New(s)

SO MUCH NEWS...

Well, the GOOD news is that I got a fancy shmancy new job! (I know, I just GOT a job a month ago, but this one is an assistantship that pays half my tuition in addition to giving me a salary that is twice what I was making in wages at the other place).. I'm an office assistant for the Mechanical Engineering department. I'm pretty psyched about it...

Aside from the BAD news, which is that it's taking up literally all the free time I had from 8-5 (by 'free time', I mean the time I had outside of class to work on assignments, projects, fitness, nutrition, and the like)...

This is my new schedule:

Monday & Wednesday: Wake up around 6ish, Catch the bus at 7:30, Work from 8-1, class from 1:10-2, work from 2:10-4, class from 4-5:30, Lab from 5:40-9:00

Tuesday & Thursday: Wake up around 6ish, Work from 8-1, class from 1-4:30, class from 5-8:30

Friday: Work from 11:00 - 5:00, find times to work on non-in-class projects amid the day and over the weekend..

Basically, I'm working significantly more, but I'm going to be paid about twice as much (which is good, because we're flat broke - I think we have 4 bank accounts with like 40 bucks each, and one loan payment due a few days ago that I can't pay)...

I'm supposed to be doing a few huge projects, including a huge musical composition-from-random-sound-samples and this independent study blog on the evolution of the greek and roman lyre.. I'd be remiss in accounting my life if I didn't say that I've been having mini meltdowns every other day or so (which typically consist of bursting into tears for about 20 seconds before regaining my composure and trying to focus on the moment). I think that once I figure out decent time management, things will improve...

...maybe.

I can tell you right now that with my classes and work (which is quite a demanding position), I've taken on too much and that I'm likely shaving off a few years of my life... But I'm not unhappy on a big-picture scale, and I know that it's only going to get better after this semester.

Does anyone out there have a demanding schedule? How do you cope? I'm not adjusting well...


I can take solace in the fact that in my life, I've genuinely applied for 5 non-factory jobs and have been offered all of them. Suck it, recession. I'm SALARIED now.

"I'll sleep when I'm dead."

~Warren Zevon

Where does the time go when it's not around here?

A terrible picture of what I'm currently working on..

I'm not sure if I should be posting in this blog anymore.. I actually sort of *have* a job now. I learned something over the first week of grad school - I interview VERY well.

Here's hoping that will continue, eh?

Here's my issue..

While I'm madly in love with life right now (work, learning about art history and music technology, being able to explore my craft, and the like), I have essentially no free time, save for the odd 10-minute block between various classes. Perhaps when I have the opportunity in said 10-minute block, I'll start updating this ol' girl again.

I've been happy, but terribly stressed. Life has been impressively overwhelming lately. Having spent most of my time at school/work (from 9 until 7-9, except on weekends), I've proven to be a decent student, an overachieving composer, a lightning fast artist, and a rather mediocre wife.

...did I mention I got married?

Jeepers, you probably haven't even heard about my 17-piece show at Stomping Grounds. Well, rest assured that I've been busy and successful. I'm even making money now! Here's hoping I'll sell a painting or two, eh? (I've got a tentative commission - who knows when I can get to it)..

Anyway, yes. Brad is fantastic. He's a grad student too, so he's been awfully understanding. Us rarely seeing each other makes sleeping in on Sunday mornings all the sweeter... Although I am looking forward to finding some sort of equilibrium. 4 hours of awake contact per day does not a typical successful marriage make. We do text a lot, at least.


Alright, Greek and Roman Art History time. OH, speaking of which, I'm starting a new blog on the history of the Lyre. I'll let you know when it gets ready to read.

Much love, Chilluns.

Quick Update!

For those of you only keeping track of me via my blogs, quick update: I've got my work up at Gallery 319 in Ames, and I'm having a 35 piece one-woman show at some point (possibly this fall?) at the Octagon Center for the Art... In addition to having a 17 piece show at Stomping Grounds in August. Basically, things are looking up!

I've also done a few jingles that are now on a few radio stations! Exciting, no?

My website's up now, more or less.. Still a few finishing touches to do - my oil paintings are a bit outdated (I've done MANY better paintings than these, I just haven't had the light to show them off), and a few pages aren't quite ready for viewing (even though i've done a CRAP TON of promotional materials, the page is blank because the files are too large.. Resizing takes me way too long, haha)..

That and I've officially lost 25 pounds since I got back from Turkey. ShaZAAM.

Present to the Future...

For those of you who don't know (I'm pretty sure there are a solid six people who read this blog, so you probably already do), my mom's an artist. She's actually a spectacular artist. I'm beyond lucky to have her in my life, and she has taught me essentially everything I know in terms of oil painting, if not art and aesthetics in general. (for those who are wondering, these paintings are hers, not mine... I don't have a good enough camera or good enough lighting to take pictures of my work right now.)

She's always working on various projects, shows, commissions, and all-in-all, I would say she's made a very successful life out of her art. Being around my mom (and her students, colleagues, etc.) has given me a pretty good idea of what the life of an artist entails... I've heard of the "agony and the ecstasy" of having such a complicated vocation... The amazing feeling of accomplishment, followed by the almost inevitable "...well, now what do I do?" deflation.. The difficulty of being self employed (hell, taxes alone) and self-budgeting of time coupled with the freedom of schedule and not having anyone other than your clients to please... The temporal freedom to travel, quite frequently with the lack of financial freedom necessary to do so..

I have told one of my dearest friends that I'm not an artist because I wish to be. I'm an artist because I can't possibly do anything else. The vivid green leaves of a cottonwood against the magenta and cerulean-infused clouds has been enough to drive me to tears at times. When I'm not in a state of creation, I get restless and my self worth plummets... And I'm sure the artists and writers and musicians and blacksmiths out there know what I'm talking about. We crumble when we're not doing what we're meant to do.

