The Semester is Finally Over

Wednesday was the last day of my classes for this semester. It went pretty well since all we had to do was turn in our portfolio in intaglio to be graded and collect our trade portfolio in which we made a print for everyone in the class including our teacher and the TA. Last week, we went to my relief teacher’s house to do our final critique and potluck. I ended up making a piñata out of some test prints that I printed on newsprint for one of my 5 variable multiples that we needed to do for our final. We ended up hanging it outside and a few people were able to smack the crap out of it. I think we all had a good time. I wish I could post some pictures of it but I was only able to take some film photos and not digital since my phone was freaking out on me. Luckily my teacher did take some photos so here they are:

Lookin’ like a goofball.

Our relief class along with our teacher Sandra Fernandez and our TA.

GPOY.

I will be heading back home for a week but when I come back to Austin I will take photos of my prints and post them on here later. Bye for now!

Quick Thoughts on Art and Critiques

One thing I’ve always loved about my art classes is critique days. Many people dread it but I honestly find it invigorating even though sometimes there are some people who absolutely nothing good to say about your work. Sometimes it is even hard to even hear certain things because they may be true.

My artwork always tends to be personal because I know myself better than anyone, and when someone notices that and actually appreciates it, it really makes me feel good about myself even if some of the subject matter is about something negative. Most of my art teachers tell me that they like that my work is personal and not generic.

I believe that sometimes artwork shouldn’t have a message of some sort but should just appeal to your own self. When I make artwork about my life or even about my thoughts I feel like I’m allowing someone to see things through my own eyes. Sometimes people forget how others can perceive things differently and how different a person’s lifestyle is from their own.

I don’t know.. just some quick thoughts.

Note to self: write about Warped Tour, the Sketchbook Project, David Byrne & St. Vincent, and Motion City Soundtrack.

Photos From My Summer Vacation 2012

Summer went as fast as it came. It was filled with a few terrible things but a lot of great memories. Luckily I was able to go out of town a few times with my family and capture some nice photographs since my goal for this summer was to use my camera more after it had been collecting dust in the closet. I would’ve posted some of these images earlier but I didn’t get around to sending my film to develop just until two weeks ago.

As a fair warning, this post is going to be a bit pic-heavy so don’t forget to click the link below the photo to see the rest of this post!

Gratuitous picture of my demon dog. Don’t let her cuteness fool you. She’s a monster!

Overview of the Past Half Year!

So today I finally finished my first semester at the University of Texas and I must say it was quite an experience. I meet some new people, hung out with old friends, and even exchanged ideas with other artists. I know I have posted in a long time and it’s mostly due to being loaded with homework and the fact that I couldn’t access my flickr account so I could upload photos for the blog. So here’s a basic quick overview of what went on the past few months.

My classes were interesting to say the least. All of my teachers were unique in their own way and had a lot to talk about certain subjects and even included their own opinions which I didn’t see as much as my past professors in my hometown. Though out of those four classes, two of them were always a delight to attend, and of course they were both about art.

My art history class was always very interesting due to the fact art is already interesting enough but also because my professor was such a unique individual. He was always energetic, optimistic, and very entertaining. Even our TA who taught our discussion class was very passionate about art history and was also very optimistic. I must say that I’m going to miss that class a lot.

But the of course, one class that I will terribly miss will be my digital art class. I seriously had the most fun and was the most stressed because of  this class. I’m glad to say that I actually learned a lot about many different programs such as Premiere,  Illustrator, and AfterEffects. I even got some artwork displayed in one of the hallways in the ART building at UT, so I’m actually very proud of that. Plus, Neal is such a cool guy so his class was very enjoyable.

I also went to Wizard World Comic Con here in Austin with my friend Javi a few weeks ago so that was kind of fun! We even got to meet some cast members from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Here are a few pictures from that event:

Thor called me a mortal!

I even made a TARDIS bag for the event!

One thing I’ve been doing a lot since I moved here to Austin is baking and actually cooking meals from scratch. No idea where  I got this inspiration to cook from but I’m glad I’m actually being productive in some way. So of course, here are a few things I’ve cooked and baked:

And I even got to make a sugar skull for Dia de los Muertos with a $1 skull mold I found at Michael’s:

I went back to my hometown last week for the Thanksgiving break and I must say that I really missed my family. Next weekend I’ll probably be back in my hometown for about five weeks then it’s back to school again.