"'Cause I'm Just A Teenage Dirtbag, Baby."

I think I am the worst blogger in history. No, scratch that, I am the worst blogger in history. It's been over a month since I last posted anything on this site and I really don't have any excuse for it other than I just plain did not want to. I wasn't feeling it. When you write, you have to actually FEEL like writing in order to produce something worth reading. Lately, that's just how I've felt. I mean, I've started posts and then saved them to be drafts that will most likely never be published. Even now, the only reason why I am writing is because I don't have anything else to do. It's spring break and I am doing just that: taking a break. I've slept 12+ hours, binge watched the full 1st season of Jane the Virgin, made a spotify playlist, and stuffed my face with food. Don't judge me just yet, I have left my house numerous times since the break started but not to get sh*t-faced with my friends or anything in that category. Clearly, I am not the 21 year old that the movies love to portray and I am just fine with that because alcohol poisoning just doesn't sound appealing. (currently jamming out to the 90 Sweet 90's Hits! playlist on spotify.) *insert one person wave here*

Anyway, there's only 3 days left until school starts again and I'm just going with the flow. I'm actually thinking about starting a dream journal because my dreams have been "insane in the membrane" lately. I swear, some of my dreams could actually be a movie if I could fill in the missing pieces. It would be incredible. 

Speaking of incredible things, how about this quote, huh? "Nothing will ruin your 20's more than thinking you should have your life together already." (found via tumblr). I thought that was pretty great to the point where I literally stared at these words for more than a minute and I thought I should share. Speaking from the view of someone who has a lot of people in her life currently that are her age and are getting married, having children, graduating from college, and even getting their own apartments, I feel like it's important for me to keep in mind that I am not falling behind. I am genuinely very happy for all of these people, but their accomplishments are not what should be defined as my failure. People run at different speeds and it just so happens that there are a lot of people that are faster than I am. That's okay! It's great for them and it's great for me! I just think that if you just so happen to be one of those people who is at a faster speed than I am, one of the first questions you ask someone like me should NOT be "SO, when are you getting married/having kids or what are you doing after college?" Because the answer is, "I don't know." Unless you want the sassy answer which in that case it's, "I don't know but what's your cause of death? Oh, you don't know? Well, neither do I." (Disclaimer: I am in no way, shape, or form angry with anyone. Don't worry.)  

Wow, I actually wrote a decent amount on this post. 

I continue to surprise myself. 

Until Next Time, Lis

P.S.- Do you know how creepy and uncomfortable it is for someone who doesn't see us on a regular basis to ask the boyfriend and I, "When are you getting married/having kids?" just because YOU are married/engaged and have/are having kids? *shivers* (Don't do this!)

Campbell's Tomato Soup!

Hello! 

So I know it has been a really long time since I actually posted on here. Technically, it's been 25 days but the days have just flown by so it doesn't even feel like it's been that long ago but regardless, I apologize to you and you and you. 

Now lets talk about whats new! 

I officially started what I hope to be my last semester at my college. I am taking 15 hours just so I can graduate in the spring or summer and not have to be back for the fall. Most of my classes are of course art related so you will be seeing some new art pieces this spring! I am taking Design I and II and it's something that I have never worked with before so I am excited to dabble in this new media and see if this is something that I would want to work with in the future. If you don't know what design is, it is basically working with photoshop, learning the concepts of an art work, and learning what form an art work is.So far, my professors have me working on a logo design with a group of other classmates and helping me build a portfolio so it's going to be a lot of fun!

I realize I have not shown you any new art works that I have done recently! 

So for Christmas, I decided to include anatomy into my paintings for my friends because at the time when I was trying to figure out what to get them, I was obsessed with Grey's Anatomy. I still am, but at the time, it was a fierce love. In the end though, I came up with these! There is one painting missing from the collection but that person never sent me a picture of it SO if Bryan is reading this: Hey, send me a picture.

"Brain" for Stephen.

"Lungs" for Amberley

"Heart" for Taco.

