A List of Things to Hate (will accumulate over time no doubt)

If you're having a bad day, maybe it could be worse! I HATE:

1. cutting your fingernails so short that it hurts to use your fingers

2. running out of toilet paper when you really need it

3. going to the store for one thing in particular and they do not have it

4. when your cell phone has fallen out of your back pocket and into the toilet

5. tuning your guitar and one of the strings breaks and scares the crap out of you

6. getting food poisoning

7. getting pooped on by a bird

8. getting your food stolen by a seagull at the beach

9. when a bear has ripped open your camping tent and eaten your science notes in search of food

10. tripping and fall flat on your face

11. seeing a couple makeout when you are single

12. getting a paper cut from a wicked thick piece of paper

13. making an awesome vase on the ceramics wheel until it gives way and collapses three seconds before you were about to stop

14. not getting an internship you really wanted

15. having your boyfriend break up with you and not tell you why

16. going rollerskating and get some wonderful blisters afterwards

17. growing out of your once-favorite item of clothing

18. getting a rip in the crotch of your jeans, out of all places

19. wearing sandals to a concert and your feet get stepped on

20. getting thrown up on

21. when the fire alarm goes off at 3am when you are really exhausted

22. when you get a bug bite the size of alaska on your ass

23. when an item of clothing you really adore is way too expensive

24. getting into a fight with someone you really care about the day you are going to see your favorite band in concert

25. when you're typing a final paper and the power goes out

26. hitting a patch of ice when you're snowboarding

27. when you're so tired in the morning that you accidentally pour orange juice in your cereal and milk in your cup instead of vice-versa

i have a new ukelele!

so i bought a ukelele yesterday at daddy's junky music in west springfield. i am so excited. it cost a little over $60, but is definitely worth it. i had been thinking about getting one a lot lately, and i'm glad i finally got it. for me, a ukelele is more convenient than a guitar right now. four strings is easier for me to play than six, and because of its small size, it can be taken almost anywhere. jon and i kept playing it yesterday....it is so fun. he may even consider getting one as well. i think he should so we can rock out on uke together! he has a few guitars and is still trying to teach himself....he admits he wants lessons badly though. hopefully he can get them in the summer because i see a ton of potential for him to grow...he just absolutely loves guitars.

it has only been a day and i am already picking up some chords! i printed out a two-page chord chart and put it in a plastic sleeve and pinned it up on the wall right in front of me. so far i am teaching myself something, all you need is love, and with a little help from my friends by the beatles, as well as island in the sun by weezer. i got to play for a good half hour when i got back from class this morning. it was awesome. i never thought i could pick up an instrument so fast! maybe someday i WILL learn how to play guitar, but for now, my ukelele is wonderful.

jon came to pick me up on saturday from school to help me escape the havoc from spring fling. thank goodness. (oh! the girl talk concert was friday night....it was awesome....i went out to cheesecake factory with my future roomies..we had a ton of fun)....we went on a tour of umass saturday cause jon is thinking of transferring one last time. it's a lot different to look at such a big school after you have already gone to college for two years. if i had looked at umass as a high school senior, i would have been super intimidated. 20,000 students?!?! it's a really great school, though. if jon got in he might end up living with our friends mike, dan, and andrew....which i think would be really good for him so he has something to do at school. saturday night we went to see OCEANS and it was a little hard for me because i am petrified of whales. but it was a pretty movie....i learned a few things surprisingly, like whales sleep upside down?! what! so cool.

before buying my ukelele yesterday jon and i went to the puppy store at the riverdale plaza first. we played with a little scottish terrier! he was really shy at first, but when he loosened up he was so precious! i would pick him up and put him in my lap, and he would just put his head down like he wanted to go to sleep. and when i finally picked him up to give him back to the lady, he was SO calm. i have never held such a calm puppy....i don't think i could ever handle having a really hyper dog...too much work.

