FVA Annapurna is probably looking at me sideways and going, "'no more all-nighters,' eh? Looks like your words are on the menu." I had to eat those words this week.
Also, go Olivia Chow!
Monday: I got a reply to the email that I sent to The Fred Rogers Company!
Before class, I met with the writing tutor to get my gallery review for Twentieth Century Art edited, due to needing to pull my grade up after the disaster that was my midterm. I didn't need to make many changes, as it was a strong essay to begin with.
Tuesday: As usual, I met with Joan and talked about the week.
I met with my presentation group again and we put together the presentation.
Wednesday: While my time management skills are usually fairly good, this semester has kind of thrown me for a loop, with Wednesday night being the worst. I usually give myself anywhere from a couple of days to a week to write an assignment for school, but this time I was forced to write one and a half papers (I'd started one on Tuesday) in a night. I was at it until about 2:00 AM Thursday morning (including editing). But I didn't turn out my bedside light until an hour or two later, which meant that I was running on very little sleep on Thursday. I still wonder how the heck I got through that day.
Thursday: I handed in my midterms for Topics in Modern Canadian Art--and tried to stay awake. We also did the presentation.
Olivia Chow (Jack Layton's widow and former NDP MP for the riding of Trinity-Spadina in Toronto--Wednesday was her last day in that position) announced that she is running for mayor of Toronto, something that people had been speculating she'd do at some point. I wish her the best and I wish I could vote for her.
The election is October twenty-seventh--meaning that if she wins, the twenty-eighth will be two times more awesome than usual. I always celebrate Lynn's birthday, but if Olivia wins I'll be celebrating that as well. I'll be keeping a very close eye on the results on election night. Yay for awesome women and see ya, Rob Ford!
Friday: After having a midterm or something else due every week since getting back from break, I finally had a bit of freedom in which to catch up on readings that I missed.
Saturday: I spent the day reading while listening to the Met (what's new?).
Sunday: More reading, and I came up with the crazy idea to do a response essay for Contemporary Indigenous Arts, as I was so into what I was reading and I had two left. Thing was, it was fairly late at night. Oh, well--challenge accepted.
That night I had yet another run-in with the person with whom I'm not getting along. I've been planning to cut them out of my life once I'm home (get rid of all photos of them, emails by them, their contact info--maybe even go so far as to block their email address, just to be safe), but the latest episode has solidified those plans. While I didn't cry, I was shaking so bad that I could actually see my hands shake and my teeth were chattering, even though I wasn't cold. I don't need people like that in my life: I need people like Mom, Tom, Helen, Lynn (hi, you four!), Ken, Becky, Adrian--people who will build me up, not cut me down until I'm a shell of what I once was. I think the friendship's toast, anyway.
Those two things meant that the night was incredibly long and far too exciting for my liking.
If you want to know what I feel when I think about coming home after I'm done school, this piece sums it up perfectly. Freedom, I will have survived a trip to hell and back--and I will finally have a chance to heal (that thought alone is a beautiful thing).
Also, this piece is just pure fun:
Showing posts with label election. Show all posts
Showing posts with label election. Show all posts
Monday, March 17, 2014
Monday, October 14, 2013
I think my thesis project is starting to take over my life
This week was much better than the last couple.
Monday: I'd had enough of the situation that has been bothering me for the last two weeks, so I decided to take action and wrote a letter to the other person over the weekend. That day I printed it off with the intent of giving it to her on Wednesday. The printer that handles regular (non-photo) paper in the Photo Dept. is one of three in said department that are inaccessible to students, so you have to go to where the printer is housed (what is known as The Cage, where the studio techs are based, and where you can sign out or borrow some equipment). When I went to pick up and pay for the page that I printed (regular paper is 25¢ per sheet), the studio tech who retrieved it, Jake, asked about it, and I told him what was going on. He sympathized, as did Alex, who was about to start his shift in The Cage. They both encouraged me, which I appreciated as I needed all the support I could get my hands on.
The final product for my project for APC is going to be a video (a slideshow, to be exact). Because it's my thesis project and will be going in a gallery, I want to stay as far away as possible from programs that are geared toward the average consumer, e.g., iPhoto. Yes, they do the trick (and as far as photo organizers that are geared toward the average consumer go, iPhoto's pretty awesome), but when you consider the two things that I just mentioned (thesis project and gallery show), as well as where I am in terms of my skills and what I ask of a computer program, I need something a bit more powerful. I knew that the computers in the Photo Dept. computer lab don't have video editing software, so I decided to ask at OSAS to see if they knew who I could ask about which programs are on which computers at which campuses. I was directed to Multimedia in North Block, which is one of the more interesting places to try to get to, as you have to make sure to take the right set of stairs once you're on the second floor of said block. I took the wrong set, backtracked, took the correct set and found Multimedia's equivalent of The Cage. After pausing to catch my breath, I asked about the software that I needed. NSCAD has Final Cut Express (which is geared toward the passionate amateur) and Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 (a professional-grade program) at the Academy Building, and Premiere CC at Port. Creative Cloud (CC) isn't backward-compatible with CS6, so if I started working on the video component of my project there, I'd be limited to working only at Port.
Since I was in the area, I stopped in at the Dawson Print Shop, said "hi" to the studio tech, told him about my project and had a look around (nothing much has changed since I was in there last).
Tuesday: I ended up not needing the letter that I'd printed off the day before, as the other person decided to take matters into their own hands and talk.
That day was election day, and because I'd never been in an election office on election day before, I decided to pay another visit to Labi Kousoulis' election office. I asked about what was going on that day (mostly making sure people got to the right polls and answering questions), and was told that there would be an end-of-election party that evening and that I was welcome to come.
I spent the afternoon prepping for the next day's work-in-progress critique and then went to the party.
They had CBC on on a big-screen TV and a lot of the party-goers watched the results come in. By 10:00 PM it was all over (which amazed me, as I'm used to having to call it a night before the election has been called) and Darrell Dexter had lost spectacularly: Stephen McNeil (Liberal) is NS' next premier. Also, Labi won. I'll admit that when Labi showed up, I got a bit starstruck: although I met Greg Thompson when I was a kid, I'd never met anyone I'd voted for (although Greg was a good MP, I have never voted Conservative in a federal election). After we chanted his name, he spoke, thanking those who volunteered. I congratulated him on my way out.
Wednesday: We usually start the day by discussing the week's reading, but that didn't get done this week and we more or less went straight to the critiques after going over the plan for the afternoon (a field trip to the Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery). Mine wasn't until 11:15, so I spent some time in the Photo Dept. computer lab and, when I couldn't stand the chill anymore, visited the SUNSCAD office to ask whether Crit would be available at NSCAD (while the newspaper started out as a NSCAD student publication, due to various mistakes by the people running it, the paper is now published by the Khyber).
I then headed over to Adrian's office. My meeting with him went very well, and I was really glad that I'd copied the tracks that go with the photos that I've shot so far to my external hard drive.
After lunch, we took the bus to MSVU. Currently, the MSVU gallery is showing work by August Sander on the upper level of the gallery (work from the Canada Council Art Bank is being shown on the ground floor). A woman from the gallery spoke about Sander's work, and we were done a couple hours before class was officially over. I talked with Adrian about some course-related stuff, and he helped me get the right bus to go back downtown (I'll never forget the time I took the bus to get to the Halifax Shopping Centre--although I took the right bus, without realizing it I got the one going in the wrong direction). I had to wait awhile, but I didn't mind as it was a nice day. Once I finally got back downtown, I wended my way over to the Academy building, asked where the computer lab was and spent almost an hour playing around with Premiere.
Thursday: As mentioned last week, I've given up on getting homework done on Thursdays this semester. Instead, I visited Java Blend Coffee Roasters, which was a bit of a walk from my place (about an hour) and had an amazing decaf cappuccino. Java Blend supplies the coffee for my favourite café in St. Andrews, Honeybeans, and I found out that the coffee is also available at the Seaport Farmers' Market. Afterward, I headed to NSCAD and attended this week's Queer Collective meeting. One of the things they're going to be working on is posters raising awareness of bathroom accessibility for trans* people, and I volunteered to design the posters, as I have experience working with InDesign. This is an issue that I've never thought about, and although I'll admit that I know nothing about it, I want to learn.
Friday: I started the reading for APC and came up with a plan of action for this year's Nocturne.
Saturday: That day was so slow that I'm amazed I got any work done. I finished the reading for APC.
