Grab a Cup of Coffee... It's a Long Story

Disclaimer: This is going to be one of those rambling posts~ of which I actually haven't done in quite some time... so If you came by to see some pretty pictures, you may as well just move on now... honest, I won't be offended! :) While I started this blog for a digital media class over a year ago... I have kept it going as I have found it fun to chronicle this Journey on the road of this chapter of life. Sometimes I actually entertain myself while writing posts, and I love checking in to read your comments & visit your blogs... some of you I feel I know through following your blogs (and one of you I have met!) You entertain me with your humor, contemplations, wisdom, encouraging words, art, adventures & photography! I also found keeping a blog was a fun way for family & friends to keep track of where I am & what I'm doing. So, here's what's new!


I'm sure you all figured now that I was finished with my assignment in New Mexico, that I was headed to San Diego to soak in the sun & warmth of my family! Well, yes... BUT! It has been a busy time! Here's how it went~ I finished my job on a friday... packed, cleaned & headed out the following monday. It took 2 full days to drive home... then I was inundated by the things I had put off or didn't have the time to do while working. 4 of my 6 days in San Diego were spent either at the dentist (fillings, root canals & such) or getting my car serviced (I did my last post from the dealership-free wifi & donuts!) or putting new tires on (need that good tread for winter driving!) Once that was taken care of, I did have a couple of days to visit with family, which is always nice! BUT! I did have some pressing issues to take care of. You see, I have decided to make a more permanent move to New Mexico... but most of my things are in storage in Southern Oregon. Well, actually my things are spread out in 3 states... I left some things at a friend's in Santa Fe, I have a closet full at my Mom's in San Diego... and a storage unit in Ashland. Yikes! So I made the drive to Ashland... another 2 days of driving... & put my things for sale on Craig's List. I listed every thing at a very good price~ so Goodbye Stuff! I really didn't have much of an attachment to my things, except of course for my art stuff & camping gear, so it was kinda fun selling it AND I made just enough money to cover my gas from San Diego to Ashland & back! Here's a pic of my storage about midway through the process~

It only took about 2 1/2 days to get rid of everything except what would fit in my little Corolla!

So~ I am all packed & ready to go! Except for one small detail...

Saturday	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday
38° F | 31° F	36° F | 31° F	36° F | 27° F	31° F | 18° F	31° F | 25° F
Snow 90% chance of precipitation	Snow Showers 70% chance of precipitation	Chance of Snow 50% chance of precipitation	Partly Cloudy	Partly Cloud

Ashland doesn't generally get much snow here in the valley... but Siskiyou Pass on I-5 can get pretty nasty, and I don't care for driving in the snow! So, I'll be on the weather watch... looking for a window of opportunity, hoping I'll get back to Southern Cal in time for Thanksgiving! Until then, stay warm & stay tuned... perhaps they'll be a snowy post in the near future!

:)

Sunrise, Coffee & Time

Don't ya hate it when you really want to catch up on your sleep, but your internal body clock is set according to your work schedule? Yep, me too! But the positive side to this, is that I had the chance to watch the sunrise this morning, over a leisurely cup of coffee... instead of catching glances of the sky as I'm driving to work. 

These were taken within a 30 minute timeframe. Really, it is amazing the subtle & not so subtle differences that occur in such a short period of time. I muse at all the things we miss on a daily basis when our present culture seems to conspire to keep us so busy! Today, I am just thankful for having the time to enjoy it.

:)

It's a Looooong Post!!!

