ART IS HARD

Trying to learn any new skill that you've never had much contact with can be challenging and frustrating. This semester I'm taking an introductory drawing class at my university. I was most excited for this course as summer came closer and closer to an end. When we received a list of supplies on the first day, I immediately went out and bought everything needed. We began drawing on the next meeting period and I was instantly overwhelmed. Our professor had us starting out with gesture drawings. They were really boring still life arrangements of boxes and vases, but we had to draw everything so quickly. "Don't worry if it's not perfect, just get all the items onto your paper!" she would say to us as she gave us less than a minute to draw. I'm a perfectionist and telling me not to worry about making things as perfect as possible is like telling me to go jump off a building. It's not gonna happen.

There was a day in class where I became so agitated that I couldn't draw this stupid set of boxes just right. I wanted to walk out and cry. None of it was making any sense to me. The fact that we had begun to use Mondrian lines wasn't helping at all and confused me even more. I know I needed listen to the advice my professor was giving despite the fact that she wears platform flip flops and a toe ring, which makes me really uncomfortable, but I felt like something just wasn't clicking in my brain. Yesterday was when I finally had that "I got it!" moment. We were presented with how to use triangulation in terms of an object's spatial relation to another. I found it much simpler to shift my drawing and make changes as needed that way.

Here's what I ended up with yesterday (that funny thing in the bottom left is the table). Some of the angle lines didn't get onto paper because I was using a measuring stick, but some of them are there. This certainly isn't the greatest drawing but it's such an improvement from last week. I have to say, I'm pretty proud of myself. I'm glad that I was able to overcome feeling lost every time I'd stand at an easel. Now I cannot wait to get back to class to see what we'll be doing next!

FINGERS NEVER BLEED

Yeasayer's back with a brand new album Fragrant World. If someone were to ask me what genre this band was, I'd have no idea what to say. They're so many styles mixed together that they form their own sound that is uniquely theirs. If you've never listened to them before, I'd suggest you do so now and see what you think or what you'd try to classify them as. This track is one of my favorites of the new ones but I've been listening to this CD in my car for the last few weeks and I'm really diggin' all of them, honestly. Check it out!

FISHEYE 5

A pretty bad picture of Beach House. They, however, were amazing.So much of this roll of film was pictures of basement dance parties. My friends and I are just cool like that. The last five were from my friend Brittany's birthday get-together. Everyone that was there was so friendly and a pleasure to be around. We all meshed together really well and I'm so excited to hang out with them all again next weekend for my friend Emma's birthday! Anytime I get my fisheye camera out around someone who's never seen it, they think it's the next best thing. Without fail, they'll me to take a whole bunch of pictures of them or others, and I honestly love doing it. This little camera is the perfect addition to parties and gatherings. I think documenting all those fun moments with friends is kind of amazing. Photos are memories in and of themselves, and they can also spark a whole series of other memories to go along with it. I feel privileged whenever someone asks me to take their picture, even if it is just a silly picture from a party.

GENESIS

Big weapons, big shoes, and big snakes. Grimes has finally put out a video for her single Genesis. Personally, I would have rather her put out a video for another song off the new album that isn't already getting a ton of radio play. Perhaps Vowels = Space and Time? Overall, I think this video was just okay; I didn't really care too much for what was going on in the video but I love the styling of this though! What are you guys' thoughts?

BACK TO SCHOOL

Very rarely do I find myself excited for school to start back up again but this year is different. I think a lot of that is because I'll be able to see my friends from out of town again who attend the same university as me. They got their own apartment and I can't wait to hang out with them regularly and have sleep overs! I also got a job on campus at the snack stand in one of the dorms. Last week I went in for training and to work for a few days and it was relatively simple. Basically, I'm getting paid to bake stuff and put things in the microwave. My boss is a really cool guy and I'm allowed to take whatever snacks and drinks I want, listen to music and read or do homework when I'm not busy.

This summer was probably one of the best summer vacations I've ever had. I was able to see a lot of live music: Beach House,  A Place to Bury Strangers, and Fiona Apple. All shows were absolutely incredible. I made a handful of new friends so I spent quite some time with them and also with old ones. A lot of wonderful memories were created and I can't wait to see what fall has in store.

OTHER FILM 1

A few months ago I found a film camera I had forgotten about that I had purchased at Goodwill a couple of years ago. I was thrilled when I saw that I already had a roll of film loaded up in it! Excited to have a new toy, I carried it around with me snapping a photo when the moment felt right. I don't think I had ever had any photos developed from this camera so this was a fun and new learning experience. Consequently, I learned that it's best to shoot subjects that are a bit farther away than arm's length. I had taken a few pictures of myself and friends and we look like ghosts - out of focus with glowing eyes. I'm really happy with how the photos turned out and I'll be looking forward to using this camera more often :)

STYLE INSPIRATION: IN BLOOM

Christopher Kane spring/summer 2012

I just love how delicate and precious flowers are! Anytime I'm out shopping I always find myself so attracted to floral prints. Especially anything with daisies on it. They're my absolute favorite! I've been trying to find a daisy hair clip that doesn't look cheap or extremely gaudy. I swear, this is like mission impossible. One of these days I'll find one! Hopefully...

photo credit: tumblr / Ben Giles / google