Sunday: I reshot a photo for my project, went through the resulting images at school and chatted with a fellow photo major.
Monday: I'd had enough of the situation that has been bothering me for the last two weeks, so I decided to take action and wrote a letter to the other person over the weekend. That day I printed it off with the intent of giving it to her on Wednesday. The printer that handles regular (non-photo) paper in the Photo Dept. is one of three in said department that are inaccessible to students, so you have to go to where the printer is housed (what is known as The Cage, where the studio techs are based, and where you can sign out or borrow some equipment). When I went to pick up and pay for the page that I printed (regular paper is 25¢ per sheet), the studio tech who retrieved it, Jake, asked about it, and I told him what was going on. He sympathized, as did Alex, who was about to start his shift in The Cage. They both encouraged me, which I appreciated as I needed all the support I could get my hands on.
The final product for my project for APC is going to be a video (a slideshow, to be exact). Because it's my thesis project and will be going in a gallery, I want to stay as far away as possible from programs that are geared toward the average consumer, e.g., iPhoto. Yes, they do the trick (and as far as photo organizers that are geared toward the average consumer go, iPhoto's pretty awesome), but when you consider the two things that I just mentioned (thesis project and gallery show), as well as where I am in terms of my skills and what I ask of a computer program, I need something a bit more powerful. I knew that the computers in the Photo Dept. computer lab don't have video editing software, so I decided to ask at OSAS to see if they knew who I could ask about which programs are on which computers at which campuses. I was directed to Multimedia in North Block, which is one of the more interesting places to try to get to, as you have to make sure to take the right set of stairs once you're on the second floor of said block. I took the wrong set, backtracked, took the correct set and found Multimedia's equivalent of The Cage. After pausing to catch my breath, I asked about the software that I needed. NSCAD has Final Cut Express (which is geared toward the passionate amateur) and Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 (a professional-grade program) at the Academy Building, and Premiere CC at Port. Creative Cloud (CC) isn't backward-compatible with CS6, so if I started working on the video component of my project there, I'd be limited to working only at Port.
Since I was in the area, I stopped in at the Dawson Print Shop, said "hi" to the studio tech, told him about my project and had a look around (nothing much has changed since I was in there last).
Tuesday: I ended up not needing the letter that I'd printed off the day before, as the other person decided to take matters into their own hands and talk.
That day was election day, and because I'd never been in an election office on election day before, I decided to pay another visit to Labi Kousoulis' election office. I asked about what was going on that day (mostly making sure people got to the right polls and answering questions), and was told that there would be an end-of-election party that evening and that I was welcome to come.
I spent the afternoon prepping for the next day's work-in-progress critique and then went to the party.
They had CBC on on a big-screen TV and a lot of the party-goers watched the results come in. By 10:00 PM it was all over (which amazed me, as I'm used to having to call it a night before the election has been called) and Darrell Dexter had lost spectacularly: Stephen McNeil (Liberal) is NS' next premier. Also, Labi won. I'll admit that when Labi showed up, I got a bit starstruck: although I met Greg Thompson when I was a kid, I'd never met anyone I'd voted for (although Greg was a good MP, I have never voted Conservative in a federal election). After we chanted his name, he spoke, thanking those who volunteered. I congratulated him on my way out.
Wednesday: We usually start the day by discussing the week's reading, but that didn't get done this week and we more or less went straight to the critiques after going over the plan for the afternoon (a field trip to the Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery). Mine wasn't until 11:15, so I spent some time in the Photo Dept. computer lab and, when I couldn't stand the chill anymore, visited the SUNSCAD office to ask whether Crit would be available at NSCAD (while the newspaper started out as a NSCAD student publication, due to various mistakes by the people running it, the paper is now published by the Khyber).
I then headed over to Adrian's office. My meeting with him went very well, and I was really glad that I'd copied the tracks that go with the photos that I've shot so far to my external hard drive.
After lunch, we took the bus to MSVU. Currently, the MSVU gallery is showing work by August Sander on the upper level of the gallery (work from the Canada Council Art Bank is being shown on the ground floor). A woman from the gallery spoke about Sander's work, and we were done a couple hours before class was officially over. I talked with Adrian about some course-related stuff, and he helped me get the right bus to go back downtown (I'll never forget the time I took the bus to get to the Halifax Shopping Centre--although I took the right bus, without realizing it I got the one going in the wrong direction). I had to wait awhile, but I didn't mind as it was a nice day. Once I finally got back downtown, I wended my way over to the Academy building, asked where the computer lab was and spent almost an hour playing around with Premiere.
Thursday: As mentioned last week, I've given up on getting homework done on Thursdays this semester. Instead, I visited Java Blend Coffee Roasters, which was a bit of a walk from my place (about an hour) and had an amazing decaf cappuccino. Java Blend supplies the coffee for my favourite café in St. Andrews, Honeybeans, and I found out that the coffee is also available at the Seaport Farmers' Market. Afterward, I headed to NSCAD and attended this week's Queer Collective meeting. One of the things they're going to be working on is posters raising awareness of bathroom accessibility for trans* people, and I volunteered to design the posters, as I have experience working with InDesign. This is an issue that I've never thought about, and although I'll admit that I know nothing about it, I want to learn.
Friday: I started the reading for APC and came up with a plan of action for this year's Nocturne.
Saturday: That day was so slow that I'm amazed I got any work done. I finished the reading for APC.
Sunday: I reshot a photo for my project, went through the resulting images at school and chatted with a fellow photo major.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
I can breathe again
I forgot to mention a couple of weeks ago that during the Friday (October twenty-sixth) class before we did the critique, we went to see one of the current shows (a photography show) at the Anna Leonowens Gallery. Not only that, but instead of taking the easy route of going down to the first floor Duke St. entrance (the photo department is in the Duke block) and walking over to the gallery and entering via the outside entrance, Adrian took us there via a highly-involved mostly-indoor route that was an extremely good example of just how inaccessible the Granville Campus is to wheelchairs.
After viewing the show, we went back the way we came and discussed the show (of course). And we had a lot to say about it: while it was very good, some of us felt that there were too many photos, and some of those photos just weren't very strong--in a show, you should only present your best work. And because the photos were mostly fairly conventional, I didn't think that the Anna was the best venue for the show because I associate NSCAD with avant-garde art.
---
And with that, another American election (the most expensive ever) is officially in the bag. That was me falling backwards into something soft--**whew!**
Monday: Due to that extra day off, I was almost completely homework-free--a state that I'd almost forgot existed. I put the day to good use, though, getting some little things done, including picking up an early-arrival form from ResLife.
That evening SUNSCAD held another general assembly. This time we amended some of the by-laws and standing orders in the union's constitution, making it easier for the SUNSCAD execs to do their jobs.
Tuesday: Election Day. Finally. After all the craziness of the last two years, it'd all be over in about twenty-four hours. Due to nerves, I was tempted to stay in my room and read election news all day, but I doubted that NSCAD or Adrian would accept that as an excuse to miss class. The latest Gallup poll didn't help (Romney: 49%, Obama 48% among likely voters).
Adrian gave us the rundown for scanning film: everything from tonal values to how to work the flatbed scanners.
After supper, I plunked myself down in front of my computer and listened to MPBN's election night coverage while keeping an eye on Politico's map. On Election Night '04, Tom told me that whoever is in the lead early in the night generally is the winner (Dubya was in the lead that time--and we all know who won). Romney was in the lead for what felt like forever on Tuesday night, so I was incredibly nervous. Once Maine was called, I added Question 1 to the list of things to keep tabs on. That made me even more nervous because for a long time it looked like gay marriage wouldn't be legalized in the state. I forced myself to call it a night around 11:30--a full hour after I normally go to bed on Tuesday nights. The alarm clock would be my worst enemy the next day, but it'd be worth it. Now to actually get some sleep...
Wednesday: I woke up at about 6:45, and within about two nanoseconds of opening my eyes, I thought, "US election! Question 1!" So before I was properly awake, I sat down in front of my computer (which I'd left on all night--something that's incredibly rare for me--so that I wouldn't run the risk of waking my roommate with the tone that sounds when you turn on a Mac), did battle with the res wi-fi, hit "refresh"--and started to cry. Gay marriage is now legal in the state of Maine! There are no words to describe how I felt in that moment: it went well beyond happiness or joy or any of those emotions. In May '09, gay marriage was legalized in Maine--but a group that opposed gay marriage had it put on the ballot in November of that year, and it became illegal once again. I was extremely upset when I heard about that. Because I've never quite gotten over those events, I had to double- and triple-check the results before I was sure that it wasn't just a wonderful dream. This was real. And I was relieved to find out that Obama had won. I'm critical of him--there are are a few things that I feel he could've done better, or didn't do, or shouldn't have done (at the top of that list is signing the NDAA into law: he says he'll never use it, but that's not to say that future presidents won't)--but given how few choices there are in the States compared to Canada at the federal level (two major parties vs. five), he's the better choice. Romney would be great for Harper, but awful for the rest of us.
