The Return of the Comics

A few of you may remember Escape from Camp Artemis, the short comic I put together a couple of years ago. A 12-page story about two girls who escape from summer camp, the comic was put together as part of a class I took at Meltdown Comics. The project was a fun one, and I was happy with the result; it was nice to have a little story that I could hand out and share with friends. Many people really enjoyed seeing it, and my instructor encouraged me to keep making more comics after the class was over.

While I had ideas for fun follow-up projects, it's been hard to muster the energy to get them off the ground. It can take a lot of effort to even create an individual piece of art; it is even more intimidating to commit to a project that involves putting together story outlines, designing characters and environments, writing dialogue, creating dozens of individual drawings, and finding a way to display them on a page in a way that flows and serves the story. And, because you have to stick with the same style and designs for the entirety of a project, it is easy to become critical of your preliminary designs and ideas, leading to inertia.

Art in Progress

A few days ago, I just finished drawing a detailed landscape in Photoshop. It is always exciting to finish something ambitious, but it is also exciting to see the piece develop along the way and to see hints of what the end result will look like.

Sometimes it is frustrating to work on a piece for a long time without sharing your progress along the way, since I sometimes get excited when I finish working on a major component of a piece or have added a nice element that I am proud of, and I have an urge to show off the incomplete picture. Nonetheless, it is usually best to keep the picture under wraps and let the desire to share motivate me to finish my work.

Taking Drawing to the Next Level

I have always enjoyed drawing, and, once the technology became available, I've enjoyed using image manipulation programs to spruce up my drawings and create pieces of art from scratch. Over the years, I've gotten more comfortable with these programs and more knowledgeable about their capabilities. However, I've also learned to appreciate the benefits that come with drawing by hand.

Photoshop and its ilk provide many benefits over traditional drawing. When drawing by hand, mistakes are inevitable, and I often find myself having to work around problematic pen strokes; if I'm using Photoshop, mistakes can be rectified with the touch of a button. The ability to correct mistakes also allows for more experimentation, particularly when choosing a color scheme. Finally, digital art allows a greater amount of precision, particularly since one can divide a single artwork into multiple 'layers' and work on each portion individually.

Roughin' It, Reading Readily, and R-Twork

One of the pleasures of a close relationship, romantic or otherwise, is that you get to open yourself up to a whole new set of experiences that you wouldn't necessarily seek out on your own. Friends and family have left their mark by introducing me to some great artists or works of art (I learned a whole lot about Alfred Hitchcock when I tagged along for Chrissie's classes at USC), fun activities (I was introduced to wine tasting by my good friend Tiffany), and interesting places (I first encountered Barnsdall Art Park when I accompanied my sister to a play there).

So, it is no surprise that I have picked up a few new hobbies from Andy. Most obviously, I have been camping regularly over the past three months, visiting sites all around the Los Angeles area.

Until this year, I had not gone camping since I was a student at Marlborough and the school took us on field trips to Catalina, Joshua Tree, Sequoia, Marin, and Yosemite. I didn't get the "camping bug" at that point, possibly because, in my high school days, I was more averse to the outdoors, less willing to put up with the unexpected, and a bit more easily winded by outdoor activities. Plus, camping with ninety other students and a handful of chaperones is a fundamentally different experience from going in a small group, where a person is more likely to set her own pace and follow her own agenda.

The Comic is Finished!

Over the past few months, I've been taking a comics class at Meltdown Comics, and I've finally completed a 12-page comic! 'Escape From Camp Artemis' is about a sheltered homeschooled girl who is forced to go to camp, and plans an escape with one of her fellow campers.

Copies of the comic should be available for sale at Meltdown by the beginning of next week.

You should also feel free to call/email/message me if you would like a copy; I will be more than happy to send one your way.

Can't Believe It's September

Given the heat and the lack of a school structure, it doesn't feel like it's already September.

A few things have happened since I last wrote. I took the New York and New Jersey Bar Exams between July 25th and July 27th. The first two days of the exams took place in Albany, while the third day of the exam took place in Secaucus, a New Jersey suburb which is across the river from New York. The first day's exam consisted of five New York essays, 50 New York multiple choice questions, and a Multistate performance test. The second day consisted of 200 multiple choice questions dealing with general legal principles; this portion of the exam is graded in both states. The final day was comprised of seven New Jersey essays. I'm glad that I made the effort to take the exams, although I'm also glad that I won't have to worry as much about the outcome of these exams as I did for the California one; my career won't be "on hold" if I don't pass.

