Quick announcement:

My photo teacher Sarah organized a juried student photo exhibition that's opening THIS FRIDAY from 6-8. I've got at least one, possibly two pieces in it, and you should come see it. Especially YOU, Josh and Laura, since, well, you're in the pictures :)

The show is actually IN the art building, in the gallery space on the the first floor.

The art building is located near the corner of Tate and Spring Garden St. It's actually directly on Highland St, which is the next street into Spring Garden, parallel to Tate. If you need any more info, drop a line.

See you there!
-P.

So, yeah, that last post probably didn't make ANY sense. But that's because I'm a slacker when it comes to posting news about life.

So, on the ground floor of the old art building, there was a gallery space. The Teaching and Learning Center has moved into that space now, but they want to keep using part of the space as a gallery to show artwork. So, I stepped up to get those shows organized. It's pretty cool, I'll get a tonne of experience, plus 2 hours of class credit; it counts as ART393 (internship).

So anyway, I thought it would be pretty cool to do a comic and illustration exhibit for the first show; it's something you don't normally see in a gallery (something considered--by some, not me--to be below gallery art), and I hope it'll get people interested in coming through that space.

So, to that end, if you make comics or illustrative artwork and would like to put some up for display, leave a comment or send me an email, let's get it up on the walls.

More later,
-P.

Something's been wrong with my left ear the last two weeks; I've barely been able to hear out of it. It hasn't hurt, though. I finally saw a doctor. There's just some fluid backed up behind the ear drum, preventing it from vibrating. I'm on meds now and it should clear up soon.

I mention this because it made me realize I have a pretty twisted perspective on hearing; I realized that if I lost my hearing, it'd be a great excuse to learn sign language really well. I am the King. Of. Dorks.



Speaking of languages, I haven't had time to do the requisite studying for Japanese 203 this fall, and won't between now and the start of classes either. No biggie, I'll learn French instead :)



I once read that Stress simply means Change. My life has been changing day to day for the last month at least and it's been pretty stressful. I've been on the move so much that I've felt completely uprooted, like I have no home, and like my life is running out of my control. I've been travelling around the state, having to learn new skills on short notice, deal with children, deal with a boss who is really unhappy with my having to miss weekend shifts, a relationship ending, two cousins getting married, etc. It's finally catching up with me, and for the last week or so, I've been feeling pretty depressed.

*sigh*

If anyone wants to try cheering me up, go for it.

-P.

PS - I'm about to post some artwork.

I feel like things I need to think about are backing up in my head due to lack of time to process them, which is in turn stressing me out. I'm sitting with a cup of tea right now. I don't generally drink tea. I can't say I'm enjoying the taste, but the aroma and warmth are comforting.

This is a melange post.

Summerschool
I wrapped up summerschool last week. My Japanese final went fine, as I expected. My art history final, however, not so much; I've never been so certain before that I failed an exam. But, I still managed to pull a B+ in the class and an A in Japanese :) Go me :)


Harry Potter
In the last few months, I have become completely devoured by the Harry Potter series. O. M. F. G. These books are so fucking good. I actually feel a little bad for making so much fun of Vanessa and Brittany for their fandom. Granted, they took it a bit far, but I understand their enthusiasm now. And Brit? I don't think Snape's going to turn out to be a good guy. I think it's pretty clear that he's fully, truly evil. He's a wretch, and a coward. There is no light inside him.

I'm reading the very last pages of the 6th book right now. Oh god these last two chapters are making me cry like a baby. I knew what was coming, but it still didn't prepare me. *chokes up*

Speaking of fiction, I'm going to need something else to read whilst I await the 7th book, and I'd like to continue exploring the Fantasy genre. Thus far I've really enjoyed the Tolkien trilogy, The Belgariad and Mallorean series by David and Leigh Eddings, and Harry Potter. Please recommend other fantasy series for me to read!!! Thanks :)


Girlfriend
I can't believe I haven't mentioned this, but guess what? I've got a girlfriend. She's really great. She's brilliant, and we have a ton of fun together. And, her name is Elizabeth Williams. Yes, that is one and the same as the infamous Liz I dated a long time ago. I'm sure many of you will have... opinons about this. I would hope, however, that it will be enough for most of you that I am happy, and that you would trust my judgment in this matter. I came to this slowly, and on my own terms. It is not so much an old relationship being resumed, as it is the beginning of a new one.