Dear Maine voters: you're officially awesome. Thank you for voting in favour of equal rights--though it was a close one. The same goes for Maryland and Washington State.
I continued to work on my Japanese box. Thankfully, the only deadline I have to be concerned about is the last day of class, which will be in December.
I spent the afternoon recovering from the night before, shooting a roll for Intro Photo and catching up on my politics news. Turns out, New Hampshire had elected the first all-female delegation and Wisconsin elected the first openly LGBT US senator.
Thursday: We were supposed to have class at 12:30 that day instead of 1:00, but due to a meeting it got bumped back to the regular time. We critiqued more work, and a few of us--including me--got moved to next week (the original crit was last week, by the way). We were then joined by a class from the University of King's College and Bob presented a slide-show of his work.
After supper, I processed the roll that I'd shot on Wednesday. Joe was in the printshop that evening (he'll be there one evening a week for the next few weeks), but although I wanted to spend a few hours working on my box, that film needed to be developed. On the way home, I picked up a copy of that day's Chronicle Herald, which had several articles about the election results.
Friday: Once again, we discussed this week's reading--and then dove into whatever we had to do for our projects (shooting, processing, etc.). For me, that meant scanning (we're scanning our photos, adding text and then printing them out on one of the department's Epson printers). I had Adrian help me with the initial scan, and he asked me how I'm liking it here at NSCAD. That led to discussing my post-university plans, which led to discussing the US election.
Saturday: I read the Chronicle Herald and the NSCAD Crit--which is new this year--that I picked up a few days ago and started editing the photos that I'd scanned.
Sunday: I spent much of the day editing photos for both Intro and Photography Beyond the Frame. And feeling blah thanks to the blahness of the weather (which is why I hate November).
After viewing the show, we went back the way we came and discussed the show (of course). And we had a lot to say about it: while it was very good, some of us felt that there were too many photos, and some of those photos just weren't very strong--in a show, you should only present your best work. And because the photos were mostly fairly conventional, I didn't think that the Anna was the best venue for the show because I associate NSCAD with avant-garde art.
---
And with that, another American election (the most expensive ever) is officially in the bag. That was me falling backwards into something soft--**whew!**
Monday: Due to that extra day off, I was almost completely homework-free--a state that I'd almost forgot existed. I put the day to good use, though, getting some little things done, including picking up an early-arrival form from ResLife.
That evening SUNSCAD held another general assembly. This time we amended some of the by-laws and standing orders in the union's constitution, making it easier for the SUNSCAD execs to do their jobs.
Tuesday: Election Day. Finally. After all the craziness of the last two years, it'd all be over in about twenty-four hours. Due to nerves, I was tempted to stay in my room and read election news all day, but I doubted that NSCAD or Adrian would accept that as an excuse to miss class. The latest Gallup poll didn't help (Romney: 49%, Obama 48% among likely voters).
Adrian gave us the rundown for scanning film: everything from tonal values to how to work the flatbed scanners.
After supper, I plunked myself down in front of my computer and listened to MPBN's election night coverage while keeping an eye on Politico's map. On Election Night '04, Tom told me that whoever is in the lead early in the night generally is the winner (Dubya was in the lead that time--and we all know who won). Romney was in the lead for what felt like forever on Tuesday night, so I was incredibly nervous. Once Maine was called, I added Question 1 to the list of things to keep tabs on. That made me even more nervous because for a long time it looked like gay marriage wouldn't be legalized in the state. I forced myself to call it a night around 11:30--a full hour after I normally go to bed on Tuesday nights. The alarm clock would be my worst enemy the next day, but it'd be worth it. Now to actually get some sleep...
Wednesday: I woke up at about 6:45, and within about two nanoseconds of opening my eyes, I thought, "US election! Question 1!" So before I was properly awake, I sat down in front of my computer (which I'd left on all night--something that's incredibly rare for me--so that I wouldn't run the risk of waking my roommate with the tone that sounds when you turn on a Mac), did battle with the res wi-fi, hit "refresh"--and started to cry. Gay marriage is now legal in the state of Maine! There are no words to describe how I felt in that moment: it went well beyond happiness or joy or any of those emotions. In May '09, gay marriage was legalized in Maine--but a group that opposed gay marriage had it put on the ballot in November of that year, and it became illegal once again. I was extremely upset when I heard about that. Because I've never quite gotten over those events, I had to double- and triple-check the results before I was sure that it wasn't just a wonderful dream. This was real. And I was relieved to find out that Obama had won. I'm critical of him--there are are a few things that I feel he could've done better, or didn't do, or shouldn't have done (at the top of that list is signing the NDAA into law: he says he'll never use it, but that's not to say that future presidents won't)--but given how few choices there are in the States compared to Canada at the federal level (two major parties vs. five), he's the better choice. Romney would be great for Harper, but awful for the rest of us.
Dear Maine voters: you're officially awesome. Thank you for voting in favour of equal rights--though it was a close one. The same goes for Maryland and Washington State.
I continued to work on my Japanese box. Thankfully, the only deadline I have to be concerned about is the last day of class, which will be in December.
I spent the afternoon recovering from the night before, shooting a roll for Intro Photo and catching up on my politics news. Turns out, New Hampshire had elected the first all-female delegation and Wisconsin elected the first openly LGBT US senator.
Thursday: We were supposed to have class at 12:30 that day instead of 1:00, but due to a meeting it got bumped back to the regular time. We critiqued more work, and a few of us--including me--got moved to next week (the original crit was last week, by the way). We were then joined by a class from the University of King's College and Bob presented a slide-show of his work.
After supper, I processed the roll that I'd shot on Wednesday. Joe was in the printshop that evening (he'll be there one evening a week for the next few weeks), but although I wanted to spend a few hours working on my box, that film needed to be developed. On the way home, I picked up a copy of that day's Chronicle Herald, which had several articles about the election results.
Friday: Once again, we discussed this week's reading--and then dove into whatever we had to do for our projects (shooting, processing, etc.). For me, that meant scanning (we're scanning our photos, adding text and then printing them out on one of the department's Epson printers). I had Adrian help me with the initial scan, and he asked me how I'm liking it here at NSCAD. That led to discussing my post-university plans, which led to discussing the US election.
Saturday: I read the Chronicle Herald and the NSCAD Crit--which is new this year--that I picked up a few days ago and started editing the photos that I'd scanned.
Sunday: I spent much of the day editing photos for both Intro and Photography Beyond the Frame. And feeling blah thanks to the blahness of the weather (which is why I hate November).
Sunday, November 4, 2012
is that Finals Season that I see just up ahead?
Finals Season has finally poked it's head around the corner. **gulp** If there's one thing I learned from FVA year, it's that finals are to be dreaded.
Monday: I spent the afternoon in the photo department, developing film and then doing prints for the self-portrait project, which was due the next day instead of Friday.
Tuesday: After struggling with the self-portrait assignment for what felt like forever, the torture was finally over--and according to the critique, it was worth it.
Wednesday: Those of us who hadn't started the Japanese box (I was one of those people) started it this week.
I went home after class--something that I rarely do. I spent the afternoon adding to my Beyond the Frame project and emailing SUNSCAD's VP Internal, Laura May, because I'm new to the school and I want to introduce myself to the students that I represent. I'd talked with one of the other execs a few days prior and asked her what the best way to reach the most students would be. She suggested the Dispatch, which is a weekly video bulletin that Laura May posts on YouTube.
Thursday: Some of us presented our projects, the rest (including me) will present next week. Bob handed out assignment sheets for the final project, which is an independent-study one, and talked about it. Some of us (including me) hadn't thought about the project and therefore didn't have any ideas. He made appointments with several of us for Friday afternoon.
That evening, I met with Laura May and we recorded my part of the Dispatch. And discussed school and art. And had plenty of outtakes by the time the whole thing was done. If you watch an episode of the Dispatch, yes, she really is that crazy and high-energy in real life! She's going to put together an extra episode that's just the new SUNSCAD people introducing themselves.
