The countdown to the final day is in full swing.
Monday: I spent much of the day decompressing from the trip to Elsipogtog. Turns out, Laura and I had gone at the right time, as the protesters had another confrontation with SWN and the RCMP. This one wasn't as major as the one that grabbed headlines in October, thankfully.
I also had another meltdown related to what I've been going through this semester. I could feel it bubbling just under the surface after I read the thing that triggered said meltdown that morning. I waited until late that afternoon before talking with Jake and Alex about it--and crying. And Chris (another tech) now knows some of what I've been going through this semester. This time of year is busy for everyone, techs included, so I'm really thankful that they managed to find time to comfort me.
Tuesday: I had another appointment with Joan--my last for this semester. And I discussed the events of the previous day with her (it was one of those times where, yes, I had an appointment the next day--but I needed to talk with someone right then).
That day Mom told me that she wanted some of my photos from Elsipogtog for the Christmas newsletter. She also wondered why some people are pro-fracking, which I happily researched (see here and here).
Wednesday: Crit Day. I did really well and I'm proud of what I've accomplished this semester. To paraphrase Neil Gaiman: going through a hell that keeps recurring? Make good art. I'm going to deviate from talking about the crit to share this passage from that address with you guys because it's so awesome: "Fourthly, I hope you'll make mistakes. If you're making mistakes, it means you're out there doing something. And the mistakes in themselves can be useful. I once misspelled Caroline, in a letter, transposing the A and the O, and I thought, 'Coraline looks like a real name...'
"And remember that whatever discipline you are in, whether you are a musician or a photographer[!!!], a fine artist or a cartoonist, a writer, a dancer, a designer, whatever you do you have one thing that's unique. You have the ability to make art.
"And for me, and for so many of the people I have known, that's been a lifesaver. The ultimate lifesaver. It gets you through good times and it gets you through the other ones.
"Life is sometimes hard. Things go wrong, in life and in love and in business and in friendship and in health and in all the other ways that life can go wrong. And when things get tough, this is what you should do.
"Make good art.
"I'm serious. Husband runs off with a politician? Make good art. Leg crushed and then eaten by mutated boa constrictor? Make good art. IRS on your trail? Make good art. Cat exploded? Make good art. Somebody on the Internet thinks what you do is stupid or evil or it's all been done before? Make good art. Probably things will work out somehow, and eventually time will take the sting away, but that doesn't matter. Do what only you do best. Make good art.
"Make it on the good days too."
And now, back to the blog post.
While my crit went well, I had to rewrite part of the contextualizing statement. I was okay with that, though I'd planned to be done with the thing: once I'd gotten the final draft down to seven hundred and fifty words and was happy with it, I planned to never touch it again. Turns out, I had to dig it back out after all. I spent the afternoon rewriting the statement during the open studio.
Mom had told me that she and Tom were going to work on the annual Christmas newsletter the next day, so I chose photos from the Elsipogtog trip, edited them and wrote a couple hundred words on the experience. I sent everything that night.
Thursday: I worked on the statement and some other things that needed to get done, including getting some Christmas presents. Early that evening, I found out that Nelson Mandela had died and I emailed Mom with the news. She hadn't yet found out. As I was writing this on Saturday night, I was listening to CBC Music's Essential Classics channel and as I was writing about what happened on Thursday, the folks at CBC had Barber's Adagio on. I wanted to include something in this post to honour Mandela, and the Adagio is perfect. Thanks, CBC!
And this, from another wonderful human:
Friday: I didn't get a whole lot done, which I wasn't thrilled about. Though I managed to finish the contextualizing statement. That evening I went to an end-of-semester/birthday/some-classmates-are-done-this-semester-and-are-moving-away party. I was there during the first half of said party, while it was still fairly small and intimate. We played music on the host's (Greg, one of my classmates) turntable and iPad Mini and iPods from a couple of his friends. This was the first record that he put on. Also, I tried blueberry wine for the first time. I liked it and would happily have it again, but I was expecting more of a blueberry taste.
That day, SWN finally backed down. I wish I could go to Elsipogtog again just to give everyone involved with the protest a high five. However, the fight isn't over: SWN will be back. Some sources are saying in '15, others say they don't know when the company will try again.
Saturday: Saturday was the Met's first radio broadcast of the season: Verdi's Rigoletto, which was wonderful as always. I've missed the Met (and their wonderful orchestra, complete with a horn section that could give the BSO's violin section a run for its money when it comes to knocking peoples' socks off), so it was great to hear them again. Here's Questa o quella from act one (the Met's current production is set in Vegas in 1960):
I spent the day getting a bunch of things done.