i was in a fairly weird mood yesterday, though. like i didn't really feel like talking. i don't know if it was because my parents were kinda iffy on me buying a ukelele. HEY, at least i didn't go and spend $500 on new snowboarding equipment (which i will need eventually)....i am trying my absolute best to save my money. i have not bought ANY new clothes for myself aside from the ones i have bought with gift certificates. they know me though....sometimes i get bored easily, or maybe wear clothes once and then change my mind....i know i used to be like that. but i am trying my best to be less materialistic and buy only what i NEED (the ukelele is just good for my soul). i am trying to get rid of a lot of old clothes and stuff i don't need. i really want to have a tag sale this summer.....

oh! by the way, i sent a letter to the family i used to babysit (they used to live nearby). the dad works for Hallmark, and since i didn't get an internship with them, i asked him for his help/advice. he said they MAY have an opening around maine/new hampshire....i would love that! but it would be a shame if i had to move there for a couple months this summer and have it be an unpaid internship.....we shall see what happens...i would love to work for Hallmark in the long run....

today is earth day

i got a really bad paper cut yesterday in figure drawing. boo. it's on my middle finger of my left hand. thank goodness we are done with clay throwing, cause i would have definitely been unable to use the wheel with a sliced open finger. i started my figure drawing final, and it is 3x4 feet and taped up on my wall in my dorm room. it's obnoxious and due on the 3rd of May, which isn't too bad.

this morning in ceramics we were pretty much finished so we watched a video on klaus nomi, a new-wave pop opera singer of the late 1970's. geez it was so bizarre, but pretty entertaining. he was a backup singer for david bowie on SNL in the 70's...i feel like not a lot of people know him today. i sure didn't know about him until today. probably because he died during his career. sad.

i'm kinda bummed that the time i am assigned to do ceramics cleanup is tuesday from 2-4. i am hoping that i will get a chance to shower before illustration at 4:30 cause there is absolutely no way i am going to ceramics/psychology afterwards covered in crap. oh well, perhaps i will tell dennis today that i may be a teeny bit late. i think i have only missed one class so i should be alright.

everything just kinda feels in a fog right now. i made a larger calendar for the next 2 1/2 weeks with all the stuff due written down. i just need to take it as it comes.

i didn't get to talk to jon all day yesterday. i'm sure he was busy too. i feel asleep around 11 i think. i was really tired. i wish he had at least texted me to tell me goodnight before he went to bed, but oh well.

ugh i am just looking up at my walls right now at my figure drawing final. this thing is gonna eat me alive. it's so large and obnoxious. super duper.

oooo the project runway finale is on tonight! i am not looking forward to all the spring fling activities, though. the dj Girl Talk is coming to our gym tomorrow night, but a lot of people are boycotting it because it's indoors and on a friday night. usually the concert is held outdoors on a Saturday, yeah, which is a lot more fun. i think i will go to Girl Talk, but Saturday is kinda boring to me. a lot of my friends are art students and they all think they're just gonna end up doing work this weekend. sigh. jon may come rescue me saturday from all the drunken madness occuring on campus. i am going to avoid eating at commons this weekend AT ALL COSTS. the lines are always ENORMOUS during spring fling, for pete's sake. it's terrible. i am going to stay in my room and eat ramen and peanut butter and banana on crackers. and avoid accidentally walking in vomit at all costs. i really do hope i get to see jon this weekend. my parents are in cape cod right now (so lucky) until friday/saturday. i would feel bad asking them to come get me. who knows, but jon is definitely coming home.

DONE WITH CLAY FOREVER

today was our last in-class day of wet clay. holy cow i could not be happier. i used to look at throwing as somewhat theraputic, and even considered minoring in ceramics. but making vases and pitchers in such a short amount of time kind of changed my mind....it was very nerve-wrecking. thank GOODNESS i somehow whipped out five (one pitcher, four vases) in class today....which makes eight, which was the assignment! i am not entirely thrilled with the way they came out. the pitchers are relatively small, as are the vases. but it's alright, at least i tried. i wouldn't have been able to go into the studio tomorrow night to finish on the wheel for thursday's critique. i am planning on going to the studio tonight after psych and trimming the vases.

today it just dawned upon me that i am fairly stressed all of a sudden. these last two weeks are always a killer. i know the mindset i have is that i will just take all the work as it comes and work on it all at once and just take turns on projects. that's just how i work. i can't sit down and write a paper for three hours straight. i have to take lots of breaks because my focus drifts and i feel like i need to take those breaks to recollect my thoughts. i feel all jumbly right now. like when i started writing this post, i wasn't even spelling words correctly. ugh, just so much on my mind.