Moving Out
I've decided I want to move out of the house on Springdale in august. I want a smaller place, preferably with only one, possibly two roommates. I've talked to my old roommate Daryn about getting a place and he's definitely interested. Does anyone know of any places NEAR THE SPRING GARDEN/TATE ST SIDE OF UNCG CAMPUS that are for rent? I'm paying $300 in rent right now--which I realize is fantastic--and I'm willing to go up to as much as $400, but I'd prefer not to go above that. 2 or 3 bedroom, house or apartment. I just want something close to campus with a calm environment that allows pets. Anyone know of anything available? Anyone looking for a roommate for the fall?



That's enough for this post. There is more to say, it will wait for later tonight or tomorrow.

-P.

I'm really glad I took that hiatus from livejournal. It was really liberating. I needed that extra time to devote to school. I also hadn't realized how much pressure I was putting on myself to keep up with my flist, which moves very fast. You fuckers post a lot. Although I'm back, I find myself not taking LJ very seriously, skimming and even skipping posts I don't feel like reading, and not leaving nearly as many comments. I'm... a little embarassed to realize that I took it so seriously to begin with.


So, the spring semester is over and god damn, what a semester it was. I had so much fun. I made many new friends, strengthened old acquaintanceships, made a bunch of cool art, exposed myself to a bunch of cool art, etc. They say the best way to learn a foreign language is to immerse yourself in it. This semester was an immersion study in art for me. Photography, etching, design, philosophy of art and an independent study. My courses became a full time job. I worked 10-14 hours days, in class, and working on projects outside of class. I was in the art building for ~10 hours nearly every day, especially close to the end of the semester.

Here's the kicker; I haven't been able to manage a full semester (15 credit hours) since freshman or sophomore year. This semester, not only did I manage it, I made the fucking Dean's List. As and Bs across the board, baby!

As you might imagine, I've got a ton of new art to show you all. Give me a few more days to get all the files converted, resized and uploaded. I'm pretty excited about the work that I did, and can't wait to show it to you all.


I shall leave you with this: WHEEEEE!!!!

Just a reminder, my Independent Study exhibitions opens tonight at 7pm. I'd love it if you all would come. It's here in downtown greensboro, at 327 Martin Luther King Jr. I'm bringing home made guac and bass ale!!!

If you need directions or have other questions, just drop me a comment, IM or give me a call :)

-P.

Ok, so, that last entry (F0) was really negative, and brought me down a lot just to write it. It's good to purge that kind of thing, though. I have two big things left to write about. One of them is kind of a downer, though, so I'm going to post about it later. For now, I'm just going to post about something really positive and call it a night. Hmm... and debating having another beer.... Eh, sure. Why not. *mmm* Oatmeal Porter, here I come.

Etching!
As I've mentioned, I fucking love my etching class. I'm having so much fun creating images with intaglio techniques. There are so many ways to create images in this medium (printmaking in general, not just intaglio) that are completely unlike any other media. I feel like I could explore this for the rest of my life and never be done. I've created two aquatints so far (I'll post pictures of the second one as soon as I print an edition of the plate), and now I'm experimenting with sugar-lift. If my experiments go as I want them to, I'm going to combine line etching with sugar-lift aquatinting. Should be cool.