Sunday: I worked on several things not related to school, including my packing list and a surprise for the techs, as I want to thank them for supporting me through this semester's bumps and scrapes.
Today marks ten years since my worst violin lesson ever. I hadn't practiced all week, and Lynn knew right away. It took her three tries to get me to tell the truth--the first time I don't think I really gave an answer, the second time I probably said something along the lines of "maybe...?," the third I admitted to what I'd done. I'll never forget her telling me that the lesson was a waste of money (hers don't come cheap, but they're so worth it as she's a really good teacher). And I'll never forget the times that I wanted to find a small corner in her house, curl up into a ball and sob--and the times that I came close to tears on the way home. Simply put, I was miserable. For the last few years, I've been suspicious that that lesson was an early sign of what would culminate in me quitting lessons in April 2004. I can't believe it's been ten years.
The next time I write, I'll be enjoying a much-needed and -deserved break at home. And a week after that is Nutcracker weekend for the BSO. Here's a version of the entire ballet that was performed as a concert (you read that right--no dancers were involved in this performance). My god! We're only two weeks away from Nutcracker weekend!!! **squeals**
Showing posts with label party. Show all posts
Showing posts with label party. Show all posts
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
they are the Class of, the Class of '13*
Home for four months!
Monday: My presentation day for Reconfigured. Initially I pinned my photos up in the classroom, but the pins wouldn't go all the way into the corkboard, which meant that the photos curled up and threatened to fall to the ground. I had a couple of friends helping me to put them up, and after a couple of close calls we decided to move the operation to the finishing room (which used to be NSCAD's colour darkroom, BTW) because that corkboard is thick enough that the pins will go all the way in (when using pushpins or thumbtacks to hold art in place, you position each pin so that the flat part is the only part of the pin that is in contact with the work--the pin itself doesn't go through the piece and make a hole). That crit was possibly my best/most thorough crit ever.
Tuesday: I finally mailed the photos that I shot for my piece for the WftA show. And I got my Graphics final printed (colour, double-sided, legal-size). Mom arrived in Halifax and called me when I made a quick stop at NSCAD to let SUNSCAD know that I wouldn't be at that evening's GA because I needed to pack (the union's resource coordinator, Tara, agreed that the meeting was poorly timed--if students weren't already headed home, they were prepping for the journey and doing their last finals. She told me to not worry about quorum, which the union had said was important for that GA.). Because it was such a nice day out, I took off my jacket for a few blocks--until the wind picked up again. We started packing shortly after I got home.
Wednesday: More packing and loading the car.
My crit for Graphics went well: although there were some mishaps with my project, I knew about them. When I folded my brochure/portfolio, I realized that the sides didn't line up and that I was short a bit of paper due to how the document was printed, which I didn't discover until I folded it Tuesday night (as everything was lined up perfectly in the InDesign file, I wouldn't have had any issues if it was printed properly). Other than that, the crit went extremely well.
Thursday: The Big Crit day. We started at the Port Campus, complete with potluck breakfast, and spent most of the day there. We moved over to Academy mid-afternoon and finished the crits there.
Afterward, I tried to track down Mom, which wasn't easy, as I had no idea where she was parked and thought she'd be able to pick me up around the area of the front door of Academy. After several calls on my cell, which ran out of minutes and a call on a classmate's cell, we eventually found each other--and I launched into a screaming fit. Not my finest moment. **cringe**
And yes, we continued packing.
Friday: We were a bit later leaving than we'd planned (by about a couple hours). Mom drove most of the way, with me taking over for the last hour or so--while discovering Eric Clapton (what rock have I been hiding under all these years?!). And yes, we stopped at a Big Stop along the way.
Saturday: I spent the day trying to be as lazy as possible while listening to Siegfried (not as awesome as Die Walküre).
Sunday: We unpacked the car. I also loaded the camera bag that I got for Christmas for the first time. I now have a camera bag for every camera (I did previously, but when I got the D7000, I was short a bag).
Monday: The beginning of Assessment Week at NBCCD--and the Class of '13's last week at the college. I have to admit that the fact that after this week the only people I'll know at NBCCD will be the faculty and staff makes me a bit sad. All my friends will have graduated and gone on to either careers (and paying off student loans) or more education at a different school (two or three students from the Photo studio are NSCAD-bound this fall).
This is a video of the Photo Studio's year-end, "last time we're going to be together as NBCCD students/thank you, teachers, for putting up with us for two years" party.
