Inventory

Breaking radio silence and returning to take inventory of the last few months or so. 

January

Moved out of my parents' house... yet again. I made the decision to move out waaaaaay back in August when I started working at Rainey Homes. So it only took me 5 months to finally pull the trigger. That Lauren's a slow mover.

Started another semester at SLCC, this time with a full schedule that had me bouncing back and forth between Salt Lake and Davis County a couple times a day. It's the most classes I've taken at one time since going back to school - mildly terrifying.

Got through some emotional hurdles after the move, most difficult of which was a sense of isolation. This coming from an introvert. 

February

My biggest incentive in taking on more credit hours was so I would qualify for a tuition waiver through SLCC's Visual Art & Design program. Apparently they have scholarship money just laying around so I upped my course load and applied. I made it through the first round of the application process and later had to present my working portfolio to a room full of department heads - extremely terrifying!

Received said tuition waiver. I like when school pays for school.

March

Went on a family vacation to St. George to see a Queen cover band perform at Tuacahn. The concert was excellent, which was good because if it hadn't been this vacation might have gone down as one of the worst in Waters history. Rivaling even the capsized boat incident of 2003 at Lake Powell... Let's just say you never want to lock your keys in the trunk of your rented 2015 Volkswagen Passat. You will be carless until someone smarter than the car's computer can find a way to liberate your keys. In our case, that meant several days and 2 tow-truck trips while the car held our personal belongings hostage.

Submitted 4 pieces to the 2016 Student Art Show, 3 of which were accepted. Allow me to remind you of the lengthy entries about last year's show. 

Received 2 awards at the show. One of which was... uh... Best in Show. I received it for a piece I designed in my Advanced Typography and Layout class last semester. My design instructor explained that a design piece hadn't taken the top prize in the show in over 10 years and that it was A VERY BIG DEAL. I promptly threw up in my mind.

Here's more about the project and the show itself if you're keen. What's sad is there are so many little things I would go back and change. Still might. Sometimes you get too close to your own work and just can't look at it objectively.

April

Had to act as Creative Director for a group project in my Advertising Workshop. I discovered that I like taking charge when I'm not in charge, but once you make it official and slap a title on me I'm not so enthusiastic. I guess that means I prefer the lead-from-behind approach. Actually, I prefer the it's-too-important-I'll-just-do-it-myself-becuase-I-don't-trust-you approach.

Was informed by my roommate of 4 months that she would be selling her home over the summer. I decide to ignore this added bit of anxiety-inducing news until the semester was over and I had the luxury of freaking out in earnest, thank you very much.

Took another trip down to St. George with a friend to see the Beach Boys at Tuacahn. Well, what remains of the Beach Boys. We were rained on (a lot), but didn't mind it... so much. Nobody else seemed to either because the venue was packed. "God Only Knows" was probably my favorite number, but the saxophone solo on "Kokomo" was a close second. Very smooth.

Purchased tickets for the Coldplay concert coming in August. Ended up paying lots of money for a couple of so-so seats and then another small fortune in processing and "convenience" fees. I wonder how much less I'd pay if I were inconvenienced?

May

End of the semester. My heart rate returns to normal.

Saw Captain America: Civil War. This is noteworthy because my life is basically measured in release dates for Marvel movies and British TV shows. You laugh because you think I'm kidding. I laugh because I know I'm not. With the introduction of Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, they've basically guaranteed my devotion for at least a few years more. But I am reaching my limit on the superhero movie front.

And while we're on the subject of Captain America, can I just say that I will never get over Peggy and Steve as long as I live. I think theirs is the most tragic narrative arc in the entire Marvel Universe. And then they go and cancel Agent Carter on ABC. Will I never have closure??

Started summer semester. I get to paint sometimes naked people 2 nights a week for 3 hours! Fortunately it's just the one class, but I'm back to using oil paints which is still a frustrating medium for me.

