Art Talk Tuesday!

Welcome back, everyone and here's another Art Talk Tuesday for you!

Today was the last time I could work with wet clay so I had to hustle and hurry and make my slab/final project! I chose to do a T.A.R.D.I.S. because I absolutely love Doctor Who and being whisked away by the Doctor himself has been a long standing dream of mine! 

One day...

Without further ado, I present to you, my finished T.A.R.D.I.S.! It is not exact so don't chew me out super Whovians and this is mainly because I had a limited amount of time and honestly making a T.A.R.D.I.S. out of clay is harder than it looks!

After we get back from Thanksgiving break, I will be able to paint it that T.A.R.D.I.S. blue! I'm pretty happy with it, although I do wish I had more time to work on it and make it absolutely perfect! 

There will be NO Art Talk Thursday since it is Thanksgiving and I'm pretty positive I won't find the time to write that day. I hope everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving and I hope you all stuff your face with lots of food! 

I am thankful for many things but here are just a few of the highlights:

I'm thankful for...

1. my amazing supportive family

2. the outstanding people I call my close friends

3. my sweetheart of a boyfriend and his wonderful family

4. the opportunity to work with a wonderful art professor

5. having a roof over my head and food to eat

6. people fighting against animal cruelty

7. the overwhelming support from you all about this blog *wink wink*

8. the amazing men and women joining the fight against all hate I.E. the wonderful people at FCKH8!

9. the past, present, and future military officers

and

10. my education!

Until Next Time,

Lis

Stimulating Saturday: But On A Monday.

I am the worst blogger ever! I realized I forgot to give you guys a Stimulating Saturday and a Symphonic Sunday this past weekend! Blogging is really hard, ya'll. I have something for you today though and I didn't really want to wait until Saturday to reveal it! 

In English class, we are doing a poetry project which is just a critical analysis of a poem. I chose "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe. During this critique, we were asked to come up with an imaginative story about the poem where we could create any story and use any names we wanted as long as it related to the poem in some way. I literally just finished writing my imaginative story today and I am so confident in how great I think it is, that I wanted to share it with you guys. 

Before you begin, if you haven't read "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe, go read that first. If you have, here's my imaginative story! Enjoy!

          Mr. Mason Cadwell is sitting in the most glamorous restaurant in Long Island, New York with a handful of bright red roses. The tables are candle lit and the happy chatter coming from the other guests is filling the room. He is waiting for Ms. Eden Archer’s arrival. Beads of sweat begin to fall down his forehead as he plays with the forks and knives occupying the table. This would be his first date in 10 years.

            A cab pulls up to the front of the restaurant and a blonde haired, tall legged woman steps out. Mason grabs the shiny spoon and fixes his wild, curly hair. The hostess guides Eden to the table as Mason quickly jumps out of his seat to pull out her chair. He offers her the roses and a smile spreads across Eden’s face. Mason begins to feel at ease. The two order their food and begin the date engaged in conversation.

            Dinner is served and as the night progresses, the two are sharing laughs and stories that make it seem as if they are the only ones in the restaurant. Eden, convinced that Mason is the perfect gentleman, grabs his hand. Having not felt the touch of a woman in a long time, he turns bright red and pulls away. Confused, she smiles politely and asks, “Is something the matter?” Mason embarrassingly calls for a waiter to refill his wine glass. “And how is everything going for you?” the waiter inquires as Mason looks into the spoon at his now pale face. Eden looks up at the waiter and reassures him that everything is going great. The waiter leaves and Mason’s eyes are closed and he has begun counting, “10…9…8…7…” A worried Eden reaches out for Mason’s hand again. “Are you feeling okay? Was it the food?” His eyes slowly open and meet hers. “No, the food was excellent. I just…keep seeing her face.” Now, obviously uncomfortable, Eden has begun to wonder if Mason is the same man whom just minutes ago she was sharing a laugh with. “Who?” Eden cautiously asks.       

            Just like turning on a light switch, tears started streaming down Mason’s face. He wails and wipes his face with a thick napkin as Eden’s eyes grow bigger. He begins to describe a beautiful girl, one whom he loved very dearly. He talks about how their love was made by the hands of God himself and how the angels of Heaven were brimming with envy over their adoration for one another. “The angels were so jealous of our love that they struck her ill and took her away from me!” he screams. Taken aback by the grown man crying like an infant in front of her, Eden thinks, “Clearly this man is deranged!” The other guests turn in their seats to face the screaming man as a waiter rushes to their table. ‘Sir! Please, tell me what is the matter?? You’re startling the other guests!” Mason takes a deep breath and whispers, “My Annabel. My darling, my life and my bride.”