Well, back to school for me this week. I have been coming to some conclusions lately in terms of continuing with a "Formal Art Education" versus just going it on my own in terms of creating. One of my huge concerns was going into debt at this age for an Art degree, and what exactly I could do with it anyhow. I know successful artists that have advanced degrees, as well as successful artists that are self taught. No matter how I decide to go about it, I HAVE A LOT TO LEARN. And everyone learns differently, at different paces and in different settings. While I have enjoyed immensely the exposure to different mediums as is presented by an Academic Art Program, I am beginning to realize there are aspects that don't necessarily fit with my learning style and approach to life in general. I think I'm better suited to community level classes & self study. I admit, I am a bit disappointed... after years of searching... I thought "this is it, this is what I want to do..." and now finding that perhaps it is not. I still want to create, of course... it's just the degree in Art that I am not so certain of. Part of me is thinking "just finish what you've started..." but 2 more years would take me that much farther away from the home I dream of ( the other loooong post in this blog), and like I was saying, there are things about that just don't feel right. BUT! It certainly was not a waste of time... this is something i tell myself~  sometimes we learn in life what we want to do by finding out what it is we don't want to do. Years ago, I sat down & made a list of things I thought I may like to do, & explored various avenues. I did a ten day Wilderness First Responder class through the National Outdoor Leadership school... thinking I may want to do search & rescue or be a park ranger- but nope! After the course I decided not, but the skills I learned could help someday in an emergency backcountry mishap! In 2008, I attended a 16 day residential Yoga Teacher Training at White Lotus, thinking maybe I wanted to teach yoga. Then decided... no,  I don't really want to teach, I just like doing it! The only difference here, is one year of classes has cost a LOT more money!! But what's done is done & I just have to let that go. ANYHOW!! I have decided to stay through this quarter... partly because I wanted to take a Photo Etching Printmaking course, and Functional Ceramics... and partly because I just cannot fathom at this current moment packing up all my things, returning them to storage & going back to my travel job. (Someday I may write about my "real job"... but that's not what this blog is about... it's more about the journey... so I'll just leave it in the back ground for now.)

O.K.
Now that I've put you all to sleep with my ramblings (it does say various ramblings of a non-traditional art student, does it not?) I am going to post what I was originally going to post when I sat down at this computer! Sometimes my fingers have a mind of their own... and off I go on another (though related) tangent. So, CERAMICS! YAY! I love ceramics, I really do! I like just playing in clay~ that's all there is to it. So here I go, posting my beginner work. (oh, on our class critique paper work, it says we should not say beginner as it is just a "passive-aggressive way of getting others to go easy on you.") BUT! I am not in the classroom, I am right here on my very own blog, so let me be honest & say this is my BEGINNER work!! Honest truth it is!

My first real exposure to clay was being lucky enough to find a community level class right here in southern Oregon when I was working here on a travel assignment in 2007. It was a six week course of basically just playing with the clay & seeing what came out. Instruction, of course was provided.... but no deadlines, no critiques, no conceptualizing. I made tons of stuff and it was a lovely creative outlet.

This little bear was one of my first creations. Very rudimentary, but I gotta say, I love this little guy and he has travelled thousands of miles with me... and no matter where I am, I keep him by my bed as a symbol of my creativity.

The next one, I just sat down to make who knows what  & I came up with an elephant. I love this sort of creating. No thought, per say... no conceptualization- just pure creating... and it's FUN!

Then I made this cute little salsa dish. My mom uses it as a garlic holder. (Mom, I never did really get that! :)




During the time I was taking this class, a friend of mine had just finished this amazing trip~ hiking the Camino de Santiago in Spain, so for her birthday, I handbuilt a coffee mug detailing her Journey in the sun, over mountains & to the sea- she called it her "pilgrimage for peace" as she raised money for the Central Asia Institute.

Shown here unfired, then glazed below.



















In 2008, I was working in Santa Fe, and found just what I was looking for~ an entry level wheel throwing course! It was at Santa Fe Clay~ they have tons of classes and workshops, from beginner to advanced, along with specialty classes taught by renowned clay artists. Do not judge their level of instruction by the work you are about to see! Throwing on the wheel for the first time was quite challenging~ but also quite fun! Most of my early results looked like this!

I had a hard time getting centered, to say the least! But by the end, I was just starting to get the hang of it, and made a few decent mugs & a few bowls. The one below I was going to toss when I was moving things out of storage last year... but my friend Laura said "I'll take it!" The last time I was at her house, I saw it was being put to good use.... as an outdoor ashtray for guests! I thought that was great~ functional Art! :)

Then, when I arrived here last year for school, since I got here a little early for the spring quarter, I took a class out of the garage of Penelope Dews, a wonderful ceramic artist here in the valley. (incidentally, she was the same woman who I took the first course from... that studio is now closed, so she opens her home to lots of lovely people who have a passion for clay.) At that point I was kinda hooked on wanting to get better at my throwing skills, and here are a few of my results.

So, that about brings me up to date! I'll be posting throughout the quarter... hoping to come up with some good work. Today we just practiced our centering... so I have nothing to show for that, except for one filthy pair of jeans & some random specks of clay in my hair... Oh, and a smile... just for getting my hands back into that lovely mud!

I Have a Dream...

"Dreams are illustrations...from the book your Soul is writing about you."

