Final Post on here

I went to Charleston. It was wonderful. Absolutely ideal. Okay maybe not ideal. If I was living in the apartments downtown that face the water, that would be ideal. Instead I would be living in Mt. Pleasant, about 7 minutes away from downtown. But it was pretty incredibly close. Obviously, I'm not there yet, and right now it just seems like a dream, then it will be real life. There's an entire street of art galleries. Walk five minutes from those art galleries and you'll be under these incredible trees sitting on a bench looking out at the water watching boats drive in. I mean, it was seriously incredible. I can drive over there after work, and just have my moment of relaxation at the end of the day, then I'll drive home fix some dinner, and sit down to make some art. It was such a gift to be able to see that much art in one weekend, I can't imagine living there and constantly being able to see new beautiful work. After this weekend, I also can't imagine art not being my career. So that's where I'm at right now. I need to find a job that I can support myself with so that I can then paint at night and sell my artwork. I looked up receptionist jobs in Charleston last night and found so many. I believe its too early to start applying at this point, but its good to know that there are several right now, so there will probably be some in the next couple of months. I'm so excited about life after college, I'm struggling with the idea of going back to school to do senior project. I feel like I've moved past that when in reality, I haven't. That's a problem. I won't go there right now, right now I'm going to tell you that Kate helped me revamp my sketchbook blog. I think if I keep that one up, it will be a good selling point. This blog is so uncreative, and as a working artist, that is not okay. So I've got a new blog. I'm going to add my images of my sketchbook along with writing on it. So I'm combing the two. So, I think I'm going to get rid of this one. I'll also continue to work on my etsy site so that anyone who wants to see my actual paintings can then go to Etsy. So, check out my sketchbook blog which is now called "What I Did and Said". Hopefully, I'm really moving in the direction of turning my artwork into a business. I also looked at creating a page on facebook for my artwork. I'm going to wait until I feel like I actually have a lot more artwork that I want to sell until I do it, but that's what's coming next! I'm excited.

What I've Done this Summer

My studio this summer:

The one painting I've finished this summer, with two detailed shots.

And the two paintings I am currently working on:

Inspiration Overload

So, its been a good day. Its like, being at home with Mom and Ann, both mothers, and helping out with Ellie, Luke, and Andrew, I forgot what it feels like to be a college student. I've been loving it. I love helping out with Ellie and Luke, I honestly feel like I thrive in that, and I wish away where I am right now sometimes. I've gotten so consumed with that lifestyle though, that I've forgotten that I am a college student, and its a good place to be.

Today, I was a college student, or a single adult. I woke up to an empty house and after returning from the dentist, I made some fresh coffee and spent and hour or two blogging, e-mailing, and looking up art. Then I spent a little time in the studio, ate some lunch and then went to Huntsville. I stopped by Hobby Lobby to get a couple of supplies, and then went on to Barnes and Noble. Barnes and Nobles is my happy place, my haven. Books are period, but Barnes and Noble specifically. So much so, that when I hydroplaned in Birmingham, my Mom instructed me over the phone to go to Barnes and Noble to recoup. Today, I went and looked at books about Charleston. Our visit is coming up. I made note of restaurants and art galleries. I then went over to the art section, was very disappointed by the selection and started to leave when I saw the magazines. I bought an art magazine, and I came across a magazine about blogs!! Check out these that I made a note of:

creativeeveryday.com
sadieolive.com/theblog (my favorite!)
mammothmen.com
artopiaupdate.blogspot.com
sparrowsalvage.blogspot.com
littleblackkitty.typepad.com
thedecoratedhouse.blogspot.com
hollyscharmedlife.blogspot.com
mayamade.blogspot.com

Check them out and be inspired!

I'm inspired, that's why I'm on here for the second time today. That's also why I'm thinking I should combine this blog with my sketchbook blog. What do you think? This one just isn't creative enough. That one is extremely creative, but no one checks it because I only add to it in bulk. So perhaps I should combine them? And work on my etsy page, making it more appealing, and I'll be looking so much better as a working artist.

