hi

hi

Saturday, October 17, 2009

nothing at all

Shelly is indeed the waitress that remembers us. She has our orders down pretty good, but not our names. Soon though. Not as many fries as we are used to, but the burgers were great.

And then I wasted my Friday. Like I usually do. I have a care package that I have to wait till tomorrow to get. Mom says it has cookies in it. Talked to mom a little bit. Sorting out the Thanksgiving situation yeah.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

good job Thursday crew

Left early to grab my pieces out of the locker and print out a photo. The printer didn't work (the Phaser is always breaking down or out of ink). We didn't look at the photos though, ran out of time.

Martin had to get to Seattle so the rest of class after the critique was cancelled. Just pure critique and new assignment.

The critiques went well all over. Mine went great. I put both the monotype and painting up and having both was met with high favor. It was suggested to scan them and play with balance between them (I made my "if you cross your eyes, it is the best piece ever" joke and got some laughs). The color pallet was complimented. The figures and the message was clear. No lack of voice. It was awesome. I was first up and could not have felt better. And the good critiques rolled on. Madeline's portrait was emotional and colorful and had wonderful touches. Kristen's horse and Beth's alpaca were colorful and meaningful. Danny had to leave so he didn't get a proper critique but his was lovely. Cassi B's had some nice pattern. Chase had a dynamic Mayan brawl scene. Everyone seemed to find a good sense of resoulution. Class ended on a wonderful note. The new assignment is Manifesto. Illustrate a manifesto (could also be a declaration from a song or poem or story). Tricky. Don't know where I'll start.

Played around on the net with Madeline. Talked to the library crew. Went to Safeway and treated myself to some ice cream for a job well done.

I then spent the rest of the day eating and watching TV. I made myself a penne and sauce lunch that ended up being twice as much food as I was expecting. Finished it off for dinner. So much food. So much television. End to another week. Goes fast, ya.

Self Portrait with Big Hair

Monotype self portrait.

drizzle

History of Laughter. We finished discussing and picking apart the Miller's Tale in ye olde english. Quite funny I must say, once you know what is going on in it. Talked with Bekka, Diana, and Rachel R about the water brush. Then we watched some Richard Pryor.

History of Printmaking. We talked about calling things printmaking. I was the first to bring up wanting to assign "printmaking" to work as a special term and that assigning it to something easy like a computer print out makes the term loose its special meaning. Looked at some more etchings. Started to drift off even though I had a full thermos of black tea in me (oh by the way, turns out I just left my thermos in the illustration room).

Diana and I went to Cha! Cha! Cha! for lunch again. I bought a burrito and ate a third of it. We went to Utrecht. I bought a sheet of paper for my illustration final. Diana bought a water brush.

Shared some of the chocolate Llyw got for me in Ireland. Well just shared a nibble with Robin and Daniel W. Rest of class was spent looking at prints in textbooks and talking about printing techniques and the development of them and which museums to go to.

After class I went to the print lab and light boxed my monotype onto my sheet of watercolor paper. Then from then till 6:15 I painted in the library. Ate another third of my burrito.

It was Fawn's birthday so she wasn't there to teach yoga, but a friend of hers was. A lot of stretching. My hamstrings were super tight and my right knee was as weak as it has ever been. I couldn't get up into lunges on my right side. It really sucked to be so bad at something I have done religiously for two years. But it gave me the energy to finish my piece.

Jon W got to the library at around 9ish and we chatted while I worked on my final touches. Left school at around 9:45. Should have spent more time painting but oh well. It is what it is. I wish I could combine the two images though. Each one has what the other is missing. Texture in one, character in the other.

Katie cooked a chicken and I ate a little bit of it. Made myself some tea then I TVed out. So You Think You Can Dance was AMAZING. So intense. They really want great and versatile dancers this season. Top 20 next week, can't wait. Glee reached a nice little turning point. I really want to stay up and watch some more but I should get some rest. BUT, but I only have the pre-lunch chunk of class to attend tomorrow so I don't have to be that alert. I'll watch a little bit of something.

Oh, on the way back from school yesterday I ran into Lindsay (first roommate, remember). I was going past PGE Park when I heard "Trillian Spencer!" and there she was. We talked a little till her bus arrived.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

documentation smackdown

Ya like all the art I'm actually getting around to posting?

Fall has officially set in. Had to change my sweater layer that goes with my leather jacket. Went from light hoodie to thick Puma asymmetrical zip. Pretty good weight but now I need to dig out my gloves. The rain hasn't come yet, but any day now.