Video by James Walsh (Photo Class of '13).
CONGRATULATIONS, CLASS OF '13! And to those graduating from the Photo program, remember: once an NBCCD Photog, always an NBCCD Photog!
*A paraphrased version of a line from the title track from Green Day's album 21st Century Breakdown.
Monday: My presentation day for Reconfigured. Initially I pinned my photos up in the classroom, but the pins wouldn't go all the way into the corkboard, which meant that the photos curled up and threatened to fall to the ground. I had a couple of friends helping me to put them up, and after a couple of close calls we decided to move the operation to the finishing room (which used to be NSCAD's colour darkroom, BTW) because that corkboard is thick enough that the pins will go all the way in (when using pushpins or thumbtacks to hold art in place, you position each pin so that the flat part is the only part of the pin that is in contact with the work--the pin itself doesn't go through the piece and make a hole). That crit was possibly my best/most thorough crit ever.
Tuesday: I finally mailed the photos that I shot for my piece for the WftA show. And I got my Graphics final printed (colour, double-sided, legal-size). Mom arrived in Halifax and called me when I made a quick stop at NSCAD to let SUNSCAD know that I wouldn't be at that evening's GA because I needed to pack (the union's resource coordinator, Tara, agreed that the meeting was poorly timed--if students weren't already headed home, they were prepping for the journey and doing their last finals. She told me to not worry about quorum, which the union had said was important for that GA.). Because it was such a nice day out, I took off my jacket for a few blocks--until the wind picked up again. We started packing shortly after I got home.
Wednesday: More packing and loading the car.
My crit for Graphics went well: although there were some mishaps with my project, I knew about them. When I folded my brochure/portfolio, I realized that the sides didn't line up and that I was short a bit of paper due to how the document was printed, which I didn't discover until I folded it Tuesday night (as everything was lined up perfectly in the InDesign file, I wouldn't have had any issues if it was printed properly). Other than that, the crit went extremely well.
Thursday: The Big Crit day. We started at the Port Campus, complete with potluck breakfast, and spent most of the day there. We moved over to Academy mid-afternoon and finished the crits there.
Afterward, I tried to track down Mom, which wasn't easy, as I had no idea where she was parked and thought she'd be able to pick me up around the area of the front door of Academy. After several calls on my cell, which ran out of minutes and a call on a classmate's cell, we eventually found each other--and I launched into a screaming fit. Not my finest moment. **cringe**
And yes, we continued packing.
Friday: We were a bit later leaving than we'd planned (by about a couple hours). Mom drove most of the way, with me taking over for the last hour or so--while discovering Eric Clapton (what rock have I been hiding under all these years?!). And yes, we stopped at a Big Stop along the way.
Saturday: I spent the day trying to be as lazy as possible while listening to Siegfried (not as awesome as Die Walküre).
Sunday: We unpacked the car. I also loaded the camera bag that I got for Christmas for the first time. I now have a camera bag for every camera (I did previously, but when I got the D7000, I was short a bag).
 |
| The section in the middle closest to the handle is where my camera goes. This bag is a backpack-style bag. |
This is a video of the Photo Studio's year-end, "last time we're going to be together as NBCCD students/thank you, teachers, for putting up with us for two years" party.
Video by James Walsh (Photo Class of '13).
CONGRATULATIONS, CLASS OF '13! And to those graduating from the Photo program, remember: once an NBCCD Photog, always an NBCCD Photog!
*A paraphrased version of a line from the title track from Green Day's album 21st Century Breakdown.
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!
Saturday, April 2, 2011
can the end of term really be that close?
This afternoon I listened to Das Rheingold--the same opera that I saw via simulcast last October. I definitely prefer listening to it rather than watching it: the music is absolutely spectacular, but in performance the whole thing has a tendency to drag. And while I'm not much of a Wagner fan, I can never get enough of the Prelude. Those darn French horns (once again, I cried when they started their part)...
Monday: For the first time this semester I got all my Photoshop homework done and submitted during class. Not only that, but it was a blast. This week's class was about making photos look old: digital daguerreotypes and Polaroids, film strips and medium-format (complete with the edge of the "negative") being the techniques that I chose. We were given several other options, but we had to choose four to do and submit.
Tuesday: Due to a death in Rod's family, my morning classes on Tuesday and Thursday got shifted around: instead of having my lighting class, which is usually on Tuesday morning, I had Lab Techniques. Most of the class was devoted to discussing upcoming assignments for both L.T. and History.