Also, a lot of students from previous semesters have left their old plates in the work tables of the print studio. Someone in the class said they were going to be thrown away at the end of the semester. I asked my professor about this and he confirmed it. He said that if I wanted any to go ahead and take them. So, I took a few and now I have ~10 FREE etching plates of various sizes! SHITZ YES!!1! I've just gotta spray-paint the etched size and remove the enamel backing and I've got a fresh plate to use :) A few of these plates have interesting images in them. I'm probably going to print single copies of a few of these plates for my collection before recycling them. I'll post pictures of the prints when I've got them (and if they're worth it).



Oh, wait, other good things!

I went and saw Inside Man, Spike Lee's new film with Glenndepressedba tonight. Bwahahah, that movie was fucking fantastic! Great action, phenomenal acting (seriously, not one bad actor in the entire film), etc. The movie was pretty cerebral; there was a lot you had to pay attention to, and the plot kept you really engaged. Definitely worth the money to see it. Check it out.

Also, I get to go see Eisley in concert tomorrow night! SCOOOOOORE! Eisley is a band I was first introduced to by my roommate Carly. I found it in her shared iTunes library and fell in love with it instantly. The music is really beautiful, very melodic, lyrical, sometimes whimsical and fantastical. I've been listening to them a lot since I first heard them and it doesn't get old for me. I'm going to have so much fun at this show :) My good friend Cameron lives in the area of the venue. I've known the dude 10 years; he's one of my two oldest friends. I haven't seen him in a long time and I'd really like to have a visit with him. Unfortunately, he gets off work at about 8 or 9 that night, and has to work again at 7am the next day, so I'm not sure if I'll get to see him much. He's the kitchen manager at Brixx Pizza in Chapel Hill, though, and he's offered me a free meal tomorrow night, which is fucking awesome, and appreciated.

Ok, I think this entry has been sufficiently upbeat, what do you say?

Shalom,
-P.

A few minutes ago I spoke with Jaime Coggins of Gate City Art (an organization for promoting local artists and art events). She is opening the space at 340 Tate St as a full time gallery. Rock on!

She says the plan is to continue doing weekly shows. That's not really a lot of time for an exhibition, but with a $10 entry fee per artist, it's a good way to make sure the bills get paid.

Anyway, I just took my two pieces for the show in (*crosses another pressing thing off his list*), so now it's time to remind you all:

Barred from the Temple: a collaborative exhibition of local artists in various media OPENS THIS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17th with a reception at 8pm! Be there or be square! Or some abstract form, whatever you choose. The show will be open until the following Tuesday.

IMPORTANT NOTE: There's still room for more work in this week's exhibition! The entry fee is $10 for two pieces, guaranteed one will be shown. You can bring the pieces by 340 Tate St Thursday afternoon. The show will be hung around 5pm. For more information about this show and others, check out the Gate City Art website.

BWAHAHAHA!!! An art gallery within walking distance of my house! I'm a showing artist! Who'd've thunk it.


Ok, now to draw and choose which pieces to submit for the Senior Juried Show.

-P.

PS - COME SEE THE SHOW! I've submitted a photograph and a new wood-cut to it!

So, last december, I had the thought that it'd be good to start showing my work, that this was what I needed to do. Prior to that, I had never even noticed any information about shows going on, or ways to get into them.

And now it seems like the goddamn flood gates have been opened.

In the next month, I will/may submit works to as many as 4 shows, 1 print exchange, and submit works to my school's literary magazine, the Coraddi, which includes student artwork. Oh, and two of these shows have submission deadlines this week. This life I've chosen. It is a whirlwind. Exciting, though.

Oh, and for those of you who are into printmaking, I just found out about this show through m.leeprintedfaces's journal. This show sounds like it's big time, which intimidates the crap out of me. I'll probably submit some pieces, but I really doubt any will be accepted.

-P.

Hey everyone, I got a call from Jaime Coggins of GateCityArt yesterday. There's going to be a new show at 340 Tate St next week called Barred From the Temple and she's looking for submissions. Same format as last time; $10 for two pieces (they need to be in by Wednesday), guaranteed one hung.

There will be a reception for the show 17 Friday, 2006 at 8pm, and the show will run until the following Tuesday, 21 February.