The first assignment in monotype was to mix up a brown and use it to create and image featuring a boat, a ladder, and a figure. Finished my little figure just in time for lunch. It was an okay image, nothing to write home about (even though that is exactly what I am doing now).

Lunch was a bagel with shmear in the library. Checked out a Philippe Halsman book. Bothered Madeline while she tried to read. Then I went and sat with Marshall and Kristen.

I decided to attempt the Trobriand piece in monotype anyway. I cleaned a huge plate, I bought a sharpie, and did the drawing on the back side to use as reference. It took me a long while to draw it. It was a lot more difficult to render the piece than I expected. I threw in some nice browns and all that, but in the end it printed a lot lighter than I expected. That is more of a pressure issue. It was hard to tell what it would look like. It got some favorable responses but in the end I am going to paint it. I'll get a new piece of paper, turn on the light box, trace the idea of it, and paint away. I'll probably just stick around at school tomorrow while I do it, just so I won't crinkle it with transportation. School week is at the halfway point already!

After class I documented all my monotypes. All of them. Some 20 pictures. Most are in the huge, unadjusted state right now. And are trapped on the school computer. So expect to see more of my printmaking in the coming weeks.

Returned home. Worked on the sketches for Bekka and mine's show. Got my four designs. Hurray!

Adam came over again. He's pretty much crashing here during his couple days in Portland. He brought chicken. Whoo. Now to go to bed, have to get up in 8 hours.

Fflur Dafydd Portrait

Monotype diptych. Portrait of Welsh author Flurr Dafydd.

workin' 11 to 8


Oof, I'm pooped. Eating a dessert of carrots and then I think I'll be off to bed.

Had a weird restless night sleep. Woke up early and it took me forever to settle down and accept that I had no further obligations.

Arrived pretty much on time. Daniella flew in from New York and brought us some Rugala from Zabar's. Delicious! We reviewed our sketches. Some had longer discussion that others. Nothing much to go into detail right now. Breaked perfectly for lunch.

Lost my appetite somehow during lunch and had to force myself to get through my sandwich through the day. Photocopied and wrote and printed out.

Rest of class was a work day. Teamed up with Rachel and Kristen and we discussed our stories. There was a verbal skirmish in the other room that I only heard half of (the loud half). We assisted Rachel in how to spice up her Rapunzel reimagining. Space 80's, flapper, hillbilly, etc. She did manage to settle on a few cool character designs. Not space 80's though.

At around 4:30, Daniella gave us a slideshow about allegory and showed us the first in Matthew Barney's Cremaster cycle. The one with the blimps. It was neat. I worked on painting my pieces. Hung around Youtubing it and wasting time till yoga.

My hamstrings are getting awesomely loose now. I can get my palms on the floor almost always by the end of class, and my downward facing dogs are boss. A good class. The healthier I am, the better it goes. Whoo! Miss Mona was in class, as was Esteban and Serenity and a girl I don't know. Small but good.

House was good. Lie to Me had Marc Blucas from Buffy. Who next, Juliet Landau? Actually that would be really cool. Adam hung out for a bit. Showed us some of his new awesome glasswork and had gifts. Had a volcano marble for Katie and a trilobite for me! It is so freaking cool.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Sketchbook Responses - 3






Sketchbook responses to Narrative Image's weekly reading. First three are for David Mazzucchelli's Asterios Polyp. Last two are for Sorry? by some author I forget.

Ink, watercolor pencils, and ballpoint pen in Moleskin sketchbook.

Sketchbook Responses - 2 - Dame Darcy




Sketchbook responses to weekly reading for Narrative Image. These three are all for Dame Darcy's Gasoline.

Graphite, charcoal, watercolor, and marker in moleskin.

Sketchbook Responses - 1






Sketchbook responses to weekly reading for Narrative Image.

Watercolor pencil and ink done in a moleskin.

haberdashery!

It's 1am and I have to cover for three days of missed writing. Bleh.

Friday:
My suitcase ended up being a lot heavier than I expected. I also had to bring two Hammerpress posters with it (a Franz Ferdinand one that is to go to Caleb and one of Karen's Alphabet posters for Llyw). I shouldn't have brought so much art supplies. I knew I probably wouldn't use them. Sort of like a safety blanket. Those things add up.

My train seat mate was an adorable little lady named Tessla. She had a mighty snore but was otherwise sweet. Behind me was a Scottish student by the name of Rob. He was studying zoology at whatever college is located in Corvalis. He, myself, his seat mate, this sweet old couple across from him, and a knitter behind them, we all had a conversation. We came in at random times but it was a lot of fun. Talked about things to see in Seattle (Pike's Place and the Fremont Troll) and the correct pronunciations of places like Puyallup and Sequim.

