89 MPH

This weekend I am in Borger, tx (near Amarillo) for my little sister's graduation. It's great to be home for a bit. I forgot how nice it is to not have to worry about traffic getting in my way, be able to see the stars really well, not having to cook, or clean. It has been really relaxing so far. I have also gotten to spend some much enjoyed time with my grandparents that I hadn't seen for too long.
Today the high school tennis team put on a wooden raquet tournament. How could I resist. I played tennis in high school and have always loved tennis. So Kathryn and I went to play and got beaten pretty badly, but we had fun. But the highlight of the morning was the clocking machine they had to clock serves. My best serve was 89 MPH! Oh yeah, i'm amazing! The picture below was taken about 5 years ago when I was in high school. I was pretty good then too. Oh yeah!We are now all high school graduates! I still can't believe my baby sister is that old!
This is one of my sister's senior pictures. She's so gorgeous!!!

Puppy Update

Stella is now about 4 1/2 months old. She is growing like a weed. She's going to be pretty big. Although she is a puppy, she's normally pretty good. She is great on walks, she's potty trained, she sleeps in her crate every night without complaint. But, she does most defiantly have a mischievous streak. And apparently likes muffins!
Another one of her favorite past times is to torment Suzanne's cats, especially Fluff.
She also LOVES sticks. While her and Godiva are out in the backyard, Godiva is fervently chasing squirrels and barking at any by passers, and Stella is chewing on sticks, or grass, or rocks. It's ridiculous.
All in all, she is a great dog. She has a lot of personality, she defiantly loves life, and she is a handful!

No More Blockage

My artist's block is now gone! Hurray! These are the two pieces that I created this week. These are images of my parents. What is above their heads are the things that are always on their minds. My dad grew up on a farm, so that is always on his mind, maybe just in the background. My mom loves to sew, cook, and garden. So above her head is part of a paper pattern, a dress form with an apron on it. The apron has a flower in the pocket. God is so good, he gives me all the ideas I have.

Artist's Block

I've got a case of artist's block going on right now. I just started a maymester class today and it has given me a great dilemma. I have to made 8 individual prints in 12 days. In the last print class I took the professor was not a big fan of the images I chose to make. Actually he critiqued everything that I was meaning to do through my work. In this print class, I have the same prof, and he will approve or disapprove me from being able to actually go on in my major this summer.  So in this class, I decided to go another way with my work, in order to impress my prof, and therefore get a good grade. So in class I was today sketching some and came up with a very intriguing idea to explore. I showed it to my prof, but he didn't like it because the two images were too different and seemed like two separate ideas. So he suggested that I go with one idea and run further with it. 

So I really have been trying to do that, but I'm stuck. I'm really excited about the idea that I came up with today, and I can't seem to come up with anything else I like. I have been looking through photos, sketches, old drawing, paintings, and even looking through the house to find something I'm interested in to print. But I have come up empty handed. 

Now here's the question. Do I go with the idea that I am really interested in or the one that my prof likes? If I go with the one that I'm really interested in then I'll make a great print. If I go with the one that my prof likes, then i'll get a good grade. Should I be true to myself as an artist? Or should I do what will get me out of school?