Sunday, April 26, 2009

Graduated

I am official, a bachelor of the arts, graduated from college. I am done with my formal education for the time being. It's really nice. I'm home for the weekend and I don't have to go back tonight, I don't have to get up at 5:20 and get ready to go to work, I don't have anymore homework or classes... It's a really nice thought. I get to work on my art as much as I'd like... what I've been wanting to do all semester. It's wonderful.
There are some con's though, like the fact that about half of my possessions are sitting in the living room from moving home. While I love my family, it'll be adjustment living with my brothers again... I'm going to be attending my stake's single's ward, which is quite an adjustment after four years of BYU wards, and now to a ward that's close to the size of my old FHE (family home evening) group. So good and bad.
My graduation itself, I didn't actually want to walk, I remembered it being really boring and a pain in high school and so I figured I'd skip it. My Grandma was adamant that I should and so I reluctantly agreed. I was only going to go to my college convocation but then I heard that President Uchdorf and Elder Nelson would be speaking at the commencement and so I decided I would do that too. I really didn't love commencement other than the speaking, there was a lot of standing and waiting etc, but the speeches made up for it. President Uchdorf got an honorary degree and then spoke and it was very nice to hear him and Elder Nelson, they both gave good advice, things like: continue learning, seek out the spirit and keeping it with you, and working hard but not being consumed by a career. The thing that made these especially poignant was that they addressed these from a gospel perspective, which is one of the great beauties of BYU. The next day was the convocation where Elder Oaks spoke, apparently he had a few grandchildren graduating from my college and that was cool. Elder Oaks spoke mostly about making sure that family and friends come first and are more important than ones work. I think that's part of why there's so many divorces these days, because people let work become more important than their families. Anyway it was nice, but I'm glad I don't foresee having to do it again. I will be only too happy to simply watch at my little brother's graduation from high school in a month or two.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Sunday, April 19, 2009

A visit from the Jehovah's Witnesses

This morning I guess the local Jehovah's Witnesses took it upon themselves to spread the good word to my apartment complex. It was interesting because my complex is predominantly LDS. I can't remember if I've ever had a run in with the JW's before, I know they've been to my house before and left their magazine Watchtower. It was interesting though to listen to them, the lady was showing us a scripture in John and telling us how the bible would lead us to eternal life. I confess I wasn't paying a great deal of attention, but her message seemed to be lacking and I was surprised that she didn't actually share the scripture with us, just read the highlights that she wanted to talk about. It made me take a look at missionary work in my own faith, I know that these people had the same good intentions as so many young men and women who go out to serve full time missions. A part of me didn't want to listen to the Jehovah's Witnesses but a part of me wanted to do so to be polite, I just don't know which would be kinder in the end as I have absolutely no intention of changing my religion. Something I did notice though, was the lack of the spirit in their message, for all their good intentions, the spirit is not with them, and a direct comparison was available as my home teachers came over right afterwords. Their message, oddly enough was on true doctrine. My home teachers had prayed and studied the lesson they gave me and they had the spirit with them as they shared the story of a woman who upon learning about the gospel, could not help but share it with all she knew, despite the fact that doing so was against the law where she lived. The woman was put in jail for doing so but by sharing the gospel further with the judge, the charges against her were eventually dropped. All I could thing about was the saying that "the truth shall set you free." One of my home teachers reminded me of something I love about this church: that we are encouraged to study things out to see if they are true and then to ask of God to know. I love that I am not asked to follow blindly or to take anyone's word for all of this, but that I can know for myself. I know that this is the true church because I have studied it out and I am glad.

Friday, April 17, 2009


I really want to go to the pyramids, and so many other places. I am very hopeful that very soon I will be able to travel to all these awesome places that I've heard about and seen pictures of over the years. I'm so very excited to go to Italy next summer.
Another thought, it is fairly difficult to decide which paints to buy with, what are at the moment, limited means. Part of me really wants to just go all out and buy a nice boxed set, but on the other hand why not hand pick my own set and get what I'll really want to use... decisions are difficult.
I heard about the blue riders and I think I might take my own shot at emulating them, or I might not, I need to find out more about them. I'm told they used the best lapis though, and while I would love to do that someday, today is not the day.
Anyway, isn't this a breathtaking picture? I think it's good to see such inspiration and such great beauty and that's why I swiped this picture off of someone's facebook. Enjoy.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

whao

I just finished my last class of college, I am one final away from the end of my college career. Very strange, happy, sad, weird and wonderful.