funny thing is though, right at this very moment, i really don't have much work to worry about. i will force myself to go swimming in a little while even though i have been going for a couple weeks and have not been seeing results. that always seems to happen when i attempt to work out. oh well. i know my eating habits are not the healthiest but eating healthy at school basically means i'd have to eat practically nothing.

that's right...i did NOT get the internship.

life is funny, but i believe everything happens for a reason. the one thing i really feel in a pickle about right now is that it is extraordinarily hard to find art internships locally. that is why i am pretty bummed the eric carle didn't choose me. it's only about 40 minutes away at most. i really, really don't want to go to cleveland, but it seems that i would have to travel far away for any really good internships. which stinks. i am very much a home-body. i don't really enjoy going away unless it's with people i know and/or care very much about.

i really want to spend this summer here. it's so important to me. i am desperate to find an internship around here. i just tried calling American Greetings, and had to leave a message...seems so impossible to get to talk to the people i need to contact about this thing. the deadline was april 1st and they still have not let me know. i sent them my resume and porfolio on a CD, and they said they would send materials back. well, i know it's a major corporation and all, but really, i need to know. odds are i won't get that internship either, to be honest. i hate how the current art market requires that you need to know photoshop/illustrator. really. i did NOT grow up learning how to use that. it's very unfair. as badly as i want to do art in my life, i want to put myself first, as selfish as that may seem. i want to get married within ten years and have a family and live comfortably. maybe i won't end up getting a job in art after all...? i have no idea what else i would/could do with my life, though. i really don't feel like i am good at anything else that is in high demand right now. all i know is that i am going to school to pursue what i love in life, not forcing myself into doing something i hate and something that does not come naturally. i have a natural inclination towards art.

ugh.

"Unfortunately, we are writing to let you know the position has been filled."

Dear Allison,

Thank you for applying for the Art Studio Summer Internship. After reading your application it is easy to see why the Museum would attract your attention given your interests and experience. Diana and I were very happy to meet you and see your passion for art through your work. Unfortunately, we are writing to let you know the position has been filled.

Should you still be interested in spending time at The Carle at some point in the future, please consider volunteering. If you would like to be considered as a volunteer in the future, just let us know and we will put your application materials in our volunteer folder. We never know when a volunteer position arises, so we keep applications on file for at least a year.

Thank you again for your time and interest. We hope that you will visit The Carle and use it as a resource and inspiration for your work. We wish you the best of luck as you pursue illustration and continue to help others find a love for art making.

Sincerely,

Meghan

the waiting game.

so i have pretty much been checking my email every 5-30 minutes since i came back from figure drawing class and lunch at about 12 o'clock. after my interview at The Carle they told me that they would notify accepted applicants for the internship around the MIDDLE of this week. well, it is the middle exactly. wednesday is the middle of the week. if i don't get an email by the time i get back from art history a little after 4 i will start to really get antsy. well, they will notify me either way. but boy, i am really hoping i get this internship. i want it, and i think i really deserve it.

i have been trying to clean up/pack up some more of my room since i will be going home this weekend. after this week there are only two weeks and two days left of class. niceeee.

history and today

yesterday was a fairly history-oriented day. after my post, i proceeded to watch a movie on BET about the Little Rock Eight...aka the eight african american teenagers that were allowed to attend little rock central high in arkansas at the peak of racial segregation in our country. it was brutal the way they were treated, and the wrong-doers got away with it all. it was really sad how threatened they were...

after that i watched the anne frank movie. of course, i cried at the end. then switching through the channels once the movie was over, i came across shindler's list, and i was like "oh heck no." that movie is absurdly graphic and sad.

well, i woke up today thinking it would stink cause it's a monday, but it really wasn't all that bad. figure drawing is going better because our teacher isn't really looming as much over our work, and we have more freedom. once figure drawing was over, i went to the ceramics studio to grind down one of my mugs that had a hardened drip of glaze. then hailey and i had lunch.

art history, dinner, then history, then i watched dancing with the stars. now i'm talking to jon online. that's about all for now. the nice weather helps keep my spirits up!

how i feel about art school.

there is no point in being in art school and being cocky about your work. i look at art not as something competitive, but a way to grow. maybe it's just a competition with myself, if anything. no two clients will ever want the same thing, and no two artists are exactly the same. i am not out to push everyone out of the way to be the next big thing in the art world, but i definitely want my art to get me somewhere.

honestly, my main goal in life is to one day get married and have a family and a dog and a house and a comfortable life.

say yes to the dress

i remember i was watching say yes to the dress, and there was a GORGEOUS dress i fell in love with....it is designed by Claire Pettibone, and no, i do not have any desire to get married at the moment hahaha...i have always admired the beauty of wedding gowns, and Claire Pettibone is a magnificent designer. her dresses are very symbolic of my personal style (if i ever had to choose a wedding gown!) so i was bored and found it on her website! here it is, the Princess style:

another beautiful dress is the Akoya style:

here is one more picture of the princess dress, being worn, so you can see how it falls:

here is the akoya on someone (don't think i really like this AS much now that i see it on someone...:

i hate sunday brunch.

especially knowing they will have pancakes today, since they had french toast yesterday. funny cause i never really liked french toast until college. probably cause the pancakes at commons could use a little improvement. right now i am eating animal crackers for breakfast...the heck with commons food. maybe i will go later once the absurd crowd dies down. that is one thing i hate about commons, it is always packed. especially during spring fling when people bring guests. spring fling this year is the 23rd til the 24th/25th of this month. i am looking forward to it since i missed out on a lot last year. well, i got front row at the pharrell concert cause i pretty much waited there all day, so i guess that was the best part. on the 24th (which is a saturday) they usually have inflatables and fun stuff on the lawn, plus this year there will be a battle of the bands concert, which should be fun. but overall spring fling is all about people getting drunk and crazy, which really isn't my thing. it makes me kinda queasy thinking about it. ugh. on friday the 23rd, the DJ Girl Talk is going to be in the gym. i am looking forward to that, but i know with it being inside the gym things could potentially get out of hand.

i woke up at around 8 or 9 this morning...i have been going to bed more when i feel tired, rather than just staying up til 1 or 2 in the morning. i think getting proper sleep helps my mood improve, and it keeps my body regulated in a sense. i took a shower and have been just dilly-dallying around, trying to get some homework done. worked on my newest illustration a little bit, and started a response paper on an article about the artist Edward Hopper, which is due tomorrow.

there is a movie on tonight about anne frank on pbs i believe. i don't know why i am so intrigued by her story...i am not even jewish. but maybe the fact that i am polish hits home a little bit? i know that the Holocaust caused a stir in poland as well as other western european countries, so i guess it's a part of my history. i don't know. sophomore year of high school i played Mrs. Frank in our school's production of The Diary of Anne Frank . it opened my eyes to the Holocaust and i have been paying closer attention to it ever since. it makes me so sad to talk about it, though. i should stop now.

well, i am finishing up these animal crackers. i wish the weather this week would be a little more than in the 60's. oh well.

14 MORE DAYS OF CLASS.

room selection was yesterday...we got two doubles in park river :o) marissa is my roomate, and i am really glad because we are pretty much the same person. she is an illustration major as well, so our schedules will be almost the same. it worries me to have a double after having a single this whole year, though. i do like my privacy. it's nothing against marissa, though. who knows...we respect each other enough so i don't think we will have any problems. i feel like the girls i am living with are going to be my friends for life. i really, really enjoy their company. we all have a lot in common. i feel so fortunate that they took me under their wing for next year.

the nice thing about park river is that we have an actual kitchen, with a full-size fridge, a oven/stove, and a DISHWASHER, which we will probably never use haha. park river also has central air, so it won't be too hot in the warmer months (or so i hope). i just finished my animal crackers. next year will be SO expensive. all my illustration classes require new oil paints, watercolor paints in tubes, and new brushes. yikes. saving my receipt will hopefully help me out on my tax return next year haha...

