thankful (better late than never)

[i originally wrote this post the day before thanksgiving]

i'm sorry to have temporarily abandoned this blog after my show! it was a crazy whirlwind of events and now it's down. 

it seems too short, but looking back, i am so grateful for so many people who helped me get through it. people kept telling me, "yes! your show's up! you did it!" 

but i felt i couldn't rightfully take credit that I did it. yes, everything depended on me doing it, but so many people got me there. i couldn't have done it alone. 

i hesitate to name names for fear i'll forget to mention people (and i'm sure i will) but i feel like i need to thank those who were with me through the entire project. because all of these people are all very talented in many capacities themselves, i'm including links to their online stuff if applicable.

i know it is a LOT of writing, but it must be done!
besides, there are some fun memories to preserve in these little anecdotes. 

check out some of the reception photos on my (rarely used) flikr! :) 

--

thank you to:

mallory and jeff: for being some of the biggest support even though you're both out of state. you were there when my ideas were just wee baby thoughts and helped me synthesize and develop them into strong and mature concepts. you were also my emotional sounding board and i'm pretty sure both of you heard me break down more than once, yet encouraged me to call again when i needed you. 

josh, for being kind and patient while i likely crowded your space as well as renee for sacrificing your desk so i could have a place to work.

zach: for helping me miter the poplar to make the cradles for the boards, even though it was late and chilly and the machine made silly cuts. and for stopping by to check on my art and for your quiet enthusiasm for it.

al: for helping me finish making the boards and cradles. and for talking in an irish accent while doing so. it went ten times faster with you there and was ten times more enjoyable.

jenny, talisa, danielle, danny, sam, hayden, mel, chelise, jacob, griffin, kim, ammon, jonnie, miranda and so many others: for general excitement for my show, curiosity to understand and expand my concepts and constant support and unending encouragement. 

joseph: for your visits to the studio, and for your continual excitement. you've seen my work progress throughout years and your encouragement has always helped me to continue.

normandie: for being here when i finished. for proving it could be done by completing a stellar show yourself, for eating your lunch next to my desk, for pita chips and peanut butter, for our talks about hard things and art and life and hope. 

steven: for often checking in on me unannounced and breathing over my shoulder to make sure i was working. believe it or not, i'd count on that as a pop quiz to keep me on task.

rebecca: for empathizing and encouraging. i loved creating our shows at the same time. and for the consolation milkshake talk time that night we took them down. 

annie: first for being an example to me when you did your show a couple of years ago, and then believing in me so i could do mine. for being an angel of a friend. 

tawni: with my weak immune system, i can only attribute the fact that i didn't get terribly sick during this project because of your wonderful food. honestly. besides, our little chats were often a highlight of my day.

ellis and adam: for kindly demanding that i make awesome art and expecting nothing less. 

bronson, bryan, jacob, steph, normandie: for helping me get the show up on those walls! that was quite the feat. i honestly couldn't have done it without you guys. especially you, bryan.

devin: for just getting it. 

mariah: for checking up on me, for being excited for my project when i wasn't, for making me eat and reminding me to sleep. for taking care of my entire reception so i wouldn't have to worry about it and when i was sad, to help me to stop being sad and be awesome again. 

and speaking of my reception-- thanks to jess, aaron, amber and vinnie, for volunteering to make things run as smooth as melted chocolate. 

professor harris: for believing in my writing. and for seeing me as a writer when i was too scared to admit it.

robby: for agonizing over the poplar and masonite. for helping me figure it all out. for doing so many odds and ends that made everything go faster or nicer, even when it cost sleep. for making sure i was safe late at night after working. for believing in my victory.  

steph: we started our collegiate artistic journey together and we ended it together. thank you for your encouragement, kindness, enthusiasm, ideas, and open ears. for being stern when i needed a coach and for being understanding when i needed a friend. we were meant to beeee! 

my studio owl girls--hana, chelsea, rebecca and melissa (as well as kelsey and her boy scott!): can i thank you enough?! for all those long (sometimes sleepless) nights in the studio, for learning the party rock anthem dance, for your encouragement and critiques. for wanting to see me succeed.

my bfa advisor chris thornock, for pushing me to go outside of my comfort zone to produce something that really mattered to me. and for your excitement. cuz that stuff is contagious. 

everyone else in the studio. and my professors. especially cynthia hogan and dave mcclellan, for always believing in me as a person, as well as in my work. that has helped me more than either of you will ever know.

jason lanegon and the mates in gallery 303 and friends in the print lab. the first two for being extremely helpful and the last for keeping me laughing and sane.

everyone who came to my reception: yes, everyone. i was overwhelmed with happiness and gratitude and the responses i got made it all worth it. 

my family, who have always believed in my art and never questioned my career path. maybe that was silly on your part, but i'm very grateful it was a battle i never had to fight. 

and YOU. yep, you reading this. thanks for taking the time, and for being interested or curious or bored or whatever brings you to this blog. it means so much. 

--

you guys. my show went up and came down. it was successful. and WE did it. :) 

happy thanksgiving! 