~Marsha Norman

 I took Drawing 1 during my first quarter of returning to school last year to study Art. I've always thought that people had an innate talent for drawing, or they did not. I did not. My professor, however was brilliant about encouragement, insisting that drawing skills could in fact be learned. I never took to it much... but I felt it was certainly a good exercise for me, to show up for class each session & continue to work at something I felt I had simply no talent for. Notice that I have put LOTS of other beginner work on this blog- but no drawing... until now. For our final project we had to do a series of 3 drawings that represented something about ourselves. For one of those drawings, I chose to draw my dream home. As you can see, it is nothing special... a simple home with open space, (although in reality it would have a couple more rooms & an extra bath for guests!) I'm posting it now, because it has been on my mind for at least the last 5 years or so.... but even more so now that I am back in school. If anyone has been following this blog... you know that I have been struggling with my decision to return to school in terms of financial output. Each quarter I go, my savings is depleted more & more, and the further I am financially from some day having a simple little home somewhere out in the country (with a little Art studio- funny how I didn't draw in the extra bedrooms, but managed to draw a rather large studio!) I just question a lot lately if I am making the right choice at this stage in the game. It's not that I question going to school at this age (42)... who cares how old you are, & I really enjoy learning! I love making Art & exploring the different mediums & techniques to see what it is I'm good at, and what I totally suck at. It's just at this age, I think, "O.K, this'll cost me around 25-30 grand in tuition by the time I finish, not to mention throwing away money on rent..." (since I've been schooling more & working less, I seriously doubt I could get financed if there was anything I could afford anyhow!) I've already paid back the Government 32 grand in previous student loans which took a long time to pay off... sometimes working at jobs & locations where I was miserable... just getting through. I'm just trying to figure out if I'm making the right decisions for myself at this point in my life, or if I should go back to the drawing board as it were. No, I don't need a degree to make Art. And a degree does not by any means suggest I could actually make some sort of living from it. Honestly, I'm thinking I need to shift gears on what is really important to me. Having a home is so important on so many levels. The feeling of security, a sense of place, a place to rest & call your own. Having traveled for work the past 5 years, moving stuff in & out of storage every 2-3 months... I just long for one place where I know where all my things are! Even since arriving here last year to pursue school- I've packed up & left twice during summer & winter breaks to return to my travel job to make cash to continue. Damn if I don't want it all. A home, the chance to continue my Art Education, time to pursue my other dreams, (long distance hiking, traveling...) but for now, I'm just reevaluating & hoping that I can come up with some new idea on how to make it all work...

What Makes an Artist?

Awhile ago, a friend of mine posted a question on her blog, "What is Art Anyhow?" To which I responded without thinking much... just what I felt at the time. This is what I said~

"Hi melanie. well, that's a tough question. I feel sometimes, in school, Art is what your instructors say is Art. Back in the days (according to art history) Art was really what the Academy said was Art. To me, it is different. Art is something that we create because we are drawn to create it. I don't feel that Art is only Art when it is validated by others... yet in academia, that appears to be exactly what it is. To me, Art is having the freedom to create, stemming from a desire to bring forth what is inside. Sure it is great if others like it, or if you could make a living from doing it, but I don't feel that's the point."

My opinion hasn't change much, and I have done much more thinking about that question. Yes, I would love to make a living from being creative... but I create, because I enjoy the process of creating. I've always been drawn to photography, ever since I was a child & I received my first little kodak 110 camera when I was about 10. My camera has been a constant companion ever since. A few years ago, I decided I wanted to start playing with clay. I found a couple of ceramics studios, and took a few entry level classes... and fell in love with clay. Somewhere along the road, I decided that once I payed off my first set of student loans, I'd return to school to study art.

 That was a year ago, and since then I've taken entry level classes in Drawing, Sculpture, Ceramics, Digital Media, Art History & Printmaking. I have really enjoyed my classes, but I have to say, the push toward Fine Art really bothers me sometimes. It is not my dream or desire to be a Fine Artist. This is not to dishonor those who are... if that's your dream... that is great! If I ever did become a Fine Artist, it would be more a fluke... or just from my continued desire to create that that would ever happen. This, (and the enormous financial output) is where I have difficulty with "formal art" education. The push, by & large, is to create Fine Artists. I understand that there is a Bachelor's in Fine Art Curriculum at the school I am attending, but there is also simply a Bachelor's Degree in Studio Art... and it would be nice if art for arts sake was talked about, rather than Fine Art, Fine Art, Fine Art.

