It's been awhile...

So I figured I'd give everyone an update on whats goin on with me lately. I feel like I never blog anymore! 

Basically I've just been really busy with school. Working on my photo project has been taking up most of my time. A lot of my negatives were underexposed so its been a lot of work trying to make them perfect. I'm really stoked about a lot of them though :) My 2D class has been horrible lately. Everyone in that class doesn't give a shit, and doesnt put any effort into anything they do, and I feel so bad for my teacher. Last class he nicely told us we suck and we need to do better. I just want that class to be over. Even though I try and put effort, he still thinks I don't give a shit. It's nerve racking. 

Other than school, I've been sick with this horrible cough and runny nose. It's really draggin me down. Makes me reaallllly tired all the time, and just kind of puting me in this funk. 

Visiting Omaha a couple weeks ago was crazy. I was so fuckin excited when I was at the airport and when we finally landed. I walked down to the baggage claim and saw my dad standing there, and I started to cry I was so happy to see him. I was so over-filled with joy just driving home and being home. It was an incredible feeling. But then I go and see literally everyone I wanted to see, (and some people I didn't really care to see), and it was mind-blowing. It felt like I never left. Everything was still the same. It's a very strange, and nostalgic feeling. I'm sure it will always feel like that from now on. Diana told me once, "You'll be so excited to come home, and then you'll just want to go back Chicago again." She was so right. 

Being here has opened my eyes to so many things. 

I truly feel like I belong here, like this is where I'm supposed to be, doing what I've always wanted to do. 

Work.....has been kind of crazy drama filled place lately. I don't like it. I've made friends with some of them, but I don't really feel like I can trust any of them with anything, because the next day the whole store will know about it. Blaaahh

It's time for me to head to class....3wks left!

Something more

I'm in search of an artist, 

for someone who actually WANTS to learn and be in school,

for someone who is creative, and different, and amusing,

who can make me take a step back and think twice,

who can INSPIRE me.

I'm in search of a dreamer,

for someone who believes that NOTHING is out of reach,

that the world is ours for the taking,

and that only we decide how it ends.

I'm in search of a musician,

for someone that can reach in and touch my soul through the rhythm of the beat,

who can make me want to dance for hours upon hours.

I'm in search of something

someone

new.

HOOORAH!

Alright kids, I know its what you've all been waiting for......

MY PRINTS!!

I realize I've been in school for almost 2 months now and haven't shown anyone back home my work. At first, I didn't want to and wanted to wait till the end, or try to find some website to put them on where people can't jack my shit, BUT I'm too excited about them I just wanna put them out there. 

You can check them out on my 

<------flickr over there on this page. 

as well as other stuff I've shot (mostly from last year). 

Note: They are very high in contrast (dark) because of the lighting in my apartment. They are better right in front of you of course, but once I get the time and start to develop a portfolio they will be 10x better. 

Enjoy, and feel free to leave me feedback (even if you totally hate them).

TODAY:

                                                        

                                               

We watched a video on Jenny Holzer. She does these bad ass text portraits, using HUGE projections onto buildings, water, stairs, windows, trees, you name it. A+

TOMORROW:

I will be seeing a lecture given by Jodi Adams and Curtis Mann

:)

<3

Bummed

I didn't think living without an ID would be this bad. 

I can't go out with anyone.

No one wants to come chill.

I can't even go see some music anywhere.

No one wants to do anything period unless it involves a club. 

He barely talks to me anymore.

I don't know if he's really busy or if he thinks I'm tryin to holler at him, but all I wanted to do was hang. 

I keep getting blown off and I don't know why.

BUT

At least I'm trying.

I just need to try harder. 

I'm just going to bury myself in school.

It's the only thing I want to do.

I miss you, Omaha. 

Smart Bar

I have found it! I have found new drum n bass, dubstep, house, industrial, and techno! 

This place is HUUUUGE! The lightning gets really wild, you can't really see in the picture but the walls light up green in the lounging areas. On Weds, Thurs, and Fri they stay open till 4, and Saturdays till 5! So nuts!

I got done with all my darkroom stuff last night, just making prints of my own stuff because I bought the wrong paper, and still have to shoot 2 rolls and make 6 prints before Wednesday. While I was walking out my teacher assistant was behind me, saying "Look at you, gettin a jump start." I told him I'd already done all of this before, and then we ended up sharing a cigarette and telling me a little about photography events at the school and then we exchanged numbers and he invited me to come out to this place. 

HOLY BALLLZZZZ 

I 

       WAS

                    SO

                               ECSTATIC! 

