I have done it. I have crossed the crucial step to become a true art student: the infamous "all-nighter" at the College of Design Building. It is a graphite drawing of a skeleton leaning forward over the back of a chair. I spent over three hours just on the shading of the skull, and I don't even want to think about how long theh rib cage took me. Mom is probably thinking I need to work faster, but I am actually the second person done in the class, and our professor says he usually spends 30 hours on a drawing and he wants these pieces to be magnificient since he gave us an extra day.
Technically the project isn't due until Tuesday, but since the studio is only available at night because of day classes, the still life/lighting changes each time someone sets it up, and I really do not want to spend another weekend in a dark, cold studio, I decided I was going to finish it even if it meant no sleep! So at 7:00 a.m. this morning, I happily closed my art box, went to breakfast with another BPMI-er who held through the night with me, and attended my 8:00 class before a quick nap and then off to my next classes- and I did it without any caffeine! Although I feel a little dazed right now, I'm holding up fairly well with the sweet dream of a warm bed to get me through more FHP interviews.
Today in Plants and People (the best class ever) I learned that a strawberry isn't really a fruit. Well, the little cream "seeds" on the outside are actually the fruits, and the red, fleshy part is a modified recepticle. Also, fruits are modified leaves- I'd heard this before but never really caught on to the meaning. Exampgle: the common grean bean's ancestor started out with a broad leaf, lamina, with reproductive structures along the underside of the leaf along the edges, or margins, similar to a fern with the spores on the underside of the leaves. Eventually though natural selection, it began to infold in on itself to protect the regions of reproduction from outside conditions and thus we have this modern day legume with the ovules and the underside part of the lamina on the inside and the upperside part of the lamina on the outside. There is so much cool stuff that I'm learning in this class, and I could share more, but you may not be as excited about it as I am. Yes, I probably sound really nerdy right now, but hey, it gives me something to think about when I'm drawing.
Have a good weekend. January is almost over! Whoo hoo
Friday, January 29, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
No Hand Cramps Yet
This week started off pretty well. We didn't have school Monday because of MLK Day so I was able to go cross country skiing again and only fell down once! The woods where we skied were so beautiful and tranquil. The trees looked like they had been frosted, and the fog was so thick that the corn field beside us looked like a sky of clouds as the powdery snow blended into the thick vapor.
After my art classes on Tuesday, however, that tranquility vaporized like my temporary love of winter. The ice on campus made it very difficult to get around. Wednesday morning, a girl couldn't walk up a hill without sliding backwards so I let her grab onto my arm and pulled her up! It's not that I don't enjoy my art classes, but they are more intense than I had anticipated- especially the figure drawing class. We get very little time in class to work on rather large, time-consuming projects, and we have several projects overlapping each other so there is more than one drawing in the class to be concerned about. Thank goodness for my fellow BPMI-ers. They have been just as stressed about it as I have been, and situations don't seem quite as bad when you know you aren't the only one going through it.
Although drawing has been taking up most of my time, I've also joined a bible study group with 10 girls from the floor, interviewed more potential FHP leaders, and played a couple games of basketball- crazy I know! Luckily the other people I played with were understanding of my inexperience with the sport, and it ended up being a lot of fun and a good break from drawing planar busts, skeletons, and a cross section of a mountain lion's paw to show how it retracts and protracts its claws (BPMI computer illustration class).
After my art classes on Tuesday, however, that tranquility vaporized like my temporary love of winter. The ice on campus made it very difficult to get around. Wednesday morning, a girl couldn't walk up a hill without sliding backwards so I let her grab onto my arm and pulled her up! It's not that I don't enjoy my art classes, but they are more intense than I had anticipated- especially the figure drawing class. We get very little time in class to work on rather large, time-consuming projects, and we have several projects overlapping each other so there is more than one drawing in the class to be concerned about. Thank goodness for my fellow BPMI-ers. They have been just as stressed about it as I have been, and situations don't seem quite as bad when you know you aren't the only one going through it.
Although drawing has been taking up most of my time, I've also joined a bible study group with 10 girls from the floor, interviewed more potential FHP leaders, and played a couple games of basketball- crazy I know! Luckily the other people I played with were understanding of my inexperience with the sport, and it ended up being a lot of fun and a good break from drawing planar busts, skeletons, and a cross section of a mountain lion's paw to show how it retracts and protracts its claws (BPMI computer illustration class).
Sunday, January 17, 2010
One Week Down
I have officially completed one week of the new semester. So far, I like most of my classes and professors, but with a research paper and several art projects already looming over my head, I've realized there isn't going to be any easing back into my life at college- it is a swan dive into some murky water.
Our first major project for figure drawing is a collection of three works. One of the drawings will be of a plaster bust with sharp angles and geometric shapes, the next will be a skull, and the third is a live model. I'm hoping to become a faster drawer or else all of my time is going to be spent in the College of Design building.