As you will notice, all of the paintings have bright, bold colors. This was because I am a huge fan of "pop art" and I wanted to make the pieces look similar to something you'd see back in the 40's and 50's when pop art was such a big deal, thanks to Andy Warhol. I know they don't compare to his works but he was a great model to use!

This final painting isn't something I made but that Taco made for me. It's always fun to see someone who has no interest in art for a career but enjoys doing art on the side create something. I think for his first canvas painting, he did really well! I think the way he blended in the light and dark blues in the background came out great and it's something that even I haven't tried to accomplish yet. Overall, Lady and the Tramp will always get you good boyfriend brownie points with me♥ 

Well, I hope you enjoyed this post and I will see you back again soon!

Until next time,

Lis.

Edit: 

"Mouth" for Bryan.

Hello, 2015. We meet at last.

Hello, everyone and welcome to 2015! 

I was sad to see 2014 come to an end since so many great things happened that year but I feel as though 2015 will treat me just as great. It's so weird knowing that it is now January but it's also really nice because it's an opportunity for a fresh start. It's like starting the next chapter of your life and I want to make sure that this chapter is filled with amazing pages. This year, I am supposed to graduate from college so fingers crossed that graduation will be possible for me! 

I feel like a lot of crazy things are going to happen this year, like hoverboards and the ability to print puppies and kittens. I just want this year to be as fun as last year. I feel like I spent an outrageous amount of time with my friends and I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to surround myself with. There were roadtrips, late nights at Denny's or IHOP, Super Smash 8 competitions, and just lots and lots of laughs and I am very grateful to have spent it with those people. I can only hope that 2015 brings even more opportunities and blessings and GAH, I'm just ready. I am SO ready to see how the year plays out.

I think if I had to give you advice on how to start your year off, I'd say, "Start it with a smile." Leave drama and heartbreak in 2014 and just start the year off fresh. Don't linger on mistakes or regrets that were made and just start trying to figure out how to better yourself. When you take the time to truly feel confident in yourself, then your relationships with people just get stronger and happiness follows. 

I hope everyone had a great kickoff to 2015. I wish nothing but happiness, love, and blessings to all of you and I hope you are looking forward to creating a great year for yourselves. I look forward to sharing many great stories with you all. Happy New Year :)

Until Next Time, 

Lis.   

P.S. Who else is going to binge watch all 10 seasons of FRIENDS. on Netflix? 

And I'm Back....Merry Christmas!

I know, I know. "Where the hell have you been, Lis?" Well, reader, I've been stuck in a writer's block. After the semester ended, I could not find anything I wanted to write about so I just laid back and waited for something interesting to happen. Then I thought, my life is interesting. I'm 21 and trying to figure out what I'm supposed to do with my future. To me, that's interesting. Sure, there are lots of 20 something year old's with this same exact issue, but there's only one me. (Unless, of course, I have a long lost twin...or a dopple ganger.) Nonetheless, I just wanted to write something. That's why I started this blog anyway, to write about what's going on in my life. I wasn't intending for this blog to be structured or on one certain topic. I just wanted it to be my sort of "diary" as my dad called it once, but without getting intimately personal. Who knows, maybe one day I will get really personal but for right now, it's as if this blog and I are still getting to know each other. We haven't reached the "friend" tier yet. We're more like good acquaintances. This blog and I are at that stage in a growing friendship where we have exchanged numbers and are now playing "20 questions" so that we can get to know each other. (Don't act like you've never done that.) 

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, here's what's happened since winter break started. I have spent countless hours on Netflix. See, Netflix and I have reached the "best friend" tier, as I assume a lot of people have reached. I, like most humans, enjoy watching tv shows and movies and since I passed all of my classes, I feel like I deserved to binge watch shows this past week. Since I have become an expert in movies filed under the "Independent" section, I thought I'd share some of my favorites: In A World staring Lake Bell, Short Term 12 starring Brie Larson, Girl Most Likely starring Kristen Wiig, and Now is Good starring Dakota Fanning. Seriously guys, these movies deserve to be watched. If you're looking for a T.V. show to binge on, I think you should start watching Parks and Recreation because Amy Poehler and United States of Tara because slam-bam-oh-hot-damn that's a great show. 

