I've only been in Baltimore for two weeks and it feels like it has been a freakin' month. Seriously, a million and one things have ebbed and flowed and smashed like a tsunami into my life. And they are all a foamy blur. Off in the distance, rushing out to sea, that's the life I had two weeks ago. And, you know what, I'm totally okay with that.
In two weeks there has been a million and one good things! Classes started and I am more then super pumped for the semester. This round it's all about the books! And when I say all about the books, I mean four of my five classes are either about reading, writing, illustrating, or constructing books. The last class is the required Illustration II, which I'm sure is bound to include book-y things. So there, all about them book things. It goes something like this:
Monday - Book Illustration
Tuesday - Writing for Children's Picture Books (and my professor graduated from Harvard, jus' sayin')
Wednesday - Historic Paper Making and Book Structure
Thursday - Illustration II
Friday - What Men Live By: Russian Literature of the 19th and 20th century
I don't think I have ever read as much as I have read this weekend. Eighteen children books (one of which was 545 pages, titled The Invention of Hugo Cabret, and it seriously made me drool with how beautiful the design format was, oh. dear. lord.), twenty five pages of the Archeology of Medieval Bookbinding by J. A. Szirmai (albeit interesting, a boring read as compared to children books, I mean, common), Leo Tolstoy's What Men Live By and Part II of Nicholas Roerich's Altai-Himalaya: A Travel Diary. Up to my eyeballs in reading. But, honestly, I adore it. I spent five of my Saturday's hours in a local place called City Cafe, which is a dandy place to get work done. I've come to realize that I cannot be in my own apartment and get work done. It's too comfy, too cozy and too nap inducing. Besides, I have Baltimore at my disposal, why not see it and get stuffs done all at once! The only downfall is that to work in a coffeehouse means to spend the $2.65 on a mug of coffee. It may be bottomless, but, really, funds are low.
And by low, I mean there's about $50 in my bank account and maybe $8 in my wallet. Seriously, playa has lost as sore as Baltimore's downtown, what with the Raven's stupendously atrocious loss to the Steelers on the 16th (the city lost $25,000,000 in revenue, as the final game would have been played at the M&T Bank Center, bringing flocks of fans into restaurants and gas stations and beer distributors and the like).
Since I've been here in Baltimore I've been on the search for jobs. But I'm picky after having so many (which is stupid, considering how broke I am) mindless jobs, so I've been handing out my resume (which is beautiful and baller all in one) to my favorite restaurants in the hopes that I can charm them with my charisma and serving abilities. But, to no avail. I'm still supa broke and work study's pay doesn't arrive until next Friday. And I have to buy cat food.
This whole growing up thing, yeah, it's here and stuff.
And I feel like that is not what this blog should be for. Why mindlessly type about things that are not so important, things that my friends really already kinda know because I talk about it with them all the time. Why not offer something to the bloggersphere that I don't offer anywhere else?
I've decided to utilize this blog as a day's recap of my classes. My hope is that to come home after a hard day's class I can sit back and summarize it, unlocking all that I may have missed while in class. I feel like this is the best way to get my money's worth because it will force me to really think about what it is I am doing, from point a (being the beginning of the semester) to point b (being the end). Then, I can look back and say, 'Oh, yeah, I did learn that,' or 'Oh, wow, that was such bullshit!'
Also, I think it will be neat for my friends not at MICA to get a peak into what art school is like. And I know, I know, that makes me sound super pretentious and stuff. But, really, it's different. And I want to break down the pretentious wall. Because art school may be pretentious, but I am not, and so I can talk about it (hopefully) in a way that will make it seem conducive to real things and not just, 'Oh, you go to art school, what are you going to do with that? Paint pretty things?'
So, there. That's it. Get excited and stuff for tomorrow's summation of Book Illustration. It should be pretty wonderful.
23 January 2011
16 January 2011
interested?.
Sometimes I think I'm more interested in people then they are in me It's fine. It's whatever. But, after awhile, I would like people to recognize the fact that I am taking the time to be interested, what with the million questions that I always ask, always nitty-gritty questions that sometimes, I suppose, shouldn't be asked, but I ask them anyway. When I ask these questions I don't expect them in return, but I do tend to expect a level of interest in return.