June

Moved again! And not back home to my parents' house like the coward you think I am. Hopefully this will be it for awhile. Moving has officially become my least favorite thing and the next time it happens, I'm just setting all my stuff on fire and starting over.

Besides all the boring minutiae in between, that should officially bring us up to speed. And aren't you glad?

Farewell, Spring

Well, the semester officially ended last week and I have now entered a season of mild mourning. Really?? Really... Well, kinda. This was a pretty transformative semester for me academically and I was sorry to see it end. But summer semester starts next week so we'll dry our eyes (dab, dab) and try not to lose momentum.

One memorable experience that I've been teasing you with for the last few entries is the Student Art Showcase. I will share briefly and then never speak of it again - promise!

...as documented on my phone.

Center of Arts & Media

As I mentioned in a previous post, two of my pieces were accepted into the show. Which was good news. Then on the day of the open house I received an email saying “Congrats! If you’re receiving this email, you’ve won an award in the 2015 SLCC Student Art Showcase.” Which was better-late-than-never news. I notified all interested parties (namely the parents and my grandmother) and rushed home from work to get ready. I was a messy jumble of excitement, nerves, and mild irritation - this girl does not like feeling rushed.

250 pieces were featured in the show and roughly 25 awards were handed out including honorable mentions, awards of merit, awards of excellence, etc. I couldn't help but envy some of the pieces I saw, but I was also feeling pretty okay with my own work. Wasn't I? Yes, I was... I think... 

Honest Abe secured me an honorable mention and a gift card to Blick Art Supply - not too shabby for my first show. He remained on display at the college until I finally had to pick him up last Friday and bring him home. He's now waiting for a more permanent home somewhere on my bedroom wall - a wall that I haven't had the courage to pound any nails into since finishing my bedroom remodel. Another post for another day...

In the Eccles Gallery...

Pretty sure I overdressed for the occasion. 
One day I WILL be hip enough for the art scene, I swear.

So, there you have it. Not one more mention of the showcase from this day forward. Not unless I enter next year's show and have anything worth posting. 

Heart of the Artist

Room's still a shambles. I have 2 1/2 seasons of Gilmore Girls left, 6 samples of paint, 23 boxes of laminate, and 1 1/2 walls left to patch up and sand down. And school has started once again. Who knows how long I will live like a first world refugee in my parents' basement?

With school starting, I've had to overcome a few inevitable flare-ups of anxiety and insecurity - Why am I here? Should I be doing something else?? I already have a degree! I've taken only a couple classes during each of my semesters at SLCC so far, mostly because working full time doesn't give me many options. Especially if I want to excel in each class, which I really do. So while the work for this degree is happening slowly, at least it's good work.

One thing I've had to separate in my mind - and it really sounds so stupid, but this is the level of insecurity we're dealing with - is embodying the image of an artist vs. working as an artist. As if looking the part suddenly means more than the work itself. When the semester started, I realized there were some pretty hip folks in my classes that seemed to fit a certain aesthetic we associate with artists and designers. (I've seen enough movies and read enough cool design blogs to know what they look like.) I saw them and worried that perhaps trendy outfits, large frame glasses, body piercings, and/or a few tattoos gave them an advantage. Because they looked... artsy. See? Stupid. 

We're now 4 weeks into the semester and I'm starting to feel more certain of myself and my classes. I've realized that one advantage of pursuing an education in visual arts is that, whether you look like an "artist" or not, your work is what's important. And it doesn't require the type of performance that puts you directly in the spotlight. I can work quietly and anonymously at home or in a classroom setting without the physical act of creating being under scrutiny. My instructors are the only ones who occasionally step in to offer guidance or feedback. And suddenly there is this thing that I've created, and while the thing itself represents me, it is still not me... It's external. If that makes sense...

In both classes - one is Typography & Layout, the other is Foundation Drawing 1 - we have class critiques for each of our projects, but it's generally a positive experience. Like myself, my fellow classmates are all so involved with their own pieces that there's little time for worrying about how well others are doing. Instead, we feel mutual appreciation for each other's talents, especially as we consider the level of difficulty required for each project. It's an encouraging atmosphere and ultimately, our completed projects speak for themselves, whether they speak well or not. 

