days of future past

this are some images of my first 'of loom textiles' assignment. the title of the assignment is 'days of future past'; its a reference to an x-men plot line in which the characters in the present are trying to prevent an event that they know is going to happen in the future. they fail, and whatever catastrophe that they were trying to prevent happens anyway. so our assignment is supposed to have to do with the future, or allude to it.
so what i did was, i crocheted a "chain" made of whatever crochet-able materials i could find. its all one, long connected chain and alludes to the span of my life and the events that occur along the way. during the process, if a material inspired some thought about my life, i would write it down on a piece of white fabric, then attach the strip to the chain with a piece of copper wire. part of the idea of this work is that it won't be finished until, well, i die. it also refers to the repetitiveness of daily life, the notion that we get along with what we can find, and the fact that all the pieces of our life affect the following pieces and we must continue to build upon what we have already been through.
i know its kind of silly. i generally don't make art like this. i think that for some reason sculpture is super abstract to me, and i'm not used to working in this medium. it made more sense for me to photograph both the process and the product. oh, and i decided to present the work in a suitcase, to further push the idea that no matter how we feel about the 'baggage' and experiences in our lives, we usually have to carry them around with us... praise the lord that jesus fixes the broken parts for us

vorrei dirvi qualcosa...

CHE io non posso scrivere una tema in un modo efficiente. so che questa è molto strano perchè sono una studentessa universitaria di terzo anno, e, (mi sembra) che io avessi potuto imparare come si scrive una tema fin'ora! pero, studio l'arte. beh, non è abbastanza giustificazione, anche gli artisti devono scrivere qualche volte...
allora devo cominciare il lavoro, devo finire la tema prima delle sette perchè ho un'incotro allora. sono stanchissima e sarò stanchissima tutta la trimestre. magari no, ma ne sono quasi sicura.
ciao.

this is about Jesus

I'm super busy this week and should be working on homework right now, but I felt like taking a moment to post this image. This is my first assignment for my Studio Lighting class (its actually called "The Fabricated Image"). We had to set up a scene inside a box. I think about half of the class set up little forest scenes with props from a hobby shop, but I decided to take an alternative route. I'm really not satisfied with the aesthetic outcome of this image (this is a digital picture, I also took some shots with a 4x5 view camera... but I don't like those either), but I love the concept, and I think I'll try to redo this sometime to make it better. I'm pretty sure I could do it at home with a "home made studio" consisting of desk lamps and flashlights and all that good stuff.
Anyway, this is my first photograph that is directly about Jesus, but I feel like its not good enough for Him. I suppose, in all reality, nothing really is. You would think that it wouldn't have taken me so long for my art to be a direct reference to my Savior, the love of my life... but I suppose that I'm always a little late in getting the things done that I need to. Praise God for his grace and patience with me.
Now we'll just have to see if I can make my "Days of Future Past" fibers assignment about Jesus. That will be quite the challenge.

it tasted like poison

today i applied to graduate. you're supposed to apply one term before the term that you graduate, which for me is next term. it was kinda scary for about half a second, i almost decided to apply later this term, but once i got it over with it was much less scary than anticipated. in fact, it was very anticlimactic. i got to check a few boxes for the alumni association (for the craft center and young life), then when i was finished it went back to the screen that i see all the time.

this morning i went to starbucks, and there was an old lady in front of me in line. she had her walker and when she got the register she turned it around to sit on it while she proceeded to interrogate the barista about how her house coffee would be served; how much cream would be in it and whether or not it would be caffeinated. because yesterday she got an americano, she took it home and when she went to drink it, "it tasted like poison!". she basically accused the barista of purposely giving her the most disgusting thing she could think of ever consuming. i laughed for about three blocks when i got back in the car.
i think i will like being an old lady.

sunshine, quiet times, and crashing waves = good weekend

This weekend the Eugene Young Life leaders went on a retreat to the ocean (more specifically: Florence). We stayed in two amazing houses right on the beach and the weather was wonderful (not windy and no clouds!). I went with semi-low expectations of coming away from the weekend with anything super-valuable, but basically God proved me wrong and blew me out of the water. The simplicity of what He is teaching me is pretty great: step it up. Yes I'm seeking Him in my quiet times and fellowshiping with His people in a church body and serving Him in that body and in showing up at North Eugene HS and meeting girls there and trying to teach them about the amazing love of Christ, but I can do better. I can seek Him more, get deeper, change faster. I can serve Him better, be more bold, love people to His standard.
I approached this weekend with low expectations, yet when I took the time to sit and listen to the Lord, He spoke so clearly through His word. I was so blessed to be able to spend time with such amazing followers of Christ who are serving Him in the same kind of places that I am, seeking to lead highschoolers to Christ. The teams for each of the highschools look different, and none of them are exactly like the "traditional YL club", and it was so encouraging to be able to see the diversity in the ways the Lord works even within the same organization, in the same city, under the same director.
God is awesome and is moving in our city. He is using so many people to do His work, and I know that number will continue to grow in number and depth.

