Fruit T-Shirts

I made this sweet yellow t-shirt that has cherries on it made out of red text saying "CHERRY" and then an outline in Victorian style of a girl that's made up of red text saying "CHERRIES." I am going to make a whole fruit series. My next one is a light blue shirt with dark blue text in the style of the Blueberries for Sal illustrations, but it will be made out of "BLUEBERRIES" text. I'm excited. I'll upload a pic later...gotta run and eat dinner with Lizzi Shea, my dancer-same surgery-car hit in the same place-ditzy-sunglasses twin.

CONCERT TONIGHT, Let's go randomly!

Last night Vinnie and I were going to go see Atonement at the Michigan Theater, but when we got there we saw a line that was three blocks long. All of a sudden, I was like, "OH YEAH! The Mars Volta is playing tonight...wanna go if it's not sold out?" Vinnie said that was fine so we bought the last two "normal" tickets (seats instead of a bench), which didn't matter much because I ended up moving waaaay up anyway. The show was good when I got closer, but the audience seemed very mellow, which doesn't fit with a Mars Volta show. They have their long quiet moments, but they ROCK, hard. So what I don't understand is why everyone seemed so chill...except that the whole place reeked of pot haha. It's funny to see a concert in the same room I fall asleep in on Thursday nights during A&D lecture. I also ran into Dan--he was ushering. I need to find out how to get that job.

My favorite things were: the crazy dancing Latinos, the kid who danced across the stage that looked super high (and then patting him on the back), how big the lead singer's hair is, how much the lead singer added textures to the song using his microphone, and people watching the variety of audience members they drew.

My least favorite parts were: how mellow the crowd was (I almost wish that it was in a nonseated venue so people could go crazy), the bitch on security who kept yelling at us to move over because she's crazy, the fact that the mixing drowned out the more unique instruments like flute and some of the nontraditional drumming rhythms, and the fact that the drumming seemed to be the same heavy pattern for every single song they played.

The big "Aha!" moment has arrived.

Where is the line between the artist who is a craftsman and the fine artist?

Craftsman-A man who practices craft with great skill. A person who makes something very well artistically. It may be functional, it may not. The work of a craftsman is all about the aesthetic beauty of the piece. It can be greatly appreciated, but there isn't always a depth to it that's present in other works of art. A craftsman can sell his work for a great amount of money, get it put in books and galleries, but in the end his work may be a means of supporting himself or driven by deadlines and a paycheck.

Fine Artist-Someone who uses tools and materials in a new way or shows something in a new and ground breaking way. The fine artist is all about fame and glory in a museum and about changing the way society thinks about art and the world around them. There is always something driving the creation of the art. Art historians will write about it and find something deep and interesting within every layer of it. There is always something new to notice every time a person returns to a work.

These are the definitions we argued about today. That's a shocking way to break things up between craft and fine art if you ask me. Which category am I looking to put myself in? Well I realized today that I don't want to be a fine artist. The goal of my work isn't to get myself into a museum and to become a part of art history. I don't want to be necessarily famous. I make art because a creative job is the only way I'd want to earn a living in this world. I wouldn't be happy in another profession. I don't think that's a crime and I don't think that makes me devoid of passion in any way. It doesn't mean that I don't have something to communicate in my art.

I think I finally understand what Matt meant when he said he was in art school to become good at a specific skill. That's why most of us are here. I mean, honestly, how many people will make it as fine artists that I know at this art school? Probably none of us. What I will have is a background in whatever I choose to study. I could make artistically interesting dance videos until I die, but what the hell am I going to do with them? I need to make them because I have the vision and the capability and the resources but how does that turn into a profession. I'm grappling with a lot of things right now.

So what professions interest me? What career could I possibly want to have? Well, in a dream world I'd be a photographer for a band, design t-shirts, make album covers, work in photojournalism for a newspaper or magazine, become a graphic designer and make programs for events, design a book, write a book...I don't even know. I'm also fascinated at this point by installation work and performance art for the camera. So now what do I do? That's most certainly a start. Well maybe I should take photography, graphic design, performance for the camera, and classes that fit into things I'm interested in doing. I'm in college to explore exactly that. Then I'll have experience to find a job and I'll know more about what I like. Aha!

To Find a Friend

Well I guess it's been a bit of a long day. You know, cutting out rectangles and arranging them in a square can end up being very relaxing after a while. It relates to graphic design and Gestalt (figure-ground concepts) more than you think. Psychology and advertising really are closely linked. Dennis is a really chill prof. He recognized that I was listening to Radiohead even though he hadn't heard In Rainbows yet. Of course there are some obnoxious sorority types in my class, but at least I have Collin, Jason, and now Chris (she switched in today!).