Does this make sense? Or am I just full of myself. I think I'm interesting. Why wouldn't someone one to get to know me? Or, why do people think they know me, when I know that they sure as hell don't.
One of my New Year's resolutions was to stop caring so much. I care a lot. It makes me stress a lot. It puts me into a rut and doesn't allow me to do much because I cannot stop thinking, analyzing, and over analyzing the situation. There's just something in my head that will not stop, a tick-tock-tiking that is just so damn annoying. I want to be able to sit back, to relax, to not have my shoulders so tense and up around my shoulders, to not feel a tiny bead of sweat drip down the back of my arm, to stop biting my damn lips.
Most of all, I want someone to be interested enough to recognize it, and, you know, maybe ask me about it. Just maybe.
P.S. I think relationships are yucky and a hassle and real stupid. So there.
Does this make sense? Or am I just full of myself. I think I'm interesting. Why wouldn't someone one to get to know me? Or, why do people think they know me, when I know that they sure as hell don't.
One of my New Year's resolutions was to stop caring so much. I care a lot. It makes me stress a lot. It puts me into a rut and doesn't allow me to do much because I cannot stop thinking, analyzing, and over analyzing the situation. There's just something in my head that will not stop, a tick-tock-tiking that is just so damn annoying. I want to be able to sit back, to relax, to not have my shoulders so tense and up around my shoulders, to not feel a tiny bead of sweat drip down the back of my arm, to stop biting my damn lips.
Most of all, I want someone to be interested enough to recognize it, and, you know, maybe ask me about it. Just maybe.
P.S. I think relationships are yucky and a hassle and real stupid. So there.
12 January 2011
a year in review. kinda.
It isn't that I haven't thought about writing. I have. I have thought about it a lot. I mean, I'm always on my computer, everyday for a likely average of two hours. In that time I proceed through the usual email then facebook then other email then last email then blogspot. Yes, yes, I always am checking blogspot. So, then, why am I never writing in blogspot?
It isn't that I haven't had anything to say. I do. I have a million and one little things to say about my day. And honestly, I really wish I had written in this blog, recorded the previous semester, and really got down and into it. But, I didn't.
And let me tell you, this last semester has been the semester.
No, seriously, the semester. And that's because everything is different.
The only way to get into this is by making a list. You know, it will chronologicate everything and help to organize what is sure to be a confusing year in review. But here we go.
But first, let me make do with saying that this summary will be nothing in comparison to what transpired in the last six months. I don't think I have ever laughed or cried or done all those other silly, human things so much in one bought of six months.
So, without further ado, here we go:
1. I moved into a two bedroom apartment off campus with a kid that I really knew nothing about besides the fact that he was/is the most genuinely nice human being that I have ever met. His name is Tom. He is from Pittsburgh. He is majoring in sculpture and on the MAT route to being a teacher. Honestly, and don't tell him that I told you, but he is the best person in the entire world. Hands down. Zero competition...okay, okay, maybe not the entire world, but, he is pretty great. And the best room mate, ever. We were both in the same sculptural forms class last semester (don't get me started on how I loathed that class), and, I don't know, I just went up to him and was like, 'Hey, you seem pretty cool. Are you looking for a room mate for next year.'
Yes, that's how it happened, give or take some dialogue. And let me tell you, this generally creeped out the friend base I had freshman year. They were all like, 'Hmmm...' and 'Uhmmmm...?' and 'Is that really a good idea?'
And my reply was, 'Well, you didn't offer to live with me, so 'eff it!'
That ramble was a bit of a detour. Back to the main point, I live in a two bedroom apartment in a rather old building called the Avalon. Fancy? Majestic? The pride of Baltimore City? Why yes, it is all those things, but that is mainly because I live there and not because the building is most likely not up to health and safety regulations. But whatever. I am more than in love with the place and how my apartment looks and that I have roof top access.
What's crazy is that I'm nineteen years of age and am living in my own apartment, paying utilities and buying groceries. Isn't that just, I don't know, wild? I mean, no, it isn't, because, you know, it is the 21st century, but when I first mentioned the idea of living off campus to my parents I seriously thought they were going to shit themselves. My mother went on this whole rant of, '...why would you ever need to live off campus...I lived on campus all four years...why would you ever need your own place...would it really be safe...there's no way it would be cheaper then living on campus...'