I love making cards from my photographs, bookmarks from scrap printmaking supplies, and so forth. I use the widely outdated method of snail mail, and send them to friends & family that love to receive something hand made & thoughtful. A discussion ensued during a Printmaking Critique  yesterday on how doing such things (making cards, bookmarks, t- shirts...) "devalues the art." I listened to other peoples opinions, and chimed in with my own. After the discussion was over, I felt very emotional (not unusual for me... although in general, I try to keep tears from streaming down my face in public... and no, dammit, I'm not always successful.) I think the reason I got so emotional, is that I really love creating, for the sake of creating... and to say that what I enjoy doing (and for that matter what all the people who sell their work at arts & crafts fairs enjoy doing) "devalues art" really devalues my ideas, thoughts & work as a fledgling artist. It also made me really question whether or not this is where I belong.

Here's my opinion. When something becomes "Fine Art," and it is hung on a Gallery Wall~ in the opinion of most artists... it is then "Valuable." In the course of becoming valuable, it becomes unattainable for the average person to purchase. Therefore, a person who is economically challenged (poor or middle class) would never have access to such art. It seems to me then, to create a division in socioeconomic class. If you have money, then maybe you are deserving of such art. Do you see what I'm getting at? There seems to me to be a certain snobbery involved. In even the most basic of Art History classes, it can be found that there were many artists that defied such snobbery, but they were often labeled as outcasts... but the fact of the matter is that some of them wanted to create for the sake of creating & challenged the rules of the Fine Art community.  While I can walk through a gallery & appreciate Fine Art, and the devotion of time & labor & skill involved... I could never imagine walking out with such a piece... because I could never afford it.

There are so many lovely, talented brilliant Artists that function at a Community level. They sell their art at craft shows, art booths, even on Etsy. They put effort, skill & heart into their work. Yes, maybe they are wishing they could make a bit more money for their efforts. I have made & sold my photo cards for a while, and if you break it down... the money per hour is quite small! But I'll tell you what, the feeling of knowing that someone liked something I did enough to purchase it at all really made me feel good.  And when I've spoken to the local artisans selling at these craft fairs, by and large I find it is a labor of love.

And that is what art is to me. A labor of love. And in my humble opinion, it should be fun!!! It shouldn't be riddled with the stress of trying to fit in, or trying to achieve a certain status. For me, it is an exploration... playing with ideas & shapes & forms & different mediums... trying to get out what is inside, or trying to capture beauty that I see in the world... enjoying the process along the way. I feel the push for Fine Art can have the potential to take us away from the very reasons we began to create in the first place. Again, all the humble opinion of a fledgling artist.

As if I haven't said enough (yes, this is my longest post ever... I guess I just had to get it out)... I'll leave you with this simple quote, by an artist you may have heard of.

    "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up."                                                                                                           ~Pablo Picasso 

First a Glimmer...

I bought this card last summer at the Tesuque Flea Market near Santa Fe. It is by mixed media artist/poet/photographer Lisa Chun. You can check out her website & work here:
http://www.lisachun.com/
I love her work... a lot of the words she choses for her works resonate with me. It's hard to make out the text above. It says "This must be the way dreams are built, first a glimmer, something shaken down from the stars, something made from light & air & hope. Then comes all the days of quiet activity in support of it." So, this is the deal. I want to live my life creatively. I want figure out how I can make a living through being creative... I just haven't figured out exactly how to go about it. Sure, I have ideas... glimmers of creativity, of hope. Some people know exactly what they want, and how to go about achieving their goals. I had this idea years ago... pay off my student loans, figure out where I want to be (in this case, southern Oregon,) start taking art classes... and it would all fall into place. So, I've done all those things... but things have not quite fallen into place the way I thought they would. One of my classmates said to me "maybe you just have to be patient"... only I feel like I have been patient for years. So for now, I just continue the "days of quiet activity in support of it."

Good Friends, Good Coffee

My life the past few weeks has consisted of printmaking, drinking coffee & thinking about my life & what the heck I want to do with it. A lot of my thoughts center around whether or not to continue with school, or just keep looking for where to call home & making art on my own rather than forking out so much cash for a "formal" art education. But, I digress. Back to the drinking coffee part. I am a caffiene addict & I can accept that. I've toyed with the idea of giving it up... as most coffee junkies have at some point or another... but seriously, life without coffee? Sometimes I'm excited about going to bed at night just so I can get up & start the day fresh... with a fresh cup o' joe. Which brings me to the title of my post: Good Friends, Good Coffee. My good friend just returned from 6 weeks in Africa (fulfilling a long time dream of hers) & has stopped by to visit... bringing with her tales of her adventures... and 3 different kinds of coffee & these lovely handmade baskets from Africa. Although I am tempted to have some this evening- coffee & sleep don't mix for me... so I am looking forward to tomorrow morning! I'm including a link to Amanda's blog if you want to check out her thoughts/images while traveling solo in Africa:
http://www.atravelinggirl.blogspot.com/

