winter arting

Yeah. . .So, I know I haven't been doing much art lately. I'm thinking of entering this art show. I have this script that I wrote years ago. I let a friend read it and he thinks it'd make a pretty good sequential, so I'm gonna try to do it. First I sketched out two of the main characters. They're best friends, Adriana and Amber, trying to navigate the complex road of teenage life. Boys usually tend to be the complication.



I haven't drawn these characters in forever, so it was fun. Now I just have to crank out some pages in the next two weeks.

Oh yeah. . . and find a job.

I've been working on my portfolio though. I didn't think it would be so much work. I've had to compile all my work, and some of it, the files were lost, so some rescanning was involved. Ugh. And there's some package design that needs to be photographed, as well. It's all so tedious.

So. . . that's what I've been doing lately.

Old friends & new Responsibilities

Outside door leading to Graphic Design studio and lab.

Ah, school is over and time for the job hunt. I won't feel like I'm officially done with school until I get my diploma in the mail. Having a BFA sounds so much cooler, to me, than having just a BA or BS. Many people don't know what a BFA is, so that adds an element of mystery and allure to the whole thing.

After being in school for about 22 years straight, finally being done with everything, I feel like I should just be able to take it easy. But, no. I have to get into the job market so I can support myself and be able to buy stuff. Ugh. The good thing is that I've a few job prospects that I'm going to look into. Also, I'm still doing freelance for Ellis Products. One of the most important things for me right now is to get some form of health insurance, because my parents can no longer carry me on theirs. I'm not a sickly person. I don't think I've ever had the flu or even been to the emergency room for anything . . . never even broken a bone. But, "time and unforseen occurance befall us all." So, when one least expects it something happens and you're blindsided by some tragedy you're ill-prepared for.

However, one of the first things I did as an independent adult was get my cell phone bill put in my own name. My dad was really happy about that, as you can see:



The other day I went to Best Buy to return a battery I had bought for my camera. While there, I got reacquainted with my friend Richard, who works on the Geek Squad. He's a pretty cool guy. He escorted me to our Senior Prom. The next day we went to see Casino Royale with another high school friend of ours. It was my second time seeing the movie, that weekend, the previos time being Friday. The movie was really good, Daniel Craig was really hot as Bond, and Richard and Gus enjoyed it as well. Of course, I took pictures.



Richard, being really intent on the movie.


We exited the theater to discover a beautifully foggy night. This is the parking lot.


Richard walking to his car.



I'm the model for once. I'm slowly getting more comfortable in front of the camera. Richard wanted to steal my camera. It can't blame him. The thing is awesome incarnate.


This shot curtesy of my camera phone.



After the movie we headed over the the Waffle House. I hadn't been there with those guys in a really long time. So it was fun to just chill and joke and laugh.



Uhm . . . the end?

No, not really. The next day we were supposed to go the the mall. We (Richard, his friend Todd, and I) ended up going to Best Buy so hc couls check out the prices of this digital camera for his brother. Richard ended up seeing a lot of his WoW friends while there. He happens to be a guild leader, or something, and it was crazy hearing them talk WoW jargon. The sad thing was that, though I don't play the game, I was able to understand much of what they were saying.

But, I ended up getting a UV lens filter for my camera, half-price with Richard's employee discount. We were all starving, so we went to Ruby Tuesday for dinner. I had some shrimp pasta with Parmesan sauce. It tasted amazing. Richard let me play his Nintendo DS Lite. That was cool, because Kendall had suggested that I get one when I told him I was thinking about buying a Wii.

The Consumer in Me

I love this song, and the new video is cute as well. I first heard the song when I was researching the band after my sister mentioned that she liked them after seeing the video for "The Queen and I" on The N. I found that a lot of their videos were posted on YouTube. I ended up buying the album from iTunes. I like it. A lot of the songs are silly and fun, and a bit cheesy at times, but all around it's a good listen.

So, about the title of the entry, I ordered a bunch of stuff today:
• 3 shirts from forever21.

• 3 pairs of shoes from journey's, including another pair of Onitsukas. I also got a cute bag.

• 1 30G iPod, black from Apple.

I suppose the iPod was a little graduation gift to myself. The thing is, I like to buy cool things, including clothes, but I don't like to drop a bunch of money on stuff, and usually go straight to the "sale" or "clearance" section. However, I will drop the dough on things like computers & electronics, because you definitely get what you pay for in that regard. Sometimes, however, it's good to put down the extra buck on clothing, because I've discovered that the nicer stuff is a bit more expensive, but you're paying for the quality.