Al Hirshfeld Dies

Famed Caricaturist Al Hirschfeld Dies

I just found this article on Yahoo. It's a bit sad for me, since I've always admired his drawing style (I even have a copy of his book On Line with me). In addition, his drawings documented nearly a century, from the twenties to the modern time, remaining active even in his late 90's. Even though he was old, news like this is always a surprise; it's sad to think that there will be no more new Hirshfeld drawings.

Miscellany

I've been neglecting my journal for the past few days. I hope I can be forgiven for this egregious oversight.

Let's see... well, I didn't do much on Monday, though I did go to a rehearsal and workshop.

To my surprise, I woke up super-early on Tuesday; this allowed me to do some catchup work on my drama journal. At one in the afternoon, I had my senior exit interview, during which a professor (in my case it was a Biology prof.) asks you to give your opinions on the school. This took about an hour. A little later, my partner and I had a rehearsal with the drama professor; he seemed to think we are in good shape overall, so I was happy about that. When I got back to my room, I found a wasp on my mug; I hadn't left any windows open, so how it got in my room is a mystery. I am allergic, so I was especially antsy (yay for bug puns). Fortunately, I was able to get it out of there without much trouble. That evening, I did my take-home Psych final. I am glad I went to the review session last week, as she seemed to use the questions that were discussed there as the basis for many of the questions on the exam.

On Wednesday, I turned in the finished exam and took my laptop over to the Starbucks to write my art history paper. Even though public places such as these can be distracting, I think it may be easier to work there than the quiet and privacy of my room. I don't have the temptation to use the internet in the middle of writing, plus I don't have the familiar distractions of my room to keep my from working. I did about five pages before going back to my dorm, and another page when I got back.

Tale as Old as Time...

I spent much of yesterday scanning and printing drawings to put in a portfolio. It didn't take too long, considering that my mom's computer has a tendency to break down when I scan things. I later tried to upload the artwork and some Seattle pictures to my site, but it ended up crashing the computer, so I ended up calling it a day. Maybe I'll try again later, but I just might end up having to wait until I get back to school.

Today I met with my friend Natasha. We met for lunch (though I slept in and was a bit late) and later saw the IMAX rerelease of Beauty and the Beast. Natasha had worried that we wouldn't be able to see it because she wasn't able to get tickets online, but everything worked out. It was great being able to see the movie on an IMAX screen, it really helps me to appreciate the artistry more. ::Takes check from Disney:: After the movie, we hung out a little bit, singing along to old Disney songs before I went home.

Tomorrow should be fun; I will be seeing Fred, Marina, and several of Fred's friends while we watch DVDs. I'm already excited!

Surprise Surprise

After getting up and surfing the net a little, I made my way to my first class. I was actually a little ahead of schedule (the teacher pushed the syllabus back a bit) on the reading! I still have a paper to write for the class though; tonight will most likely be a caffeine-fest as I try to get it done. For my third class of the day, I had an unpleasant surprise; I walked in the classroom to find the other students working on a test (I thought that it would be given on Thursday). Giving a test on the first class after break is just evil in my opinion. Fortunately, I have a pretty good memory and was able to handle it.

After the usual stalling, I managed to get some reading done, after which I went to rehearsal for Sure Thing. We ran through it once and had a few notes, but a lot of the time we just hung out. When we were talking about programs, Promise (who had just seen a few scribbles on my script) suggested that I do the artwork for it, and everyone seemed to think it was a good idea. So I'm happy about that. The production's going to be performed really soon, so I'd better get cracking and memorize my lines.

The Return of the Attack of the Killer Thesis!

This afternoon, I went back to the American Philosophical Society archives to do some preliminary work on my thesis. I got to look at some documents, plus I was able to get some advice on other places to visit (happily enough, one of the places suggested was the archive at Haverford, which is pretty accessible). I didn't have enough time to look in depth, but I think I got a good start. The train trip also allowed me to catch up on some reading I had been slacking on.

After I got back, I didn't do all that much, but I was able to clean up a graphic that I had been meaning to work on for a while.

Zzzzz....

I'm still in zombie mode right now from lack of sleep, so I'll try to keep this short. I'm feeling better than I did earlier, though that's not saying a whole lot. I'm hoping to catch up on sleep tonight. Fall break starts this Friday, so I'll have a little more time to unwind (though I still have to do some papers as well as prepare for the GRE and midterms).

Today I submitted some artwork to a magazine for consideration. I tried once before, but I was careless and forgot to include a self addressed stamped envelope, so it's not really a surprise that I didn't get a reply. This time I was a bit more careful. Even if the magazine doesn't want my artwork, at least I'll know where I stand.

Tomorrow night my entire dorm will have an electrical shutdown while the school fixes the power system in a nearby building... It's frustrating, but hopefully it'll force me to get some sleep.

