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).
Sunday, January 24, 2010
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.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Ode to the Artichoke
This is a translation of a poem written by Pablo Neruda from my Spanish class, Intro. to Hispanic Texts. It made me smile, and I hope it does the same for you.
Ode to the Artichoke
The artichoke
With a tender heart
Dressed up like a warrior,
Standing at attention, it built
A small helmet
Under its scales
It remained
Unshakeable,
By its side
The crazy vegetables
Uncurled
Their tendrills and leaf-crowns,
Throbbing bulbs,
In the sub-soil
The carrot
With its red mustaches
Was sleeping,
The grapevine
Hung out to dry its branches
Through which the wine will rise,
The cabbage
Dedicated itself
To trying on skirts,
The oregano
To perfuming the world,
And the sweet
Artichoke
There in the garden,
Dressed like a warrior,
Burnished
Like a proud
Pomegrante.
And one day
Side by side
In big wicker baskets
Walking through the market
To realize their dream
The artichoke army
In formation.
Never was it so military
Like on parade.
The men
In their white shirts
Among the vegetables
Were
The Marshals
Of the artichokes
Lines in close order
Command voices,
And the bang
Of a falling box.
But
Then
Maria
Comes
With her basket
She chooses
An artichoke,
She's not afraid of it.
She examines it, she observes it
Up against the light like it was an egg,
She buys it,
She mixes it up
In her handbag
With a pair of shoes
With a cabbage head and a
Bottle
Of vinegar
Until
She enters the kitchen
And submerges it in a pot.
Thus ends
In peace
This career
Of the armed vegetable
Which is called an artichoke,
Then
Scale by scale,
We strip off
The delicacy
And eat
The peaceful mush
Of its green heart.
Ode to the Artichoke
The artichoke
With a tender heart
Dressed up like a warrior,
Standing at attention, it built
A small helmet
Under its scales
It remained
Unshakeable,
By its side
The crazy vegetables
Uncurled
Their tendrills and leaf-crowns,
Throbbing bulbs,
In the sub-soil
The carrot
With its red mustaches
Was sleeping,
The grapevine
Hung out to dry its branches
Through which the wine will rise,
The cabbage
Dedicated itself
To trying on skirts,
The oregano
To perfuming the world,
And the sweet
Artichoke
There in the garden,
Dressed like a warrior,
Burnished
Like a proud
Pomegrante.
And one day
Side by side
In big wicker baskets
Walking through the market
To realize their dream
The artichoke army
In formation.
Never was it so military
Like on parade.
The men
In their white shirts
Among the vegetables
Were
The Marshals
Of the artichokes
Lines in close order
Command voices,
And the bang
Of a falling box.
But
Then
Maria
Comes
With her basket
She chooses
An artichoke,
She's not afraid of it.
She examines it, she observes it
Up against the light like it was an egg,
She buys it,
She mixes it up
In her handbag
With a pair of shoes
With a cabbage head and a
Bottle
Of vinegar
Until
She enters the kitchen
And submerges it in a pot.
Thus ends
In peace
This career
Of the armed vegetable
Which is called an artichoke,
Then
Scale by scale,
We strip off
The delicacy
And eat
The peaceful mush
Of its green heart.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Halloween!
To celebrate Halloween and a chance for pumpkin pie, I, along with the help of my fellow social chair, hosted a Halloween party for the Barton Residence Hall. We served homemade pumpkin pie and cider, played some Halloween games, and watched Hitchcock's classic, Psycho. I have to say, my favorite part of the evening was seeing the costumes people came up with! Most people created their own and were really creative.
I went as Nancy Drew- classy, smart, intuitive. . .
It was Halloween, so I could pretend to be whatever I wanted, ok?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)