I saw Caspa + Timid, Whoa-B, and J Courage. Sadly, I didn't bring my camera to show pictures. I wanted to dance more! It was fucking incredible. Just what I needed! 

平和と愛

Nothin but good vibes

The past couple weeks I was feeling very blue, and out of touch from everyone and everything. I started to question my motives, my desires, my ambition, and my over all strength as a person. 

Up until a few days ago, I decided to stop.

Stop worrying.

Stop questioning.

Stop being self concious.

Stop being another student sitting in a classroom and not saying anything,

and BE someone more. 

Everyday I go to class, It gets a little better. I learn a little more, and I slowly make my mark. 

I've decided that I'm not going to post a

ny of my photographs until the end of the semester, or maybe when I make my own website. 

Today in my Photo class we t

alked a lot about light, what it does for the photograph, the mood it gives off, and the texture it creates. We looked at this photographer by the name of Elinor Carucci. We took a look at her series of photographs titled, "Closer." This series was essentially just everyday life of her family, mostly her parents, her husband, and her sister. Some of them so simple, yet they seem to make you look at the simple things in life differently. I think it's extraodinary how close she is with her parents, and how they are willing to let her photograph these nude pictures of them and portray them as how she sees him. They almost make you step back and look at your own family, how similar, or how different it may be to hers.  

You can check you her other work at http://www.elinorcarucci.com

On another note....

For my 2-D Design class we are starting on this outrageous project. Essentially we grabbed a box, and filled it with all kinds of arts and crafts, and random stuff he had for us, and we put it inside this box to create shape, and lines, and texture. WELL....this is literally a 24hr project. We are supposed to take and hour and half out of our day to sit down and draw this 3-D image, 2-dimensionally, on a 22x28 paper, WITH A PEN! This should be very interesting...

This is my totally absurd box that's going to be hard to draw. =/

Until next time kids.....

Anticipation

Photo 1

My teacher is awesome. I did some research on him and found some really great stuff. He's been in exhibits all over the world, mostly in New York, Philadelphia, The Netherlands, and of course, Chicago. He grew up in South Side Chicago and got a MFA & BA at Columbia. He really inspired me to live and breath photography. You can check out some of his work here. He's laid back, but particular about what he expects out of all of us. As most teachers do, he advised us to use the school, The Museum of Contemporary Photography (on campus), the Art Institute of Chicago, the library, and everything around us, to soak up every ounce of information that we can.  This class is going to be so awesome. It's kind of a refresher for me, but I have a feeling I am going to learn a lot. (Not to mention that it's on the 8th floor and I have an amazing view of Lake Michigan EVERYDAY!) It just blows my mind. Everyone in the class seems really cool, isn't from Chicago at all, it's crazy! 

Darkroom 1

I have the same people in this class as I do in my Photo 1, just a different teacher. My teacher seems really serious about everything, but very cool.  She's older and has been teaching at Columbia for awhile. One of the first things she told us was, "You can check out my work at karenglaserphotography.com" SERIOUS BUSINESS. She said as of recently she's been doing a lot of underwater photographs. I checked some of them out, and they are extraordinary. 

 

On the first day of class she showed us a 25 x 38 print of this. 

She also showed us the darkrooms (which are huge) and where to develop film, and then we got to see some work that was at the Museum of Contemporary Photography. Upon walking in the students working there we're talking amongst themselves and saying, "Oh Karen's here you guys..Karen's here." I felt honored to even be in her presence. I didn't know this but, you can request to see an artists work anytime during certain hours. And everything is the original prints! How crazy is that?

2-D Design

Definitely not the class I thought it was. I thought we would be doing things on the computer, and designing using shapes and patterns and what not. Completely wrong. It's mostly drawing and painting. FUCK! I don't mind it, I just can't really do either of those things very well, so it'll be interesting to see how this class works out for me. Right when we started he gave us an assignment to pick out seven images for a scale and have one side be the good, and one side be the evil, what comes in the middle, and everything else in between. The first thing that came into my head was images of rich people, images of poor people, and images of the middle class, so I just went with that. Everyone in that class is mostly Art & Design majors, or Advertising majors. AND there was only 1 person in the class that was actually from Chicago. WILD! 

Art History 

My teacher is wild about art history, let me tell you. It's your typical lecture class, but he's so scatter-brained it's hard to keep up with him. It's almost as if he has too much information and he just wants to get it all out at once. I met a couple new people in the class, so hopefully that should make it better. 

School is amazing. It feels good to be back.