Eventually she realized that yes, the smart thing to do would be to get an apartment now and not have to struggle through the ordeal later as I would definitely be in Baltimore for the next three years of my life. And, really, it wasn't an ordeal at all because the first apartment I looked at is the one I'm living in now.
2. I adopted a kitten. My friend's cat, lovingly named New Kitty, was rapped by a stray back at her home in the suburbs of Maryland. By the time she moved back to Baltimore New Kitty was ready to explode with a litter of five glorious little puddles of kitten joy. She posted on facebook that she needed to get rid of them, I had a mice problem in the apartment (to which my landlord said, 'Just get a cat. Everybody in the building last year had a cat and there was never a mice problem then.'), and so I called her and said, 'YES YES YES YES YES LET ME COME AND SEE KITTENS!'
I first met Igor when he was three weeks old. He honestly looked like an alien. His eyes were big, blue and buggy, he had the largest forehead in all the land, he had a cleft nose and he couldn't walk correctly because he only had a little poof of a tail instead of a cat's tail (picture a bunny's tail).
He honestly looked like he had kitty down syndrome.
And that's why I adopted him. I told my friend that yes, he was the one I want and no I don't care that he's sick and no I don't want you to have to bring him to a shelter and yes I'll take care of him until he dies (which I thought would not take long because of the whole down syndrome thing).
Low and behold, Igor does not have down syndrome. Instead he is a rather charming cat that is both parts lion and rabbit. And I love him. Seriously, that cat is the love of my life. I am doomed to be a crazy cat person, which is fine, I guess.
Igor is now a bit over four months. He still doesn't have front teeth. He is still teething. He still has his claws. But, he is also a super chill cat that only acts up when he wants attention, which, right now, is all the time. But that's because he is only four months old. Duh.
3. I started my major. No matter how much you don't want to believe it as a freshman, sophomore year is extremely different then freshman year. Not only is it harder, it is more grounding in the way that is smacks you up side the head and screams, 'THIS IS YOUR MOTHA 'EFFING LIFE! DON'T 'EFF IT UP YOU WASTE OF SPACE, YOU!'
Yep, exactly like that. Totally different then the cushy hug that is freshman foundation year here at MICA.
So, last semester included:
Monday: Modernism and After - an art history class required for all students that begins with the study of Post-Impressionism and ends with Pop Art
& Intro to Creative Writing - exactly what it sounds with focus on poetry, memoir and fiction
Tuesday: Visual Journalism - a six hour class in which the class would travel to various parts of Baltimore and maintain sketchbooks that documented their travels, or whatever the professor wanted us to accomplish
Wednesday: Illustration I - the beginning of my major and so the basics of illustration, the class was conducted as, 'Here's a project, you have this much time to do it'
Thursday: Explored Stitch - a fibers studio elective that delved into the historical, cultural and technical aspects of every type of embroidery imaginable
Friday: Sacred Ritual Russia - an intellectual history that explored the context and nature of Russian folk and wonder tales
On top of this 18 credit semester was my continuation of my work study at the Media Resource Collection (the film and slides portion of MICA's Decker Library) as well as an internship with Anthropologie.
I want to repeat that I completed an internship with ANTRHO-FREAKIN'-POLOGIE!
If you don't know, but I bet you do, Anthropologie is one of the five stores under URBN Inc. Profiled as a retail store, '...catering to the fashionable, educated and creative woman of 30 to 45, we provide a unique product assortment that includes casual apparel and accessories, home furnishings and a diverse array of gifts and decorative items. Carefully designed and selected with an eye for craftsmanship and detail, our merchandise is offered in an inimitable environment, both online and in our stores.' taken from URBN Inc.
No, my internship was not a retail thing. Uh-Duh. The best thing about Anthropologie stores is their way of immersing their customer into a setting revolving around that season's collection. This is accomplished by creating, essentially, art installations throughout the store. My internship began in September and went on through December, so the priority from my start date on was Holiday. I was making Christmas crafts and decorations beginning in the end of September for a Thanksgiving due date.
I promise to get more in depth with this topic, as it not only is exciting, but also deserving of a review. It'd be good to go ahead and summarize my work and what I learned, and, you know, be an adult about the whole thing.
