I did it! Please join everyone else in congratulating me on reaching twenty-six years of age. While that in and of itself might not be much of an accomplishment, this last year sure has been. As you all know, and are maybe tired of hearing about, I married my co-blogger and the all-around lovely lady, Sarah. Since this past year was such a big one, you may be a bit worried about me. You may be wondering what my twenty-seventh year could possibly bring about to top all the goings on of twenty-six. Well nothing, of course, could top the wedding, but I assure you that’s not going to stop me from livin’! Read the rest of this entry »
It turns out Westervin has a had a pretty great year. We’ve done a lot, most notably got hitched, and have had a lot of fun. We’ve put together some of the highlights so that you all can take a look back with us. While we certainly feel that we have accomplished a lot in 2011, we are hoping that we can make 2012 even better. We’re full of ideas and all of that fresh start enthusiasm, so look for this train to keep on rolling.
Christmas is over and the New Year is here. We are finally back at home, having brought our journey through the center of America to a close. It was a great trip filled with highs and lows and hours and hours in the car. We drove through six states starting from our homebase in Chicago and ending up in Louisiana, with a layover to see friends in Little Rock on the way back. We were able to pack quite a bit into just over a week. So much excitement, from our trip as well as some pre-celebrations in Chicago, that we just have to share some of it with you. Let’s take a quick look back before we move forward with a new year:
Well it’s holiday time for the Westervins, which means we’re taking off for a bit so we can head down to Louisiana and Arkansas. But we’ll be thinking of you the whole time, we promise! See you in the new year.
Hey kiddos! Remember Debbie Carlos from our interview for the Maker’s Remarks series? Well, I just came across this giveaway on Where the Lovely Things Are. Debbie is giving away a few lovely necklaces from her shop AHC, and you just have to leave a comment to enter. So scoot on over there and throw your hat in the ring! And, ya know, if you win you can always give me the necklace… Jusayin.
{ Speaker Womb installation, by Mike LaHood, at the PGA: Please Generate Art 2011 exhibit; Photo credit: Braxton Black }
Now that I’m back in school, I’m reminded of the all opportunities and resources available to students. But I don’t just mean events with free food and student discounts. Turns out there are all sorts of organizations and offices on campus that offer workshops for professional development and avenues for creative expression. This year, I’m taking advantage, dangit. I’ve decided to get involved with the graduate student component of Manifest, Columbia College Chicago’s annual, urban arts festival, which showcases the work of Columbia’s graduating students. The project devoted to graduate students is called PGA: Please Generate Art, an over the top, interactive art exhibit disguised as a miniature golf course.
{ Start your journey at the Pro Shop, by Erin Moren and Emily Lamoreaux; Photo credit: Braxton Black }
Last year, the course consisted of about 12 “golf holes”, which participants navigated through… as best they could. Some of the golf holes were functional, allowing the participants to actually sink their golf balls into a bathroom sink or through a life-size board game, for example, but most of them engaged the mini golfers in other ways. Each golf hole was designed and executed by a graduate student or small team of graduate students, from each of Columbia’s 15 graduate programs.
{ Photo credit: Braxton Black }
{ Bathroom/Meadow installation by Mike LaHood; Photo credit: Braxton Black }
In the Bathroom/Meadow golf hole, participants parted a shower curtain and found themselves in a fully furnished bathroom, complete with a graffitied wall they could add their names to AND a surprised bather! This actor was wearing a bathing suit, of course—it was a family friendly experience, after all. And it just so happens that I was the surprised bather for part of the day. It was interesting, to say the least.
{ Bodyscape installation by Emily D’Annunzio and Courtney St. Clair; Photo credit: Braxton Black }
Through the Bodyscape golf hole, a group of Dance/Movement Therapy students performed a type of contact dance improv. Participants had to navigate through a room of painted, contorted bodies to get to the next “hole”.
{ Operation installation by Emily Moravec; Photo credit: Braxton Black }
There was also a functioning, life-sized game of Operation…
{ Plinko installation by Mike LaHood; Photo credit: Braxton Black }
.. a “televised” game of Plinko…
{ Tea Party installation by Lucia Palmarini; Photo credit: Braxton Black }
… and a magical tea party with lions, and bears, and the pink panther. I was also dressed as the bear for part of the day. How do I get roped into these things?