            The onlookers are now whispering amongst each other as Eden tries to console Mason. He pushes her away and hastily stands up. Distressed, Eden sits back down and calls out for a glass of water. Never in her life as she experienced a first date like this! Mason is now looking at his watch. He quickly grabs his coat, rushes out the restaurant doors, and hails a cab. A waiter brings Eden her water and sits in the seat once occupied by the anguished man, startled by the scene he created. “What an incredibly grief stricken fellow,” Eden sighed. The waiter nods in agreement.

            Now sitting in a cab, soaked in the tears falling from his eyes, Mason stares out the window. He’s looking at the night sky but sees not one star. It’s cloudy, and even the moon is hiding from him. Inconsolable, Mason looks down at the wedding ring around his finger. The cab driver, intrigued with the strange man sitting in the back seat, asks, “Where to, boss?” Not looking up from his hands, he replies, “St. Mary’s Episcopal Cemetery.”

Until Next Time, 

Lis

Art Talk Thursday: On A Friday

Hello everybody and once again I am apologizing for not giving you an Art Talk Thursday on an actual Thursday but hey, better late than NEVER!

Let's talk art! On Tuesday, I had finished Colonel Kernal but I wanted to save the end result for this blog so drum roll please.....................

Ta da!

Here he is! Finished and looking NOTHING like a toy soldier from Toy Story but I am still so happy that he's finished. He's about 30 inches tall and looking heroic!

I am really happy with him.

No idea where his permanent home will be yet but I'll keep you updated on that.

I hope you enjoyed watching the progress just as much as I enjoyed having my ideas come to life!

My next and final ceramics project for the semester is a slab project. 

I won't give too much away about what it is going to be exactly but right now, I can show you it's basic shape: a rectangular box! Go ahead and guess!

Lastly for Art Talk Thursday, this carpet with my footprints on it. Why? Because those are the footprints of a scared girl who just walked all over a freshly vacuumed carpet and the custodian was looking right at me as I left these imprints. I thought it was both hilarious and terrifying! 

Before I end this blog, I wanted to go ahead and talk a little about why I didn't write yesterday. 

It was my anniversary! That's why!

I spent the afternoon and evening with my wonderful boyfriend of 1 year and boy, how time flys!

For those that know both of us personally, they'll say that we have actually been together for 4 years. He and I are completely aware that the last 4 years have happened, but it was really complicated. We are each others first "after high school" relationship and we were still learning the ropes! Mistakes were made on both sides, lack of communication, Etc. Etc. Etc.!

Nonetheless, it was decided that with a fresh start we should have a clean slate. So, although the last 4 years did happen, again friends and family, we are completely aware, they were merely a learning opportunity and we are grateful for them.

We are very happy and pleased to have been able to spend this past year together. Everything is good and I am very happy to be able to say that he is my best friend as well as my boyfriend. Nobody is perfect, but he's pretty close.

He's a hell of a baker and cook too!

Lucky me :)

I'm almost finished! I promise! Yesterday was also very special because it was my best friend of basically 10 years 22nd birthday! She is pretty much my "sister from another mister" and I am so incredibly honored and proud to have watched her grow into the wonderful young lady that she is. She is a beautiful wife to her handsome husband and a supermom to an adorable boy and new baby girl! I have so many wonderful memories with this lady but the one I will never forget is when she almost stabbed me in the eye with a pair of scissors in middle school! I knew right then that we would be best friends. I love you lots, Smelly Melly!

Until Next Time, 

Lis.

Art Talk Tuesday!

Welcome back to another Art Talk Tuesday! 

Woo! Yeah! Art Talk! *guitar riff*

Anywho, today I actually don't have any pictures of the progress I am making on Colonel Kernal! The reason for this is because I was busy in a graduate school presentation for the first part of class and there was little to work on Kernal when I got back. I basically closed the top of his head, added lips, and made 2 long cylinder pieces that will represent arms. I felt like this wasn't really something worth seeing so I am saving the hopefully completed work for Thursday! 

"Why did you bother writing an Art Talk Tuesday then?" 

Well, reader, here's why.

The presentation I went to was for the Southwest School of Art here in San Antonio. It is the first and only independent college of arts in Texas and central America! All major art schools are actually located on the West and East coasts so how crazy is it that the first art school in Texas is in my hometown!

It's like me and art were a match made in Heaven. 

Although I am still unsure about going, it's nice to have the opportunity to explore this option. I liked the presentation of the school a lot and the idea that all of the students can work with all forms of media instead of just a specific one. Artists shouldn't be subjected to one media so I liked that about this school! It gives me a chance to focus on my media of choice and play around with different forms as well. I am leaning more towards ceramics/sculpting because I'm pretty much in love with it but I also really enjoy drawing and photography. 