Since Rachael was having a potluck on Thursday, and the potluck would also be a photo-swap, I decided to develop my photo after class. Yes, you read that right: develop. My photo was from a roll I shot for an assignment using a Holga camera during the first-semester Creativity in Photography class. Because the photo was so small (4"x4") and the enlarger was really close to the paper, doing the test strips (to find the right exposure time) was rather interesting. I ended up doing test-strips at half-second intervals (normal is five seconds), and the final photo was exposed for four seconds.
Wednesday: That morning, instead of class Peter met with each of us to discuss our independent projects. And for some reason I had been giving the impression that I wasn't into my project (I straightened that out). I've actually been having a lot of fun. Yes, it's frustrating at times, but I'm cool with that and I accept it as part of the process. Ditto for the fact that I have a tendency to come up with an idea--and then the final product is a lot different from what I'd originally planned, which also happened (in this case, the project got whittled wayyy down, and some things were changed based on discoveries and "mistakes" made during the project).
This past week, the assignment for Pro Practice was to do stock photography (Skype visitor: Hiep Vu, a stock and commercial photographer based in Toronto). I did the assignment three times: once in my room (I found a way to simultaneously clean up and make a mess: take everything off your desk and put it on your bed. And yes, I took a photo for posterity.), once in the hallway outside said room--and once in the NBCCD lighting studio (which is where I should've done it in the first place).
Rachael had planned a potluck for Thursday evening, and my contribution was cheese sticks. They were supposed to be twists, but after trying to twist one and failing, I gave up and made them as sticks. After class I went over to the Sobeys, grabbed the few things I needed to get (parmesan, sour cream and butter), went home, and got busy. Four hours(!) later, I was done. I don't make pastry that often, but this time I think I nailed it: good taste, heavenly texture... **swoons**
Thursday: My morning classes usually start at nine, but this time we started at ten. The class consisted mainly of going over the last assignment that we did a couple of weeks ago (they were due on the twenty-second, but class was cancelled due to panel assessment), some info about another assignment that we're doing in two parts (part one was done several weeks ago, but the guy who's in charge of the whole thing has yet to get back to us), and then we were free.
That afternoon I did my final set of cyanotypes, and experimented with intentionally leaving them in the water too long (about five minutes is ideal), as well as soaking some of the ones that I did a few weeks ago in tea. I'm really happy with the results. Next week I'm going to print some photos on fabric, and since I've never done that before, Jan showed me how it's done: the important things that I better not skip--or I risk screwing up the printer (and printing on fabric costs 80¢ a pop).
After leaving the college, I ran home, dumped my backpack, changed my coat, grabbed my cheese sticks and photo, and flew back out the door (thankfully, Rachael's apartment is only about three blocks away from my place).
The party/potluck/photo-swap was awesome: plenty of jokes and general photo-studio awesomeness, good food (but note to Peter: please make some of your pasta thing without shrimp next time--this is the second time I've been tempted by it--it looks so. darn. good--but because I'm a vegetarian, I've had to admire from afar), and I walked away with a photo by Anne-Marie (one of my classmates). Jeff, our studio tech, got my photo.
Friday: I was supposed to go home this weekend, but due to a huge snowstorm, I had to stay in F'ton. And just when we thought Spring was on it's way...
My Design class was mostly a work period, and if all goes well, we could have our final project (cardboard chairs) done next week.
Monday: For the first time this semester I got all my Photoshop homework done and submitted during class. Not only that, but it was a blast. This week's class was about making photos look old: digital daguerreotypes and Polaroids, film strips and medium-format (complete with the edge of the "negative") being the techniques that I chose. We were given several other options, but we had to choose four to do and submit.
Tuesday: Due to a death in Rod's family, my morning classes on Tuesday and Thursday got shifted around: instead of having my lighting class, which is usually on Tuesday morning, I had Lab Techniques. Most of the class was devoted to discussing upcoming assignments for both L.T. and History.
Since Rachael was having a potluck on Thursday, and the potluck would also be a photo-swap, I decided to develop my photo after class. Yes, you read that right: develop. My photo was from a roll I shot for an assignment using a Holga camera during the first-semester Creativity in Photography class. Because the photo was so small (4"x4") and the enlarger was really close to the paper, doing the test strips (to find the right exposure time) was rather interesting. I ended up doing test-strips at half-second intervals (normal is five seconds), and the final photo was exposed for four seconds.
