I'm not "over Germany", in fact I have vague plans in the work to sneak my way back there next winter. Actually had an odd dream last night that I was going there again for another class....
Anyways, here are a few snap-shots of how my book came out. I organized the photos I took over the trip, some sketches from my journal, and made a fairly decent layout. Then I got it printed through Mac. Absolutely wonderful print job, from the quality of the printing to the very texture of the books and paper. :)
So here is my second attempt at creating a felt owl. First time sewing on buttons though. Total time was around 45 minutes, and that was because I didn't have my foam block and was trying to felt needle on my thigh (a very stupid thing to try btw). Also forgot to sew on the eyes before adding the grey, yes I am brilliant. So I had to felt over the thread I used to sew on the eyes...blahblahblahfelt.
Also pictured are my spoils from the yarn shop today. Wild Fibre. Accidentally went in while an Intro to Fibers class was taking place (they were doing a field trip). So I had to wait 30 minutes while the store owner measured out ounces of wool for twenty-odd people. What was amusing was that I had dragged Jacob along thinking it would only be a few minutes (I knew what I wanted, I just had to get it). So I got to do the whole boyfriend dragged to girly store. LULZ. Anyways there's my foam block (it's dark and hidden) which I am most excited about. <3 It's better than the previous thing I had felted on because it doesn't pull out the fibers so much on the wool, and also it's deeper. Oh I got longer needles too. And the one on the left is a knitting zine that looks neat-o. And the book to the right is this amazing read that profiles various artist and gives knitting patterns that are way too hard for me at the moment. One of the artist does some sort of guerilla-street knitting. Like, knitting around lamposts and such at night. haha.
And lastly is my tea cabinet, with three new mugs I got for Giftmas. Mom just shipped them to me the other day. I couldn't take them on the plane with me, but I'm very glad to have them now.
Oh, and I talked to a girly classmate today. Apparently I'm not the only one who gets tired and sore on the first week back to class because of riding their bike. Woo.
So Christmas has finally come & gone. Now that I'm back "home" in Auburn I can finally take stock of what I accumilated over the winter break. Well, to be precise I already did the inventory yesterday while unpacking and rearranging things into a semblance of order.
It seems I came away with lots of tea, books, and music; which, in my opinion isn't bad at all. I discovered my favorite tea is Starbuck's "Bangkok", a mild sort of tea and very pleasent. Also received many little bags of a tea from Nepal. It's okay, not terribly exciting to be sure...
The first photo is of my humble collection of wool downing that I've been using to create small felt creatures with. Unfortunately I gave them all away before photographing them...
And those are all the books I either received or bought over the break. I think they will be occupying a nice bit of my free time.
Yes. So. And music? These are the newest tracks added to the iPod:
+"The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou OST" -- Just added, haven't listened to yet, but am looking forward to it.
+"Pan's Labrinyth OST" -- One word: haunting.
+ James Blunt "All the Lost Souls" -- Haven't listened to it enough, but I think these are some of the better pop love songs.
+"Across the Universe OST" -- Interesting listening to Beatle's songs in a new way...
+The Kinks "It's the Kinks" -- I'm surprised with my familiarity to some of the songs despite not having really heard of the band recently. They were part of the 'British Invasion', right?
+The Killers' "Sawdust" -- Some of the songs have a distinct country/western influence, which I liked a lot. I was disappointed by how some of their previous songs were put on the record (to fill up space?). But I know this is just a release to just hold me over until their new material...
+"The Darjelling Limited" -- Simply wonderful. I found a song who's message I aspire to be.
+Edith Piaf's "The Early Years" -- An acquired taste. Loved the way it sounds as if it is being played off of an old phonograph.
I loved the title to this book. That is why I picked it up, why I continued reading it, and probably why I actually finished it. For me the title sounds like a manifesto I can rally behind.
Only the first chapter or so deals with this theory (the "wankers" one), the rest talks more about venturing into business when you're fresh out of school. Over all it seemed to have a bias towards the product designer who wants to be self-employed. Not that this is a bad thing to focus on, I just wish they had a broader scope of things. I think in the beginning it was a bit misleading because it discussed how as a design student you should transfer into the real world upon graduation....if you are wanting to solely be a self-promoting product designer that is.
I read practically all of it, sans a chapter or so on finding adventure capitalists. The things I enjoyed most were probably the interviews in the back of the book. I found it interesting to read the various designers' opinions on the young designers today.
So, in short, this is going on the book shelf where I'm proud to have it. Will I re-read it? Most definitely, but probably not until my senior year. Overall it was rather vague on some points, but then again it's not like these things have direct answers that apply to everyone. It is mostly a book generally guiding one in a good direction and bringing up questions you need to ask yourself along the way.
I'm back in town & now that finals are over I'm determined to keep up this neglected blog.
So, being on a break with no work in particular means I'm catching up on a lot of 
neglected reading.
First off is a book I started in the summer, I read the introduction and theory talk, but just didn't get to reading the part that actually talks about painting. A wonderful read so far.
Picked this one up at the beginning of the quarter but never got very far in it. I must admit it was the title that got me. I'm probably reading this too early, but it seems like it will be a good second read too. It's mostly about the transitioning from student industrial designer to the real, business world.
I picked this book up by chance on one of my last days in town, but I think it was due to good fortune. The first half seems to cover the history and context of industrial design, and the rest goes into the practices of manufacturing. As I'm starting my prototyping class this upcoming quarter, I feel like I'm getting a head-start.
So I've been taking a long rambling journey with this one, starting it a year ago now. This isn't to say the book isn't good or engaging, in fact it really is. Every time I pick it up it's hard to put down, over half-way done with it now. The beauty of Eastern Europe is described in vivid detail, making it just one more place I want to visit.
Bought this right before leaving for SCAD, and never got around to reading it. It's the third, and last, book of a Russian Sci-fi triology. I've seen both of the Russian made movies, and even got to go to the premier of the second one. Looking forward to finishing this, but it'll be hard to say "good-bye" to the characters I've fallen in love with.
Yes, so, that's what I'm currently up to. Also, to throw in a picture that is mine, I give you some lineart. Afterwards I went ahead and colored it with my Copics, but I'm having a little more trouble scanning it in.
Posts
