It’s been a crazy semester, packed full of projects and the like, and I’ve done my best to detail the best of them on my portfolio.

Over the summer I had some pretty major things going on, from my trip to Poland to the New Hampshire follow-up project I participated in, which were great projects.

I started the semester off performing in a poetry slam.  I came in 3rd place (out of 3 performers), but received very positive feedback.  Next I tackled a short film idea that’d been running around my head for a while, and made some good headway with it.  No plans for filming or even redrafting the script yet, but hopefully eventually; it was just nice to get into a project like that again after being out of it for a while.

Outside of school I rarely have spare time, but I found myself perusing Instructables pretty often, and entered their Halloween contest.  I didn’t win that one, but I did win 3rd place for their pocket-sized contest with my fork-knife-spoon piece from last year.  I wore the prize t-shirt last night :).

After that the workload picked up, and the projects got more serious.  At the end of the Spring there is an annual all-school-show where each department displays their best work.  One of my majors has a Fall show they put on as well, to showcase their department and the variety of work it produces.  Much of this is performance-related work (music, theater, dance, sound, light shows), and I was asked to be the stage manager for this year’s show.  It’s called the SIM Big Show, and it was a pretty huge event, with over 200 people in attendance.  In addition to stage managing, my music video from last year played in one of the video screening rooms, and I had a piece I called Practical Nature in one of the galleries in school.

Following that was the final show for my Food & Art class, the only requirements being that we make food to serve the audience and we make a piece to display in the show that had something to do with both food and art.  Mine had some more complex messages to it, and though simple, I was satisfied with it.

Lastly – and perhaps obviously, judging by the trend in my work so far – was my woodworking final.  All Sculpture majors are required to take a woodworking 101 class called Projects in Wood.  More artistic than last year’s Joinery, we made an experimental carving, another box – simpler than the ones from Joinery – and the final was an “interpretive box,” which I’ll detail more in its post.

Winter Break has been great; I went home for about a week for a period of total removal from everything school- and work-related, hanging out at home for Christmas and much time with no obligations, and it was wonderful.  Now I’m back in Boston, tackling some personal and home projects I’d set aside during the semester, and preparing for the semester to come.

Up ahead: casting & moldmaking with plaster, kinetic art, beat research (studying and making music and hip-hop beats), and hopefully being a TA for the Projects in Wood class I just completed.

Aside from that, I’m continuing working at Henry Bear’s Park toy store and as an usher for the Blue Man Group during vacation periods.  With the new year I feel more methodical about my approach to projects, and life, which I’m hoping will help ease the next semester, bringing less stress and a bit more time for relaxing between things, be they projects or simply moments in a day.

Hoping each of you are well,
and wishing all happy holidays,
Blake

It’s never been much of a holiday in my family, but as kids my sister and I would go out huntin’ for ye old baskets o’ chocolate and such, pick up plenty of sugar rushes throughout the day and crash at night.  Of course I’m far beyond that now. Far…

Apparently today was to be an exception however, my sister made us all french toast and I even got a basket of chocolates!

Anyway… here’s hoping you all have a good holiday too :).

Collegehumor via Geekologie.

WVSR via Lifehacker.

WARNING: There is a bit of cursing and adult themes in here. Only proceed if you’re sure you can handle it. ;)

Fun in the Sun

Lizzy got up, wiping her face of sleep and grime, the residue from the tendrils and their ooze now having dried to a crisp, dry crust, clinging as if glued to her skin. She walked to her own door, saw the room just as they’d left it, broken and full of holes. She looked in Dave’s room, he was gone, and his room looked just like hers. Alex stood behind her, half-crying, holding her hands up by her face, trembling with worry.

Lizzy turned around, seeing Alex, and walked past her into the kitchen. Alex followed.

“What do you want for breakfast?”
“What? Breakfast?” Alex asked, shaking her head slightly.
“Well yea. We can’t chase this thing on empty stomachs. Besides, I’m hungry.”

Alex stared for a moment, then walked slowly to the little table, sitting down and trembling. Lizzy walked to her room, and came out with a jacket. It had a hole or two in it, but was in good shape compared to the rest of the room. She laid it over Alex’s shoulders, then knelt down beside her.

“Look. You get warm and fed, we’ll look for this thing, and Dave. But crying won’t solve anything. I understand, but I’ve been single for over a year now, and it’s grating. I’m just gonna say it straight, so there it is. We’ll look, but you gotta pull together and be strong on the way, alright?”

Alex hardly moved.
“Ever seen Lord of the Rings, the third one?”
Alex nodded.
“Alright, well Sam’s right, but I’m not as strong as him, I probably can’t carry you. Not for long, anyway. We gotta both be like him. Alright?”

Alex nodded again. Lizzy stood, but Alex grabbed her wrist. She turned, and Alex pulled at her arm. Lizzy bent down as Alex embraced her, a stray tear sliding down her grime-dirtied cheek. Lizzy put her arm around Alex’s neck for a moment, then pulled away, flushed white. Alex sighed, and Lizzy walked to the stove, then said quietly, “You’ll be alright.”

Lizzy put a pan of eggs straight on the table, the heat sizzling the plastic covering, curling it around the base of the pan. It glued itself to the pan, and as she ripped it off, the covering came with it. “Shit!” Lizzy held it there for a moment, then flopped it back down on the table. “Well, it’s done now. I guess we can’t really fuck this place over any worse than hose bedrooms.” She sits down and hands Alex a fork. “Dig in.”

Alex takes a bite, then puts down her fork. She gets up and walks to the fridge, opening it up and looking in. The light’s not on, but she doesn’t notice.
“What, the burnt eggs not good enough?”