Happy New Year~ On The Road Again Part II

Happy New Year 2010~ to all those out in blogland. A little late, but what can I say... I've been on the road & much too tired to blog. 3 days & 1,420 miles later, I am once again safe & sound in Ashland. Still recuperating from lots of work, lots of driving & being sick on top of it all. Most of my first day on the road looked like this as I drove through the desolate stretch of I-40 in New Mexico... snowy & cold. Lots of people I meet seem to think I live this free, adventurous lifestyle~ and I guess some of that is true. But, what they don't take into account is the constant packing & unpacking, the long & sometimes boring drives, solo motel rooms & lack of roots. I know, I know, I am choosing this lifestyle. Sort of... but sometimes I feel like it's taken on a life of it's own. Kinda like Newton's 1st Law of Motion: The tendency of an object in motion to remain in motion unless acted upon by an outside force. I really do want to settle down, but can't seem to find the reason, the circumstance, or "the place" where everything seems to fit. And I am starting to wonder if such a place exists. It's just that I don't want to settle or stagnate. The phrase "a rolling stone gathers no moss" came to me somewhere on the 2nd day of driving. I thought, hmmm, that phrase really does apply to me. I've been a rolling stone of sorts for the past 5 years. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Neither, really... and honestly, in the past year, I've spent more time in Ashland & Santa Fe than anywhere else in the past 5 years, so perhaps I am narrowing it down a bit. Perhaps. I'll give it some more thought in 2010 & keep you all posted...

DMF Week 9: Personal Images

Just some images I took out walking today. A chilly, drizzly day in Ashland. None of these images were all that great, but I thought they went well together once I cropped them. Something about seasons... or a visual interpretation of life cycles. Most of the leaves have fallen from the trees, but they still make for a lovely display on the streets & sidewalks. The colors & textures often make me stop to take a closer look. Much as we can still be appreciate the beauty of fallen leaves, even though they are no longer attached to the tree... no longer alive, I think that can also be said of people that have touched our lives that are no longer with us. There is a beauty that still remains. I like walking through old cemeteries, looking at the headstones, wondering about these peoples' lives, who they were, and wonder about their history, and if they were happy. Out of respect for the dead, I don't feel it appropriate to photograph the headstone directly (in order to keep the names private,) but I think I'd like to experiment more with cemetery photography.

The Open Road

Damn, this blogging thing is addictive. I don't think we even need to post images during Thanksgiving break. I think I am just putting off things I need to do... like packing up. So, I sit, looking through my images & thinking. I often take pictures through the windshield when I'm driving on long, desolate stretches of road. I really don't know why... it's just something I do. For this one, I actually pulled over & got out of the car. I am not for the paving of America, but there is something I love about fresh asphalt. I don't know what it is exactly... but something to do with the black shininess of it, the stark contrast to the natural surroundings, the way it sticks slightly to your feet if you walk across it... even the smell of it. I liked this picture because the road just seems to stretch out into forever.

Week Six: Other/My Mom the Artist

This painting hangs on the wall at my grandmother's house. I've always liked this painting. It was painted by my mom when she was somewhere between 12 & 14 years old. I think that in itself is amazing. I myself have never painted anything... (well finger paints in kindergarten, does that count?) There is a sense of feeling in this painting. It was based upon an old house that she used to walk by as a child, that she remembers as being empty, abandoned... and that comes across well in this painting. She believes it has long since been torn down, thus she captured as a child a moment in time that no longer exists. My mom, like me, has always been attracted to things that are old, that have a sense of history... things that are in stark contrast to our modern society of prefabrication... where everything looks the same. You know what I'm talking about- how you can go into most cities in the U.S. and they all have begun to look alike. Mom & I call it anytown U.S.A. We discuss how capturing a moment in time, whether it be through photography or other mediums is important, because it may soon be gone, never to be captured again. I wonder sometimes, if my mom hadn't started a family so early in life (she started a family just a few short years after this was painted,) if she would have pursued her artistic talents, in terms of painting or other mediums. Having to raise children at such a young age, I muse at all the personal interests she must have given up in order to do so. Yet, she never complained about this... and has managed to express her creativity throughout her life. Her life is a work of art. If you've ever eaten a meal that my mom has prepared... well let me tell you, that in itself is a work of art... she'll often spend all day in the kitchen preparing a meal, a labor of love that only a true artist knows. Her cactus garden, tended lovingly, also work of art... her photographs lining the walls... even the way she hangs stockings at Christmas is a work of art (I usually take a picture!) So, mom, this post is dedicated to you... thanks for sending a copy of your painting, and thanks for being the brilliant, inspiring, artistic woman that you are.