yesterday we celebrated my sister and her boyfriend's 23rd birthdays. their birthdays are only a few days apart, it's cute. we went to a good mexican restaurant, puerto vallarta on the berlin turnpike. andrea and i shared fajitas and it was delicious but super filling. we then went to pick up an ice cream cake at friendly's and had it back at their house. then we watched tv, the new show on TLC called Hoarding: Buried Alive. it's unbelievable how these people have such a connect to such worthless objects. i learned that it's somewhat of a psychological issue, and there's more to it. interesting.

well, i don't know what i'll do the rest of the day. maybe take the shuttle and get subway? who knows :oP

bland weather makes everyone go "ick"

it was super cold today...well, colder than yesterday...flip flops were a big no-no...i was freezing!

i went to bed relatively early last night...i think around 11pm maybe? i had set my alarm to 10:15 but woke up around 8:30 feeling totally refreshed this morning. i worked on my illustration today, which is a peacock native american-type woman....she's beautiful. i had casey, jacqueline, and marissa model for me last night for reference. thank goodness, cause my proportions in my concept sketch were way off.

i worked on that, ate some flipz (chocolate covered pretzels) and peanut butter, saltines, and banana as well for breakfast. then i met my teacher in the art school lot to go to the field trip. good thing she talked my ear off in the car haha, but still a little awkward. it's me.

we got to the wadsworth and more than ten kids from our class showed up. i took a lot of pictures of the american art that intrigued me the most....our final assignment is to write a 6-7 page paper on an american artist's piece from a museum between 1900-1945. i have a lot to choose from.

after coming back from the wadsworth, i proceeded to the ceramics studio and threw another stubby little dr. seuss pitcher. i swear, i will never take another ceramics class again. i forgot how nice it is to feel CLEAN after doing artwork. haha nooo, i love most kinds of art. it's just that ceramics is not my weapon of choice. i am focusing on just getting my pitchers and vases done, the heck with making more bowls and mugs. i made one really good mug...eh, maybe i will make a few more mugs. we shall see. my ceramics locker is the biggest pain in the butt ever. the key ALWAYS got stuck and today it decided to break inside the keyhole. oh great. i had to have allen from the front desk get some pliers and pull it out...thank goodness some of it was sticking out so he could do so, otherwise we would have been toast. i decided to just clean out the darn thing today and get back my $20 deposit for using it. today was just a "bad clay day."

after getting severely frustrated with ceramics, i decided to go to the mall because i have a $25 certificate to spend at forever 21, plus i wanted to get my mind off how annoying art was today. i ate a quick dinner and headed on the shuttle myself to westfarms mall. of COURSE, i didn't buy anything. there were some cool sandals i saw at H&M at home and really hoped westfarms had them, but sadly they did not. shopping and i are not the best of friends lately. i feel like my tastes are really changing and i can't control it. i don't really feel the urge to dress "flashy" anymore, but to dress more sophisticated and clean-cut instead. almost none of the jewelry in forever 21 appeals to me anymore. shopping is just so hard because i don't need much...the things i really need are bigger investments, like a nice sturdy pair of flare jeans from american eagle or gap. gap jeans are the best...they last forever, but are wicked expensive. i would prefer a nice pair of levi's, actually...

after the mall i came back, still a little frsutrated, but decided to work on my illustration. i just finished most of the face...it's coming out just like i want it so far. the shadows on my reference are helping tremendously.

now i am about to take a shower and relax for the rest of the night, and maybe head to konover for a snack? who knows...

room selection tomorrow ahhh i hope it isn't stressful...i met with my future suitemates last night and we get along SO well...i can't wait for all the times we will have next year!

i love to hear the robins singing in the trees

trying to sleep last night was the most uncomfortable thing ever. it was SO hot. i recall waking up at 1:30 in the morning to put my tower fan back on. the overnight LOW was 56 degrees. holy moley. to make me even more uncomfortable, my allergies were bugging me a little bit. i went to bed really early cause my eyes were itchy and felt heavy. i don't know if having my window open was such a great idea? but i did sleep pretty well....i woke up a lot though.