Before you start judging me, no, I haven't spent the past week only watching Netflix. I went outside once in awhile too. Actually, I spent basically my whole weekend in a place other than my house. This past weekend, myself and a group of my closest friends exchanged Secret Santa gifts. Instead of giving only my secret santa giftee a present, I decided to give all of my friends a painting of their very own! I had a lot of fun making them but silly me forgot to take pictures of the completed work before giving them out. With that being said, I will post the pictures as soon as I get them all! I just hope they all really loved it!

 The night ended with me losing my phone for all of 5 minutes, Super Smash 8 and the cashing in of a "slap bet." Yup, we are a younger version of How I Met Your Mother. It was a fun weekend and although they weren't in anyway my secret santa, Bryan and Amberley got me the one thing that I practically broke down in tears for, TARDIS String Lights. YES. My friends are amazing. I will insert picture below: 

They are SO beautiful. Since we are on the topic of Christmas, I will be spending the holiday with my handsome man and his family. I am hoping to eat lots of food but I already know that once I see all the food, I will literally only have one plate and then Taco will ask me every 10 minutes if I am still hungry!

I hope everyone has a super great Christmas! And if you don't celebrate it, then I hope you just have a great day! I hope everyone has a safe trip if you plan on travelling anywhere and I hope you feel all warm and fuzzy this week! Hopefully, you were all good this year because Santa isn't kidding around with that Naughty and Nice list! 

Until Next Time, 

Lis.

Yesterday afternoon, I found out that one of my teachers from high school had passed away. Mr. Trebbe, you will be missed by so many. You were a great educator and you will not be forgotten. Jeopardy will never be the same for me as I am sure it will never be the same for any of my fellow peers. You helped make sophomore year a meaningful one and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from you. Thanks for putting up with my younger self. Rest In Peace.     

Art Talk Thursday! Unveiling!

Hello, everyone and welcome back to another Art Talk Thursday! Woo! I am beyond ready to show you guys all of the finished ceramics pieces today so lets just jump on into it!

First, we have a flower pot I made at the beginning of the semester using coils.

The colors are completely random and to be honest, the paint job is terrible. I can admit that because I really was just trying to move on with another project! I still really like the way it came out and maybe I'll use it to plant something in!

Next, this is a small bowl with a lid. This one was actually done with a cone 6 glaze called "licorice" and that's just a really nice, shiny black color. On the lid, there is a little honey bee with one wing. He had an accident upon arriving at the kiln but I love him anyway. Fun fact, the lid only goes on ONE way. I should probably stay away from making lids.

Ah, yes. The Whovian inside me is overjoyed. I LOVE the way my TARDIS came out. It's actually a much darker color than it appears here. If I could change anything about this, it would be the "Police Box" words at the top. I would change them from black to white. Overall, pretty happy with this.

Helloooo, Colonel! As you can see, my biggest project of the semester turned out to be the exact color I wanted him! I am very happy with him and he is currently keeping guard at the foot of my bed!

I'm very satisfied with the way all my pieces turned out. It was my first time being in ceramics and I loved it. The semester is over now though and I have to find new projects to keep me busy!

On my downtime, (which is 87% of my day), I like to draw. I'm not a big painter, but I paint when I feel like my drawing is something that should be painted.

Like.......

This. I've been really into the whole "pop art comic book" girls lately. I think this would look really nice on a canvas on my wall :) Maybe this will be my winter project!

Wowza. This was a lot of content for Art Talk Thursday. I hope you enjoyed this little cyber gallery session! 

Until next time,

Lis.

P.S. Give me some feedback! Tell me if you love it or hate it!

Egg in a Hole!