Friday: Because Adrian was in Montreal, class was cancelled, which is why we handed our work in on Tuesday, rather than Friday. Me being me, I saw it as an extra day on which to get work done.
That afternoon, I met with Bob in his office in the Academy Building and he helped me come up with a couple of ideas for my final project. I also came up with ideas (on my own) for my next project for Intro, which is a combination of text and photography. The photos will be shot on film, developed, scanned, manipulated in Photoshop and printed using one of the department's Epson printers.
Before I finally crashed, I uploaded my latest project for Beyond the Frame to my Facebook page--my first time displaying work that I've created at NSCAD.
Saturday: I emailed my former teachers at NBCCD, updating them on what I've been up to at NSCAD.
I started the project proposals for Intro Photography and Photography Beyond the Frame.
Sunday: I decided on the sizes for the prints for my Beyond the Frame project (30" x 40"--which will succeed 24" x 36" as the biggest prints I've ever done. I'll be doing two of them.) and put the finishing touches--more or less--on my project proposals.
---
The next time I write, I'll be done biting my nails over the US election (this one's been the most expensive, drawn-out American election ever, and it's been driving this Canuck nuts for months). I'm tempted to stay up and watch the returns like I did back in '08--that time I was up until 4:30 in the morning, three hours after the election had been called--but because I have Book Arts the next day at 8:30, I won't be able to this time. I've decided to leave my computer on all night so that I can quickly check the results of the presidential election before flying out the door the next morning. After class, I'll check the results of the ballot measures that I'm also biting my nails over: Propositions 34 and 37 in California, marijuana legalization in Colorado, Massachusetts (medical marijuana), Montana (also medical; the question is whether or not the current program should be vetoed and replaced) and Washington State; same-sex marriage in Maine (let's hope it gets a big, fat YES this time--I was not happy when it became illegal four years ago, after being legal for a few months prior), Maryland (civil marriage referendum: "The measure is in response to the enactment of the Civil Marriage Protection Act on March 1, 2012, which will allow same-sex couples to obtain a civil marriage license in the state beginning January 1, 2013,[1][2][3] and protect clergy from having to perform any particular marriage ceremony in violation of their religious beliefs."), Minnesota (amendment: if passed, it will define marriage as "between one man and one woman") and Washington State (whether or not it should be legalized); and "death with dignity" in Massachusetts. People say that there's a lot at stake in this election--but they're usually only talking about the presidential race--there's even more at stake when you consider all the other things that are on the ballot in various states. The measures that I listed are only a handful of the things that Americans will be voting on on Tuesday.
Monday: I spent the afternoon in the photo department, developing film and then doing prints for the self-portrait project, which was due the next day instead of Friday.
Tuesday: After struggling with the self-portrait assignment for what felt like forever, the torture was finally over--and according to the critique, it was worth it.
Wednesday: Those of us who hadn't started the Japanese box (I was one of those people) started it this week.
I went home after class--something that I rarely do. I spent the afternoon adding to my Beyond the Frame project and emailing SUNSCAD's VP Internal, Laura May, because I'm new to the school and I want to introduce myself to the students that I represent. I'd talked with one of the other execs a few days prior and asked her what the best way to reach the most students would be. She suggested the Dispatch, which is a weekly video bulletin that Laura May posts on YouTube.
Thursday: Some of us presented our projects, the rest (including me) will present next week. Bob handed out assignment sheets for the final project, which is an independent-study one, and talked about it. Some of us (including me) hadn't thought about the project and therefore didn't have any ideas. He made appointments with several of us for Friday afternoon.
That evening, I met with Laura May and we recorded my part of the Dispatch. And discussed school and art. And had plenty of outtakes by the time the whole thing was done. If you watch an episode of the Dispatch, yes, she really is that crazy and high-energy in real life! She's going to put together an extra episode that's just the new SUNSCAD people introducing themselves.
Friday: Because Adrian was in Montreal, class was cancelled, which is why we handed our work in on Tuesday, rather than Friday. Me being me, I saw it as an extra day on which to get work done.
That afternoon, I met with Bob in his office in the Academy Building and he helped me come up with a couple of ideas for my final project. I also came up with ideas (on my own) for my next project for Intro, which is a combination of text and photography. The photos will be shot on film, developed, scanned, manipulated in Photoshop and printed using one of the department's Epson printers.
Before I finally crashed, I uploaded my latest project for Beyond the Frame to my Facebook page--my first time displaying work that I've created at NSCAD.
Saturday: I emailed my former teachers at NBCCD, updating them on what I've been up to at NSCAD.
I started the project proposals for Intro Photography and Photography Beyond the Frame.
Sunday: I decided on the sizes for the prints for my Beyond the Frame project (30" x 40"--which will succeed 24" x 36" as the biggest prints I've ever done. I'll be doing two of them.) and put the finishing touches--more or less--on my project proposals.
---
The next time I write, I'll be done biting my nails over the US election (this one's been the most expensive, drawn-out American election ever, and it's been driving this Canuck nuts for months). I'm tempted to stay up and watch the returns like I did back in '08--that time I was up until 4:30 in the morning, three hours after the election had been called--but because I have Book Arts the next day at 8:30, I won't be able to this time. I've decided to leave my computer on all night so that I can quickly check the results of the presidential election before flying out the door the next morning. After class, I'll check the results of the ballot measures that I'm also biting my nails over: Propositions 34 and 37 in California, marijuana legalization in Colorado, Massachusetts (medical marijuana), Montana (also medical; the question is whether or not the current program should be vetoed and replaced) and Washington State; same-sex marriage in Maine (let's hope it gets a big, fat YES this time--I was not happy when it became illegal four years ago, after being legal for a few months prior), Maryland (civil marriage referendum: "The measure is in response to the enactment of the Civil Marriage Protection Act on March 1, 2012, which will allow same-sex couples to obtain a civil marriage license in the state beginning January 1, 2013,[1][2][3] and protect clergy from having to perform any particular marriage ceremony in violation of their religious beliefs."), Minnesota (amendment: if passed, it will define marriage as "between one man and one woman") and Washington State (whether or not it should be legalized); and "death with dignity" in Massachusetts. People say that there's a lot at stake in this election--but they're usually only talking about the presidential race--there's even more at stake when you consider all the other things that are on the ballot in various states. The measures that I listed are only a handful of the things that Americans will be voting on on Tuesday.
Monday, October 22, 2012
I'm finally starting to feel like a fourth-year
My teachers have already mentioned finals twice in the last week or two--I have to keep reminding myself that finals are still about a month away.
Monday: I finally made the time to visit the job centre at the university that I'm staying at. It was mildly helpful, but not as helpful as I'd hoped, which actually makes sense because I'm from a different school, studying different things, and they're geared toward students studying at their university.
I then headed over to NSCAD and edited the additional photos for my project for Beyond the Frame, put together the slide show (and wrestled with Lightroom in the process--just like old times), went to the candidates' forum for the SUNSCAD election, and finished the day off with a floor meeting at my res. The forum mostly consisted of introducing ourselves and having an open discussion about what we want to see happen at NSCAD. One of those things is more co-operation and community between the different media and students from different studios. NSCAD has two issues that complicate meeting people from other studios: unless you have class at one or other of the campuses, you can't get your access card to work on the door to that campus--you have to have a real reason to be there. Some of the studios have a similar situation: unless you're a student in that studio, you can't enter. I understand why it's set up that way (safety and, in the case of the studios, protecting the equipment), but it makes meeting people from other media more difficult. One of the solutions that we came up with is to have a voluntary directory listing students and their skills so that we can collaborate and pool our knowledge.
Tuesday: Yet another rundown of photography history. We also talked about our ideas for our next project, which is our first concept-y project (NSCAD's big on conceptual art). Two of us, including me, hadn't come up with ideas for ours, so we had to come up with ideas by the end of class. I came up with several and settled on one. The project is self-portraits depicting stereotypes. Mine will be about homeschooling, which has a lot of stereotypes (homeschoolers are either right-wing Christians or hippies, they're either really smart or really dumb/mentally-challenged, they don't know what the latest fashions are, they are unsocialized, etc.), some of which I've been exposed to.
Wednesday: We finally started putting together the Coptic binding book! The stitching is a bit complicated, but easy once you get the hang of it.