i electrocuted myself today

Today I was making a lamp for one of my classes. While I was putting the hardware together, I plugged the light into the wall before putting the socket shell with the paper liner inside (because I wanted to make sure that I put it together correctly)... and when I flipped the switch to turn on the light, it electrocuted me! My hand locked up for a second and then I threw it at the wall, and the light bulb exploded. Then my arm was numb and tingly up to my elbow. It broke the socket, so I had to go take one from a different lamp I made.
Tatum, Kelsey, and Tucker witnessed the whole thing. It was really funny about a minute later.
Here's a picture of the lamp that almost cost me my life...

funny article

I found this article via ArtForum, a contemporary art magazine. Its about how to avoid embarrassment on facebook and especially pertains to future politicians. Some of the suggestions seem a little obvious, but its funny nonetheless.

Vote for Me, Not My Facebook Account

Although the statements made in this article may seem to be no-brainers to many people, I think there is a real point to the idea of this article. How often do we think seriously about the things that we put on the internet? Whether its facebook or a blog or a photo-sharing site, once you put an image or a thought onto the internet, there's no getting it back. People have the ability to appropriate any idea or image from the internet that they desire to have as their own, and can then use it anyway they see fit.
I don't really know where I'm going with this... maybe it really has to do with the futility of this world and our lives, who knows.

not by my own accord

I've been reading about being controlled by the Spirit, and all these things that go along with that (which is a lot). And it has been very applicable to the happenings in my life (as it should be). Of course I have all these ambitions about who I want to be and how I want to live, and yes, these desires are based on what I read in God's word, but will not be achievable by any means unless I am completely surrendered to the Spirit of the Lord. And instead of this thought being intimidating as it potentially could be, it is liberating, knowing that the perfect, omnipotent, omnipresent, holy, immutable, righteous Creator of the heavens and the earth has the desire to change me and direct my life provided that I simply surrender to His Spirit. I know this and I have known this for some time, and yet, I seem time and time again to fail; to take my life into my own hands and run rampant through this world doing as I please according to my own desires and intentions, all the while, God is patiently whispering, "be filled with My Spirit" (Eph. 5:18). I know that I can do nothing apart from Him, and so, time and time again I find myself repenting of my inability to follow this simple command and asking the Lord that He would do this work in me.

"For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh in death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. HOWEVER, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." (Romans 8:5-11)

And so, because the Spirit of God is already in me, I can be led by the Spirit. I can seek to live my life for the glory of God, to submit to the Spirit, be changed for the better, and live with my eyes set on eternity.



This is a photo I took of my dad. He's had a pretty crazy past couple years, and the recent months haven't let up. He needs to know Jesus, so if you're reading this post, and you're someone who prays, could you pray for him?

back to school

I am going back to school tomorrow! So I thought I would create some art to commemorate the event.

come dio vuole

peace has nothing to do with the earth, nor can it be found there

I read Psalm 4 today.
I can call on the Lord, and I am dependent on His answer, He is not dependent on my call. I call out to Him because He has redeemed me in the past, I have faith that His grace and mercy will be poured out again. David the Psalmist, as well as myself, desires for men to give up their worldly pursuits and to seek God. How long will it take for their eyes to be opened? If they only knew that God's worth is inexpressible and that His intent is that we would understand the Truth. That Lord has set apart the saved to do His work. He hears when I call out to Him, He hears when all call out to Him. Have fear of the Lord so not to sin. A person with no respect for God has no reason to follow His ordinances. Meditate on the Word of God, on your sin and shortcomings, on God's grace. Be still in the presence of the Lord. Your sacrifice to the Lord is to be righteous, not tainted by unholy motives, by resentment, by being less than whole-hearted. To trust God is to be committed to Him, to show your faith in action. Faith is not just something to have, it is something to do. The unbelievers' lack of faith blinds them to the glorious light of God. I once has the same attitude, but God has changed my heart. The Lord gives more joy than could ever be provided by anything on this earth. In all situations, only the Lord can provide safety. He is always with me, so I can lay down my head in peace, a peace that only the Lord can give, that surpasses all understanding.
Peace has nothing to do with the earth, nor can it be found there.

oatmeal

I have made a recent discovery... I love oatmeal. I didn't know until now, but its really great.