Alex grabs a bottle of juice from the fridge. And a beer, as a second thought. She opens the cupboard across the way, looks at the glasses, then at Lizzy. She shuts the door and plops the beer down on the counter. Then she grabs the juice bottle, screws off the top and takes a swig from the bottle. She sits down and hands it to Lizzy, who half-grins and swigs too.

“Glasses mean more dishes to wash. Smart thinking.”
“We’re washing dishes?”
“What do you think?”
And for the first time since Dave’s disappearance, Alex manages a small smile. She finishes off the eggs, and Lizzy offers her the first sip of the beer she’d already opened with her teeth. Alex takes the bottle and drinks a few sips, then hands it back.
“You can finish it. I need to get some things packed.”
“Right.” Then, after a pause and Alex’s almost out of earshot, “Thanks.”
Alex pauses in Dave’s doorway in acknowledgement, then continues into the room.

Lizzy downs the rest of the bottle in one breath. She slams the bottle down, cracking the base, giggling at herself and then throwing everything in the sink, filling it with water, but the faucet dies on her. “Aw, fuck it,” and she walks into her own room. She grabs her shoulder bag and some clothes, a sketchbook, reading book and her digital camera. She grabs the chargers without thinking, thinks better of it, but throws them in just the same. She grabs her change too, and wallet, “In case we need to buy supplies or something.”

Alex, just coming out of Dave’s room with her bag packed, looks up, “What?”
“Nothing.” She looks at Alex and her bag of clothes. “Grab some food too, we’re going to want to take as much as we can carry. Judging by seeing you two together, we’re probably not coming back until he’s with us, and even then I don’t know about facing the landlord after this damage to the place.”

Alex walks to the kitchen. Lizzy picks up her bag, throws it over her shoulder and straps it across her waist. She grabs another bag, a duffel from the closet, and slides her belt through the straps. She brings it out and loads some food into it. She zips it up and throws it over her shoulder too, fastening the belt around her shoulders in a half-assed carrying strap. She looks at Alex, also ready with a bag of food and clothes on her back. They look at each other and sigh.

“Alright, let’s go.” Lizzy heads to the door, looking out, it’s too bright to make anything out. Alex follows her. They step out into the grass-laiden yard with the concrete step entrance to the basement suite, but when they round the corner, Alex gasps and drops to her knees.

For as far as the eye can see, and even farther, for that matter, it’s pure desert. No more city, no more people, no more anything. Yellow-orange sand engulfs the house, now somewhat lopsided in the sand, as if it had landed there after a windstorm and the girls had just failed to notice the house was flying through the sky while they slept.

Dunes and caverns, hills and canyons of sand rose and fell for miles and miles (or kilometers, but they’re not technically in Canada anymore, as far as we know). The sun pierced the sky, a pure blue with an orangish haze to it, the sun itself burning the sand on which it shown. It felt like fire, only intangible. It felt like the pot on the plastic table cover, only this time it was pure light on skin, and there was no way to stop it. No way but to layer clothing, and in the heat of the day, that wasn’t an intriguing idea. They stared out at the sand for some time, until finally Lizzy swallowed.

“Well fuck me… no, seriously… go right ahead.”

Vancouver.  Vancouver is awesome.  The city itself couldn’t be more gentle or fun.  The apartment I’m in is just the right size for three guys who don’t typically cross paths for more than a minute.  My room is nicely sized, comfortable and well-lit…now.  And the people… Canadians blow me away.  Why aren’t Americans this nice to random people?  Maybe it’s because we’re roommates or maybe it’s because they’re friend of my family, but everybody I’ve met so far has been more than willing to drop whatever they’re doing and help out in some way.  It’s shocking, but nice.

I start school in about a week and a half, so I’m still getting used to the area around the apartment, finding new places to get groceries, household things like tape, light bulbs, etc.  I just got the internet set up today, and the roommates will pay me back for the router when I see them later tonight.  So far it’s been pretty quiet days at home, since the roommates have school and/or work, and I’ve got neither, and then some movie and food later on, with the occasional interest of one of them.  Tim goes to the school I’m going to be going to, only he’s in the Game Design program, so he’s doing a lot of 3D modeling and texturing, making characters and stuff for games.  He’s almost done with his clay version of a character, he said, and he’ll be 6 months through the program once I start.  Andrew’s finishing his masters in Health Economics.  That was a shock to me, since when I saw him he looked like he was just out of high school and starting college for the first time.  It was also a field I never thought existed until he mentioned it, but it’s something I now can’t imagine not existing, even though I’m really not sure what it is.

I moved up on Sunday, and it’s Wednesday now, so I’ve got no good excuse not to learn the bus routes soon.  Tomorrow I’m taking the closest one down to my school to see where it is, and meet one of my brother’s friends or a brief visit in the middle of his work day (see what I mean, and he’s not even Canadian!)  I’ll wander around and explore the area a bit, and finally come back home when I’ve explored enough for the day.  I hope it’s just so exciting I go back again on Friday, only it’s supposed to rain Friday, so maybe I won’t.  I’ve always got the apartment to stay in.  It’s still surreal, being in the apartment, thinking it’s partly mine.  Walking into the kitchen thinking it’s my kitchen, my living room, I don’t know if it’s sunk in or not, but it’s an odd feeling.  It’s kind of a feeling like I have this freedom, this ultimate freedom where my life isn’t determined by the schedules of other people, my daily life is completely and entire up to me, down to the absolute minute details, and yet I haven’t changed anything about my habits yet.  Maybe I will with time, and maybe finding new friends will cause that, but for now, I’m happy to have a place to sleep and eat and a brand new city to explore.