I haven't really done a blog post in awhile that wasn't about art so today I thought I would just go for it! I want to write about what's going to be happening this upcoming week and maybe some other random notes because I feel like I need to let my brain take a break from trying to catch up on The Walking Dead! Speaking of TWD, I hated season 2 because I felt like it was just so incredibly slow but I've never skipped a season of a show when binge watching and I'm not going to start now! So far though, I am in season 4 and I am intrigued. 

Starting Monday, it is finals week at my college and I am SO READY for the semester to be over! It has been a somewhat challenging but fun semester. To be honest, I am ready to not have to worry about school for a month or so. After the winter break though, it will be the spring semester and also my LAST semester there! As I have said in a previous post, I decided to take a year off from college and just focus on gathering myself together and completing my metaphorical "to-do list." I have to keep reminding myself that I am not 17 anymore and that I need to start making some actual real life adult decisions. I will, however, not stop embracing IHOP at 10 p.m. because lets get real, that is always going to be a good idea. 

This weekend I have been staring at canvases and trying to get these projects done in time for Christmas. I will reveal them to you all as soon as I reveal them to the people they are going to. I'm kind of sad to be giving them away because I think they are totally rad and I want to keep them for myself! But alas, the Christmas spirit is in me. 

To end this blog post, I want to share a picture with you all that I was REALLY proud of.

This was my breakfast yesterday. Look how pretty! 

Egg in a Hole

Strawberries

and Avocado.

Yup. I am proud of that.

It's the little things.

Until Next Time,

Lis

Art Talk Tuesday!!

Hello, everyone! I hope y'all's Thanksgiving and weekends were great! Mine was wonderful but I am happy to get back to this blog again! It's Tuesday so y'all know what that means!

This week is all about glazing! If you don't know what glazing is, it's basically paint and then a clear coat but once it is fired in the kiln, the piece will come out shiny and looking like glass. Pretty sweet, right? It is finals week so we have been working hard getting these pieces glazed and fired so that way we are able to present all of our work to our professor next Tuesday.

Today though, I had finished glazing a huge pot I did towards the beginning of the semester. I actually forgot to take a picture of that one but I can tell you that it looks absolutely crazy. It's purple and yellow with pink flowers. Just insane. I have no idea why I chose to give it those colors!

I did, however, bring one piece home so that I could use acrylic paints on it instead of the glaze. It's a piece that I did at the beginning of the semester when we were learning the basics of ceramics. I think it came out pretty cute!

It's a mouse in a house! Adorable! 

Besides my ceramics pieces, I am painting on the side. I actually have 4 paintings done but I can't show you because they're surprises! I decided that these paintings had to follow a theme and I went with "pop art" and "anatomy." I was obsessed with Grey's Anatomy at the beginning of August and this is what sparked my idea to do some paintings related to anatomy. I have also been really into pop art too, as far as colors, so these pieces are super bright and will stand out in any room. 

That's all I have for today! I hope you come back Thursday where I will have much more to show you!

Until Next Time,

Lis.

P.S. I decided to only make Art Talk Tuesday and Thursday an actual thing! Every other day will be a free for all when it comes to writing on this blog! I hope you stay tuned!

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   

MARSHMALLOW FIRESIDE. SERIOUSLY.

What? What?!

Two blogs in one week? I'm on a roll.

As everyone knows, it's fall. The leaves are changing, the air is getting cooler, it is acceptable to wear boots, Halloween is just around the corner, and girls everywhere have invaded Starbucks to get their hands on the pumpkin spice latte, (which I have not had enough of). Fall is my second favorite season, summer being the first, and I am welcoming it with open arms!

The season makes me feel good. It might just be because the start of fall is actually a reminder that Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are going to grace us with their appearance soon. Seriously, I can not WAIT to get my hands on some candied yams and pumpkin pie. My stomach will be eternally grateFULL. BAH! Get it? No. Okay, moving on.

With the holidays getting closer, it's also a reminder that midterms and finals are coming up as well. I mean can we all just take a second to pray for me and all the other students who are coming out to have a good time but are feeling attacked by what feels like mountains and mountains of endless paperwork? Most of the time I don't even know what I'm writing about. It's as if my brain goes into overdrive and types out what my subconscious is holding.

