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...