this morning i mixed some black glaze for my strawberry mugs i made (more like teacups because they are fairly small). i will include some pictures once they are fired! our teacher mixed up a batch of "vegas red" glaze...a very fitting color for my strawberry mugs! our current project is vases and pitcher....thank goodness we only have to make eight. ahh it's really hard. i call all my lop-sided pieces "dr. seuss mugs/vases/pitchers." i made only one dr. seuss pitcher today.

tomorrow i have to go on a field trip to the wadsworth in hartford (it's an art museum). since i do not have a car on campus, my teacher offered a ride to people like me. i'm pretty sure i'll be the only one riding with my teacher ahaha oh boyyyy. she is a very nice lady, but i always feel a little uncomfortable driving with people i don't know very well. not because of the fact that i could get into an accident (my teacher is a lot older, she is a good driver i am sure), but because i feel really awkward when i do not know what to say. who knows, sometimes people surprise you and talk your ear off.

my friend jaimie told me she wants to photograph me tomorrow for her photo class. yay i love to model for my friends...my friend sarah took distorted photos of my face and they came out really creepy..i brought them home, though. i think it would be funny to post them here hahahah

well i am about to head out and talk to my future suitemates about our plans for housing next year. room selection is on saturday woooo. i am keeping my fingers crossed that i will be able to get a single again...but park river is a really difficult dorm to get into i have heard (well, to get all singles at least). but all four of us are juniors and are going into room selection about three hours into it. so we shall seeeeeee!

baby, it's HOT outside

woah.....90 degrees today. just my luck, i had an interview too, which meant a litle extra discomfort when it came to dressing up. my allergies are making my eyes all tired and whatnot too.

the interview went fairly well, they seemed fairly interested....but you can never be too sure. they were like "woah, we have some strong canidates this year..." ughh....oh well, if i don't get it, then it is meant to be. but i did express vivid interest in the fact that i may want to get a master's degree in art therapy or art education...the experience with children and their parents at the Eric Carle Museum would be really crucial to help my future and help me get used to working with different kinds of people, moreso than i would experience just by working as a cashier.

i told them "i am not here to beef up my resume like other people may want to do...this is for my FUTURE."

and if i ever got to meet Eric Carle himself....woahhhhh nelly. that would be unreal.

my dad just brought me back to school. we had dinner at mountain view and had burgers and fries and strawberry milkshakes. yum yum.

well, they told me i would hear back from them about the internship sometime mid-week next week. all i can do is wait til then. i also tried calling someone from American Greetings to confirm when accepted applicants would be notified for their summer internship. it's a major corporation, though...i'm not surprised if they wouldn't/couldn't get back to me. oh well.

well, it's off to draw for illustration. yip yip!

happy easter to all

so we had easter at my house today...it is easter tradition in my family to do a sort of rotation of homes for the holidays....like one aunt will have christmas, another will have thanksgiving, and we happened to have easter this year.

i awoke at 9:30 this morning to the sound of the fire alarm going off in my room. my mom used too much olive oil on the lamb (we are greek) that she was cooking in the oven, and it made the house too smokey. i didn't mind though...the house was fairly smelly for a good amount of the day, though. i absolutely cannot STAND fire alarms. the one at school is RIGHT outside my room. i swear, if that thing goes off at 3am on a weekend again, i will have permanent heart problems. the fire alarm scares the heck out of me! i am a naturally jumpy person with fairly quick reflexes, so i can get scared pretty easily. whenever the fire alarm goes off at school, i literally jump a foot in the air. my heart starts POUNDING and i feel like im getting the worst anxiety possible. i don't calm down afterwards for a good ten minutes. ugh. i hope there aren't anymore fire alarms this semester, but that's wishful thinking.

i am missing my history exam tomorrow, because the Vietnam War is absurdly confusing..plus i missed two classes full of vital information, so cramming all the studying into tonight is a little much...plus i have a psych exam tuesday night i would rather focus on studying for.

i realized how long my last post was...eek! i should write a book.

my sister and i arranged an easter egg hunt for all the cousins. inside the eggs were questions to ask the rest of the family. it was quite enjoyable. it was funny to see the cousins so competitive. what a beautiful easter it was, though! it was a good 75 degrees out today. i got to wear my new outfit, too...it got lots of compliments!

