Application Wrap Ups & Adventuring Into New Lands

Hey blog, haven't been posting as much lately since I was busy wrapping up my CalArts portfolio.  I still can't believe it's already that time of year to submit applications... it was such a big learning experience since this whole year I've been all about the technical side to drawing when I also should've been thinking a lot more creatively and emotionally.  It wasn't until a day or two right before I completed my application that I finally felt like I was grasping their drawing philosophies of keeping loose.  A bit of a shame that the epiphany didn't hit me until then, but I'm proud of what I was able get done and turn in, knowing I've accomplished a lot just to get to this point.

So now with CalArts out of the way, it's one down and one to go - Ringling.  I think I've finally finished creating my Ringling portfolio, so now it's just a matter or organizing and tying up the written portions.  Can't believe I'm really saying this, but I'm actually confident in my body of work... which would (I hope) be normal since I've spent the last 7 months portfolio-building specifically for this school.  I want to get this all done before Christmas so I can kick back and enjoy my holidays.

Buut now with things slowing down, I've been taking a bit of a break from drawing and just trying to loosen up and live life a little.  Be a little more adventurous, take some risks, y'know?  Creating my portfolio for CalArts really opened my eyes - the way I draw is intertwined with my personality, so I figure it's tough to draw loose if you can't keep your living loose!  Walt Stachfield encouraged his students to try new things and build new good habits (the other day I took a different route to work, freshen things up).

So today I tried something new - visited my old friends at Columbia's Asian Student Organization for their poetry/spoken word workshop.  We each had 10 minutes to write a short poem about an important event in our lives, so I chose when I discovered a new way to draw via the "sacrum technique" in George's class.

It was dead silent

Just another night with my ink

For the first time taking her to dance

Weaving through motions unexplored

It was new yet old, uncharted but still home

One world I sat

The other I glided

Taking her hand

And left behind the imprint of man

I never understood poetry, but everyone seemed to like what I had to share.  I think it's because I took something personal and didn't water any part of it down.  I was tempted to play down the female personification of the pen, but I just told myself to go for it.  Deep down I really felt this symbolic imagery of dancing with a beautiful girl, but I was worried that people would think it was cheesy.  "C'mon man," I thought.  "Give this thing some personality."

PS- I also uploaded my original writing as a reminder to keep myself loose again.  Usually when I write, I just kind of sit there and wait for the perfect words to come to me.  Instead, I related this to drawing and let the words flow out of me and my emotions, not particularly caring how they came out as long as they got a loose imagery across.  Then I went back and added some stuff here and there, crossed out some other stuff too.  I looked at Rebecca Sugar's original writings for lyrics for her Adventure Time songs and I think she has a similar process based on all the scribblings.  Hm... looking back, this isn't so different from drawing...