I spent the rest of the day working on my scholarship essays (I'm applying for three scholarships, two of which require essays, and which are due this week--for the other, I just have to put together some photos and submit them online by mid-December) and getting prices of course supplies (one of the scholarships requires that info).
Thursday: Up and at 'em! Bob met me and a couple of my classmates in the photo dept. that morning because, as transfer students, we didn't have access to the university's photo printers, which photo students learn how to use in the second year--and all three of us are third- or fourth-year students. Much of what he told us wasn't new to me, but it was good to get a refresher--and either way, as a fourth-year I need that access.
At noon, I met with the financial aid and student counselling director, Bernadette Kehoe, as I desperately need a job if I'm to afford photo paper and film (which is where most of my money is going)--and not starve.
During class, I presented the second version of my most recent project (the slide-show). The critique was much better. Bob also talked about the next project, which is solidly a concept project: "choose an object that retains some unique value to you--an object that you might not want to part with. It can be anything. Ideally, this object has an implied intimacy in your life, even if it is a found object that you choose only for this project.
"This object will form the basis and starting point for the next project. The object does not have to be the exclusive subject of the work you produce. You may take an idea, memory, feeling, formal characteristic, metaphor, etc. and develop that into your next project. In other words, I am not asking you to photograph your object. You could, but there may be other options to explore as well. [...]"
Friday: That day was FVA Panel Assessment Day at NBCCD. I usually write a letter to the FVAs around that time, but this year I totally forgot. Oh, the joys of not being immersed in the culture of your alma mater anymore.
We learned how to use the Dynalite studio flashes--something that NBCCD students don't learn until the second semester in the first year of Photo. I don't see either way as good or bad--just different. The lights are a bit different from the Speedotrons, AlienBees, etc. Up until this year, the AlienBees were the smallest flashes that I've ever used. The Dynalites are tiny in comparison, especially to the WhiteLightnings.
Afterward, Adrian met with us individually. My meeting wasn't until 4:30, so because I had about an hour, I worked on designing a poster that I'm going to put up at NSCAD and my residence because if I'm elected--I'll probably get in, as there's no one running against me--I want to get to know my constituents, and as a new NSCADian, I want to make sure they know who their rep is. I was so engrossed in designing the poster that I was surprised when I looked at the clock on the computer and discovered that my meeting was in one minute. So I quickly saved my project, closed Photoshop, ejected my hard drive, grabbed my stuff and headed down to Adrian's office. My meeting went very well: he asked me about adjusting to NSCAD and Halifax (both he and Bob know that I'm a transfer from NBCCD), my own assessment of what I've produced for his class (we also looked at said work), his assessment of my work, and we talked about my ideas for the self-portrait project, which I'd written down. He called it an "informal meeting," but I'm still speaking NBCCD-ese to an extent, and an assessment by any other name is still an assessment right now.
Saturday: Hello, productivity! I read the handout that I was supposed to read last week for Bob's class, went to NSCAD and picked up my camera and tripod from my locker, booked time in the lighting studio for Monday, bought film and started shooting for the assignment for Bob's class (I'm photographing details of my old computer, it's power cord and the USB keyboard that I bought). That evening, I got an email saying that the campaign posters had to be taken down by 11:00 PM on Sunday. So because I planned to not go anywhere on that day, back I went to NSCAD. The election takes place Monday through Wednesday, and the results will be announced on Thursday at the latest.
Sunday: Because much of the part of my loan that was issued to me went toward paying for my university residence, I desperately need a job this year. So I did a résumé blitz, emailing my résumé and cover letter to as many places as possible, mostly arts-related places from a list that Bernadette gave me, though I also applied to a photo store that I'd come across. I proofread my scholarship essays and chopped a bunch of words from one of them. That evening, I called Mom because I hadn't talked with either her or Tom in about two weeks. Among other things, we discussed life after Acadian Lines goes kaput at the end of this month, and why Acadian is going. My theory, based on news articles: corporate suicide, caused by cutting service to places that weren't making them money and caring more about money than the people who would be stranded without bus service in the Maritimes (Maritime Bus is picking up the slack, and will probably offer better service than Acadian did). These problems were exacerbated by the labour issues that led to this year's strike.
Just because this is awesome:
Monday: I finally made the time to visit the job centre at the university that I'm staying at. It was mildly helpful, but not as helpful as I'd hoped, which actually makes sense because I'm from a different school, studying different things, and they're geared toward students studying at their university.
I then headed over to NSCAD and edited the additional photos for my project for Beyond the Frame, put together the slide show (and wrestled with Lightroom in the process--just like old times), went to the candidates' forum for the SUNSCAD election, and finished the day off with a floor meeting at my res. The forum mostly consisted of introducing ourselves and having an open discussion about what we want to see happen at NSCAD. One of those things is more co-operation and community between the different media and students from different studios. NSCAD has two issues that complicate meeting people from other studios: unless you have class at one or other of the campuses, you can't get your access card to work on the door to that campus--you have to have a real reason to be there. Some of the studios have a similar situation: unless you're a student in that studio, you can't enter. I understand why it's set up that way (safety and, in the case of the studios, protecting the equipment), but it makes meeting people from other media more difficult. One of the solutions that we came up with is to have a voluntary directory listing students and their skills so that we can collaborate and pool our knowledge.
Tuesday: Yet another rundown of photography history. We also talked about our ideas for our next project, which is our first concept-y project (NSCAD's big on conceptual art). Two of us, including me, hadn't come up with ideas for ours, so we had to come up with ideas by the end of class. I came up with several and settled on one. The project is self-portraits depicting stereotypes. Mine will be about homeschooling, which has a lot of stereotypes (homeschoolers are either right-wing Christians or hippies, they're either really smart or really dumb/mentally-challenged, they don't know what the latest fashions are, they are unsocialized, etc.), some of which I've been exposed to.
Wednesday: We finally started putting together the Coptic binding book! The stitching is a bit complicated, but easy once you get the hang of it.
I spent the rest of the day working on my scholarship essays (I'm applying for three scholarships, two of which require essays, and which are due this week--for the other, I just have to put together some photos and submit them online by mid-December) and getting prices of course supplies (one of the scholarships requires that info).
Thursday: Up and at 'em! Bob met me and a couple of my classmates in the photo dept. that morning because, as transfer students, we didn't have access to the university's photo printers, which photo students learn how to use in the second year--and all three of us are third- or fourth-year students. Much of what he told us wasn't new to me, but it was good to get a refresher--and either way, as a fourth-year I need that access.
At noon, I met with the financial aid and student counselling director, Bernadette Kehoe, as I desperately need a job if I'm to afford photo paper and film (which is where most of my money is going)--and not starve.
During class, I presented the second version of my most recent project (the slide-show). The critique was much better. Bob also talked about the next project, which is solidly a concept project: "choose an object that retains some unique value to you--an object that you might not want to part with. It can be anything. Ideally, this object has an implied intimacy in your life, even if it is a found object that you choose only for this project.
"This object will form the basis and starting point for the next project. The object does not have to be the exclusive subject of the work you produce. You may take an idea, memory, feeling, formal characteristic, metaphor, etc. and develop that into your next project. In other words, I am not asking you to photograph your object. You could, but there may be other options to explore as well. [...]"
Friday: That day was FVA Panel Assessment Day at NBCCD. I usually write a letter to the FVAs around that time, but this year I totally forgot. Oh, the joys of not being immersed in the culture of your alma mater anymore.
We learned how to use the Dynalite studio flashes--something that NBCCD students don't learn until the second semester in the first year of Photo. I don't see either way as good or bad--just different. The lights are a bit different from the Speedotrons, AlienBees, etc. Up until this year, the AlienBees were the smallest flashes that I've ever used. The Dynalites are tiny in comparison, especially to the WhiteLightnings.
Afterward, Adrian met with us individually. My meeting wasn't until 4:30, so because I had about an hour, I worked on designing a poster that I'm going to put up at NSCAD and my residence because if I'm elected--I'll probably get in, as there's no one running against me--I want to get to know my constituents, and as a new NSCADian, I want to make sure they know who their rep is. I was so engrossed in designing the poster that I was surprised when I looked at the clock on the computer and discovered that my meeting was in one minute. So I quickly saved my project, closed Photoshop, ejected my hard drive, grabbed my stuff and headed down to Adrian's office. My meeting went very well: he asked me about adjusting to NSCAD and Halifax (both he and Bob know that I'm a transfer from NBCCD), my own assessment of what I've produced for his class (we also looked at said work), his assessment of my work, and we talked about my ideas for the self-portrait project, which I'd written down. He called it an "informal meeting," but I'm still speaking NBCCD-ese to an extent, and an assessment by any other name is still an assessment right now.
