Spring is Springing

So very rarely does spring break correspond with actual Spring in Indiana. However, this week, while I am on vacation at home from work & school, God has seen fit to give 60' temps & gorgeous, beautiful blue skies & sunshine.

I spent today walking & sunning myself in a local park (Holliday, thank you Kristin & Jeff & Ade for the find ;). So good to just sit & breathe, with nowhere to be, no schedule to keep.

Yesterday was spent at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, where these very springy pics were taken. This is one of my favorite places in Indy, because it holds art, it is free to the general public year-round, and will open a 100-acre woods :), a sculpture park, in June. It has an historic home (Lilly House, whose endowment makes the free entry possible) and beautiful greenhouse & gardens, along the White River, where the trail from downtown comes thru' (so now I can bike to the museum).

I love museums because art & science remind me that I am created. For me, every piece of art is a commentary, a dialogue on God and His work, whether the artist is seeking, rejecting, or in ignorance or apathy of Him - because God first created, every act of the creation's hands is part of that conversation, whether it is acknowledged or not. Perhaps this is why museums feel like sacred spaces to me, and every work is an altar to something, a chance to reflect on a particular aspect of God's story.

Vacation began with yucky weather but a beautiful wedding that was a testament to God's faithfulness to His children, and my friend Miriam's faithfulness to Him (and of course, Steve's :). Friends & de facto family trekked to a tiny church in a tiny town to celebrate, and tho' the rain rained & the wind blew, and none of us had ever been there before, and few of us had met the groom, it felt like family had reassembled for just a few hours in this place. I remain convinced that the honoring of God in that place is what brought the spring.

Sunday Dawn & Katie & I worshipped with Jeff & Ade & Glori at another community of believers in Indy, and it felt good & right to once again seek God together, and then share a meal & rest together before heading out to our individual callings.

I took Katie to my small group in the evening, because I'm the only non-nurse/doctor/med student, and sure 'nuff, she fit right in. To my great delight, this group of followers (in Indy) was able to share their resources to help Katie (from Orlando) find the next step in her vocational journey - an organization of Christ-committed medical centers that can offer support & contacts as she seeks to treat the whole person in underserved communities. In the words of my friend Lori, is God good or what? ;)

Monday I had the chance to show Katie my favorite coffee shop (Henry's on East, where I sit now in the late afternoon sun), visit the IU bookstore, and try on beautiful sparkly bling @ Tiffany's (because sometimes you just need to feel like a princess ;). Followed by a few lazy days of reading in Borders and watching movies and bathing in sunshine, I feel refreshed to head back to work & school craziness. Tonight is laundry & homework night, tomorrow I meet my friend Julia at a legendary Indianapolis blues joint for lunch (The Slippery Noodle), and tomorrow night I head back to work.

Sorry for the ramble, and if you made it thru' to the end, thanks for letting my contentedness ebb over onto your day. Now I'm going to go listen to & give feedback on an Onion posting for a stranger at the next table, because I'm not busy ;).

Course Correction

Yay, I'm not going to be a double major!! :) I thought the only way I could get the teaching certification & studio experience I wanted/needed was to double major in studio art & art education. I figured I could do it part time, it would just take me longer (hence the 40th birthday finish goal).

Turns out, in the words of my advisor, "no way". More precisely, the art ed program is structured in such a way that the possibility of me doing it at 3 classes a semester is slim to none. What's a budding art teacher/full-time+ tech support rep to do??

Turns out, Indianapolis University offers a 1-year MAE program (Master of Art in Education) for anyone with a bachelors degree. This apparently includes BFAs, so after my undergrad, I take an intense 10-month course in education, and (hopefully) at the end of 5 years, instead of 2 bachelors, I'll have my BFA AND my MAE, and the only grad work I'll need to do is for fun!!

Is God good or what?? That means I can take a General Studio major, which will allow me to take pretty much whatever I want, and get all kinds of experience in all kinds of mediums, which is what I think I need anyway to teach. Coincidentally, it's also what I really, really want to do. :)

So move over Classroom technology & PPST testing & math, here I go with furniture design, printmaking, photography, & metalsmithing :)

Also, the sky is blue and the sun is shining.

Spring is coming (maybe? :)

Like the rest of the country, we've had unusually heavy snowfall the last few weeks (for Indy anyway). I love the way it softens the sounds of the city, and frosts all the gingerbread houses in my neighborhood. This is the B&B next door to me, the Yellow Rose Inn, and it was glowing this first night of winter wonderland.
But while I love the softness of the snow, I'm pining for spring! I'm tired of turtlenecks & boots & kneesocks - I want shorts & flip flops, my feet are claustrophobic! I bought these tulips on Valentine's Day, because they were so beautiful and they remind me that fresh, green life is not far over the horizon.
If you feel trapped in a literal or figurative winter right now, find some tulips & hang on with me! :)

Eat Food (not food-like substances) & Use Your Body

So I've decided to quit feeling bad about the way I feel & look, and do something about it. 3 weeks ago I started back on the South Beach Diet (which isn't so much a diet as changing the way you eat permanently), and my cabinets & refrigerator have been purged!

The premise is that all the starch/processed carbs/sugar we eat hits our system as sugar, triggers an insulin response & instant energy, and then drops us when it's over (this is the source of cravings). So white sugar/flour/rice/pasta/starch/corn syrup are out, and healthy food (& fiber) is in!

That means lean meat, veggies, eggs, dairy, nuts, beans, fruit, whole grains, olive & healthy oils/fats, and the occasional dark chocolate - yay! :) Big no-nos are potatoes, corn, white processed (enriched) flour, fruit juice (all sugar, no fiber) processed sugar, high fructose corn syrup (which is in just about everything processed or "low-fat" - including sauces & YOGURT).

The results are convincing - no more sugar/carb cravings, no more reflux/heartburn, more sustained energy, and, um..."normalized" digestion :). Also, 10 lbs: bye-bye.

Some have asked what I CAN eat, so here's a sample Saturday cooking/assembly list:

• BREAKFAST - 1 crustless quiche: 4-6 eggs, cup of light cream or milk, cup of grated cheese, 2-3 cups fresh sauteed veggies - bake for 25m in pie plate, quick reheat nutritious breakfast! Also, coffee is in, just w/ Splenda instead of sugar
• SNACK - cheese sticks, piece of fruit or nuts
• LUNCH - veggies/cheese/mixed greens for salad, homemade dressing - olive oil & balsalmic vinegar w/ basil - OR - rare roast beef wrapped in red lettuce leaves w/ horseradish cream cheese & parsley
• SNACK - veggies w/ dill dip (made from Greek yogurt or farm cheese (yay Traders Point! :)
• DINNER - homemade soup OR something like grilled pork chops w/ steamed or roasted veggies or salad
• DESSERT/BEDTIME TREAT - OK, this sounds weird but if you like cannoli you know where this is going - a couple tablespoons of ricotta cheese w/ a little splenda, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg - tastes almost like tapioca :) and last night, I whipped in some mascarpone cheese (tiramisu) and added sugar-free raspberry jam instead of splenda & flavorings - SO YUMMY!!! especially w/ a square of dark chocolate!!

I'm slowly adding in more fruit & whole grains, like bread/toast, tortillas, oatmeal, brown rice, whole grain pasta, but even w/ the fiber, these are what your body converts to sugar, so I make sure I eat them w/ protein so I don't start the sugar/insulin/energy swing again. Occasionally dropping off the wagon (like a meal w/ friends) isn't the end of the world, I just get strict again for a day or 2 to make sure the cravings/pounds don't come back.

Anyway, I'm also doing interval training in the mornings (even 20m a day makes a difference!), and I'm hoping to be back to my (first :) college size by the end of the year.

Don't worry, I'm not trying to be "skinny", I just want to like me and that includes curves. Also, I still think I'm the girl that can hike/canoe thru' the Algonquin w/ a 50lb pack on her back, and that's probably delusional. So I want to make sure I can do pretty much whatever I want to do, and this will get me there, healthily.

If you're interested, pick up the South Beach Diet (Supercharged) at the library & give it a read. Btw, I got my doctor started on it too :)

Winter Storm

We only got the tail end of the winter storm that smacked down on the mideast, but we got enough to set up this picture...

I took this on a block near my apartment where the crows congregate - they're usually a neighborhood nuisance, but Friday night, they made a beautiful picture against the night sky & snow. I was having trouble with my camera focus, but I decided to go with it, and I love the mood of this photo.

Mischief

These photos made me laugh this week, at the joy every species seems to get from messing with each other :)

I took this one yesterday when I left class, in front of the art school...

This one is of one of my classmates' cats - it's better than a story, because aren't you visualizing the next frame right now?? :)

What's the mischief in your mind right now? ;)

Fall '09 - Progress continues

Here are some of my best pieces from last semester...

This still life is an homage to my love of story & reading, and the art of Chris Van Allsburg.

The portrait is of my classmate Erin & represents some hard-fought-for progress in drawing! (btw, when the model doesn't show up, you draw each other :)

The plaster twisty-sculpture is an abstract form based loosely on fire and the Trinity, and also on how far I could push wet plaster before it cracked & collapsed on me (this was the 2nd effort ;)

This one requires a little explanation... it's a (conceptual) walking stick, a wooden

staff project that was required to have some sort of "magical" function. Didn't really have a problem with magic per se, but I also didn't relate to the whole wizard thing & the associated imagery... so I sold my prof on this spiritual/life journey/reliquary/walking stick. The doors are all based on various stages & experiences in my life, and they hold "relics", scripture, letters from those times.

The stick is crafted from (2) 8' 2x4's, with slot & peg construction (and a heckuva lot of wood glue ;).

God's work of healing & wholeness

Just discovered this poem in the black history section of the Indiana State Museum, and though it doesn't speak specifically of God, it struck me as being a beautiful expression of what God in His power can do in and for broken people in community...and I love the images and rhythm of her writing.

Celebration

by Mari Evans

I will bring you a whole person

and you will bring me a whole person

and we will have us twice as much

of love and everything...

I be bringing a whole heart

and while it do have nicks and

dents and scars,

that only make me lay it down

more careful-like...

An' you be bringing a whole heart

a little chipped and rusty an'

sometimes skip a beat but

still in all you bringing polish too

and look like you intend

to make it shine

And we be bringing, each of us

the music of our selves to wrap

the other in

forgiving clarities

soft as a choir's last

lingering note, our

personal blend

I will bring you someone whole

and you will bring me someone whole

and we be twice as strong

and we be twice as sure

and we will have twice as much

of love

and everything...

New Life

Tonight I visited Grace & Peace Presbyterian, a sister PCA church to Redeemer, to see my friend Bess baptized. I love to see children baptized, but it was so moving to see an adult take this step of testimony & faith, knowing her journey and God's faithful pursuit of her. Her life is truly new in Christ, and it is a blessing to be able to share it with her.

Afterwards, dinner with new friends at Buca di Beppo's, a celebratory dinner for Bess & her uncle & aunt, who flew from California to be with her for her baptism. As I was talking with my friend Lauralee, and watching the friendships build between people who otherwise have very little in common each other, other than Christ Himself, I am humbled & awed again at His goodness. Family is God's physical plan for people, but is only an image of spiritual reality. Each of us, as a child of God, has spiritual family that holds us & lifts us up, carries us & rejoices with us, when our physical families can't or won't.

Just feeling blessed today, and thankful for my spiritual families near and far (and my physical one too! :)

Joy & Sadness can coexist

Not a stunning revelation, I know, but this past weekend was a timely reminder.  

I went back to Elkhart/South Bend for the celebration service of my friend Glori's dad, Bill Goheen.  He had been fighting lymphoma for 6 months, until July 26th, when he went home to the Father & God he spent his adult life serving.

I remember dinners & game nights in the Goheen's home, talking about what God might be doing, what He could do, what He wanted all of us to do - a financial Bible study, exploring career & school choices, current possibilities in a frustrating vocation.  We also laughed a lot, and cheered on Notre Dame (usually unsuccessfully :) He raised money for me to go to Urbana 3 years ago, a missions conference that helped me see some of what God could use me for as an artist, a trip that strengthened my resolve to step out in faith, and that ended up with me in Indy in art school.  He offered a different perspective on my questions about who God was & what He wanted, and gave me a safe but challenging place to ask them.

His passion for work as ministry & mission was profound, and he shared his enthusiasm with numerous of his children's friends, including me.  I have a list of names in my head who were similarly challenged & helped by his perspective & encouragement.

So when I say I am sad, I am saddened that his particular perspective & enthusiasm are no longer part of my world.  Even more, I am saddened this was the end of his physical presence in Glori's, Karen's, Caleb's, & Joshua's lives, and at the loss that came too soon.

But I found joy too.  If you could have heard the words of friends & family about Bill - as a husband & father he never gave his family a cause to doubt his faithfulness & commitment; as a child of God he passionately pursued, until the very end and with all of his strength, the vision & calling of his Saviour; as a businessman, his integrity & professionalism were beyond reproach; as a father, he passed all of this & more onto his children. 

Like a lot of us, I work in a lost place with lost people, who do not really believe in the hope & promise of change.  Listening to Bill's friends & family, and remembering my own experiences of his time & wisdom, I have joy knowing that God has the power to change lives for the better, for joy, for peace, for love & fun, and He fulfills that promise to those ask & seek Him.  My expectations, for myself and the one (unknown) who might someday share my life, were raised, not for my glory & satisfaction, but for God's.