Seriously, though, I'm in desperate need of some new shoes, but I'm the practical type that want's to be able to wear stuff with more than one outfit. Sometimes it's hard finding the pair that's just right. I also still need to purchase a winter coat. I didn't have much luck finding something I really liked on line, so it looks like I'll have to brave the holiday crowds and go to the mall and try to find something.

.

Well, now that I'm done with school and have all this free time on my hands before I get a job, I suppose I can work on some art that's way overdue to be finished. My friend Ashely got me a sketchbook as a graduation gift, so I'll be breaking that in over the holiday.

I would also like to do some photo shoots and independent graphic desingn stuff to exercise my skills and help my portfolio. It's gotten no love, lately.

G-Day

So, Saturday I graduated from college. Through an unforseen turn of events I ended up taking my camera with me during the ceremony. So, here's the graduation in words and photos:


Notice my B.F.A is listed under "All Other Degrees."

The thing about the graduation procession was that there was no practice. We graduates candidates just got a notice in the mail telling us to show up an hour before the ceremony in order th line up. We came to the meeting place and got a card with our name that told our place in line. I was in group 3 and #3 in the line. When we marched up to receive our empty diploma holder thingie, we handed the reader our name card. It was a pretty cool system, in order to insure that names were read correctly and in order.

That's my dad, taking pictures of me.

I was fortunate that my family happened to be sitting in my line of sight.

After I got outside, Kendall was the first person I saw.

Kendall's on vacation this weekend. He came over from Hattiesburg just to attend my graduation. He had some gems in the form of words of advice: GET A JOB!

Thanks, Ken.

I had to take this little girl because she was so cute.


Getting love from my daddy. :)


Grandfather Walter was really proud. He's all about getting that degree.


The Samples Family: Crystal, Laura, Granfather Walter, Me, Dad, Grandmother Bessie Ruth, Nicole, and Mommy.


Funny that my cap & gown was manufactured in Jackson, MS, where Ken lives.


The Mitchell Center.


After Graduation we headed over to Romano's Macaroni Grill to get out grub on. This is me and my maternal grandmother, Pauline. This photos is extra special because I hardly have any photos of me with my grandmother. She's going to be 70 next year and still looks amazing (like, that's her natural hair color, for example. Hardly any gray).


Nicole drew this awesome portrait of me.


Our handsome waiters for the night, Adam and Pierre. Pierre is from the Cote D'Ivoire (the Ivory Coast). Crystal conversed with him in French, because she's cool like that.

Well, that's pretty much it. Thanks to Ken for taking the photos of me and my family at graduation. Now, to get that ever-important JOB.

The thing is, school isn't done for me. I still have to go back tomorrow for lab clean-up, and then the next day to pick up my portfolio. Then I wait to see what my grade is in Photography. Hopefully I passed.

Final Critique

Yesterday I had what will (hopefully) be my last critique in photography. It went surprisingly well. For our final assignment we did Gum Prints. It's cool process, but a bit time consuming and difficult to master the first go-round.

It took me forever to develop my concept for this project. I had an idea really early on, but I didn't quite know how to execute it on film. Finally I came to the conclusion that simple is better, and worked from there. I'll talk more about it when I get the images back so I can post them here.

After class, we all got together to take a class portrait, like we've done in previous classes. It is photography, after all.



l to r: Rita Skiadas, the instructor; Sherard Robinson, William Bunce, Nikki Bhakta, John Hyland, and Sharon Samples (me). Photo taken by Sohil Bhakta with my camera.

In the beginning of the semester there were 8 students. Then there were 6. Only 5 people showed up for critique. Nikki's prints were awesome. She's an extremely talented photographer, and I'll hope to see more from her in the future. Her cousin, Sohil, is also a photo student at South. He's really good as well. I hope he realizes his dream of becoming a fashion photographer.

My future as a photographer is a bit less certain, but I do enjoy it. Who knows? My minor in photography may do me some good in the future.

Tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. I graduate. Ken's being awesome and attending. I still have yet to try on my cap & gown. If it doesn't fit now there isn't much I can do about anyways.

G-Day approaches.

LOST

*clickable*

*cough*

Ugh. . .

