I love this city. The hustle of the city life surrounding slow moving neighborhoods and edged with tropical beaches. It’s everything anyone could ask for in a home. My family visited this weekend, both of them actually. The Henry clan and the Tracy troop have survived a trip jammed full of all kinds of food, sunburns, volleyball, and traipsing around the city.
All the design terms thrown at me build and swirl into a volcano of language. The knowledge stews with violence and the deadlines taunt my teetering sanity. Rendering animals in fonts, full creative freedom in cd cover designs, giving logos life, two and three dimensional mermaids, ideal doll house layouts, term papers, and a painting for a gallery opening…. Finals have screamed into my world and this is only the beginning.
The tickets are purchased, and I’ve got big plans for my trip to Michigan. First of all, there is attending a service in the new oh-so-impressive Riverview building. Next, volleyball and grilling with the Las kids…. at least once. There are just so many people I haven’t seen in so long, I can’t list it all. Omi with Julie, Holland with preggers Jessie, a run with Vince, darts at the Barrel, hours of play with Buddy, games at the Klan’s… under 5 days and so much to do. Clear your schedules, here I come! (August 23rd-28th, of course)
Finals have ensued and taken over my already packed summer schedule. Forgive me for dropping off the face of blog world. The little time I find between Adobe Illustrator, city sketching around the Loop, oral surgery, allergic reactions to medication, doing my supervising/barista-ing thing at the 6th busiest store in the city, visits from out of towners, and my obsessive-compulsive cleaning is the time I fit in sunshine, beach jogging, and my new love for watercolor painting.
The family comes next weekend… 5 out of 7 Henry’s (at least) tumbling around in my studio apartment. Sound volatile but I am pretty much overwhelmed with excitement. Now just to conquer all my designs before they get here so I don’t fail! Game on.
Sometimes a girl needs to get elbow deep in her art… it soothes and refreshes the soul.
Mikenna reminded me that I really don’t take the time to post any of my design… I am sure its because my design at the moment is pretty limited to what the professors tell me to create. This is a self portrait project that I was assigned in my Illustrator class. All of it was concocted in illustrator by yours truly, quite time consuming and of course, I’m not totally happy with it but… it is what it is.
the city makes aliens of us all. every bustling, hustling street creeks the same as the empty allies. a forceful disconnect pushes your eyes down to the cracked concrete. i am not a person here, merely feet to fill their consumer shoes. no one has neighbors when the doors must remain locked. i see the sights but no longer look longingly. the eyes don’t bat, don’t flinch, don’t contact mine. every eye is an island here.
The “campus” of my school is in the loop of Chicago and thus has a absolutely opposite feel than that of the universities I’ve lived around before. Forget walking a mile between classes, its a mere elevator ride away. It’s a matter of 1st floor versus 6th floor and so on. Likewise the community it creates is weak, unless you happen to run into a friend coming or going from the bathroom or entering the elevators at the same time as you, its quite socially minimal. Right now, I’m sitting at one of the computers in the hallway of the fourth floor… and its dead silent in every direction. It actually quite creepy….
but there’s nothing like taking in a gorgeous view of the city from the floor to ceiling windows. I’m quite content atop my little perch.
I see you in all of us. In the way our round noses sit on our faces, and in the way each of us approaches a new day. I see you the oldest. In the very way he makes a living and in his creative, distracted genius. I hear you in his voice, and in his increasingly corny humor. I see you in the quiet, creative middle child. I see you in his self taught guitar played behind closed doors, his mysterious intelligence, and his gracious, giving heart. I see you in the youngest as she tries to find her place in the world. I see you in her unquenchable thirst for laughter, and the way she tackles every hurdle with confidence and color.
I see you in every word I type, and every picture I take. You are the creativity and passion that pulses through my veins. I see you in this colossal city, and feel a little less alone. I find courage in the very idea of the person you are, and all the places you have been. I am inspired by the notes you play, the pictures you take, and all the things I don’t even know about you.
I see you in all of us and could not be more proud of the family you created. Each of us is prepared to conquer the world, each of us brilliant and brave in the security of your love. In the wars that all four of us have fought, and even in the battles we have yet to fight, you’re the strength in all our triumphs, the grace in all our defeats, and the voice of reason in the conflicts we choose not to engage. Most importantly, you’re the loving finger that points us back to the Father who provides where you cannot.
Thank you Daddy, you’re in my thoughts on this far away kind of Father’s Day.
Taken on Christmas, from the car that carried my remaining belongings from Michigan to the street I now live on.
When walking side by side with a friend on the sidewalk and another pedestrian approaches (in either direction) it is common courtesy to then walk single file to let them pass. It’s the same basic principle as only driving in the left lane on the freeway when you’re passing another car.
I try not to get “sidewalk rage” but come on, learn some city walking etiquette, people! Some of us have trains to catch!
I thought I’d share some links with you that turned my mood on its head. These are a few of my professors at Harrington. They inspire me.
My newest illustrator assignment has my head spinning in the best way possible. I have high hopes for it, perhaps in two weeks I’ll share it with you.