well i’ve just recovered from the plague.  by “the plague,” i mean the really nasty cold that has been going around greater philadelphia for the past two weeks.  i knew that i shouldn’t have worked 3 consecutive days in the humid bacteria farm that is the butterfly exhibit at the academy of natural sciences.  ah well…that’s behind me now.  it’s free breathing and easy sleeping from now on!  no more tissues or bottles of dayquil.

schoolwork is keeping me wonderfully busy.  as the semester’s progressed, we’ve been getting increasingly practical illustration assignments.  just this week, i’ve designed three u.s. postage stamps and one book cover.  intense, but really worth the time and effort!  here are the sketches for my final postage stamp designs:

they’re based off of zany manifestations of bicycle transportation in the late 19th century.  so much fun to create!  the final prints were done with the cyanotype non-silver process, so i had to spend a good bit of time printing out digital negatives onto inkjet transparency film.  that bit was less fun, but i’m so pleased with the end result.  i’ll have to give you a peek at those next entry. here are some cyanotype prints that i did earlier in the week; they’re just from older photos that i’ve taken.  you might even recognize them:

  (this week’s discovery: fabriano artistico paper is the best stuff in existence.  purchase a sheet…you’ll see.)

my classes are going well, but i’m starting to get that end-of-semester feeling of anxiety…will i get all of my work done?  will i get all a’s and b’s?  the rest of me is excited for the arrival of summer, though, and i was even lucky enough to spend the second half of my typography class in rittenhouse square!  it was beautiful this afternoon…74 and perfectly sunny.  everyone was out, including this girl who had 2 ducklings and a chick…in the city!  in rittenhouse!  i got to pet them.  : )

when i’m not stressing about school, i’m attempting to keep up with outside art endeavors (a constant goal of mine, which is very difficult to maintain while school is in session).  i finished a new collaged oil painting last week, and i’m a bit proud of it!  s’on the ETSY shop, and it’s my hand holding a red admiral butterfly…i really had fun doing this one, especially since it’s only small:

well i think that that’s all i have for now!  this coming week should be incredibly busy/productive, so expect lots of new happenings.

also, i’ll be on the uarts chat tonight if anyone feels like dropping in and saying hi!!

firstly: I’VE OPENED AN ETSY SHOP!

**FestiveRoad**

i’ve only got three things listed, but i’m working on more, so my short-term goal is to just build up my shop. we’ll see how things go…but yeah, i’m excited! it was a long time coming…i just let myself get a little bit too busy with school, but proactivity is the name of the game now.

other than that, i’ve been overcome with stress over finding another apartment to live in. in less than a month’s time, i’ll be homeless! hopefully that will all be changed this week, as i’ve got a lease that i’m looking to sign as soon as possible. *BIG SIGH*

school has been busybusybusy, and i’m glad to have leaped over the hurdle of our big illustration assignment. sophomore year illustrators all do a large-scale oil painting in the second semester, and the assignment was to reinterpret a master’s painting. i chose gustave caillebotte’s “paris street on a rainy day”…so here’s my reinterpretation:

that’s rittenhouse square, instead of a paris street, and that’s my dog, koko on the right! it was fun to do an oil painting (i’d never actually done one before, let alone a painting that measured 24″x30″!), but the process really did consume my life for about three weeks. tough stuff, guys! but it’s all over, and it’s all behind me. hallelujah.

here is a little bit more of my schoolwork, starting with a poster that i had to design, some anatomy class photos, and a couple of hand reference shots:

now for other gratuitous photos, because apparently the only thing i’m good at keeping up with on this blog is the photo supply!:

p.s. spring has sort of sprung! it’s been hiding for today and yesterday, but !! it’s here, otherwise.

stay good, kiddies!

since my last entry, i’ve aged one year (the big 2-0!), been to a civil war ball, i’ve done A LOT of school work, a lot of paid work, enjoyed my friends, been to a concert, met my new baby nephew, and i’ve made it most of the way through spring break.  want some photos?  yeah, i think that you want some photos.  i know that i do.

school stuffs:

civil war ball at the union league of philadelphia (2/10/08):

my baby nephew, who was born 2 months premature…please think good thoughts for him:

a trip to the academy of natural sciences with my roommate, mike:

pink martini (i.e. 12-piece musical bliss) at the kimmel center:

good times!

i’m really busy, but it’s good.  on the agenda: find a new apartment (ha!), finish my 24″ x 30″ oil painting (double ha!!), make my accordion book for typography, and don’t forget to breathe.  let’s see if i can manage it…

last week was INTERESTING, to say the least.  my schedule was pretty obscene, with two days of straight 9-hour blocks of class.  a girl can’t handle it!   alas, my finalized schedule is as follows:

monday- nothing!, tuesday- anatomy, wednesday- pictorial foundation and major artists: balanchine and graham, thursday- typography, and friday- non-silver printmaking.

i did do one night of ceramics, but it ended at 10pm!  on the night before one of my biggest core classes!  that arrangement was more or less impossible for me, so i dropped it and decided to tack on the extra 1.5 credits via non-silver printmaking, as i had the  option to make it a 6 hour, 3.0 credit course.  i’m excited about it!  i foresee the class being a very important tool in terms of new techniques, and this is really the time for me to be exploring.

as for other aspects of life, i’m definitely having a weird time of adjusting to being back at school.  those feelings of inadequacy, failure to meet personal standards, lack of inspiration…they’re all back, unfortunately.  i’m trying to remedy it, though.  i’m sketching everything that pops into my head, and within the past week, i’ve purchased three art books!  my collection is becoming quite impressive…

i would highly recommend all three of them.  the rodin book has been helping me with anatomy, the penguin book has been helping me with typography, design concepts, and general insight into the richness of the publishing company’s history, and the gnomes book is really reminding me what creativity and attention to detail is.  i REALLY recommend “gnomes” to all prospective illustrators.  ever watch that old cartoon, “david the gnome”?  this book was the basis of that entire world, and it is bar none the most vividly described and ingenious approach to creating a believable world full of believable creatures.  go out and buy it!  particularly if you can find the book for $4, like i did. 

the rest of my time recently has been filled with homework:

work at the butterflies exhibit in the academy of natural sciences:

taking pictures:

cooking:

and watching project runway.  by the way, THANK GOD RICKY WAS VOTED OFF!  i’m just surprised that he didn’t cry like a wee little baby, seeing as he thought it appropriate to do so every other episode.  i’m rooting for jillian, personally.

what else?  oh yes!  tomorrow night i’ll be going to the annual lincoln ball for the third time at the union league of philadelphia, so it should be a fun night of civil war-era fun and food and music, so you had better believe that there will be photos!  also, my birthday is on monday, so let’s hope that i am showered with gifts and praise and general goodness.  in all seriousness, it will just be a relief to finally be 20.  it’s funny how wearing it can be to have “teen” suffixed onto your age.

have a good weekend, everyone!  see you next week.

the new semester has begun, but i simply cannot mention school things until i give a run-down of my break.  in between working two jobs (56 hour weeks), i spent most of the time enjoying my family and the holidays.  my sister audrey came home from russia specifically for the holiday season, so it was great to see her and feel like a complete family again.  the best things that i got for christmas were some art books, a daylight desk lamp, and a complete cupcake-making supply package, including a comprehensive cupcake cookbook!  i’m living the life, guys…i really am.  as for new year’s, i spent it in the city with some friends, and until you’ve rung in the new year on the roof of a 13-story apartment building in center city, you’ve not experienced a truly fun new year.  from that vantage point, i got to see fireworks going off over both rivers, and heard pretty much ever party in the city get about 10 times louder.  it was really perfect!

i also had a chance to get some artwork done (as i promised myself i would), and i was able to spend a week in london before returning to school.  my boyfriend lives there, see (long story), so it was good to see him again, and to have a genuine vacation.  working two jobs straight through break wasn’t the brightest of my ideas, but at least i have money at the moment.  want to see some photos?  sure you do!

at the end of my trip, i put all of the sketched studies that i had done into a small book.  it was my first go at it, but i managed to do a tight little 3-hole bind.  i’m intrigued now, and hope to figure out ways to do some more complex bookbinding techniques.

now onto school.  the first week is over, and as excited as i am for all of my classes, the homework is already piled on!  luckily, i foresee myself enjoying the assignments quite a bit.  my schedule is currently as follows:

tuesday: figure anatomy, wednesday: pictorial foundation and major artists-balanchine and graham, thursday: typography, and friday: non-silver printmaking.

i’m particularly excited about my lib. arts class (about ballet/modern dance’s two most influential choreographers) and non-silver printmaking.  the former will be a nice break from traditional visual arts studies, and the latter will be a great tool for me as the illustration curriculum chugs along.  i’m anxious to use new techniques.

apparently my fabric printing class had to bump me out of registration due to the section melting in with a graduate class, so precedence went to fibers majors.  it’s a shame because i was really excited about it, but at the same time, a bit of a relief, considering the class wasn’t scheduled to end until around 10pm.  i’ll have to find something else, so i’m thinking of taking on another liberal arts class…we’ll see what i end up with.  you’ll be kept posted, surely.

at the end of the day, i’m really glad to be back.  being here stirs up this inspiration to work and produce that sadly seems to fizzle while i’m on break, so i intend to really make the most of it.  should be an interesting semester, to say the least!

hope to see you guys around on a uarts chat in the near future, assuming that i don’t accidentally fall asleep like i did last thursday!  doh!

semester’s over, school has broken, got my grades, and i’m happy. i’m also home…which is different and nice.

the night before school ended, i threw an excellent christmas party at my apartment. it was gloriously christmasy…there was cider, egg nog, cookies, garland, a tree, and even a secret santa gift exchange! not to mention our eggcellent decorations and my stellar christmas music playlist. i had a really great time, and thoroughly enjoyed getting all festive with my mates. it was a nice way to say “happy holidays–see you in a month.”

(family photo 2007)

got my grades on friday. they were good, but not as good as i’d honestly expected. it’s a long-winded rant that i don’t feel like getting into, so i’ll just focus on the fact that my grades were really quite good. art school is interesting…you know? anyway. here was my final pictorial foundation piece, and it’s called “uninvited guest”:

it’s watercolor on 140 lb. hot press. a bit of a new experience for me, but i really enjoyed it.

now school is over, and i’m removed from the uarts world. i haven’t yet reentered my “home” world either, though…so it’s sort of an odd limbo that i’m in. i started work almost immediately upon returning, so i haven’t had much time to see anyone. i’ve scarcely seen my sister, who we just picked up from jfk airport on monday! she’s in for christmas from st. petersburg, russia, and i feel like i still haven’t had adequate one-on-one time with her. ah well…she’ll be here until the 3rd, and we certainly have time. that being said, i do have work every day up to christmas eve. perhaps that was not a wise move on my part.

it’s really great being home, though. the christmas spirit is enhanced tenfold, and i cannot tell you how much i am looking forward to the night of the 24th! we haven’t done the rinkydinky family tree yet, but my mother has put up our fancy, department store one. she likes to have an outlet for her own creative tendencies.

i’m hoping to have photos of the family tree, festivities, and possibly whatever gifts i received for my next entry. i honestly have no idea what i might get this year, and i like it. reminds me of the days of old.  other than that, i fear that i’ve run out of things to say. not much is new just yet, but i can feel things coming…until then, please do enjoy these photos of the sunrise in my living room, and my dog being cute:

happy holidays! particularly festivus. for it is indeed for the restofus.

after thanksgiving, school got right back into a steady swing, and it’s been a whitewater stream of work ever since. but it’s okay! i’ve learned to really manage my workload over the past year and a half, and even though i’ve got more work than i did at this time last year, i don’t feel even half as stressed. granted, i do let some things slip by me still, but it’s all pretty much under control. i feel comfortable.