I started my job as a U.A. on Monday and was one of the interviewers for the new FHP leaders on Friday. It was a really enlightening experience to be on the other end of the interview process, and I am definitely going to use what I've learned for the next time I am in an interview. One of my biggest realizations was that the way in which someone answered stood out in my memory a lot more than what he/she actually said in response to a question. Confidence, eye contact, and body language make the difference between two people that both answered very similarly.
We have 101 interviews to fill 72 positions, and then we will spend a week making our final selections. After that, my fellow U.A.s, Tessa and Jake, and I will plan out a mini retreat and several training sessions throughout the rest of the semester.
Yesterday I went cross country skiing for the first time! I had always wanted to try it, and several friends on the Nordic Ski Club invited me along to a club practice. After renting some gear from the rec. services and getting some tips and instruction from the club members, I was set! Luckily there were two other students who had never done this before so I wasn't the only one looking a little ridiculous and lacking in grace as other skiers were zipping by through the snowy wonderland. Since I have the skis until Tuesday, I'm going to try it again on Monday with my Minnesota friends.
Our first major project for figure drawing is a collection of three works. One of the drawings will be of a plaster bust with sharp angles and geometric shapes, the next will be a skull, and the third is a live model. I'm hoping to become a faster drawer or else all of my time is going to be spent in the College of Design building.
I started my job as a U.A. on Monday and was one of the interviewers for the new FHP leaders on Friday. It was a really enlightening experience to be on the other end of the interview process, and I am definitely going to use what I've learned for the next time I am in an interview. One of my biggest realizations was that the way in which someone answered stood out in my memory a lot more than what he/she actually said in response to a question. Confidence, eye contact, and body language make the difference between two people that both answered very similarly.
We have 101 interviews to fill 72 positions, and then we will spend a week making our final selections. After that, my fellow U.A.s, Tessa and Jake, and I will plan out a mini retreat and several training sessions throughout the rest of the semester.
Yesterday I went cross country skiing for the first time! I had always wanted to try it, and several friends on the Nordic Ski Club invited me along to a club practice. After renting some gear from the rec. services and getting some tips and instruction from the club members, I was set! Luckily there were two other students who had never done this before so I wasn't the only one looking a little ridiculous and lacking in grace as other skiers were zipping by through the snowy wonderland. Since I have the skis until Tuesday, I'm going to try it again on Monday with my Minnesota friends.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
A New Year, A New Determination
Ok, so. . . for anyone that hasn't given up on the Nautilus Shell: I am determined to update my blog on a more regular basis this year.
The semester ended well, and although I'm not ready for another semester of classes quite yet, I feel a little more confident going into the new year and excited for different subjects. In particular, I am looking forward to an introduction to anthropology class. I've always had an interest in history but more so in the way people lived and interacted than the actual names and dates.
During this Christmas break, my dad and I took a road trip to Florida. We spent time in St. Agustine, Miami, the Everglades, New Smyrna, and the National Seashore. We also spent a day in the Bahamas before heading north to St. Simon Island and Savannah, Georgia. On the way up to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, we also stopped by Look-out Mountain in Tennessee where a Civil War battle took place. With 3,600 miles of driving and a lot of walking, hiking, sight-seeing, and climbing through tight, dark, cavernous spaces, we packed a lot in during 10 days. The ocean was a little cool, but for two pasty, northerners, it wasn't really an issue.
I have one more week before school starts again, and I plan on spending it painting, reading, and working on puzzles with my mom so I can get re-charged for the new year. I hope all of you are having a great start to year 2010. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail at rcramer641@gmail.com. I'd love to hear from you.
Below are three pieces of art work from one of my BPMI class. We drew a lot of food in this class which is fine by me. I consumed a lot of vitamin C during the orange illustration which probably saved me from getting sick when everyone around me was hacking up a storm of phloem.
The semester ended well, and although I'm not ready for another semester of classes quite yet, I feel a little more confident going into the new year and excited for different subjects. In particular, I am looking forward to an introduction to anthropology class. I've always had an interest in history but more so in the way people lived and interacted than the actual names and dates.
During this Christmas break, my dad and I took a road trip to Florida. We spent time in St. Agustine, Miami, the Everglades, New Smyrna, and the National Seashore. We also spent a day in the Bahamas before heading north to St. Simon Island and Savannah, Georgia. On the way up to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, we also stopped by Look-out Mountain in Tennessee where a Civil War battle took place. With 3,600 miles of driving and a lot of walking, hiking, sight-seeing, and climbing through tight, dark, cavernous spaces, we packed a lot in during 10 days. The ocean was a little cool, but for two pasty, northerners, it wasn't really an issue.
I have one more week before school starts again, and I plan on spending it painting, reading, and working on puzzles with my mom so I can get re-charged for the new year. I hope all of you are having a great start to year 2010. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail at rcramer641@gmail.com. I'd love to hear from you.
Below are three pieces of art work from one of my BPMI class. We drew a lot of food in this class which is fine by me. I consumed a lot of vitamin C during the orange illustration which probably saved me from getting sick when everyone around me was hacking up a storm of phloem.
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