Thursday, April 23, 2009

blah to perfectionism

Tuesday (going to Corvallis) was good and bad. The good: seeing old friends and YUJI! Yuji is the printmaking teacher at Oregon State and he is the greatest teacher. He's native to Japan and he has the funniest sayings. Like, "Happy Accident," "Looks good,"... k, I realize these aren't funny because you can't hear him or me saying it, but trust me, it's funny.

The bad: I worked for about 10 hours and did not like anything I made. REALLY. Some of it was okay, but I went with the intention of creating work for my senior show, which I am feeling quite insecure about. I think I am putting too much pressure on myself. I've been discovering that I am a perfectionist (Only with certain things, my car, and many other things are not examples of this).

I am pretty hard on myself, and I want to learn how to go a little easier on me. And other people close to me for that matter. I was listening to a CD (Cloud and Townsend Resources) on perfectionism and my eyes were opened. I highly recommend listening to CD's by Cloud and Townsend.

http://www.cloudtownsend.com/

Dr. Townsend is a clinical psychologist and marriage and family therapist, and Dr. Cloud is a clinical psychologist. These guys are relationship and life gurus. They are so knowledgeable about what it means to live fully.

I have to take off and get started with my day.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Printmaking

I am super excited. I get to go to Corvallis on Tuesday to work all day in the printmaking room. I am going to bust out whatever it is that I am going to do for the senior show. The senior show is one piece of artwork put up in the Fairbank's Gallery at OSU by graduating art majors. There's a reception on June 3rd Wednesday, at 6:30 with food, family, and friends. I have a pretty good idea of what I am going to do, but I am sort of flexible to change some things. I have already ordered the frame and the matte board and arranged the layout of what goes where, but I have not made the actual pieces to go in it yet. It cost $135 for the whole thing. Wowzers. That's a lot of dough. I had major buyer's remorse after I did it because I never make quick decisions when it comes to buying things that cost more than $5 or $10. And even then, I usually take my sweet time.

I am so happy that I get to do printmaking again. It hasn't been that long and I already miss it. I am a little scared that I won't get an opportunity to do it again in the future, unless I take another class, because it's not like there are a lot of printmaking presses around to use. Or at least not that I am aware of. I should go to bed. Goodnight!

Today

Today was a beautiful day. Danny and I looked for a kitty at the Oregon Humane Society, but had no luck. We are hoping to find a kitten, I know, I am sure that's what most people want, but they mostly have adult cats. We didn't really jive that well with any of them anyway. There was one potential one, but she shed a little too much and needed to be brushed a couple times a week, and realistically that's not going to happen. If she was a great fit for us I would put up with the extra work, but I just don't think she was the right cat for us.

So, the search continues.

I planted my lettuce today. I probably should forget about it for a little while or else I'll probably check on it every other day, and wonder why it's not growing faster. I am going to plant some mint after I eat my dinner.

I better go eat or else my food will get cold. Wish me luck for the kitty search, and if you hear anything about kitties for sale let me know.

Mannequin Collaboration Installation



I am finally putting this on here. This is the collaboration piece with the mannequin. You can click on the image to make it larger. Here's a little snipit of what the thought process is behind it:

The woman’s fears are coming alive. Her view of herself is distorted. In the fabric beneath her there are distorted breasts and rolls of flesh. Each member took on a different area of distortion. In every woman there is a desire for beauty. With that desire comes questions and doubts.

The strings that bind her are significant because she is powerless over this obsession. She is a puppet to what she takes in through her senses. She compares herself to the beautiful women she sees, and she feels she is not enough.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Can't sleep


I can't sleep, but I am tired. I wanted to say, Happy Easter. I hope you had a wonderful Easter. I really enjoy the added perks of being married, one of them being that we have two different Easter celebrations. It's fun spending time with both families, and just hanging out.

Holy Moly. I ate too much delicious food that day. Gurdy was at The Varner's house. Gurdy is a 170 pound some type of Mastiff (a dog). She is so cute. In fact...dang. Danny hasn't put the picture of her on his computer yet. I would love to have a big dog like her one day. K, I am real sleepy now. Nos Vemos!

Obsessive

I started to get obsessive because Auntie Weanage (AKA auntie Kathy) asked me to put the mannequin photo on and I was going to do it, against my better judgment because it's after midnight, but I can't find the stupid CD-ROM on Danny's computer and my laptop doesn't have one, so I have to ask him in the morning. I will post it though.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

I got to speak Spanish today!!!