Week Five: Personal Images/Cannon Beach, Oregon

Thought I'd post a series of photos for my week 5 post. Geez, are we already going into week 5? That is crazy. Anyhow, these photos were taken a couple of years ago at Cannon Beach with my first digital camera- a little Canon point & shoot with only a 4 MP capability. I have to admit, I was quite resistant to the whole digital thing- being from the old school of 35mm film. I loved shooting black & white film & spending hours in the darkroom dodging, burning... watching the images slowly develop before my eyes. Digital photography seemed to be cheating somehow. I've learned you can take some pretty crappy photos, but with the use of digital manipulation, you can end up with a pretty decent shot... which seems almost unfair. I guess I felt it took away from "the art" of photography. Back in the old days, you could do some pretty cool stuff too, but you really had to start with a decently exposed & composed image. It seemed there was more technique & skill involved. That being said... I have now learned to really be able to appreciate the technology of digital images. One thing I have to admit enjoying is the instant gratification. In the past, it took some time to develop your images, and you never really knew if you captured the moment the way you wanted until much later. With digital, the ability to see the image immediately lets you know if you need to change the angle slightly, zoom in/out and so forth, allowing you to get exactly the image you want without going through rolls of film, hoping to have captured that one good shot. Also, you can simply delete the ones that are no good, versus having to go through & store tons of negatives. I was also amazed at how decent some of these shots were that I took with the low MP point & shoot. I went back & forth with my little digital camera and my old 35mm for about a year before I invested in a digital SLR, which I absolutely love. Sadly, I haven't used my film camera much since that purchase. It is stored safely away with my negatives & slides from the past... stored away, but not forgotten. Looking forward to sometime in the future where I can slip away into a darkroom somewhere & into the nostalgia of film & delayed gratification.

Week Two: Personal Observation/ View from the Deck

After DMF lecture today I realized (after thinking i was on time for my blogging assignments) that I was actually behind on my postings! So, I figured I'd better get to it. My 2nd personal post is a photograph that I took the day I returned to Santa Fe, NM to work for the summer to fund my 2nd quarter at SOU (after a long educational hiatus.) After having several months off from work to devote time to making fun art projects, I have to admit it was a bit daunting to think of going back to full time work for the summer. However, after my 3 day drive, I was greeted by the most amazing thunderstorm! I love thunderstorms, thus, I love the summer weather in New Mexico. It can be clear as a bell, then moments later, the wind starts blowing in the storm. Flash flood warnings can arise in seconds... and there it is! Pouring rain, thunder that shakes the ground & lightning that cracks the sky wide open. As the storm dissipates, almost certainly, come the rainbows. It sounds cliche, but I just think rainbows are so beautiful... they make me feel good. Peaceful or something. Anyhow... if there was any consolation to knowing that I was about to be worked down to my bones...(I would later describe it as being tired down to my bone marrow) it was the fact that I got this amazing greeting from mother nature welcoming me back once again to "the city of faith." In many ways, that deck & those views consoled my spirit. And, actually, I think it is a darn good photo!

Week One: Personal Observation

Huh. My first blog. I'm doing this blog for an entry level digital media class & I actually have no idea what I am doing, but it looks like I am doing it. I took these pictures on the ET highway in Nevada, on my 1,400 mile journey from Ashland, Oregon to Santa Fe, NM to work for the summer. I love road trips & seeing new parts of the country I haven't seen before. The ET highway is close to "the loneliest road" in America... though I really didn't find it lonely at all. I love stretches of open road, where there aren't many other people... just you, your car & and several hours of driving without cell service or gas stations. (Remember the days before cell phones? Road trips were so much more adventurous back then!) Hwy 375 skirts the infamous "area 51" and I admit, I was a bit dismayed that I didn't see any actual aliens or anything! (perhaps they only come out at night... like ghosts, bogey men and such.) I did, however stop in Rachel, Nevada.... (a place that could be missed if you blinked) to buy some alien paraphernalia and a cup of coffee. No one that worked there claimed to have witnessed any alien activity, either... perhaps they are in on the cover up. Ha! And that, folks, does it for my first blog.... until next time.