The Constitution & Cowgirl Boots.

I'm three weeks into the semester and have only had one "freak out" moment. Those who know me know that is quite the accomplishment. I thought this semester was going to...well...quite frankly, kick me in the rear. Four Studio classes is on the verge of insanity in the art & graphic design department. Five is suicide. Me? I chose insanity. Four studio classes it is. I think what's helping me is the fact that I absolutely love every single class. It truly makes all the difference to love what you do.

Here's a few photos of what I've been working on...I don't have any pictures from Illustration or Word & Image yet. We're moving at a little slower pace and are just now getting into projects.

Setting type for my first official letterpress project

Locking the type onto the press bed. So. Stinkin. Complicated.

First set of rough prints :) I'll be doing the actual edition printing sometime in the next week.
The quotes says "Think of these things: Whence you came, where you are going, & to whom you must account." -Benjamin Franklin.

Learning Book #2....Not quite done. but a start.

Learning book #3...first hardcover book. Not done yet. More pictures later :)

So that's what consumes my Tuesdays & Thursdays. and I love it.

In other news.

Happy Constitution Day! :)

I'm thankful I live in a country that grants freedom of so many things people in other countries don't get the chance to enjoy. It's so easy to take those things for granted.

Recently there has been much debate about whether all religions are to be granted freedom to practice. It's become heated and people on both sides have acted viciously towards the other. It seems 85% of the debate is between the Muslims and Christians. While I could easily post a long post about this topic I will limit it to a small little section. Here we go:

•America's constitution grants freedom of religion. It is not limited to the realm of Christianity.
•Both Muslims AND Christians have acted horribly to the other. but just as we must distinguish between the extremest Muslims and the non-extremest Muslims, We must also distinguish between the extremest Christians and the non-extremest Christians.
•A note to my fellow Christians: We are not called to prove people wrong and hate them if they don't agree. As I recall, Christ orders us to love our enemies. I guarantee that burning someone's Koran (or any other hateful act) has never brought a Muslim closer to believing in Christ.

That's all. I'll step off my soap box before I get carried away. Comment all you want on this topic. I'm open to hearing other's views.

Finally: This southern-raised girl bought her first pair of Cowgirl boots this past weekend. And I totally rocked them on Tuesday night. Just sayin'.
How on earth I lived in Tennessee almost 22 years without owning a pair of boots is beyond me. I'm completely in love. And currently looking for a cute fall dress to wear them with.

That's all for today.

Love. Love. Love.
-Katie

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A Lovely Start

Just in case anyone out there is wondering classes have started out marvelously. I'm absolutely loving each and every one of my classes. It's going to be one crazy semester but it'll be exciting. I can't remember if I've mentioned what classes I'll be taking so here's a recap:

Word & Image

The third in my series of classes on my way to being a graphic designer. Exciting stuff. My last class was typography (anything and everything you wanted to know about the alphabet, letters, and type...and then some). This class is marrying type with imagery. It'll be exciting. It doesn't hurt that I have one of my favorite professors for the class.

Digital Illustration

This is by far the class I'm most nervous about. Drawing isn't my strongest asset. I can do it if I really put my mind to it but it's just not...my thing? For instance: A drawing that would take some people 30 minutes takes me three hours. Regardless: I'm excited about the class. It'll be quite useful in the years ahead.

Book Arts

For some reason this class is hard to explain to people. Essentially it is exactly what the name implies. The art of making books. Sounds simple but there is so much to it. I'll be learing everything from designing my own paper, to learning about binding my own books, making covers and everything you could want to learn about the art of books. So exciting. We've lready started on out first book and it's marvelous.

Letter Press

This class is already amazing me. If you don't know what a letter press is, youtube it. It's fascinating. and. I'm already giddy about using one from the 1800's at the end of the semester. So excited.


That's the run down for the semester. I'm trying to remember to take pictures of projects so I can post them when I get a minute.

In other news:
I've been meaning to post a link to a blog that I've become addicted to.
Have a read:
Enjoying the Small Things.
This has been a favorite blog of mine for a few months. I'm fascinated by the pictures that Kelle takes stunning pictures of her not so average life and her two beautiful girls, Lainey & Nella. Someone sent me the link to this page. and I've been hooked ever since. It's the beautiful story of the birth of Nella. Read it and have tissues near by. Don't say I didn't warn you. Kelle's a wonderful writer and you'll be waiting for her next post.


And lastly:

A quote that I saw in one of the art studios this past week that's been turning summersaults in my head since I read it.

"I've been fighting for all the right reasons in all the wrong ways."

Easy to read once...but then I caught myself reading it again. and again. I feel a blog coming on completely devoted to that little quote.

But first: Your thoughts? Come on people. Scroll to the bottom...I can see your visits...and not a single comment. Sad stuff for this blogging heart, I tell you.

New, less scatter-brained blog coming soon. Not now though. Tis late and this red head is beat.

As always.
Love. Love. Love.
Katie

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