Portland was gray when I left, but Seattle was beautiful. Caught the 71 effortlessly and got off at University and 43rd. Llyw left his place unlocked and I relaxed with Alive in Necropolis (I had finished my required reading on the train). We went to Shultzy's for dinner. I had a stout that I can't recall the name of (it was German) and a bacon Cheddar burger with fries. Talked about Ireland and digital graphics in televised sports.

Saturday:
Llyw is recovering from a cold, so we took it easy. I didn't think I would become sick again from his company though. Orange rolls for breakfast followed by a walk around the neighborhood. This box of stuff had been dumped in this park and I rifled through it a little bit. I found a beat up copy of Botany of Desire, so that was awesome. Played some Beatles Rock Band. I'm getting almost passable at the easy level on the guitar. Switched over to regular Rock Band. Watched some Glee and Peep Show. Hulu is the best. Dinner was Pho, but that came after a visit to the little opening celebration of the new Goorin Brother's hat shop. Llyw picked out an attractive herringbone cadet cap. Now if he only buys 7 more Goorin Brother's caps, he will get one for free.

Pho was delicious. Num num nums. We back and watched Cube, because the American Astronaut disk was scratched. I really wanted to watch that as well. Still, Cube was cool. Amazing what you can do with a single good set, a good script, and some creative film work. Very solid.

Sunday:
Breakfast was lunch and we had burgers from A Burger Place. I bagged up the leftovers to consume later on my train ride back to Portland. The 73 was late and we got to the International District at around 2:05. Train leaves at 2:20. It was a quick hop and step down the blocks and stairs but I got my seat assignment just fine. The guy who sat next to me was reading about Durer but he didn't seem all that interested in discussing it. So I just read my book.

I took the Green Line for the first time. It goes North to South through the West side, so no more walking through Old Town for me. I caught the Red Line to Goose Hollow from Pioneer Place. It was one of the new trains too, but it had really hideous colors inside. Like Dairy Queen. Putrid whites, poor lighting, way too much yellow. It didn't look that great.

Katie and Luke were hanging out. I took a little breather and unpacked and then it was straight to homework. Almost. Got a good rough draft and I'm working on my sketches. Not where I would like to be, homework wise, but I enjoyed taking some time away from school. That's all I've done for five years now. College college college college college. And I have two years left. College college.

Friday, October 9, 2009

big meanie, little thursday




Did I mention that Auntie Brynne sent me a little gift of skirts and tights? Well she did. I put on my black tights, my brown lace up boots, and my new short velvet blue skirt. It was very short. It was manageable to walk and trot in. Biking was tricky. But I managed. Felt like being fabulous. Natalie later confirmed I was fabulous.

The first batch of critiques was both harsh and good. Martin wants us to do our best and to get there he needs to be honest. My critique came at the end of class. Anyway, yeah. We reviewed our pieces for an hour and a half. Danny is doing Maori. Kristen is doing some horse tribe. Cassi and Chase are both doing some variation on Mayans. Madeline is doing uhh...something not quite Mayan. Beth is doing something to do with Alpacas. Luis is doing Mexico City youth subculture. Rachel is doing the Inu, I believe they are called. Samala is working with some Celtic imagery. And yeah, I think that is about it. Martin smiled as he commented on the thrashing he gave the other class. I think the German's have a word for that. Oh yeah. Schadenfreude.

I treated myself to Quizno's for lunch. Needed something serious to eat. Sat in the library with Kristen and looked at the Taschen book Cinema Now.

After lunch, Martin gave us a little shpeal on reference photos and for the next hour, a costume model came in and we took photos and had him pose and follow our directions. Our model was a little man with spandex and some bizarre things to wear in his tote. Like a unicorn costume. Uh... yeah. Still it was fun. Got some interesting photos, but I don't know how I will use this reference. Good to have a library of photos though. During his posing, the model consumed a banana. He stuck for a while in a stage with the huge wad of banana in his mouth. It was gross and too much for me to take and I had to turn away. I was teased and Martin joined in.

My stage two critique was: will my voice come through if I did a monotype? Why are you doing monotype? Are you attached to that medium? The cricket players are not that dynamic, there is a lot more you could have done with that concept. Probably will do the young married couple?

