Thanks for coming back for more...
One of the trips with a drawing class was to the Daum Museum of Contemporary art. Normally I don't like Contemporary art. Or Modern Art. I much prefer working drawings and concept work, so finished pieces and things that are there for no reason other than being there - or no other reason than the artist just wanted to do something and probably got paid for it after doing similar things for a number of years while all the time being sad that being an artist doesn't pay well etc. Ugh. I didn't look forward to this trip.
Now I can't remember the name of the artist that did these pieces, but I was very pleasantly surprised by them. They catch the fleeting nature of art as well as being very obviously time-consuming and deliberate in their creation. I liked the intricacies of the shapes and the fact that once the installation was over, the fabric would be binned and the staples removed. Solving the age-old dilemma of not knowing what to do with a piece of art once you have it back from a show and don't really want it in your living room. I have some such pieces. They're in my living room.
In one of my drawing classes there was a distinct shortage of life drawing models with tentacle heads. This was my attempt to make up for it but I just got an odd look from the teacher.
I went to Kansas City for a weekend with a load of churches from around the area. It was pretty good. Up at the top there is the view I had from my floor and below was the view I had at sunset from my room. It was pretty awesome. The smoking pillar on the left is the Kansas City Memorial - I believe it's a tribute to the soldiers who fell in the Second World War.
An opportunity came to get in the photos of many groups of people I didn't know. I did so with much merriment.
Life drawing classes. At the top there, the model fidgeted and moved and itched and yawned. All things that a model should not do. I got fed up, so I tried to catch the gestures of the model's hands instead. I like how it turned out.
A bottle. In charcoal. Probably a little bigger than life size. One assignment saw three of us draw the same model in four different poses and fill in the rest of the objects in the room. It was a really fun project. We covered a 10x8 section of wall with newsprint and went at it with charcoal, pencils, erasers and chalk.
I had some great friends up in Oregon, so I went up to stay with them for Thanksgiving. It was amazing fun. It was also pretty snowy in late November, so we went up to Mount Hood and chilled out for hours in snow that was thicker than I've ever seen before. Getting ready to throw a snowball at me there is Jeff and behind me is his cousin Colin. I stayed with Jeff and his wife Jaana for the week. Super nice guys.
My Thanksgiving assignment was to enlarge a photo in charcoal. I chose a picture I took before I left for the year of my mum's chickens. I really enjoyed the project. It was nice to get right up in there and draw a nice load of detail.
Another assignment was to scale up and draw another image. I chose this tree frog for no other reason than it looked cool and I like frogs. I'm a simple guy.
The flight home for Christmas.
I got back to an especially cold winter, but I loved it. I deal with the cold much better than I deal with the heat.
Me and my wifey. This was after I'd proposed - another story for another post. Highlights include flying over a week early to surprise her, making sure she was dressed in something she wanted to be proposed to in and sharing the event with her family.
It was the perfect end to an amazing first half of my year abroad.
You should go abroad to study next year.
Peace.
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