and christmas! right…i very easily fall into a festive mood, and i most certainly have done so this year. i’ve made playlists. i’ve made ornaments. i’ve made cards. i’ve gone to the christmas shows at macy’s. i’ve ogled the sparkly displays in the shop windows. it even snowed last week! i’m just so excited… i’m even throwing a 1950s style christmas party at my apartment this weekend! that’s right…there’ll be holiday sweaters, a secret santa gift exchange, egg nog, and bing crosby. i’m so excited that i could just pop. i even embroidered a cardigan of mine to make it more holiday-y!

can you see why i’m so full of cheer?

this party will be a good one, i think. also, my orchid is budding once more, so by the time i make my next entry (which should be sooner, considering finals are coming to an end, and i will no longer have excuses) there shall be many new images to share! by the way, if you’re interested in peeking at all of my photos, i’m a bit obsessive about flickr…check me out:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thewoozle/

to winter break/the end of fall semester: approx. 2o more days.

my current dashboard:

how do i let things get like this?  by “this”, i mean terribly out of my grasp and beyond my realm of control.  schoolwork is heavy, but nearly finished.  i was violently ill this past week, so my various clocks, both literal and biological, are still a bit out of whack.  my apartment is a complete and utter mess (it’s difficult living with three other people).

in the world of the positives, my sister’s wedding came and went very nicely…it was a pretty ceremony, and it was great to see all of my family.   my boyfriend is coming tomorrow afternoon, and he’ll be joining me and my family at thanksgiving.  THANKSGIVING!  the christmas season will be allowed to start on friday.  the dickens village ‘christmas carol’ and nutcracker light show at the wanamaker building.  being able to wear scarves.  finally being on the payroll at the academy of natural sciences as a part-time exhibit manager.  i’m legit!  my first two days of work were marvelous, and there’s nothing better than being in a natural history museum after hours.  weekend trip to central jersey for a rural bonfire rounded out the week nicely.

i need to get my act together, but i’m really generally happy.  i have excellent friends, a good situation in life, and things to look forward to.  let’s hope i don’t let laziness get in the way.  ay ay ay!

photo montage:

wedding/family goodness.

back deck frost.

septa r5 ride back into the city.

roommate goodness.

lepidopteran goodness.  a, b) tanzinian sunset moth.  c, d) atlas moth.  e) common mormon butterfly.  f) death bin.

happy thanksgiving, everyone!  safe travels, and bring back leftovers.

i hope that everyone had a safe and happy halloween, and that everyone feels free to give me candy.  free candy.  if not, i might make my own, with the help of chow magazine’s homemade candy bar guide!

i’ve been busy with things at home lately, seeing as my sister is getting married on november 10th.  seeing as i’m a bridesmaid, i’ve had to make several trips back to find my dress (arduous experience) and then to have it altered.  so much to do!  apparently i’ll be handling a good bit of the wedding photography, too.  *sigh*

anyway, this past saturday was a good time, seeing as i had a good friend from north jersey come down for a visit, and we had a crazy halloween party in my apartment!  i dressed up as an irish step dancer (easy), and my theater tech major roommates handled the spooky lighting.  with the addition of mountains of candy and halloween cups, it was a true shindig.  i was proud!

school is chugging along very nicely, and i’m unendingly amazed at how close the end of the semester is.  advising was on tuesday, so i’m all set for next semester!  aside from my core illustration classes, i’ll be taking bookbinding methods and fabric printing!  i can’t even tell you how excited i am for those two courses…i have a feeling that they’ll be very rewarding.  i like how easy it is to sort of mix things up and take whatever you want here.   my current classes are keeping me happy enough, though, so here are a couple of examples of what i had going on this week:

wrath

lust

gluttony

envy

4 of the 7 deadly sins for my photo for illustrators class!

shadow box for pictorial foundation.

recent material additions to my life:

sunflowers from my visitor, tori.

surprise halloween flowers from a loved one.

new autumnal shoes.

pomegranate.  also from my visitor, tori.

$10 shawl from the buffalo exchange.

life is good!  all i need is some more cold weather, and for thanksgiving to come RIGHT NOW.  be well, everyone.

here is a grab-bag of photos for you to enjoy. for those who are wondering about the camera i use, it’s the nikon d40x, and i highly recommend it! great little tool, it is.

that is all, and i say good day to you! i have so. much. homework. this week.