I debated putting this picture up, but here it is. This is actually from high school. It's my: do I really have to get a picture wearing all this crap? face.
If I must do the graduation thing this time around, I'm glad that the robes will be black, and that I won't have all the junk. I was quite proud of all the junk at the time though, it meant that I was going above and beyond and all that jazz. I think I had just about all of the stuff one could have and for all that effort, it's somewhere in a box: wahoo.
I'm really excited to be done but I'm sure there will be some bitter sweet. Anyway I'm rambling so ciao.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Easter



It's Easter, and a very happy one to all. It's been a fun weekend, cleaning up grandma's yard, going to a bridal shower and going home for my mom's birthday which happened to be on Easter this year.
It was strange being in a family ward, after a few years in a single's ward, I forget how loud it can get in a ward with lots of little kids. I don't know if it was the kids or me but I wasn't focusing on what's really important for most of church today.
I hadn't been thinking about the reasons why we celebrate Easter, far more than bunnies and candy, all that's fun, but Easter's a very important holiday. I celebrate Easter because of the sacrifice made by Jesus Christ; he suffered for the sins of the world. The atonement it such a big gift, not only does it mean that I have the chance to repent of my sins, to be a better person and learn from my mistakes, but also that no matter what happens, the savior always knows how I feel, no matter how alone or sad, etc. he can understand because he has gone through that same thing for me. It's a very comforting thing to know. I'm very grateful for it.

Happy Easter

Thursday, April 9, 2009

thinking


Here's a beautiful picture to start it off, I don't know who took it but they did a good job.
I find myself at a crossroads in life, leaving school, moving, starting my chosen profession, there's a lot going on. It's sometimes hard not to feel overwhelmed and frightened of the new and unknown. I know that I'm capable and that I can handle what comes my way, mostly I'm excited about this new phase in life, but sometimes it's quite daunting. I don't like the thought of no longer meeting weekly with my mentor for advise, fascinating knowledge and a wealth of experience. I don't feel like I've learned all that I need to, I don't know that I'm ready; however I do know a lot, I can do this, and should I need to talk with my mentor, I'm not moving far from school and he'll still be there. It will be alright, I can do this, I will not succumb to those well meaning individuals who ask if I've thought about teaching because the starving artist rep seems so prevalent. I will not teach school and I will prove them wrong...there determination and stubbornness to replace doubt.

Friday, April 3, 2009

picture

because my blog's been rather devoid of pictures lately, and because it's been snowy and rainy, I'd like to remind everyone that it could be worse...



... you could be in Alaska

at last

okay for those who have been waiting to see my show, it's finally going to be posted...only not here, on facebook. Let me know if that's a problem and we'll work something out

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Strange but true

I've kindof missed blogging...

In other news, I love and hate technology. My apartment's internet has been out for a week now and it's not been enjoyable. I'm kindof an internet junkie. I've found that I can get along quite well without it, but in my current station in life, I'd really rather not. Also I might have somehow killed my camera last night. I was trying to upload pictures and it suddenly and without warning died on me. Hopefully recharging the batteries will solve it's problems.

I have been slightly obsessed with geometry and patterns of late as that's what the pieces I'm working on are all about. I found this website and I thought that it was really awesome. I love being able to find out how people make patterns. I've also come to find that the longer you look at them and focus on them (over lengthy time, not a few hours) the easier they become.

I'm really excited to move back home after graduation. I'm excited to bug my brothers, paint all the day long, cook awesome food and have access to a really awesome library system that has tons of the movies I haven't been able to get my hands on while I've been at school.

I learned how to gild last week and I'm uber excited about it. I think I want to attempt more gilding when I go home and don't have to worry about things like homework... who does that anyway... oh yeah, on the lines of gilding, tomorrow I also get to learn real egg tempera, not the stuff in tubes but the stuff with real eggs required! I'm super excited, and I think you'd have to be an art nerd to understand why...you might not really even get it then.

I plan on going to FLORENCE!!!!! next summer, to study at the academy of art there for two months and I really, really, really am excited to go. Florence is awesome, not to mention the fact that it's in ITALY. Wow, so cool. And I'll be improving my drawing, seeing works of art that I've sat through countless art history lectures about! Viva Italia!

Of my friends gets back from her mission at the end of the month and I'm so excited to see her again, it seems like ages since I've seen her, not just a year and a half.

I have a very deep love of pizza which makes my roommates both amazed and laugh at me. I truly deeply love pizza, I think I could eat it for a long time without getting sick of it, however, this being said the weekend where I ended up having pizza for four meals in a row was a tad bit much. I would have pizza for dinner tonight if I could. As it is I may have to settle for a grilled cheese sandwich.

This is a fairly long and random post, without pictures (sorry, camera disaster). It is also time that I should be getting ready to go to Italian so ciao.