When I got home, daddy was here with the steak out, I fixed some new potatoes, poured myself a glass of wine, and enjoyed it with Harry Potter on the back porch swing. Nicest day we've had in a while. And now, I'm checking out the blogs, drinking some coffee and eating my dark chocolate.

I found this quote on one of the blogs, "St. Augustine, Charleston, and Savannah are all amazing cities for walking and discovering art, beauty, architecture, and food."

I'm just itching to be an Auburn graduate, living in Charleston, working some job during the day, and coming home at night to make the kind of art I want to make.

I'm going to go be creative now out in the art studio. First though, I'll give you a little music tip. I love Radiohead. I've always heard of them, but I guess I haven't heard them. Turns out, they're really good. Also, I LOVE Missed the Boat by Modest Mouse.

Good night everyone!

All Over the Place

These two weeks have gone by without me realizing it. I feel like I just blogged. I think that if I created a blog in which I simply recommended books, movies, and music, then I would blog constantly. Would anyone read that? How cool would that be if I started one, and it became really popular to the point where it could become a job. Maybe that could be my way of becoming blog famous :) On that topic, I've discovered the two best radio stations on Pandora. The Weepies station, and MGMT station. Give me those two stations and I think I would be completely satisfied musically.

Continuing on that topic, I've finished some of my books. The easy ones:) I got about a fourth of the way through Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil when I decided to put it down. It was very entertaining, simply describing characters from Savannah. It just started to get too dark for me. I often question where the line between being legalistic and enjoying things that aren't glorifying to God lies. Does that make sense? That question definitely came up in this book.

I also finished Northanger Abby. Very enjoyable. Jane Austin is my favorite author so I always know I will enjoy her books. Having said that, its probably my least favorite of all of her books that I've read so far. There just wasn't anything really interesting about it. Girl meets guy, and the guy eventually goes against his father to ask her to marry him. There are a few slight hindrances between beginning and end but not much. I also didn't get extremely attached to the characters. It was the first one that she wrote, so it makes sense that they got even better after that.

I read Savannah by the Sea. By the way, did ya'll notice that the author commented on my last blog? That was exciting! It makes me a little nervous to say what I really thought :) I enjoyed it. It took place in Seaside! I think, unless I'm forgetting something, it was the first time I've read a book in which the setting is a place that I know well. That alone made it worth reading. She also approaches marriage, commitment, and forgiveness in a way that I really appreciated and enjoyed. Which made it sad to find out that she got divorced after writing it. Obviously though, I don't know the story or what happened. The only thing I felt was lacking, was that I didn't know why the guy loved the girl. All we knew was that he was ready to marry her, and he never really expressed why he loved her. What we got was that they had sparks. Overall though, good book.

I read the next Katie Weldon book, Coming Attractions. Good. It was especially enjoyable since it was about her last semester in college. That was cool. I always enjoy the simple truths in Robin Jones Gunn's books. They are a great reminder of God's grace and control in our lives. Other than that, I don't really know what to say without ruining it.

I've gotten started on Hidden Art. Its good, but it seems to be written more for people who aren't already being creative in their lives.

I've also started the sixth Harry Potter. I actually kind of feel like I'm forcing myself to read it. Could it be that I'm burned out on Harry Potter? Honestly, I might be, but not so much that I won't be excited about a new movie.

Before I started talking about books, I actually got on here planning on talking about how encouraging the dentist appt. that I just came from was, the fact that I'm wondering if I should be a nanny in Charleston, and whether I still want to go to school to be a librarian because I'm beginning to feel like I want art to be a bigger part of my life again. So look forward to blogs on those topics!

Summer Reading List

I've created my official reading list for the summer, and I'm very excited about it. So, I thought I'd share. Hopefully I'll read as much as I did last summer. Last summer I didn't have nieces and nephews coming over, or a television with cable, so it might not work out as well, but I'm going to give it a shot.

