Deb's Marathon

Deb & Rachel's Marathon went really well. So well, that Deb was bored:

It was a long, very rewarding day, but I got sick, and am still sick, so no long posts. Here is the link to the album.

And here is a slideshow:

Lesson 4: Lines. Using a dark brown or black paint, a fine brush or a paint marker - my preference - and a straight edge, lay in the lines that define the individual boards. This step can be done any time after the graining has been done. It is unnecessary to wait until a glaze is applied, unless you want the lines to have a flat appearance, which is more realistic, but i also find it distracting from an audience stand point.

Lesson 3: First glaze. Take a clear water based sealer-whatever sheen you'd like, tint it with until it is a green or yellow, depending on the color wood you are aiming for. Apply with a large, nice brush. I've chosen a low lustre or satin, and a raw umber-ish green. Tomorrow's lessons: Brown glaze and lines!

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Lesson 2: using a purple paint, thinned with water, and assorted graining tools, lay down the paint one 'board' at a time, and pull up the paint with the graining tools.

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How to paint a hardwood floor. Lesson 1: paint the floor a base color. A blend of some form of yellow and red is best, but just one will suffice. I've chosen a yellow. Next, measure the width of your boards and draw or use a chalkline to snap the boards. Next lesson: graining.

Today -and maybe tomorrow, Sue will be taking you on a magical journey, through the world of scenic painting. She is painting a hardwood floor. Learn how!

FWD:

Picture Blogging from the cellphone! How cool am I! I got my new red chucks yesterday, and they make me happy. Grant got his very first pair too - black high tops - very classic. Make sure you complement him. And me.

Guest Post

Since I know you all want to know about Elyse's first month of college, here's a guest post from her - complete with photos of her class work. (I actually asked her to give me a run-down of the projects so I got it right, but she wrote it out so nice, that I just decided to post the email!)

ok, so here's a rundown of the projects

the three skulls: we were to do a planar analysis with three different views on a skull. So all straight lines and using shapes to create depth, along with varying thickness of lines. Not substantial shading. He repeatedly told me he wanted to "kiss the upper jaw" of the middle skull. He really liked the cheek bone on one of the other two. i got a 92.

The crazy squares with the wave thing: she wanted us to use certain elements of design (line, shape and value) to create principles of design (unity, variety, balance, repetition, rhythm, movement and emphasis) We were to use geometric and organic shapes to do so. No solid blacks, so even my darkest of darks aren't solid. I got a 92 because i mounted it at the last second and it was too small, i knew this but did not have time to spare. She lets us resubmit after critique, so i remounted it and turned it in again and got a 95.

the gelato: we were supposed to use the Gestalt theory to create a picture out os several small designs. the theory is that our eyes will complete the picture even if when viewed from close we can see that its not as it appears. We gridded off an original photograph, either our own or someone else's (I used my own) into half inch squares. We then created a grid of equal size on bristol board. each cube had to have a different design, no repeats. We were supposed to use varying sizes of designs and values to make it correspond with the square on the picture. I used a lot of different characters from different alphabets as well as mathematical symbols and some whole words to create my designs. towards the end, a lot of them turned into random squiggles. Haven't gotten a grade back yet, but she seemed very please with it during critique. There are a few spots i would change, such as the contrast of top left and bottom right corners in relation to the rest of the picture, but overall i'm happy. there were 300 squares total.

the skeletons: We were to do a contour and cross contour line drawing of two skeletons posed in class. We needed to include at least skulls, rib cages, and pelvises (?). The final is to be done in ink, but i as well as my professor loved mine in pencil so much that he suggested I transfer the basic lines to another pieces of paper so i would not lose the original pencil drawing. I think its freaking sexy. There were stupid robes holding the skeletons together and he kept trying to get me to draw them to help with angles and proportions, but i told him they were ugly. he laughed, i think he likes me. SO i'm working on the ink part now, its due tonight at the end of class.

in 2D design we're strating to make these crazy box things with patterns. I'll keep you updated on that.

SCAD hosted an Andy Warhol exhibit last night with some of his works from the myths collection. There is some lecture tonight and workshop tomorrow with a guy named patrick connors... Looked at his website, not inpressed at all with the layout and design of the webpage, but his stuff looks good.

I heard its snowing in part of PA today, its a sunny warm fall day here. Robert Redford is in town filming a movie and some of my friends saw Justin Long yesterday. I think thats about it.

What a rockstar!

Fall at the Cabin

So I was able to head up to the Cabin last weekend with my family and one of Lui's friends. It was probably the weekend after the peak of the color, but I didn't mind. I got some really great pictures.

Lui is taking archery in gym class, so he decided to buy himself a bow, so he can practice on his own. It's much more powerful than any bows I've shot before, and I have a nasty bruise on my left forearm, because I - stupidly - took OFF my leather coat so it wouldn't constrict my movement. Smart, Sue. Smart.

Aunt Sherrie was rocking some awesome style on one of our side trips. She hollered at me when I told her I had taken a picture.

We hit up a local apple farm for some fresh apples, which we then took back to the Cabin, where Aunt Sherrie and I rocked some apple pies. It took us a little longer than if probably could have, cuz we kept chatting, but that's part of the fun.

Part of going to the Cabin is driving around to see the beautiful countryside. Uncle Bri was the expert at knowing when to slow down or stop for me to take a picture. If I ever go on an African safari to take pictures of wild animals, he's the one driving my Jeep!

I caught this picture of myself in the side view mirror accidentally while scoping out shots in the car.

Check out my super awesome slideshow, or if you want to look more indepth, go here.

I think lots of people have trouble eating "healthier" because they feel they are being forced to eat or drink something that is an inferior substitution.

But I decided quite a while ago to stop substituting, and start enjoying new things. Does whole wheat pasta taste like regular pasta? No - so why should it be considered a substitute? Whole wheat pasta has a flavor of its own. If you don't like it, that's fine, but don't expect it to be regular pasta.

What brings this to mind is milk. Grant and I are both lactose sensitive, so we rarely have milk in the house. A little carton of half & half is usually all that makes it. But that's a really big bummer if you want some nummy cereal. So I decided to check out this whole soymilk thing.

So I went to my local Trader Joe's, and I grabbed vanilla, because I figured it would be more versatile than chocolate. Plus, I like vanilla. First day in my cereal was kinda weird. I was just ehh about it. Then I remembered - "Sue. Soymilk isn't cow's milk, so it shouldn't taste like it! Maybe you should think of it like a nut milk, cuz that's what it is."

So I poured myself a glass, and it was supertasty, just because it was being itself, and I recognized it for what it is.

So you should do it, too - it works.

This is a test, to see if i can Blog from my phone! If it works, it means that i am super cool. Blogging from work... Yeah...

sad sad day

It's a sad sad day.

Today I saw Grant handling another woman's rack.....







and hers is much larger than mine......
















he was shocked to be found out!