If you've got some pieces you'd like to show, you should submit them. If not, at least come out and support local artists.

-P.

I got in around 4:30am tonight. That makes an almost 8 hour shift, just in the print studio. It was awesome.

For those of you who aren't bored to tears with all this, here's what I got done today:
- Gym (almost didn't go)
- Finished printing photos for my critique monday. We were supposed to have 8. I now have 26. And they're awesome.
- Finalized six 2x3" plates for my etching project. Began running proofs in different colours to arrange final composition.
- (Mostly) finished carving practice 12x24" wood block.
- Began drawing for second etching project.

What I didn't get done:
- Second etching project
- More drawing
- Any relief printing with the composition roller



So tomorrow the battle rages on. Tentative plan:
- Sleep in. I've earned it.
- Lunch/shower.
- Update philosophy of art journal
- Go to design lab, do research for phil. of art presentation, and study for exam.
- Go back to print studio and work on etching project some more and/or do relief printing.


Anyway, I hope you all had a good laugh at my expense this evening. Twas masterfully executed, my dear Nicole. I'll have to think of a way to make you pay.

Oh, and I like being called hot by hot webcomic artists. It pwnz.

I sleep now.

Oh, Carly, I've found yet another artist in your Library I really like; Teagan and Sara.

For real now. I'm sleeping.




You can't prove I'm not...

-P.

Pichars
I spent four hours in the photo lab tonight. Printed 7 photos. Unfortunately, two of them came out only so-so; the developer wasn't mixed properly and it was taking 5+ minutes for images to fully develop. And, I shamefully admit, I fucked up. I couldn't see that my enlarger head was open, and I switched the focus light on. I saw my mistake immediately and switched it off. Fortunately no one had paper out.


Printing Shizzle
I visited Tarheel Roller & Brayer Co this afternoon to see about buying a composition roller. For you non-artists/printers, that's a giant fucking ink roller for printmaking. Thanks for pointing this place out to me, Jennpac, it's only 30-40 minutes from my house. The owner, David Hauser, walked me through their setup, showed me what kinds of rollers/brayers they make, let me feel the composition material as well as the rubber alternative they offer.

Unfortunately, this visit reminded me one of the negative things you sometimes encounter living in the south. At one point, his assistant came in and after being introduced to me said very loudly, "I'M HIS NIGGER," which made me exceedingly uncomfortable. He thankfully left right after that.

At any rate, Hauser showed me a new thing he was working on; it's a composition roller with handles on the ends so it can be rolled by hand (as opposed to being mounted in a letterpress). That's probably what I'm going to end up buying from them. Hauser had an old composition roller a client had never picked up lying around and lent it to me so I could get a feel for the composition material and see how I like it. I'm gonna take it to the print studio and use the hell out of it tomorrow, hehe :) I'll let him know this week whether I want my roller made with composition material or standard rubber.

So how hot is THAT? I'm getting a fucking custom made 2 7/8" diameter composition roller. *DROOOOOOOOOOOLZ* The composition material isn't as durable as rubber; it even breaks down in water, so I'm probably going to go with rubber.

( Tentative Plan for Tomorrow's Festivities )


w0000000000000000t!!! :)

-P.

I'd feel a lot less stressed out if my Philosophy of Art professor had less of a penchant for piling additional work on us and reminding us that the work we're doing isn't up to par with what she wants. Anyway...


Cultural View on Art/Non-art
For my Philosophy of Art exam next week, I have to give a short presentation on an art object which some culture (at some time) does not/has not considered art. Please, I beg of you, help me think of ideas. The most obvious example I can think of is pornography, which hasn't been, and largely still isn't considered art in our own culture. I'd like to come up with something that won't make me feel quite so awkward during my presentation, though.


