California Dreaming

It's a rainy day outside, and I'm trying to keep myself lucid by listening to WNYC's Radiolab, drinking coffee, and using the internet for things other than Facebook.

I've just returned from a five-day stay in San Francisco, looking into grad programs and generally deciding if I want to live there. (I do.) Beautiful city, even more beautiful local environment, lively local culture, and an emphasis on 'green' lifestyles and local/organic food makes it pretty much heaven for a person like me. And the San Francisco Art Institute turned out to be very impressive, even more so than the California College of Art. It's a bit of a turnaround for me, as I expected the reverse to be true. This opinion came more from their websites, as it was the only real exposure I had to either of them from out here in Chicago. SFAI won me over with it's emphasis on theory and cross-disciplinary work, and it didn't hurt that every person I spoke to was eager to be helpful and informative. I was even able to meet Mark Van Proyen, one of the graduate painting professors, just by stumbling around with a confused look on my face.

That said, I look forward to spending the next several months in work mode. It helps me to have a goal, and this is certainly one. I'll be taking on more work at my job, which is a good thing both for experience and income, and I'll be working with a renewed focus and direction on both paintings and photography. I've got a few pieces now that are finished that I haven't been able to satisfactorily photograph, so hopefully I'll figure out my lighting situation before too long. SFAI wants a carousel of slides, and I'm looking forward to remembering how to accomplish that. I also hope to make a few proposal sketches for installations I've not been able to see through, and continue making drawings as well. I don't want to create an entire new body of work for my portfolio, but it may turn out that way. In a way, it's a good thing that I have three or so months of hiding indoors coming my way because I'll be a lot less distracted by petty things like fresh air and seeing friends who live more than two blocks away. Thanks, Chicago!