4. I made some new friends!
Yes, this is a category, and yes it is a big deal, because, yes, it was a goal for the semester. I learned that the million and one friends I took away with me freshman year were, you know, not actually friends, but some acquaintances that were all part of the circumstance of living in freshman dorms. And, friendship is a funny thing, especially at this age. Everything is growing and changing and overly emotional and I think that any nineteen year old is lucky to be able to maintain one strong friendship as well as them self, let alone a nice group of friends. But that's what I have, a nice, lovely group of friends that I can hug and gush to and about and you know, love and stuff.
With making new friends I have also realized that I don't like wasting my time around people that I know I will not be, well, not friends with, but that I know will not be of value in my life in any way possible. And yes, I realize that sounds like I like people to use them, but that's not what I mean to get at at all. It's just that life is so full with obligations to work and school and money making and adult becoming endeavors that I have a hard time justifying wasting time on people that don't deserve it.
Basically, what I mean to say is that I got really frustrated with the whole college partying thing this semester and more or less say it as a total waste of time. I thought that this year would be different, that by going out on weekends would allow me to meet cool and interesting and provoking people, but really it just gave me a headache the next day, which is neither cool or interesting or provoking. Through this I learned that I cannot depend on another person's indecision to create positive entertainment for myself. Which really means that everyone is really indecisive about how they want to spend their weekends and so waits until 11:30 on Friday and Saturday nights to see what everyone else is doing instead of just doing what they want. Point in case is myself. Instead of being a planner I was a follower for the most of the semester and just waited for someone to direct me to an event. This ended up being worthless.
I have made the resolution to spend my weekends wisely. I mean, I'm in Baltimore! Why the hell not!? I want to go to events and meet real people and laugh about things that I'm only pretending to understand and look at post-post modern art for the sole fact of cringing and listen to bad 'underground' music and see uber pretentious films. And I want to do these things because I want to know and be involved. Because that is how I have a good time.
5. I came home with $35 in my bank account.
Why am I ending on this note? Because it is a very defining thing for this year to come. After my own apartment, with utilities and a grocery bill and no time to make money because of 18 credits and an internship, I have come to realize that money is not only vital and necessary, but I like having it because I like being able to do things. The need to make money not only is defining that, 'Yes, Matthew, you do need a job!', but also has given me a super heightened awareness to the fact that I graduate in two and a half years time and must, you know, start being a real human being and stuff now if I want to survive later.
It's survival of the fittest, a dog eat dog world, a MY NAME IS MATTHEW BARRY AND I AM MORE THEN DETERMINED TO BE THE BEST POSSIBLE AT WHAT I WANT TO DO WITH MY LIFE AND REALIZE THAT IF THAT IS TO HAPPEN I MUST BE THE PROACTIVE PERSON NOW AND NOT LATER WHEN MOMMY AND DADDY AND MY DEGREE TELL ME TO BE. Yep, that's what it is.
I am so determined to make this semester baller, it's ridiculous.
And so, that is my year in a list of five easy, uhm, essays I guess.
Oh hell, what am I saying; that damn list is nothing compared to what I went through these past six months. It's more of a general outline. And I understand that it's missing all the good stuff, like the laughs and the emotions and the sex (because it's the 21st century and any good form of media requires some bit of sexy time). But, you, dear blog, have a whole new year to look forward to. And I promise it will be much messier than the chronologicated bullshit that was this year in review.
In other words, I think I want this blog to be more human, a daily vomit of emotion that may or may not help some other, fellow student out there. And that's the goal, to post something daily of what I learned or how I feel or something I made or did. And maybe it will help. Someone, somehow, somewhere. Even if that person is just me.
It isn't that I haven't had anything to say. I do. I have a million and one little things to say about my day. And honestly, I really wish I had written in this blog, recorded the previous semester, and really got down and into it. But, I didn't.
And let me tell you, this last semester has been the semester.
No, seriously, the semester. And that's because everything is different.
The only way to get into this is by making a list. You know, it will chronologicate everything and help to organize what is sure to be a confusing year in review. But here we go.
But first, let me make do with saying that this summary will be nothing in comparison to what transpired in the last six months. I don't think I have ever laughed or cried or done all those other silly, human things so much in one bought of six months.
