I’m human again.

ANDOHMYGOSHIWANTTOSCREAMITFEELSSOGOOD!!!!!!!!!!!

Well I’m done with thesis. So yes, I’m human again. Thesis has taken over my life for some countless months now and as of 5:30pm on Thursday April 22^nd, 2010 I have been free.

As friends and family have asked about my completed thesis I’ve stated that I am human again because I can actually stop and breathe. I’m not staying up till 3 or 4 in the morning dry-mounting or editing the photos anymore. I’m not bending my arms in unnatural ways anymore to capture the photo I need for the alphabet. That kind of disagrees with my statement of ‘live simply so others may simply live’ but that’s okay. WHY? Because it’s done.

So what happens after thesis is done? Well the formal celebration follows about 24 hours later. Every year as the seniors complete their art thesis at the Mount they are recognized for their work and a reception is held in their honor. So on April 23^rd I dressed myself up all pretty to stand proudly for three hours by my final product and really address the accomplishment I made this year.

As my friends and peers came to see my thesis I held this inkling that my parents would come and surprise me from around the corner. That didn’t happen. I was still happy though because I knew they’d see it for my graduation.

well i heard a little something on facebook today that its national procrastination day. i'm really not so sure about this. because i'm suprising myself with the amount of work that i'm really getting done today. well to be honest, its all work that should have been figured out by now, BUT ITS NOT LATE! but either way, i'm actually being productive today. on the day where i should be celebrating excuses i'm actually progressing and doing some really good work. yikes - does this mean i've actually grown up. do i have to actually be REAL adult now. okay okay okay, i know. i'm already an adult. i'm graduating from college in 23 days and it is pretty dang nerve-wrecking. this past weekend when i was home for my sister's wedding i had talked to sooooo many family members and friends of family members and friends of friends, and neighbors, and people that i haven't seen in 20 years. what did we talk about? well i'm sure this will sound familiar: so what are you doing when you graduate? ..... guess what - i have no idea. sure i've thought about my options with teaching, and volunteer work, and continuing school, and hospital jobs, and whatnot, but will i actually do? i don't have a license to teach or a masters to even substitute. i don't have a psychology title in my degree. i don't want to go back to school right away. its all a mystery right now. the biggest issue on my mind at the time is thesis. i have one week to get this thing posted on the wall and then its done. my senior thesis to graduate college with a bachelor's in art will be done.

what's so cool is that when it is done - i'll be free to make the choices i want to make with the freedom of time and enjoyment of a college degree!!!

            Last Thursday was our first practicum experience in AED210.  All of the teams went to Our Lady of Lourdes to teach our first lessons.  I don’t know about anyone else, but I was EXTREMELY nervous!  I knew we had prepared for it, I knew our lesson plan was strong and that our unit was exciting, but I was still extremely jittery.  I really couldn’t explain why though… I work with children on a regular basis and I am completely comfortable with them.  When I walk into “my” classroom at St. Joe’s I’m at home and I’m excited to get started with the tasks for the day.  It’s not to say I wasn’t excited about being at Lourdes, because I was, but part of me was dreading stepping foot in that classroom and having to take charge.  It was really the strangest feeling!

            Jamie and I rode together from the Mount and we talked about how we were going to introduce ourselves since I was the main teacher for the day but it was also our first day and the kids needed to get to know Jamie and Rachael as well.  On the way there we realized we hadn’t packed any paper in our supplies bag, immediately following that realization there was an emergency text sent out to Rachael whom we were hoping and praying would still be at home… phew!  She was still home and she had grabbed a stack of computer paper.  Jamie and I were the first to arrive at Lourdes and we were 15min early, but we were warmly welcomed by the secretary and we signed in and wrote out our name badges.  We sat outside the office, Jamie trying to talk to me and me trying not to talk at all… within 5min Rachael arrived.  We ran through things one more time and in the process realized I had left the book I was going to be reading from in Jamie’s van… save number two of the day for Rachael!  At this point I was SO glad we were in teams, otherwise I would have been a COMPLETE basket case.

            After everyone else showed up and the kids switched classes it was time for us to start… somewhere between walking into the classroom and the first words coming out of my mouth I found my comfort zone… from then on out it was smooth sailing!  I loved this experience; it was great for me to work with kids that are very different from the inner city children I have daily exposure to.  The difference between Lourdes and St. Joe’s (as two private Catholic schools) was just astounding to me… but I loved the kids and I felt comfortable with them and I am really very excited about continuing our unit with them next Thursday!  This will help me in my future career as a teacher because I think it will be easier for me to get through the “first day jitters” now… the nervousness of not knowing the kids that will walk through my door and having a whole new set of brains to engage won’t be nearly as frightening for me since I have done this practicum.  The experience as a whole will, in conjunction with everything else I am being exposed to here at the Mount, supplement my own personal desire to teach and drive to be better in more ways than I can possibly imagine now as a sophomore.

