For the record, I read all my favorite blogs just about every single day. Some people who shall remain nameless ::coughJanetcough:: seem to get the impression that I do not comment because I do not care. To that I say, “Pshaw!” At some point I realized that all my comments sounded a little too self-centered. It really started to bother me that I had nothing to contribute to any discussion that wasn’t about me.

Now before anyone goes reading between the lines and assuming that I don’t like it when other people’s comments on my blog pertain to them, I want to say that I actually don’t mind a bit when other people talk about their experiences in my comments. In fact, it’s one of the things I enjoy most about the commenting option.

As much as I like to talk about myself (and believe me, I do like to talk about myself!) my regular commenting on other blogs felt insincere. So, please know that I do care and I am there every day reading and enjoying your stories and sharing them with anyone else who will listen. One of my most common phrases around here starts with, “My Blogger-friend so-and-so…” And considering how much I enjoy talking about myself, that’s a pretty amazing thing.
BTW, Janet, I was watching the “I Love the 90’s” series last week and immediately thought of you. I was going to post my favorite quote from the show (Michael Ian Black on pagers) in your comments section but Haloscan was being difficult that day. By the time I was able to comment, you had beaten me to it!

I emailed my professor about meeting with her to finish my “big pot” and to see if she could take some slides of my work before the scholarship deadline. Unfortunately, she won’t be back in town for three more weeks. I’m still working on getting the slides though. I’m going to call the art department tomorrow and see if they can’t direct me to someone who can do the slides for me. If that works out, I’ll contact my professor again to see if she will write me a letter of recommendation. I think she would, I just have to figure out a way for her to get the letter to me or the art department in time.

Part of me is feeling a bit insecure about the scholarship. It’s no secret that I often question my artistic abilities. I was feeling fairly confident until I saw my grades for last semester. I’m an A student. I’m used to getting As in my academic classes with little or no effort. I struggle in my art classes though. I feel like I really have to work to succeed, and even then, I’m unsure of my success. I know when I’ve done well in, say, math or history. With the material presented, you either know it, or you don’t.

Art’s not like that. There is no right or wrong, and yet we still need to show that we are learning and growing. How do we do that? And how do we know if we are doing that? I had a very slow start in my ceramics class. About a 10 week slow start. I know that I grew and improved, but how do you grade that? At this point you’re probably thinking I’m unhappy with my grade. I’m not. I got a 4.0 in both of my classes. But I question that. Was I judged on my growth and improvement? Was I judged on my potential? Was I judged on my crafting skill? Had I gotten an A- or even a B+ in the class I would have felt better than I do with this A. I wouldn’t have questioned if I got the grade for trying really hard, or for being an untraditional student. I would have felt that I put in a good effort, but with room for improvement. I know my professor likes me, so I question if that had some influence on my grade.

If I’m able to get the slides in time, I’ll let the scholarship committee worry about whether or not I have good potential. They’re not getting many applications, so my chance of getting something are pretty good.

My most successful color study in my textiles class yet. I cut two 1×1″ stamps from a rubber eraser. One a positive image, one its negative. This assignment required us to use five different colors and a random pattern on fabric to produce the effect of no single color being dominant. I think it feels a little yellow dominant, probably because the brown color I used was too close to the yellow. Overall though, I think it looks good.

My university’s art department is doing a Study Abroad program in May. They’re going to Paris. Paris! I attended a meeting about it last week and found out the deposit for the trip, along with the application and two letters of recommendation, are due at the end of January. That’s fine and dandy, but I won’t be able to secure funds for the trip in less than two weeks, not to mention getting those letters of recommendation. The trip costs $4000 plus expenses and does not include the cost of tuition. It’s so much money, but oh, it’s art in Paris!

I talked to financial aid about getting an advance on my student loans for next fall, but much to my dismay, I’ve reached my limit for student loans. Not only is this bad news for my study abroad trip (which is no longer my study abroad trip, seeing as how I won’t be going), but it’s bad news for my next semester. Consequently, I’ve renewed my substitute permit and will be returning to work soon.

I also found out about the art department’s scholarship this week. They haven’t had many submissions, and are encouraging all art students to apply. Again, that’s fine and dandy, but they’re not really giving us much time. We have to submit an application, one letter of recommendation, an essay, and THREE works of art. Large artwork or 3D artwork must be submitted in the form of slides. The deadline for the scholarship? January 28. Guess who doesn’t have slides of her artwork. For you dense people, that would be me. I don’t even know how to get slides of my artwork at this point, let alone find a way to get them in less than a week. That scholarship would have come in handy since I have no student loan money available now.

Winter semester started last week, but my first day was cancelled due to the weather. That made yesterday my first day. I only have two classes again. In the morning, I have art history. After lunch, I have a textiles class. My first assignment is a study of pattern. We’re working with a 1×1″ rubber stamp module of our own creation and stamping eight different 8×8″ blocks. We need to repeat this study three times using three different modules. It sounds a bit tedious, but I’m finding myself engrossed with the project. I’m having a hard time choosing only three of my modules. Some of the practice sheets I’ve done look pretty good and it’s inspired a few more ideas for some larger personal projects. I expect to spend the majority of today stamping like crazy.

Rob loves watching the Food Network. One of his favorites is Rachael Ray’s 30 Minute Meals. I don’t mind watching the show when it’s on, but there’s something about Rachael Ray that really bugs me. I can’t resist the urge to do my impression of her everytime I see her. She always talks with her hands. She’s sorta quirky and tries to be funny. She’s clumsy.

Last week, I figured out exactly why she bugs me so much. She’s just like me. At least, she’s exactly how I would be if I enjoyed cooking and had my own show. I didn’t realize I annoyed myself.

Rob’s reaction when I told him about my revelation? “Hey yeah, you’re right. Maybe that’s why I like her so much.”

I hope all of you had a nice holiday. The holidays were good here, even considering that the boys and I have all been sick for the better part of the last 12 days. My absence this time was due, not to my usual flakiness, but to a really weird cold that bounced around in the form of fevers for the better part of their Winter Recess. We were unable to take advantage of the wonderful snow that we had for Christmas before it all melted away in a sudden showing of Spring-like weather. The boys return to school on Monday, so we plan on using the remainder of their break making up for the time we couldn’t spend having fun. Time’s a-wastin’, so forgive this short entry.