it. It was a great way to end the whole week. A real positive note.

After, Karen and I bet Annie and Chad (illustration painting and beginning illustration teacher respectively) at Rogue Brewery. Chad offered to pick up the tab after we ordered! So nice! It was actually really amazing to hang with them. I never doubted they were cool but having a few beers and hearing Chad's wrestling voice...really amazing. They also drew stuff in my sketchbook. Really awesome things. We then out arted each other "where is Michelangelo's David?" and all that. Yeah, it was fun. Nice hanging with people. I like PNCA because they encourage friendships with teachers, and having a beer with the is totally acceptable. And calling a teacher Mr. This or Professor That would be a form of mockery, not respect.

Parted ways. Karen and I went to Laughing Planet. I gorged on a burrito while I finished up my sobering up. Mmm.

Went home. Talked with Katie for a bit. Watched some teevee. Tomorrow is puppet and assess just how behind I am day. And probably clean up my totally trashed room. Mmm.

Spring 2010 Thesis Sketches - Batch 1

Pages from my sketchbook. Drawn during the Spring 2010 Thesis proposals and defenses at PNCA.

Micron in floppy moleskin.