Hopefully mine speak well. Even if I don't necessarily look the part. 

Through all the world there goes one long cry from the heart of the artist: 

Give me leave to do my utmost! – "Babette's Feast", Karen Blixen 

Special Bulletin

Why is it that when you're all alone, whether at home or elsewhere, your hearing suddenly becomes superhuman? Yesterday after work I gathered all my supplies and drove up to our ward building to finally put up the new bulletin board. When I arrived, the sun was still out so I didn't feel nervous about being there all alone. Large empty buildings in daylight are not as menacing as large empty buildings after dark. Buildings like libraries, museums, and churches. Still, I tried not to think about it.

The ward itself was full of noises - the furnace firing up and blowing warm air through the rooms, doors rattling in their frames, little snap-crackle-pops of untrodden floorboards, and the buzz of fluorescent lighting. There was even a flurry of children's voices, but I'm pretty sure these were outdoors. No less creepy, though. Especially when your imagination torments you like mine does. 

I'm glad this didn't occur to me at the time, but our ward has an elevator that leads from the basement where I was working up to the main level. Can you imagine sitting alone in a church basement after dark and hearing the DING!! of elevator doors opening?? Like I said, my imagination is a bully. And the darker it got outside, the more noticeable all these noises were inside. My senses were heightened to the point where I was probably inventing some of them.

When I left 2 1/2 hours later I had to turn off the lights. Whoever designed the building 60 years ago didn't think to put the light switches near an exit. I would have to switch them off and then run through darkened corridors to reach the nearest exit. I switched the lights off once to get a sense of how dark it would be, but turned them right back on. Too dark! Off again. On again. OFF. ON. Okay, off again... And RUN!!

Here is a picture of the finished product... Because this post is already too long. 

"Mmmmm... Unexplained bacon."

Last night I went to Friend Laura's house. She was making cupcakes for her ward and I was there to help. How helpful was I? Not very. But still, it was fun. We watched Korean cartoons, looked up child actors from the 90s on IMDb, and watched a western starring Tom Berenger (the name of which escapes me at the moment). But the real fun didn't start until about 11:00. We were discussing something we had seen on facebook. A friend had recently made a trip to Portland, Oregon where he found a shop by the name of Voodoo Doughnuts. He posted something on facebook that most definitely piqued my interest - something in reference to an item he'd eaten from this establishment. Could anything that incredible really exist? I innocently ventured over to their website and even though I felt a bit bewildered at first, I couldn't help but salivate. And that's exactly what happened when I first heard tale of the Bacon Maple Bar (eyes glaze over).... Never in my wildest dreams would this marriage of pastry and meat have occurred to me... Cue the rapturous visions of sizzling bacon atop a sweet, gooey doughnut!

I had completely regressed into a Homer Simpson state of mind.

So there we were, Laura and I, discussing the brilliance of such a union, when Laura suddenly had an idea. Upstairs on her kitchen table was a box of doughnuts. We rushed to the box and found 2 glazed doughnuts waiting just for us - as if they understood what divine purpose they would serve. It was fate. Bring out the bacon! Laura boldly set to mixing powdered sugar, milk, and maple syrup. The bacon rotated and sizzled in the microwave. It took only minutes before the work was complete. 

Behold...

So wrong. So, so wrong.

Cute Laura and her cute new 'do!

And with that first bite, we heard choirs of angels singing... a double rainbow shot across the sky... men and women from all walks of life joined hands in a spirit of peace... unicorns bathed in glitter danced before our very eyes... little woodland creatures emerged from the forests to join us in song. 3 simple ingredients... Doughnut, frosting, bacon... And my life (especially my health) was changed forever! 

