New blog

I've recently been thinking about blogging again, especially as I maintain a regular studio now and want somewhere to post up my random projects.

So, I've decided to start over fresh. The new digs are at http://waytobluestudios.tumblr.com/. Check it out!

Disintegration

So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing. -T. S. Eliot

Snow Day, in iPhone Photographs

We had a rare occurrence for Mississippi the other day: snow. I was awake and delirious and writing letters of intent in my own blood (almost) and looked outside and thought I'd finally cracked for real. Fortunately I hadn't yet fallen into the abyss of insanity so I bundled up and spent several hours outside enjoying it. Here, let me hand the story off to my grainy, pixelated iPhone camera self:

BALL-A! 

Nerd Post

As I'm nearing the point of total insanity, I thought it might be wise to take a small breather from last minute graduate application extravaganza and write blog posts.

I'm told by those closest to me that I am "difficult to buy gifts for." This year my mother decided she was done and handed me money and said I'd better get something I enjoyed. And well...

This is what happened. You can see my toe in this picture.

Recent Work

I've been sitting on a lot of my new work for a while. I've been cleaning a lot of them up and getting them ready for final exhibition form and thought I'd share some of them.

Insurance (2012)

SPESC 2012

I know I said I was going to blog about the conference. Unfortunately, it turned out to be much busier than I had anticipated. The only images I managed to get were on my iPhone using Instagram.

Whitten, backstage, preparing to photograph a lecture

Google Voice Dictation is Terrible

Google Voice is terrible at translating voicemails even from a clear voice, let alone many of the thick accented southerners I know, here are a few great examples:

"Happy Birthday through you. Happy Birthday kidding you. Happy Birthday. And I also i'm staying on. Happy Birthday to you. I love you soon bye bye"

"Hello Yeah, bye. Mr hey he has. Well, I don't know your alright, okay. They wanna Yeah, hey. That. Bye Bye the bye basketball. Yeah, I've been I don't know baby. I'll do it."

"Hey, the uncommon bank give me your anger and bye"

"They went house tomorrow when you lay. When you're facing a late let us know what time. Okay bye. I love you."

"Hi, this is Charles sign for the the in your the Chris Wallace very good train, and I can't get on the road for the code on it, so if you don't show up some of the month. Hello Steven, Good confidence of approval for today alright. Thanks."

"Stay. 9 that were it was my only because Mary gal and I need to get in the record or print stuff up worrying it bye."

"Hey, this is joseph with the so give me a briskly training today. I'm here and I can't get in the room, so I'm on the lease."

Grad Schools and Other Things

I recently managed to finally narrow down the list of schools I am applying to for graduate school. I've struggled with settling on a reasonable number. I finally settled on picking certain areas I would be happy with and picking schools nearby. Most of them are around Portland, OR because, why not?

University of Oregon
Pacific Northwest College of Art
Portland State
Carnegie Mellon University
University of Alabama Tuscaloosa

While I'm at it, check out RaccoonSpoon and KittyKonundrum's thesis work so far! They are incredible. Just all around.

Cyanotype-Photogram Fun

As part of my job, I occasionally work with students by doing demonstrations, giving small lectures or (usually) just sitting in for a professor. Today I filled in for Professor Gootee by leading her first year seminar group in creating cyanotype photograms.

Sometimes, A Man Needs Rest

This is appropriate to how I feel today.

Christo!

This past week the Department of Art chartered a bus (with wifi!) to go see a Christo & Jeanne-Claude exhibition and talk. The show (a special exhibition at Lauren Rogers Museum in Laurel) seemed a bit out of place among their permanent collection which primarily consisted of 19th century paintings and relics.

I heard complaints among a small group of students who didn't seem to quite see the point in the exhibition. I've personally always found the exhibitions to be an exciting look into their process. It's also the closest many people will ever get to seeing the physical things they've created (save through videos and photographs) as their works are all large-scale and temporary.

The talk was in Hattiesberg at USM. It was my understanding that there was no photography allowed, but I did manage to catch a quick cell phone picture of Christo answering questions.

Poignant was the absence of Jeanne-Claude, who as you may or may not know passed away in 2009. She came up very often in the talk- which is to be expected, as all his current projects were conceived with her. It did feel as though he was simply talking about someone who was back home that evening. Upon being asked about a future work to memorialize her, he replied that they didn't believe in that sort of thing. Hearing him speak however, it feels as if carrying on their planned work may be an in memoriam.

At any rate, it was a nice talk and a great opportunity. Wouldn't have missed it for the world! If you're unfamiliar, I suggest checking out one of the many documentaries following their projects from inception to fruition. The Gates is currently streaming on Netflix instant.

SPE South-Central

Last year I was lucky enough to have the department I work for send me to SPE South-Central Regional Conference in San Antonio, TX. It was a fun experience and gave me a preview of this year, as this coming October it will be our turn to play host. I began sitting in the committee meetings recently, and learned I'll be running on-site support for the speakers/guests. I don't exactly mind, as it means I shouldn't have to miss Susan Burnstine, Kelli Connell, Todd Hido or a plethora of other artists and professionals at various stages in their career.

We visited the forest fire sites, they mostly just looked like this.

Just Being Silly...

I checked out the Will Bryant exhibition with friend Alexa today. There were props and backgrounds that we were encouraged to use, and of course I had my iPad soo.

Cats.

It has been another crazy week. Fiberluxe has been sick, and now I am as well. We're currently hold up alternating between sleep and Hulu. And internet, obviously. Still loving my New iPad and I've been stalking my cats with it all week, here are some pictures!!

It's A Desk

I've been lusting after a new desk for a while. With my PC, two displays, and all my gadgets there isn't much room on my meager table, especially if I want to write in my sketchbook at my desk. I've been contemplating a DIY solution for a while but most options just aren't viable given my tiny apartment and the fact that I'm moving out of the state next year (not looking to weigh myself down too much). Today I discovered a nice solution that provides more than enough space and will be incredibly easy to move anywhere, two 24"x48" folding tables from Costco.

I had a problem getting the black/metal shelf to fit, so I just retracted the legs and let the right side rest on it. Makes it look more like a real desk than two folding tables.

Know what the best part is?

Aside from building it myself with materials I already own, I would be hard-pressed to find a way to get an L-desk for less than 32.10$.

New Toys

School has officially started again, and working at one equals immediate stress during this time. I'm also trying hard to get a start on grad school applications, but that's another story for another post. Thus, the even further slowing of updates.

I purchased the Hunger Games blu-ray disc this weekend though I haven't had a chance to watch it yet (saw it in theaters). I did not share many people's enthusiasm for the books, my main issue being the author's competency with writing and her tendency to recycle plot structure. Thematically, it felt like there were a lot of missed opportunities, but then again, it is technically a YA novel. She also really dropped the ball with the ending, though I think most people would agree. Nevertheless, I did enjoy reading it, and the movie seemed to greatly improve the source material by allowing it to focus more on the strengths of the fiction (though I could have done without the incoherent "action" sequences and often overused shaky cam).

Onto other matters..

Thrifty Find

Also, I found this.

Left work a bit early today for various reasons and decided to go thrifting. It was a fun afternoon and I discovered a new thrift store that carries everything from old furniture to laserdiscs (also, a hefty amount of "vintage playboys" careful hid in nondescript white boxes).

 I didn't buy much but I did find a funny old (faux?) leather briefcase which is totally going to work with me tomorrow.

I was going to post about my odyssey repairing my computer chair. Alas, half-a-roll of duct tape and several violent swears later, I'm using a kitchen chair at my desk. I did take some pictures of the suitcase though, enjoy.