 If you're not like me though and are having a little trouble getting into the end of the year spirit, I have some ideas that should help get you in the mood!

1. Go to Bath and Body Works and buy all their stock of Marshmallow Fireside candles, sprays, lotions. JUST BUY IT ALL.
2. Go get a Pumpkin Spice Latte. I mean you know you want to.
3. Visit a pumpkin patch and crunch some dead leaves in your hands. I'm sure the feeling of death will definitely get you in the spirit of being grateful. Grateful that you're alive unlike those leaves!
4. Eat a pumpkin pie...or 5.
5. Eat more pie.
6. Get an ugly Christmas sweater and rock it. Seriously, wear that same sweater every day of December.
7. If you're single, buy some mistletoe and stand around people you find attractive. They're obligated to kiss you. It's a law.....somewhere.
8. Bake cookies and then eat them all. Don't share.
9. Pretend you're dying and see if your dog tries to save you. If they don't, tell Santa that they need to be on the Naughty List so that they don't get any presents this year.
10. Put on the scariest costume you can find, sit outside on your porch, pass out full bars of candy, and scare every single child under the age of 10 BUT not under the age of 2. I mean, you wanna scare the living daylights out of them, not have them commit to therapy for the rest of their lives.

And that's it! I hope my little list helps get you as excited as I am for the holidays!


- Lis

Let's Not And Say We Did.

It's been awhile! 

I think it's really funny when people ask "oh, so when are you and your boyfriend going to get married?" Or "when are you and him going to have kids??" Stop. Let me stop you right there. 

Although I applaud those of you who have gotten married young and now have children, because come on, that takes some serious courage; I, for one, am not ready for that. I think it's great that you have found your one and only at a young age and are now caring for cute kids with chubby cheeks! However, that is not the life for me. 

Although, he and I have been together for quite some time, we have no intentions of being married to one another at the moment. Nor do we want kids. I know there's this "baby fever" going around but he and I both got the vaccine for that and are completely immune. 

It is very important to both of us that our 20's are focused primarily on our goals, dreams, and our kind of excitement. I'm not saying that your child's first steps aren't exciting, I'm saying that exciting to me right now is road trips with great friends, trying new food, rock climbing, living in an apartment where I can freely walk around half clothed with a fridge stocked with Angry Orchard, and hopefully in the near future, sky diving out of a plane. 

I can honestly say that I enjoy my guy's company, support, and friendship. I can even say that I feel a love for him that exceeds a love I have for any other person. I know my friends see it, I know my family sees it, but that doesn't mean we are going to get married soon. We make faces everytime someone mentions it. It's not because we don't love each other, we just don't want to! 

We joke around often about marriage and babies, and it usually ends with a lot of laughter and both of us rolling our eyes and telling the other to "shut up." Children are scary anyways. They jump off of things, put unidentified objects in their mouth, and literally just this afternoon, we talked about babies who have SIDS. SIDS! That's some scary stuff that I am NOT prepared for! Not to mention carrying around another human who is basically a parasite in my uterus for 9 months just isn't that appealing right now. Or at any time. Seriously, congrats to those of you who have already had kids. You're the real MVP. 

So our families (and friends) can relax, I am not going to be making anyone a grandma or grandpa anytime soon. Unless you include my dogs because in that case, then you're already a grandparent. 

Lastly, to my wonderful boyfriend, let's not get married. I'd rather have you by my side jumping out of airplanes. 

- Lis

Let's Get Physical...The Exercise Kind.

Hello again internet!

Today I decided that I want to look and feel healthy. I realized that I have so much energy in the middle of the day but I don't put that energy to good use. I use it to binge watch Grey's Anatomy and New Girl, but is that really what I should be doing? (Yes, but I'm an adult now so in reality the answer is no.)