I'm sick and my body aches, but I have to go to school cuz I've used up all my absences.

Take care, y'all.

*Update*

I went to class and did some work, coating some paper for the gum print process. I was fighting a headache, and had/have a slight fever. Eventually, in passing my instructor asked me if I was ok. I told her I was sick and had a fever, and being the amazingly compassionate person she is, she let me go home and didn't give me and absence.

Home again, I think I'll pass out now.

24.

In about 14 hours I'll be 24-years-old.

In 8 days I'll be attending the final critique in Alternative Photography. It will be my last undergrad critique ever.

In 10 days I'll be graduating from the University of South Alabama with a BFA in Graphic Design (Photography minor).

I'm trying not to freak out at the thought of the whole new world that'll be opening up. I've been a student practically all my life, probably about 22 years, including pre-school. (I went to an awesome pre-school.) I will be completely out of my comfort zone of an academic environment. Must. Not. Freak. Out.

*Sigh* I'm ok. It's like getting a fresh start. I'm just most nervous about being in an unfamiliar environment. And I'm realizing that that's ok, as long as I'm willing to learn and adapt.

I picked up my graduation announcements yesterday. My cap & gown will be in next week. College graduation is kind of a big deal in my family, but I guess I haven't really considered the significance. All my life I've known I'd get to this point, or rather, it was understood in my family that that's what me and my sister's would eventually accomplish. That has a lot to do with my socio-cultural background, some generations feeling that a college degree is the only way to have an sort of status. I don't agree with it, but college is good for me personally.

I feel a ramble coming on. . . Anyway. Lots of changes all at once for me. All I can do is smile and embrace the braces.

cards & photos; busted again

Finally, some art.



I drew this for Kendall, since he's been feeling sick these last few days. I have commissions. I need to work on. But I need to draw small stuff from time to time. I'm surprised how quickly this came out. Only took me about 15-20 mintues to draw, but it's rather small. It's Rosario Dawson, because Ken <3s her for some reason.

I can't believe I have about 2 weeks of school left before I graduate. So surreal.

I went to the orthdontist yesterday, got my bracket fixed. Then about an hour later, while eating a double bacon cheddar melt from Wendy's, I spit out—whadaya think?—another bracket. Actually, it was the same one I had just gotten "fixed." So I call the orthodontist's office, and they tell me to come back in. The receptionist sounded really shocked. Apparently it's unusual for it to have come off again like that. So, I get it put back on, and it's stayed so far. I wasn't terribly upset about the situation, I was just slightly frustrated because I hadn't eaten all day, and I had to stop to go back to the orthdontist.



The awesomely bountiful dessert table at the luncheon at my older sister's work.



My lovely cousin, Ashley. She goes to Auburn University.

busted stuff

me, Laura, and Nicole

Yeah, so I busted a bracket last night, shortly after the above photo was taken. After only 2 months with my braces. I'm going in tomorrow to get it fixed. Stupid holidays. . . my appointment has to be during my class time.

So anyway, last night I went to the house of the Fuenmayor's with my sister. They were having a little get-together. I just finished a big project for Ellis, so I was in need for a little break. Also, I hadn't been out in a while, so I figured I'd attempt to socialize.


A out-of-focus photo of my friend, Dean, who gave us a ride to the Fuenmayor's.


Laura (on couch), Dean and Braxton about to play Spades.


Braxton, who fell in love with my camera.


A clear photo of Dean.






So we played this crazy game called "spoons", which is like musical chairs, but with cards and spoons.


Then we played another card game called "murder". Based on the rules of the game, it's kinda hard to do it with only candlelight, but it was still interesting.


Arianna. Look familiar?


Edgardo. His English is in-progress, and he's really nice. I danced with him at this party a few months ago. . . I just remembered.

As I said, I wasn't the only one who had fun with my camera last night. I let my friend Braxton play with it. After showing him the basic functions, he was good to go, and took some pretty nice photos.




See the rest here.

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So school is winding down. Our last assignment involves gum printing. Very time consuming but a cool alternative process. I'm still not sure what I'm doing and contact sheets are do tomorrow. I'll just go with my original idea. I tend to overthink my concepts on every assignment.

. . .Goodness, I still have sketches to post. I'll get them up eventually. I need to draw more in general. I also need to practice drawing different things than people, like environments and perspective.

And then there's graduation, December 9th. Wonder what I'll do after that. . .