this past week has totally been a whirlwind. even if i had been able to process it all and actually write about it, i had absolutely no down time to mess with this blog. which makes sitting down now and trying to recap everything that much harder. part of why i started this blog was just to document things for myself... for the nerd in me that will look back in a year and wonder what i was thinking/feeling/experiencing. (like the nerd in me that is totally bummed that i lost my agenda at the end of the year and wont be able to reminisce and look at everything that was going on. and the nerd in me that saves all of my to do lists. and takes pictures of them.) so i'll attempt documenting the craziness that was (drum roll please...) orientation at mica. some snapshots:
dorm
i'm sure cathy never thought i would find a place for the bazillion things i toted along with me during move in. or fit the huge ikea desk in. but i got it done. and it works. it feels like a place i can call home. i've have so many things that inspire me. wood stars, pictures (the jc gang, jackie & me in front of panda express...) a map of my new stomping grounds, postcards from the aic, my let go shadow box, avondale leadership postcards, my pantone color chart. i still want to mess around with clothes storage, and i still forget where i put somethings when i unpacked. (if i was a stain stick... where would i be?)
i'll post better pictures later.
writing test
our second day at mica & we were already in classrooms and being tested. this was to see who needed any help writing and who would take the academic writing workshop. which usually ends up being 10% of the freshman class. the question was perfect for the start of a four year art college career:
"given so much pain and suffering in the world and much of it right at our doorstep, is it a sinful waste of time to spend one's life making art?"
it was exactly what donaghy has asked me a few times... will i be someone that becomes so consumed with art that forget there is a world around me? the topic begged for bruce mau quotes and social design preaching. right up my alley. i wonder how many other mica people would agree with me on that mentality. i'm sure i'll find out soon.
jamie washington (guest speaker)
talked about community & diversity. & even though he played the good old "crossing the line" game, he got me thinking. one thing he said stuck with me... "speak your truth in the community." i like that one.
extreme bingo
it starts as a simple bingo game. just add loud music, mud, girls in bras, and guys in girls underwear. a mica tradition. and absolutely crazy.
schedule
monday - drawing I (4 - 10 pm)
tuesday - cap: finding baltimore (9 - 3 pm)
wednesday - electronic media and culture (8:30 - 2 pm)
thursday - elements of visual thinking (8:30 - 12:30) & art matters (1:30 - 4:15 pm)
admissions boasts of hand selecting classes and diligently working to put people in the best possible classes. i believe it... i love this schedule. i got the elective i wanted (the community arts partnership class), and i was able to get it first semester. it will be super helpful to explore the city and make art in response to different sites as i'm getting used to living in big ol' baltimore. even though i'm sure i'll end up painting in my elements class, i get to make the transition from drawing I (first semester) to painting I (second semester). & i also don't have to worry about sculpture right off the bat. but i do get my art history. love it.
washington dc trip
i love dc. and i love the fact that i can take a bus pretty much every other weekend to dc (or new york if the spirit moves me farther north.) it wasn't so long ago that i wanted to go to school in washington dc really bad. but now i can have this amazing & unique baltimore experience and still get my monument/art musuem/american history fix whenever. (and georgetown can suck it.)
i spent a good portion of the day in the east building of the national gallery of art. i miss museums. it felt so good to be back in one and taking notes on whatever pieces pull me in. this museum was more contemporary.
here are some of my discoveries... (pardon the lack of accents... i'm not sure how to get that high tech on blogspot)
marcel duchamp- la mariee mise a vu par ses celibataires, meme (the bride stripped bare by her bachelors, even.) had a collage feel that reminded me of the "look" i go for when scrapbooking.
robert henry- snow in new york. i have a thing for empty white space, and this city scape looked just like a picture i had taken in chicago last summer messed around with the contrast in photoshop.
barnett newman- yellow painting & the name it. love massive pieces like this that just lure you to stand in front of them and become surrounded by color. puts me in the mood to cover the white homosote walls in the apartment with something bold.
robert rauschenberg- canyon. kind of a creepy piece... but gave me a sabrina ward harrison vibe.
ellsworth kelly- color panels for a large wall. a very fitting title. looks like the wall and the space was made just for it.
richard tuttle- no joke. there was a piece just a solid color on canvas, but it was totally my color (teal). and it just happened to be my good friend, dick tuttle.
pablo picasso- guitar. love his classy use random everyday household objects. wallpaper, carpet tacks, nail, wood, string.
henri matisse- lorette with turban, yellow jacket. and not just because i'm jealous that yellow is not my color (geoff.... please reconsider your yellow ban on my skin tone.
& i couldn't believe it when i saw a free hugs guy in front of the lincoln memorial (sean will be so jealous.) i made my roommate, tara, get in the picture with me.
in conclusion
i had a lot of prerequisites for where i would spend the next four years of my life. but i always asked myself where i would feel most alive. i am so glad that i made that a priority... because i feel so alive here at mica. and at least for now (check back when i'm knee deep in assignments) i can't help but smile when i walk down the tree lined streets or listen to a speaker in falvey hall or even just enter the commons to go to my dorm. i'm totally giddy. this right here is what college should feel like...
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