Paper Storage
How do you guys store your excess paper? I've got a bunch of new drawing and printmaking papers sitting in my room right now taking up a lot of horizontal space. I'd like to somehow store them vertically, to take up less space. Do you all have any suggestions for how I can do this and keep the papers straight, without damaging them? How do you all tackle the problem of paper storage? (Note: some of them will be gone as soon as I get my hands on a composition roller and spend about 8 hours in the print studio.)

Thanks guys,
-P.

I've been meaning to write this post for two weeks and haven't gotten to it. I suck.

This semester I've chosen not to work; I've talked it over with my mom, made myself a budget and am living off student loans. I'd feel bad about this (some of you know why), if it weren't for the fact that my course load is already pushing me to the edge of my sanity and it's only the third week of class, hehe.

Here's what I'm taking:

Photography I (ART 285)
Black and white manual photography, with darkroom techniques. I think photography is a pretty essential skill for any artist, so I'm glad to be taking this. We learned to develop negatives Monday, and tomorrow we're doing our first printing. The teacher, Sarah Martin, is AWESOME! She's young, very friendly, always smiling, happy to be there and to answer questions. I'm really liking this class thus far. I hope it helps me get better at compositioning.

Oh, hehe, and I am one of two guys (the other being Mattxem, whose photography is fucking mind-blowing), out of a class of something like 19 beautiful, young women (including the professor). Not that that means anything, but it's still kinda fun :)

Design III (ART 340)
Advanced digital design course. The instructor, Amy Lixl-Purcell, is really neat, very knowledgeable and--here's the important bit--is actually teaching us design techniques!. I had Jym Davis for Design II last semester, and while I like him, he didn't teach us design, just how to use design software. We're going to be doing a lot of web design and animation in this class, with mostly natural or introspective themes. I don't feel as awkward and inconfident in design as I did last semester, and I'm really looking forward to the rest of this class.

Etching I (ART 228)
♥♥♥ PRINTMAKING! *SQUEEE!*♥♥♥ *ahem* Yeah, this class rocks. This is my first time doing intaglio printmaking and thus far, I really like it. The process is faster and cleaner than relief printmaking, and the finished result is so much different (not better, just different). The instructor, Bob Gerhart, is a very laid back, 'do-it-yourself' kind of teacher. The first week, he taught us the basics of etching and then just set us free to do our work. We have no assigned projects; we have four critique dates throughout the semester at which time we're expected to have a finished edition to show. Hehe, the class may as well be an independent study. I like learning this way, though, so it's all good.

Independent Study (ART 499)
I've chosen to do large scale relief printing for this course. So many people signed up for this that the teacher had to break us into groups roughly by medium. There's only one other student in the class who's doing printmaking. I actually had my first relief printmaking class with her last spring. She's ridiculously talented. In addition to our artwork, the teacher, Chris Thomas, wants us to keep a journal of our process (to be turned in periodically), and do research into our chosen medium to see who's doing it, what current trends are, etc. This is proving to be difficult as there just aren't that many printmakers out there. I'm gonna email these guys soon and ask for guidance. Hopefully they'll help me out.

Philosophy of the Arts (PHI 322)
Ahh, my last philosophy course before I'll have completed my philosophy degree. This class is the single most intellectually stimulating philosophy course I've taken yet. We're taking a look at various definitions of art and evaluating them, trying to come to a loose understanding of what art is. We're also looking at how we approach art, what preconceptions we bring to bear upon art when we view it, etc. The professor, Janine Jones is a very good teacher, though a bit of a slave driver. I've already done more work for this class than for any of my studios.



So that's my semester. I love every one of these classes and feel inspired every day. The one thing that's bringing me down is how much work I have to do. In addition to these classes, I'm working a temporary freelance job developing a website with Keithkeefus. At times, I'm stressed to the point that some of that inspiration and joy fades away to anxiety. I'm working through it, though. To manage my time, I've begun making daily schedules for myself, hour by hour marking off what I need to do. It kinda sucks, but it is helping me keep on top of my responsibilities, and it makes me feel less panicked. Lauren_lauren_ posted something lovely from Kahlil Gibran in her journal recently, which has also helped me to feel a bit better about things:

When the prophet was asked about work he said that you work to keep pace with life and that work should be performed with love and in doing so it will no longer be a curse or misfortune. "All work is empty save when there is love" And to work with love you should perform your task as if you are doing it for your beloved. You should focus on how it will help someone because even the smallest and seemingly stupidest job is of some help to someone. Any situation can be seen in a positive light. You just have to be a little stubborn and have a lot of humility.