::Tries to think of witty subject line::

Today was pretty lazy and uneventful. Since I did all of my Real Analysis homework yesterday during the problem session, I didn't have to scramble to do any homework before class. So I got to nap and goof off until 11. I was able to finish a graphic for GirlSite, which is good because I've been sort of lazy sending artwork for the site for the last two weeks.

After class was finished, I met with Rachel, who's my partner for the archive visit. We scheduled an appointment to visit an archive on Monday afternoon. It should be interesting, so I'll have to write about it when the time comes.

Finally, this evening I went to an acapella concert; since I'm editing the Arts section of the yearbook and wasn't able to get someone to cover for me, I had to go and take pictures. The concert was a benefit, with all donations going to the red cross. All of the Bi-College (aka Bryn Mawr and its 'sibling school' Haverford) groups were there, along with an Indian-American group from Penn (to clarify, the group was not Native American, but from India). It was enjoyable and lifted my spirits quite a bit.

I was also able to get some sketches done this evening, which is important if I want to consider applying to art schools. I think they came out pretty well.

And so it begins...

Well, I have now added a Livejournal... yay me.

I've been wanting to have a forum to express my thoughts as to what's been going on in my life, and I think the 'Updates' part of my website just didn't cut it. Because my site's built so everyone who knows me, from friends to relatives to people from my internship, can check up an me, it sort of had a 'Christmas letter' sort of feel; while I gave some broad information on my life, I didn't feel I could delve or talk about the more trivial things in my life. And, after Kim mentioned Livejournal tonight, it led me to set up my own journal.

I didn't do much work today, though I did get a few chapters of a book read. I mostly surfed the web, though I also did a pen drawing and am doing cleanup on another piece of artwork.

Well, that's it for now; I think I'll get more into things as time progresses, though.

1997 Trip: Jet Lag and Venice

Hi again! Here's basically what has happened since we left Rochester:

We spent an agonizing 8 hours flying to Milan. It was impossible to get to sleep b/c the seats were small & this led me to several fights w/Chrissie. On the train to Venice, all of us kept falling asleep and there was a general feeling of mental tiredness (while playing a game of railroad - Me: "Ostrich"; Dad: "Do I have a 'P' now?"). We quickly ate and got to bed at around 6:00. Chrissie & I woke up at around 1:00 & could not get back to bed. We kept ourselves entertained by watching Italian "Baywatch" & "VIP" (Entertainment Tonight with British accents).

Today we saw St. Mark's Cathedral (think mosaic), the Murano glass factory (we saw a man make a cat out of glass which he later used to light a cigarette), and walked around the less touristy areas, such as the Academia Bridge & the Campio San Stefano (where we ate & Chrissie & I drew). Finally we walked back to a flooded (the sewage had backed up) St. Mark's Square and to our hotel (the Concordia). We called gram & grandpa, wrote postcards, and finished catching up on our journals.

Bye!!

Marlborough 8th Grade Letter to a Future Self

[flower/star symbol] Hi! Right now I'm in English class, deciding on what to write. I'm so glad that the 8th grade is almost over!! I <3 art (look up!!!!)* & I <3 my dog Sunny!!!!!!!!!!!! 8th grade is an interesting year. :) I'm taking Dance, Algebra I, Spanish IB, English 8, Schience II, & PE 8. Last semester I took World Cultures.

My best friend is Natasha, who lives in the West Side. Last year, I was also friends with Lauren, but she left last year. Natasha's going to Crossroads next year. I don't know who I'll be with next year, but I'm guessing.

My favorite foods are plain cheeseburgers & cheese pizzas (no sauce). I <3 green & blue! Some of my favorite places are Johnny Rockets, Larchmont, Universal Citywalk, & home!!

I got back from Joshua Tree & I loved it!! I love the following symbols: [letter 'p' with a 'tail' consisting of a vine and flower] (opposed to [less complex version of the same thing]), [star/flower type symbol], [footer using the stars/flowers]. I LOVE SUNNY!!!!! I also like reading & books.

I enjoy creativity & am pretty creative. I also like dance class & don't like studying to 12:00 a.m. I am good at math, but hate dislike it. I <3 <3's!!!

My writing is illegible & needs to be translated :) :) !!

I love this type of capital W [Art Deco letter 'W']!!

My sister got in a commercial for Nature's Nursery [drawing of locket with plant], a really dumb product.

I LOVE SUNNY!!! Golden Retrievers are the best dogs. Soot is our outdoor cat, & she will soon have kittens. [cat face] (meow) I <3 my dog Sunny !! [bone]

Life is exciting! I can't wait till next year!!! [flower/star symbol]


* - This letter was originally written on Marlborough stationery, and I drew over the top third of the page. The text itself loops around the page.