the possibility of portraits

I've never been interested in the human face much. But I am thinking that sometime I would like to do some woodblock portraits. Now that I have decided to do woodblock prints this semester, I find myself anxious to teach myself everything about them. I am going to make awesome and sophisticated blocks of wood if I have to read every book in the library, search every website on the internet, and even learn to like Ashton Kutcher movies.

Okay, maybe not that last one. = )

I am full of pressure to make something, but also really nervous. Now that I have approval from Daniel Finch over my idea, I am very afraid that what is in my head will not be good when it is out in the open. I am filling myself with as much knowledge as possible so that when I really start to make, I can be as confident as possible that I am as full of visual language as possible. . . that maybe I can work something good out.

I really do love a slower pace of life. It is sad that I cannot fully indulge in sanity while still enrolled in school. But somehow it will work out, yes? This is what I tell myself.

Oddly enough, I am reassured to find that life as a senior is nothing like I expected. Life continues to be vibrant and unusual. Not any easier - it is always harder, there is always something new to cope with - but always fun and strange. Maybe someday I will be able to tell you that with images or with carefully considered poems.

But for now you can use your imagination. Picture the volleyball nets at 1 a.m. behind my dorm, still covered in orange light from the parking lot and cheering students cramming fun in before exams start looming. Imagine my roommates crooning over a chick flick at 1:25, and how much I love cappucino and the teal mug filled with M&M's next to my computer.