Fish Cookies and Bridget Jones

My last post was a little high-octane, was it not? I guess I had some writing withdrawals while off on vacation. The result was the equivalent of projectile vomiting a bunch of random nothings onto the blog. I am feeling much more subdued this time around, due in part to a nasty, phlegmy cough I picked up somewhere this week. (Cough, cough! Wheeze, wheeze!) I wanted to hibernate for the day, but had to finish up a project at work. Why can't one ever just enjoy being sick? 

Last night I joined a friend for some Valentine treat-making. Actually, I mostly watched her make the treats since the likes of cake balls are just a bit too advanced for me. I was, however, most useful at consuming the rejects. Not that there were many. Sadly. Later we frosted and decorated some cookies, during which I did participate in the creative process and not just the consumptive process. Here are a few cheery photos of our work...

The fishy one (if you could even tell it was a fish) was a failed attempt at a cursive "L" made from m&m's. As you can see, I ran out of room. It started looking like a breast cancer awareness ribbon so I stuck an m&m in the center. Fishes have kiss-y faces so it works somewhat for Valentines. 

While we frosted, we watched Bridget Jones's Diary. I needed something funny and cute and English. I will watch pretty much anything starring Hugh Grant playing his token role as a sexy, albeit floppy-haired, "prat." And it goes without saying I find it most (MOST) agreeable whenever Colin Firth stars as a Darcy, whether it's Mr. Mark Darcy or Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. So versatile... And so handsome!

Observe...

How would one ever choose?   

"You know, not everybody like onions... What about cake? Everybody loves cake!"

Right now, I am blogging and listening to *NSYNC, reminiscing the days when I would spend my babysitting money on Teen magazine and record every live performance they had on television. Ask anyone who knew me in the 8th grade... I had a very unhealthy obsession with boy bands. And now, listening to their songs, I'm remembering why I liked them so much... Tee-hee! How embarrassing.

You'll be happy to read that today I did something fun and out of the ordinary. Today I completed a beginner's cake decorating course. My dear friend Laura invited me to join her for the class along with her mom and two aunts. I was very excited, but also slightly nervous. I like artsy fartsy craftsy stuff, but food isn't my medium of choice. And sometimes I do better at stuff like this if I'm left to my own devices because I have this nasty habit of ignoring instructions and doing my own thing. Like when I was 12 years old and took an oil painting class with my Grandma at LDSBC. The instructor was trying to walk us through every tiny step and I was like, "Psh, I know what I'm doing... Tree here, tree here, happy little bush here... DONE!" And of course it didn't look quite right when I was finished. It was okay... I just lack patience.

Anyway, the class was given by Salt Cake City's Jennifer Hill. We each made our very own little cake and she showed us methods for layering, crumb coating, frosting, and fondant-ing. I learned that a) it doesn't have to be this (overly) complicated and laborious process, b) there are tricks of the trade that keep costs down if you know what you're doing, and c) buttercream frosting is yummy and fondant doesn't have to be NOT yummy. I made a cake using some of Alisa's wedding colors. Namely coral, yellow, and tangerine. I finished most of it in the class, but then added a few finishing touches at home... Did I mention I'm also a perfectionist who takes forever to make up her mind? I fell a little behind and ran out of time. Without going into every miniscule detail, here is the finished product...

 The flowers are strategically placed to hide the, uh, flaws.

Om-nom-nom...

Anway, it was a fun class and I learned a bunch. I even bought some new food coloring jell for future projects. We'll see if I'm patient or motivated enough to whip out a cake on my own... If not, Laura and I are going to collaborate on a cake or two just for fun. If it's not a complete disaster, I'll tell you all about it. If it IS a complete disaster, I'll still tell you all about it. Meanwhile, if anyone's looking for a great cake decor instructor who will teach you a lot of helpful basics about cake decorating, look up Salt Cake City. Her cakes are beautiful, she knows what she's talking about, AND it was a really fun atmosphere. I know I don't have anything to compare it to, but I thought the class was thuper duper. We all left with our beautiful cakes intact, big smiles on our faces, and food coloring and frosting up to our elbows. And really, how can you mess up cake??