So, without further ado, here we go:
1. I moved into a two bedroom apartment off campus with a kid that I really knew nothing about besides the fact that he was/is the most genuinely nice human being that I have ever met. His name is Tom. He is from Pittsburgh. He is majoring in sculpture and on the MAT route to being a teacher. Honestly, and don't tell him that I told you, but he is the best person in the entire world. Hands down. Zero competition...okay, okay, maybe not the entire world, but, he is pretty great. And the best room mate, ever. We were both in the same sculptural forms class last semester (don't get me started on how I loathed that class), and, I don't know, I just went up to him and was like, 'Hey, you seem pretty cool. Are you looking for a room mate for next year.'
Yes, that's how it happened, give or take some dialogue. And let me tell you, this generally creeped out the friend base I had freshman year. They were all like, 'Hmmm...' and 'Uhmmmm...?' and 'Is that really a good idea?'
And my reply was, 'Well, you didn't offer to live with me, so 'eff it!'
That ramble was a bit of a detour. Back to the main point, I live in a two bedroom apartment in a rather old building called the Avalon. Fancy? Majestic? The pride of Baltimore City? Why yes, it is all those things, but that is mainly because I live there and not because the building is most likely not up to health and safety regulations. But whatever. I am more than in love with the place and how my apartment looks and that I have roof top access.
What's crazy is that I'm nineteen years of age and am living in my own apartment, paying utilities and buying groceries. Isn't that just, I don't know, wild? I mean, no, it isn't, because, you know, it is the 21st century, but when I first mentioned the idea of living off campus to my parents I seriously thought they were going to shit themselves. My mother went on this whole rant of, '...why would you ever need to live off campus...I lived on campus all four years...why would you ever need your own place...would it really be safe...there's no way it would be cheaper then living on campus...'
Eventually she realized that yes, the smart thing to do would be to get an apartment now and not have to struggle through the ordeal later as I would definitely be in Baltimore for the next three years of my life. And, really, it wasn't an ordeal at all because the first apartment I looked at is the one I'm living in now.
2. I adopted a kitten. My friend's cat, lovingly named New Kitty, was rapped by a stray back at her home in the suburbs of Maryland. By the time she moved back to Baltimore New Kitty was ready to explode with a litter of five glorious little puddles of kitten joy. She posted on facebook that she needed to get rid of them, I had a mice problem in the apartment (to which my landlord said, 'Just get a cat. Everybody in the building last year had a cat and there was never a mice problem then.'), and so I called her and said, 'YES YES YES YES YES LET ME COME AND SEE KITTENS!'
I first met Igor when he was three weeks old. He honestly looked like an alien. His eyes were big, blue and buggy, he had the largest forehead in all the land, he had a cleft nose and he couldn't walk correctly because he only had a little poof of a tail instead of a cat's tail (picture a bunny's tail).
He honestly looked like he had kitty down syndrome.
And that's why I adopted him. I told my friend that yes, he was the one I want and no I don't care that he's sick and no I don't want you to have to bring him to a shelter and yes I'll take care of him until he dies (which I thought would not take long because of the whole down syndrome thing).
Low and behold, Igor does not have down syndrome. Instead he is a rather charming cat that is both parts lion and rabbit. And I love him. Seriously, that cat is the love of my life. I am doomed to be a crazy cat person, which is fine, I guess.
Igor is now a bit over four months. He still doesn't have front teeth. He is still teething. He still has his claws. But, he is also a super chill cat that only acts up when he wants attention, which, right now, is all the time. But that's because he is only four months old. Duh.
3. I started my major. No matter how much you don't want to believe it as a freshman, sophomore year is extremely different then freshman year. Not only is it harder, it is more grounding in the way that is smacks you up side the head and screams, 'THIS IS YOUR MOTHA 'EFFING LIFE! DON'T 'EFF IT UP YOU WASTE OF SPACE, YOU!'
Yep, exactly like that. Totally different then the cushy hug that is freshman foundation year here at MICA.
