school girl

[above: 2nd day of school photos. amy, i accidentally erased my 1st day photo... :( hope this suffices.]

i know. it's been a while. here's the life update:

in general, i...
*have hair down to my waist, and might chop it all off for locks of love...next week?
*still sometimes write in all lowercase letters...just for kicks
*wasn't going to blog until i blogged about figure drawing and advertising....dangit.
*am still determined to blog about said subjects (it's photographing the images that takes time)
*still heart art

this summer, i...
*only took two days off work for fun purposes...and was sick for both
*went jet skiing and camping and to park city for those days
*went off of sugar for a while (yay me!)
*had some awesome sister bonding moments and days
*decided to start doing freelance photography (you can check my online portfolio on the right for a small sample)
*got released from the r.s. presidency and called to be a sunday school teacher...then got called to be a relief society teacher for the other relief society in our ward

regarding school, i...
*got into the illustration BFA! as of april.
*will be a senior this year...and next...and possibly next
*am taking four art classes (illustration II, narrative I, gesture drawing, and advanced figure drawing...for the 3rd time) and one other class...guitar (for the 3rd time).
*think it's pretty cool that all my art classes i'm taking are being taught by the heads of the illustration and animation departments (bob barrett, bethanne anderson, richard hull, and ryan woodward)
*got BFA studio space, which is handy and helpful
*have had 6 major headaches in the first 3 weeks of school, with 1 full migraine
*am trying really hard to be healthy regardless of the endless projects
*have straight classes from 1pm-8pm on tuesdays and thursdays

currently i...
*am still dating zachary, who's wonderful (& he got into the philharmonic orchestra this year, yay!)
*still love jambas
*miss being with people. i do...lots of art. lots. you can come visit me when i paint in my basement. really.
*am still contemplating a mission
*ache for some of my family members with their current trials
*pray...lots (hopefully this isn't just "currently")
*am realizing the that "the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance." (v.20)

i also...
*joined a health competition! check this out. it's been difficult because of my schedule.
*have gotten more comments on my long hair these last few weeks than i EVER have...i might not cut my hair just yet....
*am missing the first part of the first BYU home game. i'd best be off.

that's about it. i promise to post more soonish.

homesick for music

editor’s note: yesterday at work, i was listening to the newest addition to my ipod (thanks to zachary's generosity) and got completely inspired. my wish is that you’ll read this post (lengthy as it is) and find something in here that connects with you.

* * * * *

sure, i love tally hall, coldplay, queen, journey, mika, ingrid michaelson and kt tunstall just as much now as i ever have, but i'm so grateful for different genres and for the magic they individually bring to the musical world. eric whitacre is one of my very favorite composers and i always get so super excited to sing (or listen to) one of his pieces.

Eric Whitacre's Complete a'Cappella Works, sung by the BYU Singers is what i'm currently listening to. honestly, it's some of the most beautiful music i know of.

oddly enough, as i listen to this, i feel...well, the word that comes to mind is, homesick. homesick from not singing this kind of stuff since high school. i miss singing. i miss my voice and the skills that have wavered since high school.

imagine with me: you are walking onto risers on stage in front of adjudicators (judges) with your 18 other comrades in your choir. you glance around and a half-terrified, half-excited feeling of anticipation overcomes you as you take a second to sneak a glance at your audience, your fellow singers, then your eyes dart back to your director. the piano rings a lone note signifying your pitch. the director raises his arms, and looks around at all of you expectantly. his eyes meet yours for a second. then, on his cue, you are singing. you are harmonizing! through the song, you sing your heart out, knowing that you're one of only two people on your part at times. they’re depending on you, just like you’re depending on them. muscle memory kicks in and you start to remember all of the things you've rehearsed so many times. you have an adventurous feeling as you listen intently to where your part fits right in, and you nail it. you let your part soar at times, then suddenly make it mesh with the rest of the choir, and let others do the same, leaving the audience to guess where the sounds come from, before whisking them away to another part of the music. you hear the complete contrast between loud and soft, consonance and dissonance. you revel in the tension between suspended dissonant (clashing) chords, and the resolution to consonant cadences. as the song comes to a close, the last chord rings out and the director still has his arms up. it's completely and utterly silent, except for that last ringing sound…echoing into space. a sound that you've helped create….

and you feel like you’re home.

suddenly, there is immediate and thunderous applause. a huge smile crosses your face as the director presents the choir and bows. this applause makes you incredibly happy, and this is why: you understand that it doesn’t matter whether or not you are "the best" choir (that’s subjective), but are thrilled for the knowledge that you were able to share some of the wonder you just experienced with so many more people than yourself. something words alone can’t describe. the magic of music!

that's what singing whitacre (and many others) compositions felt like for me. i have always loved that, and sorely miss it. thus, homesick. it's okay though, because i'll always love it.

i’m so glad for the beauty that is captured in music, regardless of my personal longing and opportunity (or lack thereof) to be involved in such beauty. music is, after all, the universal language.

all these things…the perfectly placed dissonance, the suspension, the lyrics, the climaxes, the contrasts, the uniform constant sounds, the text-painting, the moving notes with floating suspended chords above them...mmmmmm. all of these can be experienced in whitacre’s music.

so you can experience it, too::
i especially love the song 'sleep'...one of my favorite songs we sang. though lyrics aren't always the most important part, these lyrics some of my favorites.

i also love lux arumque, another we sang. the latin lyrics, when translated, talk about light and warmth, and it's evident in the song. the first part, where all of the separate parts come in at different times, sounds like rays of light (ps, this is an example of text-painting).

when david heard tells the bible story of david and his son absalom (it was the first whitacre piece I remember hearing).