*thanks to joseph for that first picture and stephanie for the reception photos on my flikr*

thanksgiving stream of consciousness

i have kind of a wonderful thanksgiving/bfa reception post lined up but don't have all the pictures yet, so you'll have to wait in suspense!

til then, here are three disjointed thoughts and the way they connect.

#1. one of my best friends and amazing photographer stephanie jarstad (click here) had her final bfa show reception on november 16th.

she gave cameras to local blind people and had them photograph what they found "beautiful" through their other senses. thus, her exhibit is a compelling display of her photographs of these people plus their photos and beautiful artist statements. in essence, it's an exploration of "beauty".

please attend if you can; it'll make you re-think beauty and look through a different pair of eyes.

poster designed by hayden davis

up until NOVEMBER 29 // byu hfac, gallery 303 // open m-f, 8am-5pm. 

--

#2. at steph's reception, i was talking with a friend about how hard it would be for us as artists to lose our sight. he mentioned, "or to lose my right hand...". i suggested that we could try our left hand, and he took it as a challenge.

when he took the challenge and started to draw left-handed, (awesomely, i might add), i was guilted into swallowing my words and trying it myself.

here's what i came up with:



#3. okay, see that little turkey in the bottom right? there. thanksgiving. thanksgiving!

and we come full circle. kind of.

the innocent eyes exhibition reminded me of all the things that are beautiful in this world. the things we don't "see" as beautiful that surround us every day. i'm thankful for those things as well as my own eyes and my right hand as well as my left, as well as the ability to create.

happy thanksgiving. :)

i survived!

my bfa show! it's real!!

and the opening reception was glorious. more on that later.
it'll be up til wednesday, so check it out if you haven't!

so what am i doing tonight?
well, there is another show with a submission deadline tomorrow......







we'll see if i can turn this into something before then. :)

ALSO. i'll be painting on TOMS shoes again tomorrow in nordstrom's at city creek from 1-4pm! if you're in the salt lake area, stop by and say hi! (other TOMS events here)

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y....NIGHT!

well, my show was supposed to go up yesterday, but i'm most definitely still working on it.

let's hear it for 2 hours and 45 minutes of sleep within a 36-hour time period! wooo!

sidenote: artists know that this is not uncommon for us. 
although over the last year i've been a whole lot better at that sleep thing...i guess i'm just making up for it now.

there's lots of stuff that goes into the publicity and the reception, so look! i'm super proud of my little invites and poster. i realized later that i was able to incorporate illustration, photography and graphic design (plus hand-drawn type!) which is probably why i loved making them.

steph took these photos for me when we were on a break (her bfa photography exhibit goes up the week after mine comes down!) and we laugh a lot.

so...my opening reception. food, pictures, words and maybe some tunes. also, great company. tomorrow night. come!

til then, i'll work on making sure there is a stellar show to see.

t-minus one week

well, i suppose the correct equation would be

T - < 1 week

because my show goes up in less than one week. i'm not freaking out (at this very second, though you may check back to find that a falsehood at any given moment) but i'm determined and i'm excited.

who says art majors don't use math.....

//

picture 1: texture, scumbling and glazing studies for the second image in this post. 

picture 2: the actual final painting alluded to in the aforementioned post.
picture 3: typography for that same image (i did the majority of this piece in a day!) 

picture 4: this will be one of the more technically complicated pieces. the reference photo is in the back, which was one of the most intriguing photoshoots i've done for some time.

i wrote the above text yesterday (saturday) though i'm just getting around to posting now.

which is good, because i just had a riveting conversation with a friend about my show. he's an art education major, and as we discussed some themes and difficulties and processes and it left me feeling invigorated and pumped to get working on my show. i'mma go to bed tonight like a kid on Christmas eve, just waiting for 5am to roll around so i can pop up and start painting.

maybe you're a little excited, too?

composing without a net

yesterday i had a talk with a friend who's a [dang good] music composer.

he said that he had the opportunity to take a lesson from renowned composer david rakowski, who enlightened him on how he composes his amazing compositions. 

rakowski said that he used to compose really meticulously, trying to make sure everything was just right. 

then he decided to change this mindset. nowadays he puts restrictions on himself, like composing 100 piano études, writing each in only six days, without revising*. he explained that composing like this is like walking a tightrope, but there's no safety net at the bottom. sometimes he makes it all the way to the other side…and sometimes he falls to his death. 

cool thing about this, though, is if he falls to his death, he just starts a new composition. but by composing without a net, his compositions have the capacity to be more organic and interesting.

my show is next week. i am more behind than i'd like to admit. 

to finish this project, it's time to start composing without a safety net. 

[*rakowski talks a bit about it here]

//

picture 1: this is the first painting where i really just threw caution to the wind. i'm about halfway along the tightrope with this one; we'll see if i fall off or not. 
picture 2: it's like a game...find the painting i was working on last night, the stickies that keep my life in order, some studies i've done, a big ol' lamp that i brought in to literally shed some light on my work and i'm also in there somewhere. they're all very hidden, of course. 

you're invited.......

.... (!)