So, last semester included:
Monday: Modernism and After - an art history class required for all students that begins with the study of Post-Impressionism and ends with Pop Art
& Intro to Creative Writing - exactly what it sounds with focus on poetry, memoir and fiction
Tuesday: Visual Journalism - a six hour class in which the class would travel to various parts of Baltimore and maintain sketchbooks that documented their travels, or whatever the professor wanted us to accomplish
Wednesday: Illustration I - the beginning of my major and so the basics of illustration, the class was conducted as, 'Here's a project, you have this much time to do it'
Thursday: Explored Stitch - a fibers studio elective that delved into the historical, cultural and technical aspects of every type of embroidery imaginable
Friday: Sacred Ritual Russia - an intellectual history that explored the context and nature of Russian folk and wonder tales
On top of this 18 credit semester was my continuation of my work study at the Media Resource Collection (the film and slides portion of MICA's Decker Library) as well as an internship with Anthropologie.
I want to repeat that I completed an internship with ANTRHO-FREAKIN'-POLOGIE!
If you don't know, but I bet you do, Anthropologie is one of the five stores under URBN Inc. Profiled as a retail store, '...catering to the fashionable, educated and creative woman of 30 to 45, we provide a unique product assortment that includes casual apparel and accessories, home furnishings and a diverse array of gifts and decorative items. Carefully designed and selected with an eye for craftsmanship and detail, our merchandise is offered in an inimitable environment, both online and in our stores.' taken from URBN Inc.
No, my internship was not a retail thing. Uh-Duh. The best thing about Anthropologie stores is their way of immersing their customer into a setting revolving around that season's collection. This is accomplished by creating, essentially, art installations throughout the store. My internship began in September and went on through December, so the priority from my start date on was Holiday. I was making Christmas crafts and decorations beginning in the end of September for a Thanksgiving due date.
I promise to get more in depth with this topic, as it not only is exciting, but also deserving of a review. It'd be good to go ahead and summarize my work and what I learned, and, you know, be an adult about the whole thing.
4. I made some new friends!
Yes, this is a category, and yes it is a big deal, because, yes, it was a goal for the semester. I learned that the million and one friends I took away with me freshman year were, you know, not actually friends, but some acquaintances that were all part of the circumstance of living in freshman dorms. And, friendship is a funny thing, especially at this age. Everything is growing and changing and overly emotional and I think that any nineteen year old is lucky to be able to maintain one strong friendship as well as them self, let alone a nice group of friends. But that's what I have, a nice, lovely group of friends that I can hug and gush to and about and you know, love and stuff.
With making new friends I have also realized that I don't like wasting my time around people that I know I will not be, well, not friends with, but that I know will not be of value in my life in any way possible. And yes, I realize that sounds like I like people to use them, but that's not what I mean to get at at all. It's just that life is so full with obligations to work and school and money making and adult becoming endeavors that I have a hard time justifying wasting time on people that don't deserve it.
Basically, what I mean to say is that I got really frustrated with the whole college partying thing this semester and more or less say it as a total waste of time. I thought that this year would be different, that by going out on weekends would allow me to meet cool and interesting and provoking people, but really it just gave me a headache the next day, which is neither cool or interesting or provoking. Through this I learned that I cannot depend on another person's indecision to create positive entertainment for myself. Which really means that everyone is really indecisive about how they want to spend their weekends and so waits until 11:30 on Friday and Saturday nights to see what everyone else is doing instead of just doing what they want. Point in case is myself. Instead of being a planner I was a follower for the most of the semester and just waited for someone to direct me to an event. This ended up being worthless.
I have made the resolution to spend my weekends wisely. I mean, I'm in Baltimore! Why the hell not!? I want to go to events and meet real people and laugh about things that I'm only pretending to understand and look at post-post modern art for the sole fact of cringing and listen to bad 'underground' music and see uber pretentious films. And I want to do these things because I want to know and be involved. Because that is how I have a good time.
5. I came home with $35 in my bank account.
Why am I ending on this note? Because it is a very defining thing for this year to come. After my own apartment, with utilities and a grocery bill and no time to make money because of 18 credits and an internship, I have come to realize that money is not only vital and necessary, but I like having it because I like being able to do things. The need to make money not only is defining that, 'Yes, Matthew, you do need a job!', but also has given me a super heightened awareness to the fact that I graduate in two and a half years time and must, you know, start being a real human being and stuff now if I want to survive later.
It's survival of the fittest, a dog eat dog world, a MY NAME IS MATTHEW BARRY AND I AM MORE THEN DETERMINED TO BE THE BEST POSSIBLE AT WHAT I WANT TO DO WITH MY LIFE AND REALIZE THAT IF THAT IS TO HAPPEN I MUST BE THE PROACTIVE PERSON NOW AND NOT LATER WHEN MOMMY AND DADDY AND MY DEGREE TELL ME TO BE. Yep, that's what it is.