A difficult weekend, but one full of hope & promise & grace, of sadness & joy.

3rd semester (spring '09)

more artwork, for those keeping track :)  (and coming up for fall '09: drawing II, 3D design, contemporary art history)

beginning wheelthrowing:

i made my very own covered casserole dish! :) (about 10' dia.)


this design took about 10 hrs to execute, and was worth every minute

metalsmithing II:

"spoon for india", inspired by my own response to my friends' jeff & ade's experience in india, and that of their son Clayton
"for my own protection" - emotional safety glasses, secured by the chain that goes over the ears, held by the counterweights at the end (historic design) - the copper spikes are all manufactured by hand from 6 ga wire...never, ever, ever again :)

mirror project, based on a shell i picked up in galveston w/ my family

2nd semester work (fall '08)

just a sampling of what a 1st year art student does/experiences.  what i experienced during this particular semester was a tremendous urge to chuck the drawing implement across the room and sculpt something with the paper.  more than likely that was due to my own limitations, and my definite preference for 3 dimensional mediums - clay, metals, etc.  but i learned a lot, especially about perseverence, and the fact that just because i don't enjoy it as much as other things doesn't mean it's not worth doing  :)  also, composition & execution are 2 completely different skills...

2D design:

a letterform composition & transparency project in adobe creative suite - oooh, to have had this program during my stint in the mayor's office!  the glare is because my professor put it up on display @ school (with work by 3 of my classmates) & i took the photo when it was behind glass (btw, my professor saw a chicken in this design - can you find it? :)

in this project, the very edges of the design on the far left & right are excerpts from a famous print called metamorphasis by m.c. escher - our assignment was to reproduce both segments & fill in the middle with our own design, making the transition seamless - in pen & ink, not my most reliable medium...but i learned a lot, especially that clean & precise execution can cover a multitude of design shortcomings :)
my favorite design from this class - an assignment to draw the negative space (everything NOT the object) of a still life, similar to a photo negative.  the objects i chose were a milkglass bottle i use as a vase, a stem of silk orchids, and some beach rocks i can never resist picking up.  the lesson here is that when you use objects you love, you get better results than if you forgot about the assignment & dumped out your purse to find something to draw :) 

drawing I - still lifes, some preliminary figure drawing, some charcoal drawings that drove me crazy but turned out better than i thought at the time:

this is one of the many views on the indy canal walk - if you're ever here, it's one of my favorite places to walk/bike (no canal in this view :)

spring break!

in march dawn & i flew down to houston to see our folks, and see marshall baptized - what a joy, and what fun besides!  here are some (ok, a lot :) of the highlights (in wonky chronology, b/c of the way i loaded them into blogger)...

The canalwalk in san antonio - breathtakingly lush!

the houston zoo - this is the same fountain i drank out of when i was a little girl! (my grandpa used to roar just as i bent to take a drink :)

we went crabbing in galveston, another activity from my childhood - this was a canal on the narrow island, and they were biting!
12 hungry crabs, soon to fill our hungry bellies!

after a hot afternoon & evening, to the beach to refresh - chilly for march, but it ain't got nuthin' on lake michigan in may!
the fruits are our labors (the big one was mine ;)
houston's answer to central park - i still love the live oaks that are everywhere in this city

one of my favorite prints from the houston museum of fine arts - a de goya woodcut of the spanish women manning the cannons against the french, after the men have fallen
an albrecht durer engraving, from about 1650 - work i was surprised & pleased to see up close & in person, after studying it in class this semester!

the museum of natural science, where marshall had a ball!  he's definitely a science boy :)

amazing gem specimens from the vault - this is where i had a ball!

birthdays!  all the spring ones celebrated at once :)

Remington the faithful brother, companion, guarddog, pillowhog

family photos!  this is the leaning tower of jacksons - why they put the shortest on top was beyond me...literally, as i'm balancing on my tiptoes on boxes

just making sure he still feels that way about girls kissing him...

the houston livestock show & rodeo, another childhood memory & an absolute must if you go to houston in the spring!

with josh turner - ay yi yiiiii!! ;)

and the reason for the timing of our trip - marshall made the decision to be baptized into Christ, and i'm so thankful we could both be there to witness it.  we love you so much squirt, and pray for you faithfully that this would mark every step you take in the future!

dawn left on sunday to return to camp michindoh & her kiddos there - it's a demanding life, and i'm so proud of her for chasing after god's heart in her life & that place!

remember the alamo!  if you were a schoolchild in texas or know anything about texas history, this beautiful mission is a monument to folly & the human spirit - funny how often those 2 are linked...