Saturday: Hello, productivity! I read the handout that I was supposed to read last week for Bob's class, went to NSCAD and picked up my camera and tripod from my locker, booked time in the lighting studio for Monday, bought film and started shooting for the assignment for Bob's class (I'm photographing details of my old computer, it's power cord and the USB keyboard that I bought). That evening, I got an email saying that the campaign posters had to be taken down by 11:00 PM on Sunday. So because I planned to not go anywhere on that day, back I went to NSCAD. The election takes place Monday through Wednesday, and the results will be announced on Thursday at the latest.
Sunday: Because much of the part of my loan that was issued to me went toward paying for my university residence, I desperately need a job this year. So I did a résumé blitz, emailing my résumé and cover letter to as many places as possible, mostly arts-related places from a list that Bernadette gave me, though I also applied to a photo store that I'd come across. I proofread my scholarship essays and chopped a bunch of words from one of them. That evening, I called Mom because I hadn't talked with either her or Tom in about two weeks. Among other things, we discussed life after Acadian Lines goes kaput at the end of this month, and why Acadian is going. My theory, based on news articles: corporate suicide, caused by cutting service to places that weren't making them money and caring more about money than the people who would be stranded without bus service in the Maritimes (Maritime Bus is picking up the slack, and will probably offer better service than Acadian did). These problems were exacerbated by the labour issues that led to this year's strike.
Just because this is awesome:
Monday, October 8, 2012
NSCAD: fun/awesome things happen here
This weekend was my first time celebrating Thanksgiving away from home. But it wasn't too bad.
Monday: I spent most of the day in the darkroom, reprinting yet again for Intro Photo.
That evening, SUNSCAD held a general assembly (GA), which I went to. The main topic was the Framework for Sustainability and voting no confidence on the Framework (which FUNSCAD 1, the teachers' union, has already done. FUNSCAD 2 is the studio technicians' union, by the way.). It involved a lot of debate, several amendments and amendments-to-amendments of the "be it resolved" part of the motion, but the GA and participating in democracy without the unfairness that is prevalent in the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system that Canada uses (it's also used in most American elections) gave me a rush. This is what democracy looks and feels like.
Tuesday: We all reread this week's handout in class, making notes on things that we wanted to talk about, and then discussing them. We then watched a movie about the Nazi concentration camps and discussed that.
Since starting classes at NSCAD, I've been thinking about running for SUNSCAD, as I've been very inspired by what they do. The Student Union of NSCAD isn't afraid to get their hands dirty: they will fight for their school and the rights of their fellow students. Since I got my first taste of SUNSCAD on Orientation Day, I've been thinking about getting involved in the union--of actually running in the election, which is something that I've never done before. Prior to this year, I've never taken much of an interest in school politics (NBCCD's Student Representative Council, while they did an excellent job of representing their fellow students, wasn't exactly interested in challenging the status quo, which I understand because NBCCD is doing very well--they haven't had to deal with people not doing their jobs or a lack of money), so it's been a surprise to me as well.
So that day I told one of the executives that I was interested in running, and she gave me a nomination form. There are a bunch of positions that I could run for, including Media Arts rep (the division that the Photography Dept. is in) and Mature Students rep, so I chose randomly: Students Living in Residence rep.
Wednesday: We finished the perfect binding books. Mine didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, binding-wise, but they could've been worse: getting the width of the spine of the cover just right is a pain. Too loose and the book will fall apart (everything's just held together with PVC glue), too tight and the pages won't fit.
After class, I walked back to my place, as I hadn't packed my SLR and I wanted to shoot a roll of film. I shot the roll on my way back to school.
That evening was the first meeting of the NSCAD Dance and Movement Club where we actually danced. This meeting was more about exploring and experimenting with different ways of movement.
Thursday: Bob had planned to take us to the Dalhousie Arts Centre (home to Symphony Nova Scotia, FYI) last week, but we ran out of time. This week, we were able to make the trip. The show (which is a group show) blew me away, and I felt that if I were to truly appreciate it, I'd have to stay there much longer than I did. It was very avant-garde, modern and cool, and was comprised of many different media: photography, fluorescent bulbs, sound, glass, video...
Friday: That day was a working class, and I'm finally getting the hang of NSCAD's Saunders/LPL enlargers. After three years of working with NBCCD's Durst enlargers, I'm used to working with that brand and know what settings to use in order to get the results that I want, and I've had to transfer those three years of experience with one brand to another brand that works in a completely different way. I've learned that I have to use a higher-contrast filter than I did with the Dursts (I generally used either a 2.5 or a 3; with the Saunders/LPLs it's more along the lines of a 3 or a 4) in order to get the same results.
Due to all that work, I was late to the SUNSCAD election meeting. The meeting was mandatory, but only a handful of people bothered to show up, so the fact that I showed up was good enough. We were given the rundown of what's going to happen over the next few weeks and what we need to do.
Saturday: I spent most of the day migrating all my data from my old, orange-juice-filled computer to my new one with Tom's help.
Late in the afternoon, I started to feel the early signs of a cold. Me being me, I tried to deny that I was getting sick.
Sunday: Okay, yeah, it's a cold. Thankfully, I was still well enough to do homework.
I spent much of the afternoon shooting the final roll for Intro Photo and developing it and roll #2. I plan to print the photos on Wednesday afternoon.
That afternoon was also the Bangor Symphony's first concert of the 117th season. As a result, I had An American in Paris (which was on the program) going through my head for several hours. Here are some (more like three hundred and eighty-nine) photos that were taken during rehearsal and the concert. Most of them are good, especially given the fact that stage lighting is extremely high-contrast, and therefore very difficult to photograph in, but a handful of the photos left me wondering, "why did that photo make it into the final batch?" For some, it was the technical aspect that was missing (metering issues/blowout, motion blur that didn't look deliberate, occasional incorrect-looking white balance), but for others, it was more the artistic side that was lacking. Yes, it's documentary-style photography, but there's still an art to it.
But as a proud New Brunswicker, I love the fact that the BSO uses Sabian cymbals. Sabian is based in Meductic, NB, and they make some of the best cymbals you can get. Unfortunately, since there isn't anything written on the BSO's cymbals aside from the Sabian logo, I can't tell which model they are.
And because it's Thanksgiving here in Canada (happy Columbus Day to my American readers), here's this year's list of what I'm thankful for:
Monday: I spent most of the day in the darkroom, reprinting yet again for Intro Photo.
That evening, SUNSCAD held a general assembly (GA), which I went to. The main topic was the Framework for Sustainability and voting no confidence on the Framework (which FUNSCAD 1, the teachers' union, has already done. FUNSCAD 2 is the studio technicians' union, by the way.). It involved a lot of debate, several amendments and amendments-to-amendments of the "be it resolved" part of the motion, but the GA and participating in democracy without the unfairness that is prevalent in the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system that Canada uses (it's also used in most American elections) gave me a rush. This is what democracy looks and feels like.
Tuesday: We all reread this week's handout in class, making notes on things that we wanted to talk about, and then discussing them. We then watched a movie about the Nazi concentration camps and discussed that.
Since starting classes at NSCAD, I've been thinking about running for SUNSCAD, as I've been very inspired by what they do. The Student Union of NSCAD isn't afraid to get their hands dirty: they will fight for their school and the rights of their fellow students. Since I got my first taste of SUNSCAD on Orientation Day, I've been thinking about getting involved in the union--of actually running in the election, which is something that I've never done before. Prior to this year, I've never taken much of an interest in school politics (NBCCD's Student Representative Council, while they did an excellent job of representing their fellow students, wasn't exactly interested in challenging the status quo, which I understand because NBCCD is doing very well--they haven't had to deal with people not doing their jobs or a lack of money), so it's been a surprise to me as well.
So that day I told one of the executives that I was interested in running, and she gave me a nomination form. There are a bunch of positions that I could run for, including Media Arts rep (the division that the Photography Dept. is in) and Mature Students rep, so I chose randomly: Students Living in Residence rep.
Wednesday: We finished the perfect binding books. Mine didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, binding-wise, but they could've been worse: getting the width of the spine of the cover just right is a pain. Too loose and the book will fall apart (everything's just held together with PVC glue), too tight and the pages won't fit.
