some things in town and some tiny sculptures

this is a clump of balloons that have been on a tree branch near one of our favorite food places (XOCO) since last fall!
blue sky

through a windown into a big big room that looks it should be a studio

some great lines on the road near the bus stop by our apartment

sculpture from canvas thread and three staples

same one just upside down

aluminum foil held together with a screw

aluminum foil bound with canvas thread

roll of paper (from a straw)

latest letterpress thing

i'm working on an instruction manual for making a million prints.... this is what some of the type looks like after i set it getting it ready for lockup (that is what it is called when the type is put into the bed of the press just before printing).

i've set each word seperately so i can easily move them when i'm printing.

these are for the title so they don't need to move so i set them multiple words at a time.

some of the printing (this is just a test of how the words will look on the page)

the title page.

trying to dry the ink more quickly by hanging the print by the fan.

after the print was mostly dry i folded and bound the book.

sorry these were all sideways, for some reason they didn't transfer very well.

the MFA in studio art at SAIC

as you know if you are reading my blog, i have been in Chicago attending the School of the Art Institute of Chicago since last fall semester. i was invited to attend as a prior degree student (which means i was in school as an undergrad, working for a semester before i reapplied to graduate school) and i have been taking classes since August. in the one semester before reapplying i learned a ton! mostly about the school but also about my work and living in Chicago. i wouldn't trade spending a year as a prior degree student for anything... it has given me the opportunity to get situated and prepared for graduate school, and i think i am finally ready to get going. as of last Thursday i was accepted into the Ceramics department and the Printmedia department to study as a graduate student. as of last Friday i am accepted into Ceramics, Printmedia, and Painting and Drawing! somehow (by the grace of God!) i now get to choose which of those three departments i want to join as a graduate student. it is looking like i will go for Painting and Drawing (since it is such a powerful department) but that may change in the next few weeks. for now we (Shauna and i) are just celebrating the blessing and preparing for two years of really hard work!

drawing

Chicago

the view from our apartment window... kind of great! at least for a Greeley "hayseed" like me. i kind of feel like some kid who moved to Chicago to get away from the farm.

the view from near the HomeDepot that i use
the view from the same place, just looking down at the base of a lamppost

the view from Brad and Cassia's dining room when there is a snow storm going on and it is quickly approaching one in the morning

the view from one of the bus stops i sometimes use

the view from the train platform that Shauna and i stand on when we go up to Wisconsin to visit Chris, Dawn, Paul, and one in the oven

the view from the letterpress studio on the thirteenth floor

the view from the same place, just closer to the window