So my plan is to do the young Trobriand married couple. I will paint it, but use a very limited pallett. And then BAM right out of left field, I'll spend my time in monotype on Tuesday making the piece in that technique. Just to show how it would be. HA! It's time that I started figuring out how I will image make with this new medium anyway. Just playing around with it doesn't do anything for me.

I hung around after class and annoyed the remainders with my prattle. Danny and Kristen mainly. Just "look at this website" and "now look at this website" type stuff. Granted, they were cool sites. Eventually I got on my bike and went home. Harder going back in a skirt and than going to. Ate a pile of carrots and a bagel with shmear for dinner. Not the best but I keep forgetting to buy pasta sauce.

I packed Grandpa's suitcase with my hot boots, comfy shoes, and two changes of clothes. I am going up to Seattle for the weekend. Going to hang with Llyw, give him some Hammerpress posters, maybe watch a movie, probably play Rock Band, and overall have a relaxing time. I'll be back late afternoon/early evening on Sunday. See you guys then!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

the (nose) runs

Woke up fine. Well no major cough or soreness. But my nose was drippy. I woke up at 5:20ish. Guess that is what happens when you go to bed at 9. Just sat in bed and read and went to shower at 6:30. Nose was still drippy. Super drippy. I left my toilet paper at home by accident and had to get through History of Laughter with just the paper from the bathroom. My nose is red and in horrible shape right now. Bleeh.

In class we finished the Galifianakis video and talked about it. Watched the Letterman confessional and we talked about the context. A lot of context.

Between classes I went to Safeway and dropped a twenty on antihistamine, ibuprofen, and tissue. It took forever to kick in, but from 1pm to right now I've been just barely snuffly. Booyah.

Printmaking was looking at artists' depictions of various Greek myths. Castiglione (or something) and the invention of stippling. Lots of Zeus and the ripple effect of him becoming that swan. It was fun. Important to recognize certain figures.

Ate half my delicious sandwich in the library. Had a small coughing fit that got a concerned look from this cute fella. I insured him I was fine and left to avoid leaving too many germs behind. Talked to Fawn, who showed me the ad she made with my black and white illustration. I'm getting a cool, hard Grant for my work for her. Booyah. I gave her the originals and all rights to use of them. I think that is fair.

Walked to Whole Foods with Daniel W. He cut his hand while working. It's got the cool dark stitches. Seems almost fitting considering his thesis is about Frankenstein. I'm starting to feel a little bit of warmth from my thesis creeping in. Finish my Junior year and then that's it. Sat on the loading docks and chatted to Sivonna. She is doing India for her illustration project.

Rest of printmaking was more of the same mythology. Our theme for our print collection has been locked down: pain & naked ladies. Because pain runs through most art through history, or naked ladies. Sometimes both or one causes the other. I think I'll do a silkscreen portrait of Nomi Malone from Showgirls.

Oh, I just remembered how to make that instant cinnamon toast spread. Cinnamon + sugar + shaking, put on toast. Mmmmm.

I missed a call at 11:06 (because I was in class) from the Goose Hollow front desk. They had my keys! Hurray! I rode home and collected them. I should make them a thank you card for being so helpful and following through like that. Maybe it would encourage them to do more of the same for other people.

Watched the Tuesday episode of So You Think You Can Dance. Nibbled on carrots (healthy eating!) and drank orange juice. Nibbled on pills to keep me not drippy.

Yoga was intense. A lot of hamstring work. I couldn't hold a lot of the lunges and my right foot started to cramp. It was rough, but it was probably better to do it than not do it. Keeping healthy. Exercise. Good eating habits. Lots of rest.

I finished my stage twos with so much time to spare. I'm still stuck between images, but I've figured out a composition a little more. Either a silk screen of Trobriand cricket players or a monotype of two Trobriand newlyweds (well they are holding the bowl of cooked yams that indicate they are wed). Finished it while watching the Wednesday episode of So You Think You Can Dance. I'm sad that the other Kasprzak brother got cut, but I see why. This new season is shaping up to be intense and awesome. Can't wait for top 20!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

illness takes in

Woke up with a sore throat. Through the day it progressed into a slight cough, achey and warm body, and headaches. It was hard to focus during printmaking but I still managed some things. Played with color. The day just sort of scooted along in a haze.

Ate some microwave noodles. I'm now getting sick of them. Listened to this mix tape that Chris Peeler made me before I left for college.

Not much else to report. I'll be going to bed soon. Get lots of rest. Let my body recover and heal.

The fire alarm went off last night at 3am. It sucked.

Went to Safeway after school. Got meat and a brick of cheese. Bread and bagels. Orange juice.