After class, I walked back to my place, as I hadn't packed my SLR and I wanted to shoot a roll of film. I shot the roll on my way back to school.
That evening was the first meeting of the NSCAD Dance and Movement Club where we actually danced. This meeting was more about exploring and experimenting with different ways of movement.
Thursday: Bob had planned to take us to the Dalhousie Arts Centre (home to Symphony Nova Scotia, FYI) last week, but we ran out of time. This week, we were able to make the trip. The show (which is a group show) blew me away, and I felt that if I were to truly appreciate it, I'd have to stay there much longer than I did. It was very avant-garde, modern and cool, and was comprised of many different media: photography, fluorescent bulbs, sound, glass, video...
Friday: That day was a working class, and I'm finally getting the hang of NSCAD's Saunders/LPL enlargers. After three years of working with NBCCD's Durst enlargers, I'm used to working with that brand and know what settings to use in order to get the results that I want, and I've had to transfer those three years of experience with one brand to another brand that works in a completely different way. I've learned that I have to use a higher-contrast filter than I did with the Dursts (I generally used either a 2.5 or a 3; with the Saunders/LPLs it's more along the lines of a 3 or a 4) in order to get the same results.
Due to all that work, I was late to the SUNSCAD election meeting. The meeting was mandatory, but only a handful of people bothered to show up, so the fact that I showed up was good enough. We were given the rundown of what's going to happen over the next few weeks and what we need to do.
Saturday: I spent most of the day migrating all my data from my old, orange-juice-filled computer to my new one with Tom's help.
Late in the afternoon, I started to feel the early signs of a cold. Me being me, I tried to deny that I was getting sick.
Sunday: Okay, yeah, it's a cold. Thankfully, I was still well enough to do homework.
I spent much of the afternoon shooting the final roll for Intro Photo and developing it and roll #2. I plan to print the photos on Wednesday afternoon.
That afternoon was also the Bangor Symphony's first concert of the 117th season. As a result, I had An American in Paris (which was on the program) going through my head for several hours. Here are some (more like three hundred and eighty-nine) photos that were taken during rehearsal and the concert. Most of them are good, especially given the fact that stage lighting is extremely high-contrast, and therefore very difficult to photograph in, but a handful of the photos left me wondering, "why did that photo make it into the final batch?" For some, it was the technical aspect that was missing (metering issues/blowout, motion blur that didn't look deliberate, occasional incorrect-looking white balance), but for others, it was more the artistic side that was lacking. Yes, it's documentary-style photography, but there's still an art to it.
But as a proud New Brunswicker, I love the fact that the BSO uses Sabian cymbals. Sabian is based in Meductic, NB, and they make some of the best cymbals you can get. Unfortunately, since there isn't anything written on the BSO's cymbals aside from the Sabian logo, I can't tell which model they are.
And because it's Thanksgiving here in Canada (happy Columbus Day to my American readers), here's this year's list of what I'm thankful for:
- SUNSCAD
- NSCAD
- The fact that SUNSCAD is very political and not afraid to get it's hands dirty
- The cool things that NSCAD students and supporters do (e.g., ANNAmotion LOGOmotion)
- The liberalness of Halifax
- The Bangor Symphony (and their awesome violin section)
- The Passamaquoddy Bay Symphony
- NBCCD
- My three years at NBCCD, what I learned there and the experiences that I had
- The NBCCD faculty, especially the photo faculty
- My knowledge of B&W film photography
- The fact that film photography is still taught (alongside digital) in art colleges and universities even as digital takes over more and more of the world
- My desire to learn
- The high quality of my artistic education
- My interest in Canadian politics
Sunday, May 1, 2011
the end of an amazing, awesome year
Monday: Easter Monday. Meaning, I didn't have class. By this point I'd pretty much adjusted to being the only student left at the residence (the first night was rough: I had no idea how used to the noise I was).
That day I went to the college and finished up the surprise that I was making (now that it's been delivered, I can happily say that A. it was a card, and B. it was for my teachers. Since that day was so warm and sunny, I grabbed my supplies and finished it while sitting on the stone wall at the Barracks in front of NBCCD. I got a couple of compliments on it from WhiteFeather and the Class of '11 valedictorian, Benita (Jewellery/Metal Arts major).
In the evening I finally started work on the burgers that I was making for the potluck, which I stuck in the fridge to let the flavour develop overnight.
Tuesday (Peter's birthday): After taking my time that morning, I dug the burgers out of the fridge, and started forming them into actual "burgers" and dredging them in cornmeal around noon. Karen picked me, Erin (a fellow Photog), and an FVA student/future Photog up, and then we drove to Peter's place, stopping at the DQ on Northside to pick up an ice cream cake on the way.
The party itself was awesome. It seems like every party we Photogs throw is better than the last, and this one was the best yet. In addition to the burgers, I brought my violin and played a few pieces. But the real showstopper in terms of music was Peter (I played right after him--talk about a tough act to follow), who played several pieces on piano, including Satie's Gnossienne No. 1, and Gymnopédie No. 1, and made Karen and me melt, and Rachael cry (I'll admit that I choked up a bit). He also played Gonzales' Gogol, and at that point I couldn't hold it in any longer, so I slipped past Rachael--and danced.
My burgers were unbelievably popular (even with the non-vegetarians--one of Peter's sons, who I found out had been mentioning them to the other guests, told me that they were really good), and by the time Rachael drove Erin and me to our respective homes, the two layers had been whittled down to less than one--and all of the burgers had been grilled (thanks, Peter).
Towards the end of the party, Peter's wife, Giselle, came home from her job, and hung out with those of us who were still there (some of us had left earlier).
After I got home, I was still unbelievably keyed-up and I stayed up until about 12:30 AM, dancing in my room. I could've partied for another hour, but I wanted to be able to get up in the morning, so I forced myself to go to bed.
I thought some more about Peter's playing, and by the time I finally crashed into bed, I had my first favourite pianist--and my first favourite musician from NBCCD (and my fifth favourite artist overall from that school: three faculty members--WhiteFeather, Adam MacDonald, Peter Gross--and two students--Rachael Flett, Monica Lacey).
When choosing a favourite musician (solo), I look at the musician's ability to play their respective instrument (Peter's really good) and their style--and whether or not I like said style (Peter played the Satie pieces really tenderly, but ramped up the attitude for Gogol). I also look at their ability to move me emotionally and sometimes physically (I stopped everything that I was doing when Peter started to play, moved closer to the piano--I was in the kitchen at the time, the piano is in the living room, and the only thing dividing the two rooms is a counter/shelving unit--and yes, came close to tears)
Wednesday: I slept until about nine-thirty that morning, and after getting breakfast, finishing an NFB (National Film Board of Canada) movie (you can watch a lot of their movies on the NFB website--it's free, too), and taking a shower, I went to school to finish unloading my shelf.
I also told Peter about the fact that he's now my first favourite pianist, which he seemed quite thrilled about.
Thursday: That afternoon I was supposed to have an assessment with Drew, but he was sick, so all his assessments were cancelled. However, I got my marks back on Friday, and I did very well.
Even though the assessment was cancelled, I still went to school because I needed to finish cleaning out my shelf and I wanted to scan the negatives from the Holga assignment. I was there far later than I'd planned, so after I finished I grabbed supper, rushed home, showered, packed a few more things (I'd started packing on Wednesday or Thursday morning), and then crashed for a few hours.
Friday (the Royal Wedding): I was up at 6:30 (I normally set my alarm for 7:30) so that I could get dressed prior to the wedding, which was at 7:00 Atlantic Time (11:00 AM British Summer Time).
I'm not the sort of person who cries at weddings, but this time I was: once at the beginning and once during God Save the Queen (which I usually sing along with, but this time I was way too choked up).
I loved the now-Duchess of Cambridge's dress (the American media keeps calling her a princess, but she's not: as of her marriage to William, who became the the Duke of Cambridge, Kate became the Duchess of Cambridge. If the Queen decides to do so, she'll make Kate a princess.).
After the wedding I went to my last class (Design). When I came into the classroom, the Smart board was on and a couple of the Fashion teachers, one of the staff-members and a fellow classmate were watching the NewsHour's live stream on UStream.
Things didn't get underway class-wise until about 9:30, and since this was the last class, it was more about wrapping things up. My group hadn't finished our chair (we ran out of sticks for the glue gun when we worked on it earlier in the week), so Greg helped Anne-Marie and me finish it (and test it--it had to support weight). I also got my grades for that class--again, really good. Since I didn't want to take the chair home, I took photos before leaving.
