Treat Yo’self.

Fall break has officially begun! But before I was able to celebrate my future four day weekend, I had to make it through midterms. So in order to cope with the stress of little sleep and enough art history flashcards to make your head spin, my buddy (and fellow UT Improv co-leader) Dylan and I took a trip to the Metropolitan Market.

I know what you’re thinking. A minivacation to a market? But trust me, it’s so much more. It’s a wonderland. An expensive wonderland for a college student, but a wonderland never the less. We went with one mission in mind: stress relief sweets. Our mantra? Treat yo’self. You see, it was also the anniversary of perhaps the most important Parks and Recreation episode of our generation.

So, we treated ourselves. Dylan went with gelato while I reunited with my one true love… The Cookie. That’s right, THE Cookie. I’d explain to you the simple perfection of this baked beauty but no words can do it justice. It’s basically the most wonderful combination of all things chocolatey and delicious, just gooey enough in the center to melt away all stress and sadness. Basically heaven incarnate in a cookie. Next on the list? Beverages. An easy choice too, since no normal human can resist chocolate milk. (Unless you hate chocolate milk, which is totally fine ’cause that’s your opinion. I mean, you’re wrong, but y’know. It’s fine.)

With sweets in hand, we made our way out into the cool autumn evening. Before enjoying the spoils of our adventure, however, we couldn’t resist the neat little photo opp set up for us just outside the market doors. Dylan blends in perfectly.Taking a little break amidst the tests and essays was well deserved and necessary, and now we’re free, with a lovely first day of fall break before the second half of the semester picks up! Here’s to that lovely turn of phrase, treat yo’self!

Print Progress: Photo Screen Print

This semester, my upper level printmaking class allows for a lot more freedom and experimentation, which means new techniques! The first project we worked on involved a method of screen printing called photo screen printing. I designed an image digitally and then printed it onto a transparency, coated my screen in an icky substance called photo emulsion, and then exposed the image to my screen with a machine that uses concentrated light. It was basically a bunch of cool chemical nonsense that I honestly still don’t completely understand, but it ended up perfectly exposing my very intricate image to my screen! This method is super useful because of it allows for lots of detail and a screen that can be printed and washed many times. I decided to do some test prints with just black ink before I worked on my edition.

My reversed image and black ink, pre first pull

My image and black ink, pre first pull

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That Lizzie Life: A Summer in Roma!

Hello first semester of senior year! It’s good to be back. This summer was particularly eventful; I spent the first half of it living that Lizzie McGuire life abroad in Italy! Last semester, I was lucky enough to have made it into a brand new connections class called Rome: Sketchbooks and Space. This class was based in the study and appreciation of ancient Roman art and architecture, focusing heavily on sacred spaces and the utilization of space as a whole. Throughout the semester each student also worked on a sketchbook with weekly entries. As an art major, I thoroughly enjoyed this aspect of the class, though it wasn’t all art majors in the class. The classroom part of the course was very interesting… but the best part was going to Italy for the first three weeks of summer.

You heard me, Italy! Our entire class lived in Rome– along with our fabulous professor and official guardian angel, Elise Richman– and worked in the Rome Center studio spaced owned by the University of Washington. The Rome Center was right in the middle of the beautiful Campo di Fiori, a bustling marketplace during the day and vibrant city life scene at night. I used to sit in this one particular windowsill and look out onto the square… and people used to take pictures of me in my little spot! I guess it is pretty rare to see a redhead in Rome. Here’s the view I had from that windowsill one night as the sun was setting. Stunning. 11390041_10153300221982778_8003798161520122779_n

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Pompeii in Seattle

The Classics department here on campus organized a trip this last weekend to go visit the Pompeii exhibit at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, and it was awesome! There were tons of cool artifacts, works of art, and even plaster casts of the bodies found at the site in Italy. Here’s some photos from the show:

Marissa Irish'16 admiring a fresco fragment

Marissa Irish’16 admiring a fresco fragment

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Senior Art Show 2015

This week was the opening of the senior studio art majors’ art show! As a studio art major myself, I love going to see the art my peers and friends have spent the semester creating. I took a lot of photos; everything was so interesting and inspiring!

One of the first pieces seen when entering the gallery, Preserves by Chloe Boulay

One of the first pieces seen when entering the gallery, Preserves by Chloe Boulay

The charming Andrea Eaton poses in front of her screen printed work

The charming Andrea Eaton poses in front of her screen printed work

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Spring Palaver 2015!

This past weekend was the first Palaver of Spring 2015, and it was a blast. Nick Lyon, a student my year and one of my best friends since freshman year, took charge of organizing the event and did a great job. He reserved the rotunda in the Student Union Building, got the event catered by Dining and Conference Services, and even went through the trouble of setting up a “blind date with a book” for each attendee; every attendee got a brown paper wrapped book with two or three bullet points describing the book at their table spot to take home after the palaver! IMG_7619

The book I ended up with! (It ended up being Pride & Prejudice)

The book I ended up with! (It ended up being Pride & Prejudice)

Good friends and good books!

Good friends and good books!

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What’s in the Box?

This semester, I’m taking my first ever oil painting class. As an art major, I’m required to take several classes outside my emphasis (printmaking), so I decided to try my hand at painting! It’s been a rough process, but I finally finished a painting that I’m pretty proud of. The assignment was called the “box project.” We were tasked with filling a box with a few objects and a 2D image that would create a composition we wanted to paint. I went with a beachy theme and borrowed a few things from my suitemate. Here’s what my box looked like!Processed with VSCOcam with c1 preset

I took a few photos through my painting process and I thought I’d share them with you guys. Here’s how this piece all went down. Continue reading

Fundraising for Rome!

This semester there’s a course being offered on the art, architecture, and spacial studies of Ancient Rome. It’s a Connections course that culminates in one particularly awesome thing: an ACTUAL trip to Rome!!

For the first three weeks of summer, our small class will be staying in Italy and visiting all sorts of incredible cities, museums, and landmarks. We’ll be staying at the university of Washington’s Rome Center which is in a courtyard where a lovely market is held, and using their studio space to study and create art.rome Continue reading

Sketch and Etch

Just before last semester ended, I finished my first ever intaglio print! (in-TAL-ee-o) The assignment was “inside/out,” so I went with an image I’m quite fond of including in my art: the blossoming of a rosebud. I’ve always liked to continue themes within my work across various mediums, and since I’ve done roses in both lithography and screen printing, it seemed fitting to do an intaglio print as well. Here’s what my preliminary sketch looked like.

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