I think I should just go for it. The tuition is insanely high but with a little prayer and a kick ass portfolio, I feel like I could get a scholarship to cover the 4 years I would have to spend there. Wish me luck!

On other news, I was interviewed for a position at JC Penney today and I basically got the job! All they are doing is running a background check but since I have never broken a law (or at least never been caught) in my entire life, I'm pretty positive that I'm going to run up squeaky clean. So, hey, I have a job now. Sweet. 

Until next time,

Lis. 

I'm Not A Professional!

I'm getting the hang of forming this blog! I've come up with lots of ideas and am trying to come up with a sort of schedule as to when I should write. 

Remember a few blogs ago when I said I wanted each day to be written about a certain topic? I've got those topics! 

Art Talk Tuesday- I show you the progress on whatever art projects I'm working on. 

Wishful Wednesday- exactly as it sounds. "I wish..." 

Art Talk Thursday- same as Tuesday except...Thursday. 

Stimulating Saturday- I decided to write a short story once a month. We'll see how this goes. 

And Symphonic Sunday- I share 2 of my favorite songs for the week along with lyrics and how they make me feel. 

Since I am still a beginner blogger, these days are not set in STONE so please don't expect a new blog on each of these days but starting Tuesday, I will do my best to keep up with it! 

Finals are going to be starting soon at school and then it's winter break so I'm sure I'll have a lot more content written out for you by then. 

Unitl next time,

Lis.

Art Talk Thursday: Progress.

Hello, Again! I am SO SO sorry for not writing an "Art Talk Tuesday" but I didn't feel like I had enough done on my sculpture to write a blog about so I decided to take the work I did on Tuesday and cram it in with the work I did today. So, let's get started!

Tuesday: 

So on this day, I wasn't feeling the greatest. I had a migraine and wasn't 100% focused on my work which resulted in very little getting done. I managed to get the top pockets on and draw out where I would like to put his collar for his uniform. 

Then, after finishing with that, I worked on getting a neck and head made. To do this, I simply made what are called "coils" and piled them on top of each other and blended them in together. At this point, from the waist down is not 100% dry but maybe about 75%. It's still at the point where if I were to put water on it, I could still mold it but I'd rather just leave it how it is!

Thursday:

Today, I managed to get his head on and then was instructed to sketch out his face. His helmet is actually part of his head and all I did to create the rim of the helmet was wrap a long coil around the length of his head. Then I CAREFULLY pushed out the top of the helmet to give it a more round appearance and then blended it in.

This is just a closer look at his face. It looks kind of creepy but a lot of people were calling him cute! :)

And this is the side view. Here you can see that I pushed out where his chin is supposed to be and I also started trying to push out and form his nose and brow bone!

You can't tell from these pictures, but I did not close up his helmet just yet. I still need to give him cheek bones and maybe push out his nose a little further and make it strong and structured. Hopefully by next Thursday, I will have learned how to put arms on him. I'm incredibly worried about that part but I have full confidence in my professor's ideas! 

Since he is about 30 inches tall now, my professor is probably going to cut him in half so that we can fit him into a kiln to be fired. Imagine my total heartbreak when I have to cut into this guy after all this hard work! I am not ready.

Besides playing with clay, I am working on a few canvas pieces. However, I can only show you two of them since the other five are actually Christmas gifts and shall be kept a secret until then! Once I get the canvas and other materials I need, I'll go ahead and begin the "start to finish" process on those! 

 That's all I have for Art Talk Thursday! Thanks for reading! 

Until next time,

Lis.

Everything Will Be Alright If We Just Keep Dancing Like We're.....

Hello! Hello! 

I hope everyone's weekend was so much better than mine! I had originally planned to spend Friday and Saturday at Luminaria, if you don't know what that is you should go google it right now, but due to stomach issues, migraines, and back pain, it was best that I stay indoors away from the cold! I was completely torn about not going though! Being an art major, I feel like I could gain a lot of information and inspiration from going to art events such as Luminaria but I just wasn't feeling up for it. Next year though! 

I did spend the weekend, however, catching up on assignments and binge watching shows on Netflix. I finished season 10 of Grey's Anatomy on Saturday and just started watching this other show called Reign. It is absolutely fantastic. I love the whole era where Kings and Queens ruled and this show has definitely fulfilled that craving I have felt since Game of Thrones ended. 