Thank you for that, Lauren.

Wish me luck!

-P.

I have four studio classes this semester. That's quite a bit of work to produce. I need to start jotting down ideas before I forget them.

( Themes and Ideas )



God, I am so ready. Let's do this.

-P.

3 Down, 1 To Go The framing of my pieces for the show Friday is going well. It really hasn't been as hard as I expected. These are the first three of the four I'm submitting.

I've spent the last several days getting my pieces ready for the show this Friday. Framing isn't as hard as I expected, luckily. I've discovered that building your own frames isn't any cheaper than buying them premade. As such, I bought three premade ones, and assembled one myself (the third piece in the photo above).

The hardest things about framing thus far are a) getting the glass really clean and b) mat cutting. I wiped the glass down with 409 glass cleaner, but there were still little bits of dust on the glass, and a few streaks. Any advice on getting frame glass *really* pristine?

Mat cutting. Yeah. Jesus Christ. My dad leant me his rail mounted mat cutter which helped a lot, but it's still hard. Here's something impressive, though; notice that small white border on the large piece above. That's a 3/8" wide mat I cut. I ruined two mats before I got that right. Spacing with balsa wood would have been easier, but that particular frame didn't really allow it.

Oh, I've also thought it over, talked to some people, and decided to try selling these prints at the show. I'll just be marking them A.P. (Artist Proofs) instead of part of an edition.

-P.

Hey local artists, listen up.

One of the employees of Adam's Bookstore/The Art Loft is organizing an art show in the storefront on Tate St where Fairdeal just closed. If you want to participate, just go see Jamie at Adam's Bookstore (she's usually there after noon, from what she told me). It's a $10 entry fee for two pieces, "guaranteed one will be hung." They aren't taking commissions on sales; buyers will be directed directly to you. Proceeds from the show will go towards Jamie's goal of turning that space into a permanent art gallery.

I think that's a damned fine goal, so pull out your portfolios.

Oh, almost forgot (this is the kind bad part): deadline for submissions is Wednesday. I'm just finding out about this. I ran into her at Lager Haus after seeing her painting the walls in Fairdeal, and asked her what she was doing. That's how I found out.

-P.

Edit: Oh, I almost forgot; the opening for this show is this coming Friday, the 13th. I'll remind you all, hehe, trust me.

I don't know if any of you use Diamond pet foods, but if you live in the southeast and have a pet, you should read this article.

-P.

BWAHAHAHAHA!!! YES!!! All my grades are in. I GOT A C IN MY EARLY MEDIEVAL ART HISTORY CLASS!!!!!!!! That means that regardless of the department's policy, I don't have have to make the class credit up!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Fucking w00t. Go me. Damn. I really must have done well on that final. I'm gonna email the professor to inquire. Phew. Damn that's a load of stress off.

I was gonna say something else, but I don't remember what it was. Ah well. Good night.

-P.

PS - I'm sure my roommates must have just gotten a kick out of me cheering about this in front of them in the hall, wearing nothing but lavender boxers and socks.

How do you guys create texture in Photoshop? A lot of the best digital paintings I see have a lot of grainy texture added in. Examples: like this, this, this, this, this, etc.

It looks so meticulously done, but surely these artists aren't spending hours placing little dots around things to make them look grainy and textured. There's got to be an easier way. Do any of you know how this is being done? I'd like to incorporate some of these techniques into my colouring to make it stronger.

-P.

Edit: I found something which helped a bit. Check the 'textured brushes' tutorial here.