I have never been one to regularly go to the gym. I tried my freshman year of college, but I couldn't muster up enough motivation to keep up with it. I also tried running at the park and focusing on DDP Yoga. Let's just say, I wasn't into it. To me, working out is so incredibly boring. I need to find a routine that I can work at my own pace AND have fun doing it.

Why am I telling you this though!? It's because if I don't make it public that this is what I want to do, then I won't do it. There won't be anyone to call me out and say "Hey! I thought you wanted to go out and get healthy?! Get off your butt and keep going!" So, that's where you all come in. You can be my peanut gallery. *buh dum tsss* Get it? Because peanuts are good for you? Ha!

Anyway, I wanted to share that I have reached that point in my 20's where I have set a goal to get healthy. I'm not a complete failure though. I rarely drink soda and started drinking more water and tea. I started realizing that I actually do like some veggies. (Veggies and I have never been friends). And I started looking at ways to change my diet. I will not, however, give up late night pancakes or waffles. I said I wanted to get healthy, not send myself into a spiraling depression. 

Lastly, I'd like to add that there is a difference between working out to be healthy and working out because of another individual or group of people. Choose to be healthy. It's way more fun noticing the progress you made for yourself instead of nitpicking and not knowing if the progress you made is good enough for someone else.

Honestly, it's going to be a long, tough road ahead but I think I am ready. If you have any tips or tricks, feel free to let me know! Hopefully, Future Lis will be proud of my accomplishments!

Until next time, Lis.

P.S. Future Lis, I am so incredibly sorry for the soreness that is about to come...        

You Are A Stunning Art Piece, Here's Why.

Hello, can you hear me now?

How about now?

I have been away from writing for quite a bit of days and the reason for this is simply because I had absolutely no idea what to write and school work was catching up to me. I apologize for the long wait but in all honesty, you can't rush a beginner writer.

I literally got inspiration for a new blog post by reading the comments left on a recently updated profile picture of mine. Now, I'm not going to give out any names because you don't really need to know, but what's important is what was said. The comment was made in regards to that person having low self esteem from seeing my picture. No! Unacceptable! That is not a compliment for me. It does not make me feel good knowing that you don't feel good about yourself.

Here's the truth behind that picture, I was simply having a really great day! My hair turned out the way I wanted it to, my make-up was decent, and most importantly, my eyebrows were on point. I felt good about myself and snapped a picture and then decided that I needed to update all of my social media on my good face day. In all honesty, I probably felt that I looked great on the outside because of how great I was feeling on the inside. Seriously, that day, after a phenomenal day in class, I had spent the afternoon with my boyfriend and the night with my IHOP-every-week group of friends. Who wouldn't feel fantastic for all of that?

Realistically, lots and lots of girls, and lets not forget boys, have low self-esteem. It is because we are forced to look at manufactured perfection every single day. Unrealistic body images and photo-shopped faces are plastered all over the "walls" of our everyday life. Imagine you actually loving the body and face that God painted just for you. As an aspiring artist, I wouldn't want someone to hate the artwork I made for them.

It's time to break down that "wall." Tell yourself that you are beautiful or handsome, or drop dead gorgeous and then go tell someone else that. I am not saying that I don't have any doubts about myself, because I am not perfect, no one is, but I'm saying that when I see a girl who I think is stunning, I'm also telling myself that I look stunning too.

I have dry, oily skin. I have split ends. My eyebrows are either really bushy or sparse. My teeth are crooked. My face breaks out once in a while and leaves acne scars. I am not the skinniest person. I have jiggly thighs that touch. I do not have the sought after breast size and toned butt that men are looking for although I will never ever understand the appeal. My feet are longer than most and I think my nose is too big for my face. I am not perfect but I believe I am beautiful. And you are too.

So stop.
Wear make-up because you want to.
Work out because you want to.
Eat right because you want to.
Wear that outfit because you want to.


Eat an entire box of pizza because you want to. Although I am hoping that you'll share with me.

Until next time,
Lis.  

 

P.S. For the person who inspired this post, I hope this changes your mind.