So here it is:

Reading List:

- Savannah Comes Undone, my roommate's sweet sweet mother lent this to me at the end of the school year. I was too busy at the time to read it, but I've just finished it and thoroughly enjoyed it. It felt like a small connection to Charleston, which was fun. Its a cute, christian, chick lit book.

-Savannah By The Sea, Savannah Comes Undone is part of a series, so of course I had to get the next one. I used my swagbuck amazon gift cards to order this and I'm waiting for it to arrive.

-Northanger Abbey, any reading list without Jane Austen would just be incomplete. I have no doubt that I will really enjoy this book.

-Calm My Anxious Heart, This is a book that I've begun several times now and for whatever reason haven't finished. One, I hate to not finish a book, two as I prepare for senior project and moving into the "real world," I need all the help I can get when it comes to overcoming anxiety and worry. I've really liked what I've read, I just need to make the time to finish it.

-Summary of Christian Doctrine, We were given this book when we left Marannook. Its not exactly a sit down with a cup of tea and read for a while kind of book, but I'm going to try to go through a couple of chapters before I go to bed each night. They're only a couple of pages. I'm reminded so often of how much more knowledge I need to have of what I believe. I'm no Tim Keller, but I would like to be able to explain why I believe what I believe.

-Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ, The only John Piper book that I've ever read is Life is A Vapor, and its been a long time since I read that. This one is a small book that a friend gave me a few years ago. I could probably read it in one long sitting.

-Coming Attractions, the next book in the Katie Weldon series. It comes out July 1! These books are such a treat. Wouldn't recomend it if you aren't already invested in these characters, because it is pretty cheasy. However, if you're invested in the characters, its so much fun to be able to continue reading about them.

-Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, This is what I'm currently reading. This is from my mom's collection of books, and I've had my eye on it for a while. After reading the Savannah Comes Undone, I wanted to continue reading about the town of Savannah. I've also seen the movie, or parts of it at least, and the story seems very intriguing.

-Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, We are now 37 days away from when this movie comes out. I'm not keeping a countdown, I just decided to count really quickly and see. Anyway, of course I have to read the book before seeing the movie. Gotta be prepared.

-Anne of Green Gables, my book club is reading this over the summer. I will be joining the rest of them in Auburn on the week of July 15. We'll discuss the entire book at that time. We will also be having a Harry Potter movie marathon and going to see the new movie. Back to Anne, this will be the third or fourth time I've read this book. I'm very excited about the fact that its our next book club book. This could be my favorite book, either this or Pride and Prejudice. If you haven't read it, you have to.

-Anne of Avonlea, whether my book club decides to join me or not, I know I can't read Anne of Green Gables without reading Anne of Avonlea after.

-Hidden Art, I found this book by Edith Schaeffer a few years ago at a wonderful used book store in Montgomery. Unfortunately they closed, but I bought some great books when I was there. I never read this though, and I think now is great time. I need to see art from the perspective of glorifying God, and I believe that is what I will find in this book.

I think thats it. This makes me feel a little anxious to get started, its quite a list. Its the most wonderful way to spend the summer though, on our back porch swing with a cup of coffee in the morning or a glass of wine at night reading. Might be the best part of being at home, that back porch and swing.

Next post, I'll fill you in on my music list for the summer.

Since I Was Here Last...

So, since I've posted last I've gone to the beach, had a couple of friends up to go to a rehearsal dinner and wedding in Chattanooga, started an Etsy page fairly unsuccessfully, and gotten a job, sort of.

The beach was wonderful! The weather was absolute perfect. We stayed for three full days, four nights. We ate really good seafood, and just hung out. My parents took Kate and I, which is a quieter and smaller group than usual. It was good, but we still often talked about what Ellie, Luke, and Ada would be doing if they were there with us. It was very relaxing, a lot of lying on the beach, reading, watched a couple of movies. Just good.

Almost as soon as we got back from the beach, my friends Claire and Anna Lucy arrived. I had about two hours total after getting home to get ready and leave for Chattanooga for our friend Kelly's rehearsal dinner. It was a lot of fun. A couple of other girls from our pledge class were there, and we sat together and just had a really good time. They are one of the most seemingly in love couples I've ever met, and it seems completely genuine on them.