Wednesday: That morning, instead of class Peter met with each of us to discuss our independent projects. And for some reason I had been giving the impression that I wasn't into my project (I straightened that out). I've actually been having a lot of fun. Yes, it's frustrating at times, but I'm cool with that and I accept it as part of the process. Ditto for the fact that I have a tendency to come up with an idea--and then the final product is a lot different from what I'd originally planned, which also happened (in this case, the project got whittled wayyy down, and some things were changed based on discoveries and "mistakes" made during the project).
This past week, the assignment for Pro Practice was to do stock photography (Skype visitor: Hiep Vu, a stock and commercial photographer based in Toronto). I did the assignment three times: once in my room (I found a way to simultaneously clean up and make a mess: take everything off your desk and put it on your bed. And yes, I took a photo for posterity.), once in the hallway outside said room--and once in the NBCCD lighting studio (which is where I should've done it in the first place).
Rachael had planned a potluck for Thursday evening, and my contribution was cheese sticks. They were supposed to be twists, but after trying to twist one and failing, I gave up and made them as sticks. After class I went over to the Sobeys, grabbed the few things I needed to get (parmesan, sour cream and butter), went home, and got busy. Four hours(!) later, I was done. I don't make pastry that often, but this time I think I nailed it: good taste, heavenly texture... **swoons**
Thursday: My morning classes usually start at nine, but this time we started at ten. The class consisted mainly of going over the last assignment that we did a couple of weeks ago (they were due on the twenty-second, but class was cancelled due to panel assessment), some info about another assignment that we're doing in two parts (part one was done several weeks ago, but the guy who's in charge of the whole thing has yet to get back to us), and then we were free.
That afternoon I did my final set of cyanotypes, and experimented with intentionally leaving them in the water too long (about five minutes is ideal), as well as soaking some of the ones that I did a few weeks ago in tea. I'm really happy with the results. Next week I'm going to print some photos on fabric, and since I've never done that before, Jan showed me how it's done: the important things that I better not skip--or I risk screwing up the printer (and printing on fabric costs 80¢ a pop).
After leaving the college, I ran home, dumped my backpack, changed my coat, grabbed my cheese sticks and photo, and flew back out the door (thankfully, Rachael's apartment is only about three blocks away from my place).
The party/potluck/photo-swap was awesome: plenty of jokes and general photo-studio awesomeness, good food (but note to Peter: please make some of your pasta thing without shrimp next time--this is the second time I've been tempted by it--it looks so. darn. good--but because I'm a vegetarian, I've had to admire from afar), and I walked away with a photo by Anne-Marie (one of my classmates). Jeff, our studio tech, got my photo.
Friday: I was supposed to go home this weekend, but due to a huge snowstorm, I had to stay in F'ton. And just when we thought Spring was on it's way...
My Design class was mostly a work period, and if all goes well, we could have our final project (cardboard chairs) done next week.
Friday, October 30, 2009
This is Halloween
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm excited about Halloween. Like, really excited about Halloween. I've always seen the holiday as something for little kids--where I live, all the trick-or-treaters are well under five feet tall, and starting at about age twelve I felt like a giant (I'm 5'4").
Here in Fredericton, everyone gets dressed up: not just five-year-olds, but teens and people who are old enough to be my parents and it's really sent me for a loop. Yes, Seventeen always has an article or two about Halloween costumes in their October issue, but for me there wasn't any point in dressing up: trick-or-treating was for little kids, and I'm not the party type and didn't know of any events/parties in the area.
Tonight MJC is having a haunted house (which I've been looking forward to pretty much since the moment I moved in) and the proceeds are going to the Fredericton food bank. A lot (if not all) of the residences have stuff going on. Harrison House has a pumpkin sacrifice tomorrow night, which is the oldest residence tradition in Canada.
Last night I helped Sally and Andrea (hall proctor) make caramel apples. They'll be selling them at the haunted house, also to raise money for the food bank. Some of the apples are plain ol' caramel, but others were also rolled in trail mix (the junk kind, with candy), Reese's Pieces, crushed cookies (I think), or marshmallows (which I thought looked like mould). and some of those were drizzled with chocolate. Oh. My. Gosh.
Today NBCCD had a party and costume contest in the design room (where I have 2D Design) and although I didn't plan on it, I ended up going after Media Explorations, which I had this morning (Fashion, which is conveniently located on the same floor as the Design Studio). Not many students wore costumes to school.
Tomorrow night will be a late one, since several of us are going to Crumbs Café--Aaron, one of the guys who lives at MJC, plays bass in Coffee Shop Affair (one of four bands that will be playing).
My Creative Process teacher, Denise, is a huge Tim Burton fan, so this one's for her:
And A Night on Bald Mountain from Fantasia (one of my all-time favourite movies):
BOO!
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