Being Here

First off i must say that it is nice to finally be writing down all my thoughts and reflections about this trip that have been floating around in my head for the past several weeks : ) And i am slowly but surely making my way through all the images and editing them (again, since i had already edited them once before my computer crashed) These two are of the vista off the coastline at Vico Equense, my first stop in Italy. This is pretty much what we saw when looking out the back side of our hotel, which was awesome. I tried going to the beach, but there were far too many speedos for me to handle, a bit intimidating/scary for your first day in europe.

I know that a lot of my friends who have gone on study abroad trips have had a lot of spare time to travel around, the ability to cut class basically whenever and a lot of scheduling flexibility. I wouldn't say that is the case with the cortona. we have a lot of work crammed into an extremely short amount of time compared to what we're used to. it all leads up to our big show at the end that we put on for the whole town over an entire weekend. the pace can be quite draining, but i think i actually prefer it. the ability to be in an environment where you are completely immersed in art and making art is something i know i am lucky to be afforded, and it has thus far been extremely helpful to me. i don't really even know if it has been helpful in the sense that i am making better art, but if nothing else it is settling my mind. at home there are so many things to worry about and distract from my work and the very few other things that are actually important in life, and here those things are gone. it makes you wonder why theyre really such a big deal in the first place. oh well, ignorance is bliss for now.

i think this trip came at an ideal, and possibly crucial, time for me. it is a great time to reflect and focus on my work and figure out exactly what im supposed to be doing after this. it is my time to finally get serious and to take myself seriously as an artist. most importantly it is time for me to settle the internal struggle ive faced for quite some time about what i really want out of my life. ever since i could remember, when i thought about my future i thought about not "settling" and living a life that made the most of my abilities and being happy. those things are all nice, but they are also quite vague. i cant stand the idea of waking up twenty years from now and feeling like i made the wrong choices or didnt follow my heart or didnt do the best i could. hopefully this summer will shed some light on at least which direction to face before i start walking.

so here i am being here.

so far i am enjoying my bookmaking class the most. it was a scary course for me to take, and i almost didnt. my measuring skills are not exactly at college level and ive never been one of neatness and good craftsmanship no matter how hard i may try. im so glad i went ahead and took the course because the skills ive learned are going to come in great handy for sure especially when putting together my port for the end of school. i had a feeling it would be my favorite class and it definitely is. i really like being able to make something by hand. im on the computer so much its nice to actually be offline and do something on my own. the books have an emotive and personal quality that i think is lacking in graphic design often times. its nice to make something that makes you feel something for once haha.

i started thinking: what if i combined my photographs in a book form? what would happen? a startling revelation, i know, but this truly is a new concept for me. its so nice to feel inspired and feel like you have ideas and work that you want to make come to life. my head feels like its about to explode and i like it haha.

i spent all weekend working on a book and though the craftsmanship was way off point, i think i can do a reprint and make it what i want it to be. i took a few pictures along the way but forgot to get one of the finished product, so ill post those as soon as i can.

im going to try to get more pictures done asap so i can post them here! until then everyone eat a hamburger and some french fries, or drink a lemonade for me: i am craving all three.