I am so determined to make this semester baller, it's ridiculous.
And so, that is my year in a list of five easy, uhm, essays I guess.
Oh hell, what am I saying; that damn list is nothing compared to what I went through these past six months. It's more of a general outline. And I understand that it's missing all the good stuff, like the laughs and the emotions and the sex (because it's the 21st century and any good form of media requires some bit of sexy time). But, you, dear blog, have a whole new year to look forward to. And I promise it will be much messier than the chronologicated bullshit that was this year in review.
In other words, I think I want this blog to be more human, a daily vomit of emotion that may or may not help some other, fellow student out there. And that's the goal, to post something daily of what I learned or how I feel or something I made or did. And maybe it will help. Someone, somehow, somewhere. Even if that person is just me.
24 October 2010
26 September 2010
somanygreat things.
i have so many great things to tell and talk about. so, so many great things. because i have refused to update my life in so long. blogging seemed pretty tiring, pretty useless. until i really thought about it as the only journal space i have right now, because lord knows i don't keep an actual journal, because that's stupid. why write what no one else will read. right? right.
okay. somanygreat things in t-minus after i get my homework done.
okay. somanygreat things in t-minus after i get my homework done.
15 August 2010
five year plan: summer 2011
Here is the second installment of the dreaded Five Year Plan. Seriously, this thing is fa-reaking me out. So much so that when I leave the gallery (where I do most of the planning) I have to sit in my car and steady my breathing because I am so ready to curl up and crash into other vehicles rather than having to make sure this plan comes to fruition. Seriously. I barely know what I am doing tonight, let alone for the next five freaking years.
SUMMER 2011
The possibilities are currently endless for the summer of 2011. This is mainly because I have little idea of what the school year will bring, and therefore how I will further be shaped into a working artist. Subsequently, my goals are rather vague, but goals nonetheless.I have the ability to live in Baltimore, because of my current apartment, but also have contacts in Philadelphia and Los Angeles that can help with housing arrangements. Because of these contacts, my scope for finding an internship is rather wide. Mainly I am concerned with finding an internship more prominent than gallery work. My thoughts are on big names and big companies, or, relatively big, or at least relatively well off. Currently my list of possibilities includes: Squidfire (although I have a feeling I would need to first obtain some printmaking experience), Urban Outfitters Inc. (operates Anthropologie, Free People, and Urban Outfitters, all of which offer Visual Display Internships), and Martha Stewart Living (would be a dream, because, well, Martha is the man). These possibilities are narrowed into the vein of retail with an emphasis on visuals. Each would offer an unique perspective to the idea of sales and merchandising, as each explores a completely different theme within the scope of their company. With Squidfire I am interested in exploring the ‘Do It Yourself’ attitude of occupation, where one can utilize their prominent skills and capitalize on the fact that they are more than able to make a living. With Urban Outfitters Inc. I have thoughts of interning as a Visual Display Artist with Anthropologie. The Anthropologie line with the corporation is known for the presentation of their wares, immersing the consumer in a fantasy tailored to eclectic styling of kitsch meeting vintage meeting modern. Lastly, with Martha Stewart I find a personal dream internship. I have always been fond of Martha, spending much time delving into her extensive library of crafts, faking sick from high school just to watch her television program, etc. With the fondness comes the desire to work for her, be part of her crafting team, and maybe, hopefully, fingers crossed, I will one day be invited to present some fantastic craft making ability on her show.
Other possibilities include working as an artist’s assistant (preferably in Baltimore or Philadelphia), or maybe finding a small time publisher who deals with independent productions of zines and art books, and learning the ropes behind bookmaking on a large scale.
Of course, the summer cannot just be about internship. It must also be lucrative. I am resigned to the fact that I will not be a paid intern, and so, a part time job will be needed. But, I have been working since the age of fourteen, and so have saved and saved and saved, so much so that if I must sacrifice hours and a paycheck or two to internship duties, I will still be sound in money terms.
Lastly, a personal goal will be to be part of a craft mart, or some type of crafty event in which I can display my wares and pass our business cards and shake hands.
08 August 2010
five year plan.
In order to complete my current internship and receive three credits for the one hundred and twenty hours, I must first do stuff. What is that stuff? Really, you don't want to know. But, imma tell you anyway, if only to remind myself.
The list includes some legitimate stuff, you know, like submitting an updated resume and cover letter in order to prove you're professional and on the up and up. But, you also gotta complete some craziness, like three informational interviews with people that are in your desired career path, and, this one gets me, a five year plan. Not one, not two, but five. A FIVE YEAR PLAN! A FIVE YEAR PLAN? What is this craziness? I don't know what I'm going to do when I wake up, let alone what will go down in the next five years. Leave it to MICA to make me figure it all out.
So, without further ado, here is the first year. Tell me what you think though, is this craziness, or am I just crazy?:
As a rising sophomore I have left foundation year with the fresh realization that the time is now. While I can I need to make sure that I am doing everything. All the opportunities posted and thrown and whispered to me I need to make sure to grasp, grab, and kick in the face as to fully assert myself as a working artist. It sounds much easier to do such when casually typed onto eight-and-a-half by eleven paper, but that does not mean that what is said is truth.
The list includes some legitimate stuff, you know, like submitting an updated resume and cover letter in order to prove you're professional and on the up and up. But, you also gotta complete some craziness, like three informational interviews with people that are in your desired career path, and, this one gets me, a five year plan. Not one, not two, but five. A FIVE YEAR PLAN! A FIVE YEAR PLAN? What is this craziness? I don't know what I'm going to do when I wake up, let alone what will go down in the next five years. Leave it to MICA to make me figure it all out.
So, without further ado, here is the first year. Tell me what you think though, is this craziness, or am I just crazy?:
As a rising sophomore I have left foundation year with the fresh realization that the time is now. While I can I need to make sure that I am doing everything. All the opportunities posted and thrown and whispered to me I need to make sure to grasp, grab, and kick in the face as to fully assert myself as a working artist. It sounds much easier to do such when casually typed onto eight-and-a-half by eleven paper, but that does not mean that what is said is truth.
I just have to do it. And by it, I mean everything.
With the return to Baltimore, to MICA, to art after a lazy summer I plan to hit the ground running, running for my life as the noise of the starting pistol cracks through my eardrums; I start these next five years with the goal to win.
Of course, of course, easier said than done. But, here’s the plan:
SOPHOMORE YEAR
Already I am enrolled to take eighteen credits, a balance of nine studio credits and nine academic credits. I know the year will be rigorous, and I know I will break down more than once, but I also know that I can set my mind to accomplish eighteen credits, and to accomplish those credits well. This first semester is as big as a circus spectacle as it starts it all; I am stepping up from foundation year into the beginnings of Illustration with Creative Writing and Book Arts, a track so highly concentrated and therefore such a departure from the breadth of study focused upon during the foundation year.
As well as eighteen credits, I plan on continuing to build my resume any way possible. That paper, I have come to realize, needs to exude all and everything about my working artist life. Currently, the thing does not read as much, and so that must change. My goal is to obtain something of an internship during the school year. When I say ‘something of an internship’ I mean that I really just want to volunteer my time and abilities to some arts force outside of MICA. This force can be anything; gallery or artsy boutique or crafting group or whatever one can really imagine that involves art and able bodies and strong minds. My primary desire to do such work is so that I can begin to network with the likes of the art community within Baltimore. I feel like I, personally, am a student lacking much knowledge in the working aspects of the art world, and so desire to obtain the knowledge of being there, in it all, and working.
If I am unable to find something close to the aforementioned, I plan on continuing to work with Community Arts Partnership.
Outside of definable work things, I plan to have an outstanding year in the way of being a MICA student. I want to sink my teeth into the student community and get involved. I love MICA. I. Love. MICA. I really do not know how to justify this fact other than, if there was a MICA mascot, I would wear the costume everyday. And if not the costume, I would at least sport the school’s colors at all times.
Being part of the community, getting involved, that means participating. More lectures! And more gallery visits! And more meeting and greeting! And, maybe even starting a club of my own.
Lastly, I of course have personal goals. Well, really, just one. And that is to begin an Etsy of my own. I want to craft some D.I.Y. goodness and unleash it upon the world. If, for anything, to be more like Martha Stewart.
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