Maine and RISD

Well, school's started up again but whatever about that. I'm making a book this semester, so we'll see how that goes. Anyway, the last seven days of my break were occupied with going to the beautiful state of Maine to visit my auntie Caroline and Tish and their four dogs (Rosie, Sky, Strider, Molly) and their two cats (Little Bit, Sandy Bit). My mother has always claimed these animals as my cousins in lieu of human cousins. Anyway, we first stopped off in Providence, Rhode Island to check out Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). There was a graduate studies lecture at 8:45 that I went to that was somewhat informative but also ridiculously boring so I skipped out a little early and we explored the campus on our own. The area of Providence it's in is actually pretty cool, it reminded me of a smaller, more compact Chicago. They have a trolley system and there are hills (that was a little San Fran, actually) and it's right next to Brown University which is, you know, all ivy league and such. There are nice little houses with apartments right on campus, and best of all? Their logo is pretty kickass.
Imagine that on sweatshirts and mugs in pretty colors. The plus side of an all art school is that the artist is on the forefront of the school's thoughts. We don't get the Mad Max building with bats and ceiling tiles falling all over the place and a wireless plan never. We get nice big facilities that are very secure and pretty. There is also a printmaking MAJOR which I'm psyched about because you KNOW that means their printing lab is stocked. I might even get to *gasp* take another class and fully figure out photo emulsion silk screening. They also have this year long program which teaches you how to be a better teacher without actually getting a teaching degree, which I would take advantage of because one way I can make good money before I become published and wildly successful is by being a professor. It's not my ultimate goal, but if I do it I want to help kids out in the best way I can and be the best I can be. There's nothing worse than a shitty teacher. I'm pretty generally stoked about it, actually. The only major downside is a price tag of $32,000 a year. I'm not planning on going for another five years at least, so I think I'll apply a year ahead of time so I can find out what sort of scholarship and assistanships a poor white girl like me can expect. I'm not getting $60,000 dollars in debt, that's for sure.
Anyway, I didn't take many pictures, but here is the reason I didn't want to leave Providence until after January:

Who can resist Liza?? Someday I will put on a musical of Caberet at Ol' Gaffers and I will get Liza Minelli to play the part of Sally Bowles if it's the last thing I do. I don't care if she's got vertigo and she's 90.

The rest of Maine was great. I always love visiting Auntie Caroline and Tish. We hung out with the dogs, went to the L.L. Bean headquarters in Freeport that's open 24 hours a day in case you need a flannel shirt at three in the morning, and Auntie Caroline and I went to see Atonement which was playing everywhere there even though it was playing nowhere in Illinois. I'll write up a review on it later, but it was brill. We also went to see the Andrew Wyeth exhibit in I forget where, but there was this irritating lady who followed us round and kept telling us we had to stay two feet away from the paintings even though we weren't touching them and they were under glass. The whole point of going to see artwork in person is so you can look at the details, lady! That was cool, though, he had some really stunning watercolors that were pretty inspirational. It was funny, there was this painting that I recognized as one that had always been in the Hillside, a restaurant that my family frequented during my childhood. I had always quite liked it but only then realized that it was a Wyeth.
Andrew Wyeth, Braids, tempra on paper

His paintings work best when they are haunting and dry, dark and subdued. When you can see how he painted in some parts and not at all in others. This is why I particular like his watercolors more than his temperas. Even still, there is something about this painting. She is a Nordic woman, a little rough but full hipped and fertile. She lives in snowy lands.

Anyway, that was fun. I really like it out there. It's near the ocean (they're twenty minutes from a great rocky beach) and the landscape is so different from the midwest. There are hills and marshes and forest everywhere. It's rugged and beautiful. I talked to them and it looks like I may move out there for eight months or so and save up some money working before I travel and head to grad school. I'm training right now for a career, not a job. There is no job for me to fall into like and education student falls into teaching or a med student falls into being a doctor. I have to work my way up there and find out exactly what I want. To do that I need more school. I think I have a strange path in comparison to a lot of people who will be looking for real jobs where they have a ladder to climb instead of schilling coffee to save up for more school. I'll figure it out.

listening to: Pride and Prejudice Soundtrack--Dario Marianelli