I don't want to get sicker.

dialects, covered up and not

James Marsters was on Lie To Me! And the latest episode of House featured Ramachandran's mirrorbox to aid the pain felt by people with phantom limbs. Way cool! Heroes wasn't good. But now Sylar's back. Yay.

Ate oatmeal for dinner. Not very filling. Need to get food. Actual food. Next time I visit home, I should bring my big suitcase and fill it up with food.

Yoga went quick. Lot of hip openers. Light on some of the lunges. Went pretty well. Fawn loved my illustrations. On Wednesday we will sort out the moneys. I agreed to do it before she mentioned she would pay me, hehe. I don't know what a good rate would be for two little illustrations. But she does have all the rights to them and can use them however she wants. That's something.

Allegory allegory. We have to write a 4-10 page allegorical story. I was thinking about swimming and how when it is gray, you can't tell when water becomes sky. Dunno what it would mean. We did some exercises and then I got a headache. And OH CRAP I TOTALLY FORGOT TO UPLOAD MY IMAGES, crud. I scanned them in and everything. I just got caught up with making sure the yoga stuff was 300dpi that I forgot to put the images on homeroom. Damnit. I'll see if I can get them up tomorrow. Email Daniella about it.

Fflur Dafydd came into class today. She is one of five visiting writers. If you couldn't tell, she is Welsh. She had a beautiful accent. She talked about her first English novel, Twenty Thousand Saints, and how it is rewritten from Welsh but when she was translating it she decided to change characters around and all that. It sounded very interesting and almost familiar. She even sang us a few songs and played a guitar as well. Very lovely Welsh lady.

Critique went better than I expected. Had some comments about layout, but that was about it. Some real nice comics were made. Nice rendering and etc etc.

I wore my new boots. Got some oos and aahhs from some of the gals. Fawn told me that sometimes stores on 23rd give their excess to William Temple House, and that is why sometimes you find great finds there. But I don't think these are at all new. Boots and my sparkly shirt. Thought I would get the week off to a fashionable start. I'm trying to wear the things I don't commonly wear. Break the tee shirt + sweater + jeans + Chucks/Romeos rhythm I got going. Clothes clothes clothes.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Yoga Illustration for Fawn - 2 of 2

Commissioned illustration for Fawn Williams, Yoga Instructor.

Roughly 6"x4". Ink on top of graphite sketch with watercolor added for value. Used a photo of Fawn for reference.

Yoga Illustration for Fawn - 1 of 2

Commissioned illustration for Fawn Williams, Yoga Instructor.

Roughly 6"x4". Ink on top of graphite sketch. Used a photo of Fawn for reference.

sunday day

2am and right on Sunday night schedule.

Got up. Lounged around. Katie informed me she was sick sick sick. When I was close to her, I felt ill, but when I stepped away I got better. Proximity induced hypochondria. Thankfully she left.

I drew two illustrations for Fawn. Two yoga ones. One was black and white, and the other had some color. Based after some reference pictures of her. They ended up really good. I'll scan and post them tomorrow. Promise!

After a wee while I got around to my comic. Got it finished. It ended up looking rushed, even though it wasn't. It really needs a wash of some sort, but I didn't want to add a wash because I might screenprint a few copies for the family. But now it looks incomplete. Some of the stuff feels like it is hard to separate. Anyway, yeah. Doesn't look like much. Oh well.

Watched Strange Days. A Kathryn Bigelow directed film. Very intense but awesome. Mace was one badass chick. Some good action there. Ralph Fiennes and Angela Bassett are cool.

Productive day but not my best work.

Ran out of food again. Need to get pasta sauce. And toast.

This is a cool website for movie posters: www.wrongsideoftheart.com

Sunday, October 4, 2009

pizza, hot wings, and movie. the life.


I'm starting to think these long weekends are not such a good idea. It's impossible to just get the drive to pick up the pencil. Once I get the drawing in my lap, I just get started and I'm off. Just have to get to that point. Thankfully, I have enough to do tomorrow that I won't doddle. Have the Yoga ad to do (did I mention that was paid?) and the comic (just black and white, moreso just big and not detailed) and the ever present response. Tuesday? Nothing. Wednesday? Also nothing. Thursday? Phase two. So between now and the end of the week, just one major homework piece to work on. The work load is good right now.


Jay came over for a late afternoon hang out. We split halvsies on pizza and hot wings from Bellagio's and put Science of Sleep into my computer and chilled out. It was fun. Even though she was allergic, Jay really liked Luna. Lots of purrs. From the cat. She left for homework.


And then suddenly it was time to go to bed.