After class, Mom met me outside the Photo Studio. I introduced her to Peter (at last), and we had a good conversation. Mom went to art school in Montreal, where Peter's from (he also went to McGill there), and they chatted about that, and about the teachers (Arthur Lismer, etc.), and about how I'm doing (as we all know, I'm doing well), and Peter's plans for me when I go back to school in September (since I love writing and am very good at it, Peter wants to push me in the direction of writing reviews and arts-related articles).
We finished packing my stuff (and I had A LOT of stuff), and then drove home. By the end of all that packing, I was wiped--but I still managed to stay up until about one in the morning dancing to some of my favourite pieces that I hadn't listened to for several months--like some of the pieces from the Carmen and L'Arlésienne suites, recorded by l'Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, conducted by Charles Dutoit. This recording is considered to be the best recording of the suites from those operas (two suites each).
Tomorrow is Election Day in Canada, and I plan on staying up until the results are in, no matter how late it is (even if it's four in the morning ADT). This is an incredibly important election, and I don't want to miss anything. I hate Stephen Harper about as much as I hated (and still hate) Bush, and I've wanted him out since the moment I heard he'd won the 2006 election. The fun will just be starting when I cast my ballot. Since my family doesn't get CBC or CTV (we get the local HD channels--which amount to MPBN, and now MPBN World--plus whatever Bell is offering as a free sample: although we cancelled our subscription, we still have the setup, which is necessary to get HD TV), I'll be watching the results via internet (something along the lines of the CBC or CTV, maybe the Globe and Mail or the National Post, plus Facebook).
On Wednesday I have two(!) job interviews. Wish me luck!
And at some point this summer, Tom and I are going to finally go through his old darkroom stuff and see what's there--and what works.
So that's it: the school year has come to an end, and with it, another year of blogging about school. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you all back here in late-August or early-September.
Happy Summer!
That day I went to the college and finished up the surprise that I was making (now that it's been delivered, I can happily say that A. it was a card, and B. it was for my teachers. Since that day was so warm and sunny, I grabbed my supplies and finished it while sitting on the stone wall at the Barracks in front of NBCCD. I got a couple of compliments on it from WhiteFeather and the Class of '11 valedictorian, Benita (Jewellery/Metal Arts major).
In the evening I finally started work on the burgers that I was making for the potluck, which I stuck in the fridge to let the flavour develop overnight.
Tuesday (Peter's birthday): After taking my time that morning, I dug the burgers out of the fridge, and started forming them into actual "burgers" and dredging them in cornmeal around noon. Karen picked me, Erin (a fellow Photog), and an FVA student/future Photog up, and then we drove to Peter's place, stopping at the DQ on Northside to pick up an ice cream cake on the way.
The party itself was awesome. It seems like every party we Photogs throw is better than the last, and this one was the best yet. In addition to the burgers, I brought my violin and played a few pieces. But the real showstopper in terms of music was Peter (I played right after him--talk about a tough act to follow), who played several pieces on piano, including Satie's Gnossienne No. 1, and Gymnopédie No. 1, and made Karen and me melt, and Rachael cry (I'll admit that I choked up a bit). He also played Gonzales' Gogol, and at that point I couldn't hold it in any longer, so I slipped past Rachael--and danced.
My burgers were unbelievably popular (even with the non-vegetarians--one of Peter's sons, who I found out had been mentioning them to the other guests, told me that they were really good), and by the time Rachael drove Erin and me to our respective homes, the two layers had been whittled down to less than one--and all of the burgers had been grilled (thanks, Peter).
Towards the end of the party, Peter's wife, Giselle, came home from her job, and hung out with those of us who were still there (some of us had left earlier).
After I got home, I was still unbelievably keyed-up and I stayed up until about 12:30 AM, dancing in my room. I could've partied for another hour, but I wanted to be able to get up in the morning, so I forced myself to go to bed.
I thought some more about Peter's playing, and by the time I finally crashed into bed, I had my first favourite pianist--and my first favourite musician from NBCCD (and my fifth favourite artist overall from that school: three faculty members--WhiteFeather, Adam MacDonald, Peter Gross--and two students--Rachael Flett, Monica Lacey).
When choosing a favourite musician (solo), I look at the musician's ability to play their respective instrument (Peter's really good) and their style--and whether or not I like said style (Peter played the Satie pieces really tenderly, but ramped up the attitude for Gogol). I also look at their ability to move me emotionally and sometimes physically (I stopped everything that I was doing when Peter started to play, moved closer to the piano--I was in the kitchen at the time, the piano is in the living room, and the only thing dividing the two rooms is a counter/shelving unit--and yes, came close to tears)
Wednesday: I slept until about nine-thirty that morning, and after getting breakfast, finishing an NFB (National Film Board of Canada) movie (you can watch a lot of their movies on the NFB website--it's free, too), and taking a shower, I went to school to finish unloading my shelf.
I also told Peter about the fact that he's now my first favourite pianist, which he seemed quite thrilled about.
Thursday: That afternoon I was supposed to have an assessment with Drew, but he was sick, so all his assessments were cancelled. However, I got my marks back on Friday, and I did very well.
Even though the assessment was cancelled, I still went to school because I needed to finish cleaning out my shelf and I wanted to scan the negatives from the Holga assignment. I was there far later than I'd planned, so after I finished I grabbed supper, rushed home, showered, packed a few more things (I'd started packing on Wednesday or Thursday morning), and then crashed for a few hours.
Friday (the Royal Wedding): I was up at 6:30 (I normally set my alarm for 7:30) so that I could get dressed prior to the wedding, which was at 7:00 Atlantic Time (11:00 AM British Summer Time).
I'm not the sort of person who cries at weddings, but this time I was: once at the beginning and once during God Save the Queen (which I usually sing along with, but this time I was way too choked up).
I loved the now-Duchess of Cambridge's dress (the American media keeps calling her a princess, but she's not: as of her marriage to William, who became the the Duke of Cambridge, Kate became the Duchess of Cambridge. If the Queen decides to do so, she'll make Kate a princess.).
After the wedding I went to my last class (Design). When I came into the classroom, the Smart board was on and a couple of the Fashion teachers, one of the staff-members and a fellow classmate were watching the NewsHour's live stream on UStream.
Things didn't get underway class-wise until about 9:30, and since this was the last class, it was more about wrapping things up. My group hadn't finished our chair (we ran out of sticks for the glue gun when we worked on it earlier in the week), so Greg helped Anne-Marie and me finish it (and test it--it had to support weight). I also got my grades for that class--again, really good. Since I didn't want to take the chair home, I took photos before leaving.
After class, Mom met me outside the Photo Studio. I introduced her to Peter (at last), and we had a good conversation. Mom went to art school in Montreal, where Peter's from (he also went to McGill there), and they chatted about that, and about the teachers (Arthur Lismer, etc.), and about how I'm doing (as we all know, I'm doing well), and Peter's plans for me when I go back to school in September (since I love writing and am very good at it, Peter wants to push me in the direction of writing reviews and arts-related articles).
We finished packing my stuff (and I had A LOT of stuff), and then drove home. By the end of all that packing, I was wiped--but I still managed to stay up until about one in the morning dancing to some of my favourite pieces that I hadn't listened to for several months--like some of the pieces from the Carmen and L'Arlésienne suites, recorded by l'Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, conducted by Charles Dutoit. This recording is considered to be the best recording of the suites from those operas (two suites each).
Tomorrow is Election Day in Canada, and I plan on staying up until the results are in, no matter how late it is (even if it's four in the morning ADT). This is an incredibly important election, and I don't want to miss anything. I hate Stephen Harper about as much as I hated (and still hate) Bush, and I've wanted him out since the moment I heard he'd won the 2006 election. The fun will just be starting when I cast my ballot. Since my family doesn't get CBC or CTV (we get the local HD channels--which amount to MPBN, and now MPBN World--plus whatever Bell is offering as a free sample: although we cancelled our subscription, we still have the setup, which is necessary to get HD TV), I'll be watching the results via internet (something along the lines of the CBC or CTV, maybe the Globe and Mail or the National Post, plus Facebook).
On Wednesday I have two(!) job interviews. Wish me luck!
And at some point this summer, Tom and I are going to finally go through his old darkroom stuff and see what's there--and what works.
So that's it: the school year has come to an end, and with it, another year of blogging about school. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you all back here in late-August or early-September.
Happy Summer!
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