****okay, okay. one more. if nothing else, PLEASE watch this: Leonardo’s Dream. it’s a favorite that i just discovered!

why 'favorite'? because:
1) the song is about leonardo da vinci, one of my favorite artists who completely fascinates me. it combines visual art and music, two areas that are more closely related that most think.
2) in this clip, the singers talk about their experiences with the music, and it really makes it more personal and interesting to hear.
3) the byu singers are the ones singing: i know some of the people talking/singing! we live in the same building (the h-fac) since i'm an art major. :) sometimes, i wish i were a music major as well. just so i could sing like this.
4) it’s from eric whitacre’s blog! he says he loves the byu choir. heehee.

get acquainted with the wonder and beauty that is whitacre! what do you think? do you have an experience with whitacre or his music? do you have an experience with music in general? have you recently discovered (or rediscovered) a beautiful passion of your own?

first run in a year: CHECK!

that's what i just texted jeff.

i went to the podiatrist a few weeks ago (after i posted this) and he said i could go ahead and get new running shoes and start out again! i have to start slow (it's so hard to do!) but i can run! i was beaming when i came out of the student health center; it was a stark contrast to last july when i walked out close to tears.

i bought running shoes at 26.2 on thursday. i highly recommend the place. i got saucony hurricanes, like the picture shows. i walked a bit that night to try them out, but tonight decided to go ahead and start running.

my first run didn't go as i expected (alone, at night) but here's what was so great about it:

11. clean, fresh air filling up my lungs.
10. looking up as i ran: the stars are beautiful on dark nights.
9. earphones that made my music sound like a soundtrack to the quiet night.
8. taking my earphones out and hearing the silent patter of my own feet.
7. new shoes that make my feet feel like they're running on clouds.
6. excited wonder of something that i haven't felt in a long time, and the rediscovery of that feeling.
5. DOing...not just THINKing about it. on top of that, doing something that doesn't require anything but my own self...and some good shoes. perhaps one of my favorite things about running.
4. such. good. running. music. (<----you NEED to watch that LAST video...)
3. people outside doing activities. brought a feeling of security and extra motivation.
2. looking like an idiot: i couldn't stop smiling. at least i was a happy idiot...heehee.
1. silently vowing not to take this for granted.

"it's a wonderful night...." :)

quirky art musings

i don't know if it's just my personality or if it's my artsy-ness coming out, but sometimes i catch myself thinking total art-nerd things and decided to write them down in my sketchbook. i've posted a few, for your pleasure.

constantly noticing how people's outfits match their surroundings.

looking at the moon and apart from admiring its beauty, accidentally wondering what kind of a gaussian blur would be used to create that effect in photoshop.

constantly noticing how my outfit matches my surroundings...as unconventional as they might be: coming out of the bathroom the other day, i looked in the mirror and thought, 'hey! the color of the new stall doors, and the wall, and my outfit all look really good together! I should take a picture!!' honestly. who thinks that?!

looking at the sky and wondering how i would mix the colors and blend the clouds evenly if i were to paint it.

getting so distracted with determining what font a temporary license plate was scripted in, that i didn't even notice it was a flashy new little BMW until i looked a second time (after figuring out the font).

going back into the bathroom later and actually taking the picture.

i know, i know. i really am an art-nerd.


ps, the font on the BMW was 'mistral'. i double-checked. :)

animator vs animation

at work yesterday, i requested to go part-time for these last 3 weeks of the summer, because i feel like i don't have any time to have peace in my life. i'm always going a hundred miles an hour, and i can't hear myself think.

ironically, though, i was asked by the safety officer of our college yesterday if i could make a flash animation of putting things into a biosafety cabinet correctly. i told her that in all honesty, i'm a novice at flash and wasn't sure if i could do it. i told her, though, that i'd look into it and let her know.

i took IT's adobe flash class, but i'm not sure how much i remember. this would have been good to work on when i was working full-time (hence the irony of the timeframe).

getting back into flash, i'm pretty sure this is what's gonna happen:



(and no. i didn't make this animation.)

still, it's such a beautiful night

i'm sorry i haven't posted art lately. i have lots of half-written posts and life's been pretty crazy. i'm aiming to do my figure drawings next (they excite me the most)!

between mom having surgery, me working full-time, doing freelance photography, editing photos from that freelance photography, being involved in lots of church things, family stuff, that one boy, good friends, and making tough decisions...i haven't had tons of time to post 'real' stuff.

i promise, i'm trying. good thing is, though, life is awesome. and i'd rather live in the moment than try to document everything while the moment passes me by. i'll catch up. i always do. :)

for now, enjoy this happy video Coldplay released a while ago (december?).

11 lessons learned from "UP"

i am an avid pixar fan. pixar is kind of what drives me to be an animator sometimes. as i watched their newest film "Up"...4 times...i realized that there are a lot of "grown-up" lessons to be learned.

here are some little golden bits of wisdom i took from it:
1. there's something to be said about 'true love'. it's worth waiting for.
2. never stop dreaming.
3. never give up hope in trying to accomplish a goal.
4. i hate squirrels...
5. friends are true no matter what. they don't judge.
6. draw on your walls.
7. sometimes, if you just open your eyes and look for it, you're in the middle of an adventure.
8. POINT!!! (see above image)
9. through disappointments, we can see more clearly.
10. appreciate the past, live in the present, look forward to the future. cherish them all!
11."sometimes, the boring things are the things we remember most."

what did you learn?