On Saturday I spent the morning showing Anna Lucy and Claire around Scottsboro, taking them downtown, and of course to Unclaimed Baggage. I think they enjoyed. Its always so interesting to me to hear people's reactions to places that are so f amiliar to you. Like hearing what they had to say about our house, our yard, and then Scottsboro in general. I think their reaction to Scottsboro and how beautiful it is made me appreciate it more. Not that I want to continue living here, but it is a beautiful area. Then that afternoon we drove back over to Chattanooga for the wedding. The wedding was absolutely beautiful, the church was gorgeous, Kelly was absolutely gorgeous, the service was very well done, and well the reception was absolutely incredible. They had it at the groom's home. Most beautiful I've ever seen with the most incredible view. It was rolling hills and green woods. So, once again a really fun night and really beautiful wedding.

Sunday I pretty much just crashed at the house after church and enjoyed being home after the beach and then wedding/friends weekend. Yesterday I wanted to be productive so I took on two projects: selling books online and starting an Etsy page. I sold about $15 worth of books, not huge, but something, and have about seven other books on Ebay waiting to be bought. We'll see if that happens. The rest of the day I was taking pictures and measuring all of my paintings in the art studio. I figured I could put everything up and maybe just maybe get some more space in the studio and a little extra cash. I thought the paintings from painting 1 I would probably put up for just like $30, and the few that I'm really attached to I would put up for 3 or 4 hundred dollars to make it really worth it if somebody wanted to buy them. Well, I got my Etsy page up and had taken all the pictures and then when I went to load each painting onto the page, the pictures were too big. I don't know how to fix that on my computer. So, I only have 5 paintings on the site which I happened to already have pictures of. I do have an Etsy page though and hopefully soon I can figure out the picture thing. The site is http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7131887. Its not much, but its something.

Now I have to head to the church, I'm going to be doing a few odd jobs for them during the week. It will only be about ten hours a week at the most, but that's good since I need to be working on senior project. Its perfect actually. Okay, I'll try to start posting more often so that its not just catch up when I do post.

Weekend Recap

I realize its Wednesday, but it began on a Friday and has just gone long, so it still feels like the weekend. Well, Coldplay was absolutely incredible. Having already told people, I realize its sort of hard to communicate, but I'm going to try anyways. They are just so insanely talented, specifically Chris Martin. He plays the guitar, piano, has a beautiful voice, and I believe I saw him playing the violin at one point. They, again specifically Chris, seemed to be having such a good time up there. Chris at one point did a back flip on the stage, and at another point he was wearing a giant dragon head that you see in Chinese parades. He was just adorable and really involved the audience. It felt like we were a part of the concert. During "Lovers in Japan," paper butterflies came flying over the entire audience. It was incredible. I haven't even acknowledged the fact that simply hearing their music live was enough. It was so beautiful. Fix You, the Hardest Part, and Viva La Vida. Amazing!! It made me think about how you form relationships with artists, musicians, songs. He was playing "Yellow" and I could immediately go back to the first time I heard it, which was the first time I heard Coldplay. I was sitting on a bus on the way to a cross-country meet. Must have been in jr. high because apparently it came out in 2000. Alex Hodges had burned a cd for me, which was a brand new thing. My first burned cd ever. I put it in my discman, and I heard "Yellow" and was just amazed at how good it was. Obviously good enough that I still remember that moment. It was crazy to think back to that and then be at a Coldplay concert about 9 years later hearing them play it live. To top it all off, it was raining, well drizzling, which I swear it just makes everything better if its raining. It was one of those moments where I was just really grateful and appreciative of the fact that I am 23, single, and able to just go to a Coldplay concert with some friends over the weekend. I think it will be one of the most memorable moments of my twenties. I realize that our generation is never going to have a Beatles, or Elvis Presley, but I think that Coldplay is a band that will continue to be listened to. Maybe I will tell my children one day, I saw them in concert! Or maybe not, but it was fun!