This kid named Ben (I think that's his name) just peaced this morning without saying a word. He just up and left like ten minutes into class and never came back. I don't think anyone else noticed. It was fucking weird. He just transfered into A&D. Well, he was doing the LS&A deal because he's doing architecture AND art & design so...he's just working out his five years I guess.

I don't hang out with many girls anymore. It's nice actually. Girls can be very catty and juvenile sometimes. SPECIFIC EXAMPLE: At this point I don't even care who likes who. All I have to say on the "dramatic" topic of boys is that friends should be more important than a crush (and if it's not then she was just worried that he liked me better). Also, sending someone a facebook message informing you that they don't want to live with you anymore, right after the boy in question breaks up with his girlfriend of two years, is dumb. So I guess she's being cold to me now. And the girls I'm living with next year. Too bad I saw through the bullshit. She's not living in a single. Poor Lucy. The boys all like her and she has to live with the girl who rejected me as a roomie. Matt with the backwards hat kissed her. Wilco Sam kissed her. Joe liked her in high school. She's oblivious and they love her for it. I love her for it too though. She's so undramatic.

I don't need to go searching for love. It'll hit me on the back of the head when I'm good and ready.

Fine, I say I hate drama, but I can be a bit dramatic sometimes. I doubt that I blow up over things of this type though. I just get myself into awkward situations quite often. They're the memorable parts of life anyway. Right now I'm just enjoying the semester, loving the work I'm doing, and I'm not so worried about things. I'm going to be me and find a friend (I'm listening to To Find a Friend by Tom Petty, haha) that appreciates all the quirks and awkward-ness. I can't help the one crush that I'll always have...maybe I'll act on that eventually.


Some lyrics to leave you with:
To Find a Friend by Tom Petty

And the days went by like paper in the wind
Everything changed, then changed again
Its hard to find a friend
Its hard to find a friend

A Few Simple Facts

Batman Begins=incredible movie.

Being up at 3 am before a 9am class and not having your hw done yet=not so great.

Here's to caffeine tomorrow morning and all day.

First Meetings

I always meet new people and it's exciting. We talk for hours about anything and everything. After a little while that feeling fades between us. They stop wanting to talk so much. It doesn't matter if the conversation dies. All we do is say hi to each other in person. We stop hanging out. Why does that happen? Am I "too forward"? Am I too friendly? Do I scare people? It's a mystery to me, but I figure the ones that don't fade out are the ones to hang onto? Maybe I should tone it down a little? I guess being so overlyfriendly could be taken to be childlike, desperate, or lonely. I am none of those except that I still have a wild imagination sometimes.

Today I showered in the stall that connects to the one next to it. I couldn't stop imagining a hand with a knife sliding under like that moment the guy goes to look at the alien trapped in the pantry in Signs. The problem was that the knife proceeded to slash my Achilles tendons, which is a fear of mine.

Since coming to college I guess you could call me a little lonely, but I'd think of it more as lonely because I don't feel as secure or close to my new friends. I sometimes feel clingy and sometimes I feel like I'm on the outside. There's no one here that I can tell everything to without worrying what they'll think or something dumb like that.

I've decided to take a chill pill. Watch me as I swallow it down (it's a rather large pill because I REALLY need to chill out).

The Duderstat

I've decided to become a library geek. I had to go for 2 hours today with CFC 1 and I found this sweet series of books called American Illustration. Apparently they put one out every year and it has over 300 illustrations in it. I looked at every single one today right before my nap and I plan to look again. It makes me want to get a nice heavy-inked black pen and doodle for hours. It was nice to look at since I'm thinking about what I want to print and on what surface I want to print it. I'm thinking I'm going to make some kind of a sweet bag and print a simple black outline of a girl with a ponytail holding up a cherry on its stem with an open mouth. I need to look through my fabrics...they're somewhere under the bunkbeds...

I didn't think I'd have a third quarter slump but in the first week of classes I can already tell that I am. I need to snap out of it and get inspired. I'm going to go shoot photos this weekend I think. My drawing homework will be excellent and I'm going to spend three hours on top of that drawing hands. I have a Bjork research paper too...I guess I'm going to be busy. I'm supposed to go to Rendezvous, hang out with Renae, & go to Studio4. Geez.

I need to get to work on my dance. Every letter and symbol has been assigned a body part...I just need to choreograph the words, then variations on the words, then video it, send it, teach it, make a dance and such..this is a busy semester!