This could be one of busiest weeks of my life!

I’ve been working on a Art and Design poster for quite a few weeks now, and the project is finally looking like it’s about to finish up. Our final poster and all our files are due in two days! I got that much time to clean up my files and finish my process book.

Another huge thing that’s been taking up a lot of my time is Sophomore Review. In the Graphic Design department, before you’re allowed official admittance to the program you have to pass an official portfolio review during your sophomore year. Because of scheduling and credit-hour conflicts, I’m up for review this year even though I’m a Junior.

I have a different perspective on the review now that I’m a junior and not a sophomore. The department has recommended we bring two pieces of finished work for each studio class we have finished. For a sophomore, that’s probably around 5 or 6 classes. I’m a Junior, and I’ve taken something like 14 studio classes!

2-d Design, 3-d Design, Drawing 1, Drawing 2, Visual Semantics, Digital Design, Information Graphics, Identity Design, Photography 1, Photography 2, Introduction to Hot Glass, Fused and Formed Glass, Intermediate Glassblowing! I mean, that’s a ton of art!

I remember when all my classmates were doing their review, they were very concerned with making sure everything was matted and printed correctly. Now that I’ve a year more experience… I know how to present my work well, my problem is finding all of it!

If you’re an art major of any kind, MAKE SURE! If you finish any piece of art, even if you HATE it, it gets filed someplace safe so that if anyone professional or academic wants to see it, you can say you still have it. In the process of moving my art studio last year, I lost all of my 3-d work. Some of it was damaged or destroyed and a lot of it just got lost, all because I didn’t store my work very well. I’ve learned my lesson and I’m in the process of making a more permanent storage solution for my artwork!

Anyway, I think I’ve put together an impressive display of my work for my review on Saturday.  Wish me luck!

I gotta get back to this poster! Have a great week!

Well the fort building, unfortunately, was an epic fail. Whether it be the rare opportunity in the middle of the week or during your weekend, free time is something that any college student enjoys. The majority of this semester has been constant work, including the weekends, so what have I decided to do this Friday night? Clean!! It is extremely beneficial not just to finally find your floor but it’s a stress reliever like no other. I find it my own way of Feng Shui. I love reorganizing my room and moving furniture but just cleaning alone helps me to organize my life. The thought process of being alone in your room and going through everything helps me BREATHE!

I wanted to share with you all my spin on one of the assignments for my Art Experiences for Children class.  We were supposed to create an animal, one that no one had ever seen before.  We were asked to fill out a fact card on that animal with it habitat and classifications and all of that stuff.  Then we were supposed to draw our animal and color it.  after the drawing we were asked to construct our animals using model magic and pipe cleaners... the whole project was right up my alley... I LOVED it!  But to make thing EVEN BETTER, for homework we were asked to write about our animals.  Our objective was to present the animal to our class (in the future) as a mascot and role model for our kids.  That's pretty much all mrs. Dick told us because she wanted to see where we would take the assignment on our own without too much guidance from her.  Here's where I went with it:

             Somewhere in the south there’s a place… place that can only exist if you truly believe in it.  The place is called Flagrance and it’s packed full of interesting and unique animals just waiting to be found.  It is in the steamy land Flagrance, and only there, that you can meet the dwindling race of the equiferno.  Now remember… you have to believe, because nothing is ever true if you don’t completely believe in it…

Do you believe? Good.

Now close your eyes and open your imagination as I tell you the story of an equiferno different than any other equiferno in Flagrance.  This fun-loving and caring equiferno goes by the name Morph. Why Morph?  Well because he is the only equiferno in all the land to be so brightly colored.  Morph is ten years old and he has a mother, a father and a little sister named Finale.  If you were to see Morph with his family you would never know that he was part of it.  Why?  Well because he is so brightly colored.  Let me tell you what his parents and sister look like and then you will know why that is so different.

Morph’s parents and Finale look mostly the same as one another and mostly the same as all the other equiferno families in Flagrance.  They have coal black bodies embellished with orange flames and large, powerful gray wings.  “Well that’s different than anything I’ve ever heard of before,” you say?  Well, yes, but remember… you’re imagining a world that no one has ever seen before.  So how is Morph so different?  Well Morph is a rich and royal blue color.  His mane and tail flames are made of the brightest blues, oranges, and yellows.  The powerful wings on either side of his sleek body are the most elegant violet you could possibly imagine and the lightning bolt (that all equifernos have) is a bright blue instead of the usual white.