Aside from losing myself in TV shows, I got to go to Denny's Saturday night and catch up with 2 lovely friends. There were a lot of laughs and some serious conversation but it was really nice to get my mind off of my stress. I did come home later that night and crash into bed though because my body was failing me! 

I am just enjoying November so far. It's cold outside and it's comfortable enough to drink hot chocolate every day. I'm actually just waiting for the end of November to be honest because that's when my excitement increases. For starters, the 20th is my best friends 22 birthday. She will officially be feeling "Twenty twoooo ooo oooooo!" That day is also mine and Taco's 1 year anniversary (look out for a special blog on that day) and I'm of course crazy excited for that. Then we have Thanksgiving and my little twin brother's 16th birthday! How time flys! And soon after that will be my little sister's 12th birthday. They will all be an even numbered ages because their odd numbers were driving me crazy!  

It's not much but this is all I got for today! Tuesday should be exciting though! Art Talk! 

I still have not figured out what I want the rest of the days to stand for but we'll see! :)

Until next time, 

Lis!

Art Talk Tuesday?!?!

It's Tuesday! 

And not only is it pouring rain outside but I have a couple of things to say. 

For starters, I want to thank all of you for taking the time out of your day to actually read my blog! It's nice to know that there are other human beings out there that actually want to read what I have to say and it's great motivation to keep on writing so good job on you for being supportive! 

I smile every time I log in because I can see that the number of readers I have on each post keeps on going up and it's absolutely amazing and shocking and just give yourself a pat on the back for making my day and night and everything in between.

*round of applause*

Next order of business, to try and keep things entertaining and fun, I wanted to start talking about specific subjects on certain days. I've seen this strategy on other blogs and thought it would be fun to try out! It will probably get me to write more but I am sure that I am going to miss a day or two or three so bear with me because I'm such a newb and I need patience. 

I haven't thought about what I want each day's subject to be yet, so if you have any ideas just let me know! I know for sure that I want to dedicate 2 days out of the week for "Art Talk" and I'm thinking that those 2 days will be Tuesdays and Thursdays since I do most of my art-ing then. 

The rest of the days I'll figure out soon but at least now we have "Art Talk!" And since today is in fact Tuesday, I'll go ahead and show you the progress on "Colonel Kernel." 

Yup, I just did that. 

I am now just realizing that his belt is on crooked...

Moving on, I had to use a tiny carving tool to get into the clay and give a 3D appearance without actually making it 3D.

Although, his pockets are actually 3D and so are those 2 rectangular shapes on him, everything else as far as the belt and seams are carved out. (Which took a lot of patience and love!)

Today, the only thing I added on was the belt details and the details on his legs. Most toy soldiers have that thin plastic all around them from the manufacturer that makes it seem like he was broken from a mold and they just left it on.

I wanted to add that detail about the "breaking from a mold" because I felt like it would give the audience a more direct clue as to what my sculpture is being modeled after. I think he looks pretty great considering Taco said that I looked stressed and fed up with working on him. 

I should be done with him by next week. I am hoping to go in tomorrow after classes and work on giving him shoulders and arms. If all goes well, he will have a head on Thursday and then next week I can start glazing! Hoorah!

Until next time, 

Lis.

Rome Wasn't Built In A Day!

It's November! And that means we are getting closer to Thanksgiving and Christmas! *applause*

So this past month has been very busy! Aside from the usual midterms and papers, I have been working hard on my ceramics project. I decided to build a toy soldier from Toy Story and I did not realize how much work went in to making a sculpture like this. 

For starters, I only meant for him to stand at about 15 inches. He is currently standing at about 23 inches and that's without a head or shoulders. Second, he's taking up A LOT of clay. I am already on my second box of clay and each box is 50 pounds!

     After making his boots weeks ago, I actually wanted to call it quits and only focus on the boots and add extreme detail. My professor though, by the name of Cakky, convinced me to just go ahead with the whole body. 

After 2 months, he now has legs and a torso. 

I have added details to his lower body as far as making the edge of his coat, adding pockets, and making detailed seams, BUT I forgot to take a picture of the finished work before wrapping him and storing him away until the next class. Not to worry though, I will take pictures of his progress and update you in a future blog! (I hope I remember...)

I am confident the finished product will look amazing and I can get him ready to be glazed. Hopefully by next week, he will be nice and green and placed in the kiln to be fired. And he'll hopefully have a totally awesome name! That's the goal!

Aside from my ceramics piece, I will be working on a few canvas pieces for a couple of friends. I thought it would be fun to photograph the process and place it on here for y'all to see! This will be in a future blog though since I have not yet started to draw it on a canvas :) 

Until next time! 

- Lis