Art openings & Celebrity elections
character sketches
Originally uploaded by 4eyesX1000
Hello,
Well, I'm already in the fifth week of the semester. I know it is all going to go by very quickly and I need to get ahead on my projects if I want to avoid exploding at the end in order to get them done. My classes have been going fine. I have 3 studios and one art history. The art history deals with modern art which is really just taking information from previous generalized courses and embellishing it more. So it is a little boring and repetitive of information, but it does make it easier. The studio classes, illustration, life drawing, and painting are slowly being dealt with. There's so much to be done and I'm trying very hard to do as much as I can now instead of taking my time as I usually would. All these studio classes are advanced so it's really time for me to get serious. My plan from this point on will be to work on illustrations for my book "Allison's Moral Judgments." I have decided that rather than doing insignificant projects that I can not do much with after completion, that I should use this opportunity with the intention of ultimately producing something. Next summer I want to revise and rewrite some parts of the story and start getting ready for the fall of 2009 when I graduate so that I can submit it to potential agents or publishers. I figured it's worth a try anyway...
So above is an example of how I am stylizing my characters now. Last semester I did a little experiment where I took my made up characters and tried to draw them as realistically as I could rather than how I originally conceived them, which was in the anime/ manga style. I was actually rather pleased with this and so decided to continue with this but drawing back to the exaggerated features. So what I have here is my first sketch and testing in that style and with ink. I'm feeling pretty good about it.
I still have my children's book to finish, which won't be happening until winter break now that I need to commit my time to my current class projects. Once I complete that book I also wish to look into getting it published. Before I do that though, in February Adam and I are going to put a collaborative show together in the school's projects gallery. Since we both were in the children's book illustration class and planned to finish our projects, I invited him to show his work along with mine. We are both very excited about it and I am hoping that it works out. We just need to get them done!
This past Monday there was an art opening in that project's gallery at school that my friend, Dan, put together. The theme was fantasy artwork and he asked for Adam and I to put something in it. So Adam included a painting with two of his lizard characters from his story and I included Uveges and Imogen. The opening went alright, it was mostly just students who happened to have a class at the time it was happening, but my parents and Vince did come to check it out, which was nice. I made a lot of cookies for it and had some left over so I started chucking leftovers at people and ended up taking some to my life drawing class the next night just to get rid of them. I was happy though that so many people enjoyed them. Following the opening though, Adam and I discussed what we should do for our show and when to have a reception for it. We were trying to think of the best day where it would allow more people to come and what sort of fun things we could have for it.
Hrrmmm, I still have heard no news on my job situation. I actually went and applied for a telephone operating position for an on campus location, but I haven't heard anything yet. That's been about the only thing I've looked into. I can't say that I'm trying all that hard since I have so much to do for school now. I did however complete a commission (that I was paid a while ago for) which was drawing for a children's television show. I did the first half of that over a year ago and they got back around to doing more of them recently so I went last week for that. While I was there I got to see the completed video, of what I did last time, put together. It was pretty funny and interesting. What I do for these is put a glove on that has a face and complete several drawings (such as I draw four apples or something simple). I had fun doing it again.
This Sunday we'll be celebrating my dad and brother's birthdays. The Rinaldo side of the family will be coming and Adam will be here as well. I'm rather looking forward to it since it will be the first time Adam has met my dad's side. I think it'll be a curious contrast to the few members of my mom's side that he has met so far.
I was recently talking with Adam about the presidential election and voting in general. I've never been one to feel an incredible compelling need to vote. I may be more inclined when I'm a home owner and parent and need to vote on issues concerning my immediate community, but this nationwide celebrity match just doesn't seem to be worth my time. If I am honestly going to vote for someone I would want to do the appropriate research into finding exactly what it is this person is wanting to do. When it all comes down to it though, if I had that kind of time I would rather use it towards finding how I can actually make a change myself than make my little air puff push vote for putting someone in the position who claims they can make the change. Also, which is something Adam had brought up, by choosing sides like this between democrat or republican do we not develop a negative outlook on those who say they are voting for the opposite person we have chosen? I don't want to look down upon someone for who they vote for when neither of the candidates are perfect. As always it seems the candidates have good and bad ideas.
Like in the previous presidential election I became uncomfortable because there was so much pressure around that we all had to vote. It was my first time to be able to do this and after all the hounding I got I ended up voting out of guilt rather than my own personal feelings that I should. This doesn't sound like a good reason to me. And so again I'm approaching this election with the intention of not voting, but I am curious if I'll be able to stay on that or if I'll get attacked and guilted into it again. I can't help but find it a little amusing when there are people who make it their mission to get other people to vote. It's already happened twice so far around campus although very kindly in the manner it was done, but there was also a brief instance where I avoided what I saw as a potential onslaught. This was at the show opening this previous Monday night where Adam and a friend of his were talking about he election and as she was leaving Adam asked if I was registered. I saw his friend stop to hear my answer and I smiled and said yes, but did not explain my intentions of not voting.
Well I still have a little over a month left. Let's see how far I can get unscathed.
-Jessica