What’s that you say?  It must be pretty cool to be the brightest in all the land?  Well that’s not how Morph feels.  Think about all the kids you go to school with… most of them enjoy the same things, wear the same kinds of clothes and like the same movies.  Now what would happen if someone new came along that was different than anyone ever before.  People would probably talk about that person, even make fun of them, wouldn’t they? You might even be the one to do it.  Well Morph would like to tell you something…

“I have come a long, long way to your class, from my home in Flagrance, to share an important lesson with you and I will be visiting all year!” says Morph.  “I want you all to try really hard to except one another for the person that each and every one of you is inside.  Each one of you is unique and special inside, just like I am on the outside, and I want you to know that even if you look different on the outside too, that’s okay.  When I catch someone in the classroom doing something especially nice for one of their classmates, that person will get the chance to spend the whole class with me at their desk!  My goal is to spend a day with everyone in this class at least once this year and in order to do that it’s going to take a team effort on your part, an effort to be kind and caring, all of the time, whenever you walk through Mrs. Rudd’s classroom door.  I know you can all do it and I’ll be here all along to show you how fun it can be to BE DIFFERENT!”

We were supposed to write as if we were writing to our own class in the future.  I will be teaching elementary school so I was aiming for 7 to 9-year-olds.  My 7 -year-old niece loved it and so did her 8-year-old brother... it may seem kind of silly, but I am really proud of this story! As soon as Morph (the statue) is finished I will post pictures of him along with my fact shet and drawing of him :)

Until next time...

So today has been probablythe best day I've had in a very long time! So I fell asleep last night superearly! And finally got some sleep! I woke up early enough to throw all mylaundry in the washing machines and I had A LOT of laundry, so I went to classand had a really easy day, I turned in all of my late work from being sick andI actually drew something worth looking at! After class I went back up to thelaundry room to put my stuff in the dryer to find that someone actually put myclothes in the dryer, and then FOLDED THEM! All 3 loads! And put them back inmy basket! Which is a HUGE deal for the laundry rooms on 3 SE where all thejerks do laundry.

         Todaywas also the last day of PSYCHOLOGY CLASS! Which put a smile on my face, andjust when I thought it couldn’t get any better my friend brought me a wholebunch of Pokemon Cards…. And in case you don’t understand my love for Pokemon,I will take this time to tell you that I freaking love Pokemon, and Dinosaurs.

         Itsonly 2:30! So much good still to come! But hopefully my day keeps gettingbetter! I need to go do my art project that I’ve been putting off for 3 weeksTTYL!

Alright, it’s at least semi-official now!

I will be taking Intermediate Glassblowing next semester! Woohoo! Glassblowing is one of the most fun things I have ever done in my life. And I’m so excited that I get to do it again.

The College of Mount Saint Joseph has an affiliation with a really awesome glassblowing studio called Neusole Glassworks. The studio is on East McMillian over by Cliffton. It’s the only glassblowing studio in Cincinnati that’s open to the public. They also offer classes for college credit through the Mount. I’ve already taken Glassblowing 1 the Spring Semester of freshman year. And I finally have room in my schedule again so I’ve decided to take Intermediate Glassblowing or Glassblowing 2.

The question I get a lot when I get excited about math is “why do you take it?” I’m a graphic designer, so my friends are surprised that I’d spend time on a subject that’s not really part of my major.

But I think everyone should take glassblowing at least once to get your mind set straight. In design we usually have time to pour over hundreds of sketches that we make on a project and we agonize over which way is the right way to go. It’s easy to spent too much time being undecided about a project. Glass, if you stop to think about a piece, you’re gonna lose it. Glass is a time-sensitive medium. The longer you work on the piece, the more likely that it’s not going to make it. We don’t have time to nit-pick in glass. Just try and go.

Glass only stays soft as long as it’s really hot, so after you take it out of the furnace, you’ve got 30 seconds till it gets really hard to work with then about 15 seconds after that, it’ll be completely hard. Maybe 15-20 seconds after that, your glass will crack from temperature shock. Your piece is gone. Start over.

So sometimes in art, you can’t just sit undecided about what you’re going to do. You may just have to try something and go. And it might not be right. But it was the decision you made. That’s why I really like glass. In design, I’m not always going to have 3 weeks to sit and decide what I’m going to do. Maybe I have a project proposal and I might have to start working on it that same day. Which means I gotta pick what I wanna do FAST.

Anyway, that’s next semester! I still have to finish THIS semester… so I have to get back to work!

See you all soon!