I got to speak Spanish today!!! I know a woman, named Sarvia, and she is from Mexico, and we talked a little bit (in Spanish) before I left for Argentina, and this is the first time I have seen her since I have been back, and I had so much fun talking with her (in Spanish). In English too, but it was fun actually practicing Spanish again. I forgot about how much fun it was. I loved it!

She speaks some English, so my brother and I taught her some slang words. Well, not slang, just words that have double meanings. Por ejemplo: My brother wanted was trying to explain that someone is rusty means that they haven't practiced something for a while, AND it is the word used for oxidized metal, etc...

We had a lot of fun.

I made potato pancakes this morning. I really enjoy potato pancakes. I went for a run!!! Woohoo! I set out to do all the things I wanted to do today (all of which are not mentioned, and I will not bore you with those types of details, because they're not really all that exciting.)

Today was a good day. I drove over the bridge (which one? you ask. I don't know. It was in Portland. I really should figure out which bridge is which. I think Freemont is the rainbow arched one. I remember it because I think since it's a rainbow shape, then it's "free," for Freemont. I really hope that's right or else my little remembering tool is useless.

Anyway, driving over the bridge, and I was blown away at the beautiful sky!!!! I was so thankful, and was just in awe of the beautiful creation before me. I love the skies we have hear sometimes, they are incredible.

I got lettuce and mint to plant in my garden, which is a trough-like garden, that hasn't yet begun, but will very shortly. I don't know if I told you guys about the lettuce and mint, but if I did, please forgive me.

I am just so excited that I am going to plant things I can eat!!!!! What a wonderful idea. I know it's not a new idea, but it's a great one, and just because it's common does not take away the fact that it's a great idea, at least not to me.

I am going to ZZZZZZZZZZ land. Hope you all have a good night sleep!

Monday, April 6, 2009

Went to Bend





So, for my graduation present Danny and I went to Bend. The first day we went snowshoeing to Paulina Lake in the Newberry Caldera and camped out. It snowed 2 inches while we slept and that was on an already 3 feet of snow. There were 30 mph hour winds, and it was cold! We had fun, but I don't think we'll be back to camp in the snow anytime soon. It was a learning experience.

The second day We went snowshoeing back to our car and headed to Cabin Creek Bed and Breakfast. I cannot say enough about how much I loved this place. The word perfection has been tossed around many times when describing this place. The hostess, Melody, makes homemade cookies for you every night, and superb breakfasts every morning. This woman needs to be cloned. She even has a movie collection, well, for me it's a collection, I don't really buy movies, so it seemed like a big selection.

It's decorated with sort of a modern western motif, and the rooms could not be more cozy. She has kept everything impeccably clean. I could go on and on. Okay, I will a little more. There was a king-sized bed with silk sheets, a hot tub outside, a gas fireplace that can be seen from both sides. It kind of acts as a divider between the room, and where the hydrotherapy jacuzzi is. So you can see it from the jacuzzi and from the bedroom. We stayed in the room called, "Cabin Romance," and I would highly recommend it if you want to try it out.
http://www.bedandbreakfast.com/oregon-bend-cabincreekbedandbreakfast-reviews.html

The first night we ordered in from China Doll, and their Beef Lo Mein is delicious, and extremely cheap, and they have really big portions. It lasted both Danny and I two meals.

The third day we went to the High Desert Museum. If you're in the area, I would recommend it. Danny and I thought we would spend an hour or so there, but we ended up staying for 4 hours. There was so much to see. If you like history at all it's filled with lots of it!

We went to some hidden ice caves afterward. That sounds cooler than what they are. We went to two of them, one (Boyd) was vandalized with spray paint and someone built a campfire in it. I have been to ice caves before, but this one I did not feel that safe at. Ice caves are dark, you have to bring a head lamp, lantern, or flashlight (or some other source of light). Boyd was a lava tube, basically a pathway formed where lava used to flow. They are cold, and the ones I have seen have really cool icicles coming from the ceiling.

The second ice cave we went to was called Arnold cave. It's not really a cave though. It looks like someone through a few grenades or dynamite somewhere and blew a big hole in the earth. It's where people used to get there ice 100 years ago, before those fancy freezers came along.

That night we went out to a very nice dinner at Zydeco. Another place I would highly recommend. It's a bit spendy, but worth every penny. There bread is the best bread I have ever eaten. It's from the Village Baker. It is amazing. Danny got Baby back ribs, and I got the red fish with dungeness crab. Both were excellent.

I have to go to a meeting. I hope you Portlander's enjoyed the beautiful day today!