{ The “Balloon Womb” leading to the Paintroll installation by David Marts; Photo credit: Braxton Black }
So this year, I want to play a larger, more creative role in PGA: Please Generate Art. I’ve teamed up with three fellow Arts Management students (my dear friends Caitlin, Katie, and Laura) to submit a proposal for our very own “golf hole”. The working title? Sound Collective. From our proposal:
Sound Collective is about appealing to the child-like musicians in all of us, about drawing forth the joy of making noise/music that most of us keep buried and hidden from criticism, about watching ourselves (through the strategic placement of mirrors) as we assume the roles of masters of our musical universes, and about the emotions we are able to conjure by seeing ourselves in this state.
Stay tuned, folks! I’ll be chronicling our PGA adventures as we further develop and construct our installation.
So…. I’m in grad school. I’m working towards a degree in arts management, hoping one day to put some business skills to use in the American crafts industry. I like crafts! Big surprise. Here’s why I’m telling you this: I need to do some market research for an assignment, and I’ve chosen to study consumers of handmade goods. Natch. I want to gain a better understanding of the average crafts consumer, to understand their motivations and interests in the handmade movement. And what better way to do that than to gather data on buyers from, perhaps, the largest and most popular handmade marketplace, Etsy? Answer: there is not better way. So, I wanna hear from you! Let’s talk about how much you love (or don’t love) Etsy’s offerings!
Please take a few minutes to complete my survey , answering 12 questions about your Etsy shopping experiences and, in turn, making my life a little bit better. Thank you!
I have yet another year under my belt folks. I am now a quarter of a century old! This past weekend was filled to the bubbly brim with celebratin’ and happy relaxin’, and think I’ve found the perfect recipe for the happiest of birthdays.
{ 1 } No birthday is complete without friends. Friends who come to your pizza party. Friends who visit from out of town. Friends who send you beautiful presents. Friends who help make you look really popular by wishing you a happy B-day on your Facebook wall. And you gotta let those friends you know you appreciate them and wanna stay in touch. So get yourself a set of cutesy notecards for saying, “Hey! I’m glad YOU were born, too.”
{ 2 } Speaking of friends who send beautiful gifts, I got this jazzy zippered bag and it’s keeping me stylish AND hella organized! And I hear I’ve got another bestie gift on the way. OH MUH GUH I CAN’T WAIT GIMME PRESENTZZZZZ! Thanks, Megs & Gracie, for feeding this prezzie monster.
{ 3 } If you can, take a day off for your birthday. Srsly. AND, be sure to get yourself a fiance who’s into mixology so he/she can keep you slightly liquored up for the duration of your four day weekend. Drink at least three fancy cocktails a day, everyday, until you have to go back to work. But you can ONLY drink them in champagne saucers! It’s decadent. Obvs.
{ 4 } I’m over purses. They’re big and heavy and expensive and they’re not great for carrying your lunch to work AND your books/planner AND your normal purse-ities. Now, I’m all about the tote. I realize I haven’t happened upon any great discovery here. I’m not gonna be like, “Hey, have you heard about this crazy new-fangled contrapta-ma-jaction called a TOTE BAG?!?!” No. You know what a tote bag is. And I should hope you also understand its greatness. My tote of choice these days? My free Poetry tote from Brian! And you can rock one, too, if you subscribe to Poetry magazine.
{ 5 } First on the birthday wish-list? A Swatch. I gotta look fresh!
{ 6 } I’ve been wanting one of these printer’s drawer jewelry organizers for a while now. There’s a family member who might have a regular printer’s drawer with my name on it, and I might have to get a little crafty with a few hooks and a little paint. I’ll guess we’ll all just have to wait and see…
{ 7 } I don’t care who you are or where you’re from, but I know one thing about you. Even if you don’t know it yourself. You love brunch. How do I know this? EVERYBODY loves brunch. Everybody loves waking up a little late, throwing on their sunglasses and pulling back their unwashed hair to roll out to their favorite little cafe for a mimosa and some fresh grubbins. I am no exception. After a weekend of birthday bashin’ and fun-having, the festivities were complete with a little crab benedict at Longman & Eagle.