Right now, I'm in a bit of a funk. My usual sources for work (websites and otherwise) have run dry. I'm set financially for about another month... And if I desperately need money, I will find ways to get it (plasma donation?)... But the lack of a project is really starting to get to me. The last thing I worked on ended up being a bit of a dead end, as the owner of the business I designed the logo for is scatterbrained and hasn't been very quick to get back to me. I really, REALLY want to be in a position where work comes easily for me, and it's flustering that it hasn't been such.

In the meantime, I should get some pictures of my work (currently hanging in a local coffee shop) so I can get an oil portfolio ready to present. And I'm still working on the beginnings of a webcomic which should be off the ground relatively soon here.

If you or anyone you know could use any design work, physical art, or music (I write theme songs!) done, let me know. I work for cheap.

I'm up for suggestions (aside from food preparation and erotic services).. I'm thinking about getting into web design... Although I don't particularly enjoy it, it could be a good way to showcase my photoshop skills.

Thanks, Chilluns. <3


"The artist uses the talent he has, wishing he had more talent. The talent uses the artist it has, wishing it had more artist."
~Robert Brault

Eat, Love, Eat

There's no overarching thought of this entry, so it's a bit scattered here and there. Sorry, chilluns... if there are any of you still out there.

Brad and I watched Eat, Pray, Love last night. I wasn't amused.

Let me preface (well, almost preface) this by saying I love, LOVE Elizabeth Gilbert. And if you don't, watch her TED talk on nurturing creativity. It seemed like by the end of the film, she was about a year or two away from the same situation she was in when the film started. After leaving her vocationally restless dreamer husband to (I'm not a huge fan of this term, but for lack of a better one) find herself, she proceeded to take a magnificent journey (and it truly was) that ended when she decided to stay with another man, this one vocationally ambiguous (I'm sure he did something, but it sure seemed like he didn't work at all..)

Maybe it was the guy she ended up with (he rubbed me the wrong way. I don't like when men tell me who I am, but maybe she needed an assessment after a good two-hour-long attempt at individuality).. Maybe I missed the point and I need to read the book. After all, I do love Elizabeth Gilbert.

It really, REALLY bothers me that nearly all movies (all that I can think of) that involve a woman aiming for self-discovery end up with her succumbing to a man. Don't get me wrong - I'd make a terrible feminist (I'm not easily offended and I love my apron more than any other article of clothing I have), but it's genuinely starting to irk me. She loved food, she loved languages... She at least attempted to give her life meaning (in her perspective) through reflection and meditation (although her revelations really weren't revealed to any of us. by the end of the film, she was the same woman in the same situation, just in a prettier place.), but it seems to me that the film saw the final romance as the ultimate goal. And the final romance was with a man who apparently instinctively knew what she needed, and in the brief amount of time he was in the film, made a special appoint to take care of her (including breaking into her house to give her a Bali hangover cure... how romantic.)

That being said, Julia Roberts is very, very pretty, and I would LOVE to take that journey (although I've already found my version of a hot Brazilian man and am quite happy with him, thank you..) I don't think it was THAT bad... Maybe it was just overhyped for me, but the whole film seemed a bit... superficial.

Have any of you seen the movie? Read the book? What do you think?

Mo' Money Mo' Prallems

Been busy lately.

Designed logos for a production company, an engineering company, and a mechanic... Drawing pictures for phone-to-phone greeting cards (they sell them for fundraisers), working on a CD, and making two batches of synth dreads for some pretty rockin' people...

I really want to get back to oil painting, but the other jobs are bringing me immediate money and the oil painting is not.

Luckily, I have many paintings here in IA (where I am visiting), and there's a coffee shop nearby that wants to have my work on the walls. We'll have to see what happens there.

I'm a bit overwhelmed with work, but it's better than being overwhelmed with unemployment, or worse yet, being overwhelmed with a job I hate. I'm still the luckiest girl in the world.

And Brad is soooo wonderful!

I've been losing weight like crazy with no good explanation.. I thought people were supposed to gain weight in Autumn.. But that's going well, anyway. On that note, my self consciousness has gone down considerably. I've forgotten how open I am on this blog, but this is good!

Anyone have any good homemade gift ideas? Email me. :)

Ames

I'm doing a series of paintings of the Iowa State Campanile (shown here being awesome)...

So far it's been alright, although I've been having trouble getting a "juicy" look.. It kinda just looks chunky and thick. I can't attribute that entirely to all the bugs landing on my painting (I feel like I'm building the great wall of china sometimes.. I hope people don't mind corpses in their art)




I've been a bit flustered with my work as of late.. I've been hitting a bit of a wall. While I'm learning more and more about the anatomy of my subjects (trees, houses, more recently campaniles...) I seem to hit a certain point, at which I can't really expound upon the forms.. There is SO much detail, for example, in that beautiful doorway. So much care went into making it as lovely as it is..

And yet when I paint it, it looks like a hole cut out of this enormous tower.. My work is so clunky, and although I'm starting to be very happy with the colors I've been using, I'm not happy with how fuzzy and soft the paintings have been looking. I guess it comes down to brushwork.






Anyway, I'm going back into the field today, providing it doesn't rain.. I might have to set up under a shelter, just in case. I'll figure it out.

Wish me luck.. And if there are any painters out there, I'd LOVE a few tips on how to get that juicy fluidity that the Chinese artists get.

Maybe I should just use smaller, flatter brushes.


""
~Claude Monet