my sister and i made chocolate strawberries last night to today...mmm.

jon stopped by today on his way back to school. we went for a little walk down the street and got to talk about our days. it's so wonderful to feel like we are getting so much closer with each little time we spend together, even if it's only for a little while. ahh i can't put it into words. just wonderful. speaking of, i haven't felt this good in a long time. not just because of my boyfriend, but because life is just going pretty smoothly in general. i rarely worry as much as i used to and can look forward to the days going by that lead up to getting out of school in about 5 weeks!

a lovely day for an illustration field trip

here are two prints i bought today at the Norman Rockwell Museum:

"Mermaid (A Fair Catch)"

"Marriage License"

right now i am home in wilbraham and in bed....i am super exhausted.

today we went to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA....i got up around 7am, and met up with marissa (one of my future suitemates for next year) for breakfast at commons. i tried french toast casserole for the first time...it was covered with pecans and it was quite delicious...i was very pleased. we had really good conversation...

then we headed over, got on the bus, and went to Norman Rockwell. we got to see his studio, which i was insanely envious of...i really really wish i had room at home to do my artwork..i usually have to sprawl out on the dining room table, but even so, i can't make much of a mess because it IS a dining room first and foremost. anyway, the exhibits were cool, we got to see some of the archival objects, like an original cereal box from the 1950's with one of Rockwell's illustrations on it. also on display were the black and white photos used by Rockwell as photographic reference. the thing i really love about his illustrations is that they really make me laugh....he wasn't cheesy with his humor, nor too sappy. his pieces are so awesome. i am really proud that he is from around where i live.

after the museum we sat outside in the beautiful weather....being up in the berkshires, it was so peaceful and quiet at the museum, and the air was fresh. it was soooo nice. nothing like a spring day in the sun.

then we went back into the center of stockbridge and got lunch at this cute little cafe. we walked around some of the shops later too. this one pawn-type shop had a TON of beatles/wizard of oz and comic nostalgia. i pretty much died. the coolest thing i saw were original LIFE magazines and the sort from the 1950's and 1960's. one that blew my mind was a March 1964 issue of LIFE with the beatles on the cover. i almost died. that thing could be worth so much some day....too bad it was $50 though, but it is probably really worth it. oh well.

marissa and i browsed a couple more shops, which were cute and reminded her of vermont. when i told her i knew about the equinox inn in vermont, she was so surprised and excited that i knew about it! we have a lot more in common than i thought, which is wicked cool because we will be living together next year. it will be nice to be able to relate on so many levels.

after shops, we got some gelato at a posh little place. i had hazelnut and chocolate mmmm...then we continued out stroll back to the bus. by the time everyone had gotten back onto the bus, they were pooped. half the people on the bus (myself included) fell asleep on the way to the clark art institute.

in all honestly, the clark was not my absolute cup of tea. i am more of a fan of artwork from the early 20th century and beyond....not really a huge fan of the 19th and 18th century work, but i absolutely appreciate its craft. it's like if i had to choose between the metropolitan museum of art and the MOMA in new york city, i would pick the MOMA. modern art just inspires me, and it makes me think a lot more.

there was an interesting display of giovanni boldini's work, however.

the ride home was so long, it seemed like it would never end. jon called me during the ride, and i was really happy to hear from him :o) he sounded like he was in a good mood, which always makes me smile. he asked me again if i could go snowboarding this weekend, but sadly i cannot because we are having easter at my house this year. oh well. hopefully i can still see him, even if it's for a little.

when i got back to school, i immediately went to pick up my illustration portfolio, and then my dad had just arrived to pick me up as i walked up the hill. he came up with me to my room to help me pick up some of my stuff....i brought a lot of room decor home this weekend, cause there is pretty much a month left of school (so exciting). especially with all my art things, it's good for me to bring stuff home gradually that i don't need. i remember last year i had my car at school for the last week, and most of my stuff had already been brought home. after checkout, all i really did was take my bedding and a bag of stuff home and i was off for the summer. simple enough for me!

OH!! so i have scheduled an interview with the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art!!!! Wednesday April 7th at 2:00pm. i am very excited....i hope i hear from American Greetings by then? maybe likely? we will have to see!