Hmm

It has been a while, I see. I guess I went through a bit of a . . . creative death for a few months. This last semester at UIUC has not been good. Frankly, I'm ready to close this chapter of my life and move on . . . by going back to my hometown to study for a semester at NIU! Hahahaha! Oh wow. Can anyone tell how awesome I am?

Anyway, I did get into RISD, but I am going to defer for a year. And because they don't let transfer students defer, I mean I am going to reapply next year with a really amazing portfolio. They gave my a $15,000 scholarship, which pretty sizable and makes the whole thing doable, but I'm hoping that if I step up my game next year I'll get even more. Also I really feel like I'm not in a place right now where I can handle the stress of taking a lot of hardcore studio classes, having to worry about living in a new place far away from anyone I know, and getting a good part time job. I need a year off. I've been in school for 17 years for goodness sake!

So this summer I'm living at home, but so are Maddi and Vanessa. It'll but just like high school, only now we can all drink! Whoo! My goals to get back in the creative groove consist of the following:

• Start sketching. I had to do three drawings for my RISD application, and while I was doing them I realized that I hadn't actually really drawn since the end of my sophomore year of college, or something like two years earlier. Doing rough sketch outs of what goes where for the first part of a painting is not drawing. It is part of the painting process, which is completely different. So I will do at least one fully developed sketch a day of whatever I feel like sketching. I want to become really adept and fast at drawing. This skill set has always slowed me down because I'm perfectly capable of it, it just takes me a little longer than it should. Annoying.
• Make at least two master painting copies to work on my technical skills. These will probably be Turners, a John Singer Sargent, and maybe an Odd Nerdrum.
• Rework The Sheep Child so I've actually finished a freaking project.
  
• Work and finish this new book project that I've been discussing with Nick and Lali. They want to write a text about Chinese Tea. I like tea, and also have an idea for a cover, so I hope to do all the graphic stuff for the book and then we can publish on Lulu.
  
• Work on illustrating my mom's short story. Hopefully if I can do all of these things I will have not one but three completed books to put in my portfolio for my RISD application next year. Whoo!

Here are some of the paintings I am hoping to copy:

JMW Turner--The Burning of the Houses of Parliament

John Singer Sarget--Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose

I am tired.