when i paint my masterpiece...: percieve it already, damnit..

..is what I've been saying to myself a lot lately. As some of you know I'm really working very hard this semester to try to get at least five really solid pieces so I can apply for the BFA program at the end of the spring semester (assuming I get another five to six pieces done at the end of that semester). It's a very significant goal for me and if you ask any of my friends in class, it's close to the only thing I obsess about, let alone talk about. There's a lot of perks about being in the program (i.e. an independent studio space, a higher degree, being highly skilled in your emphasis area, extra attention from the prof's...) but I guess what I am most drawn to it is the agreement within myself that this is what I'm doing for the rest of my life, and there really is no turning back (unless I suddenly become motivated by the idea of another five years back at school, despite all drawbacks and complications).

I really saw a drastic change take place in my working habits this semester. I'm currently taking Printmaking (Etching) and Sculpture 1, both of which I did not take in high school, thus had no real idea what I was getting myself into. Both classes have really taught me a lot about form and existing characters in space, both very essential lessons to learn. Beyond the 'formal stuff', I have also discovered, or at least 'gotten a taste' for, my style. What drives me. How I'm wired. I've found this unconscious decision being executed through my works. I've come to realize (not just in my own works, but reexamining classical art or even literature) I am very moved and emotionally connected to these kind of profound senses of raw reaction and feeling. It's like that scene in (god forbid I mention it again..) American Beauty when the character Ricky Fitts mentions in passing a homeless woman freeze to death on the sidewalk and how it was "amazing. When you see something like that, it’s like God is looking right at you, for a second. And if you’re careful you can look right back." That is pretty as close to it as it gets, I'm afraid. These (perhaps not always drastically upsetting) dramatic events that maybe not be comfortable, but there's this undeniable sense of raw beauty there. In..credible.

Anyway. Here are some images of the pieces I have made thus far in my two classes this semester. Next semester I am registered to take Creative Photography and Painting 1, which I am thrilled about and cannot wait to start them already.

Etching: