Wake Up

There comes a point in your life when you realize that the way things are going just doesn't (and will not) work. It may be a long time coming, or a sudden revelation. Either way, there is this feeling that something must change. That feeling is resting in my heart and is constantly on my mind. I've begun the change, but it is a long metamorphoses. It will not happen over night or in a week. This transformation is a total change of who I am. I have to change my priorities and focus on my education, even if it means being tired all day. I have to realize that I cannot fix problems on my own and because of that I do not need to involve myself in every issue that comes to my attention. All I know is that I must prepare for the long haul. This road I have started down will be rocky and uneven, but at the end there is an oasis, a peaceful place where I am who I want to be.

Busy busy busy

I've been rather busy the last couple of weeks. Between Fraternity stuff, two weddings, and regular school work I've all but gone insane.

Here is the poster I designed for the up coming philanthropy event at Sigma Nu.

Iron Rocket

My current project for Intermediate Ceramics is to construct a robot with a defined purpose. I chose to build I robot who fights of invading aliens. It's simple concept with a lot of room to play. Inspired by toys and cartoons shows from my childhood, the Iron Rocket comes stomping through the ruins of a city, hunting for the invaders.

Shown below is the model I built first to figure out some of the physics that would go into the construction of the full size piece.

Pictured here is another view of the final construction.

Monument

Have you ever really considered what goes in to the creation and construction of monuments and memorials?
I recently started reading a book called Critical Issues in Public Art which is a collection of essays related to monuments and other public art works. The first reading was about the Washington Monument and it got me thinking about what public works of art really mean to me. To me, the Washington monument really only relates to George Washington through it's title. This realization forces me to question whether or not other monuments really educate us on the concepts they are meant to represent.
Last week I was asked to build a Luminary Float for 9/11, which will be set adrift on a small pond at Gettysburg College. My first thought was to build a silhouette of the twin towers. This clearly ignores the victims from flight 93 and the Pentagon. But it does reflect the modern mythology behind that day. Too often do we forget about all those who where affected by the attacks. We forget about the Emergency Personnel whole sacrificed so much to insure the safety of others. This also raises the question of whether or not memorial services should bring to question whether or not the lives lost to the wars carried out in the name of justice for the victims of that day are really worth the gain. Everyone has their own story and therefore every memorial cannot share each side of that story. All artists can try to do is give an equal representation.

My thoughts and prayers go out to every person who has been impacted by terror attacks here in the US and elsewhere around the world.

(Luminary Float being light and sent out on to Quarry lake by two students (one being in ROTC) on September 11th, 2011)

Sketches

Here are a couple sketches I made yesterday.
The First is of me a few years ago when I shaved my head bald for the first time. I've got the Lex Luther look goin on.
The Second is of my good friend Khris from college.

Senior Year

So senior year is just around the corner. I'm hoping that this will be my most productive year in college for art. I've got a lot of things planned: drawing, painting, print making, sculpture, and working more in depth on my comic Frank und Stein.

Here goes nothing

Camp

I leave tomorrow to work for seven weeks straight at Camp Sinoquipe (a Boy Scout Camp). I'm hoping I'll be able to get a lot of drawing time in and post some fresh stuff on here in a couple of weeks.

Until then enjoy some bikes.