pleasant surprise.

yesterday was a very productive day.

well, the first half hour or hour wasn't for i was playing tap tap...yes i was playing it for that long. it kinda gets addictive- for me at least. i just want to keep getting all the free tracks, call me a loser or lame i could care less it kept me entertained. anywho now to the productive areas of that day. i helped my mom set up business cards the purchase them, and find them again when the screen shut off due the computer's habit of freezing everynow and then. she stressed, flipped & freaked out so i stopped in the middle of my game took the mouse from her hand and did the job for her. there was nothing to worry about for it had been saved and the purchase hadn't been made yet, she just doesn't know what to do on the computer at times. can't blame her generation wasn't brought up around any sort of technology unlike mine. i knew how to work the good old VHS and nintendo by the age of four. and because of my skill of learning how to adapt to technology so fast i've become the "go-to-girl" in the house when it comes to setting up movies, installing new software, creating cds, upgrading and all that mumbo-jumbo. after she was finally done on the computer i hopped on and payed my phone bill ahead of its due date, i know so adult like :) then i applied for the shift supervisor postion at starbucks (in addition to barrista just in case i can work my way up quick). that took longer than i thought. so by the time i was done. i got myself ready for school, packed my backpack of art supplies, ate some kimchi noodles then grabbed the huge notepad and was on my way to my first full day of drawing. thankfully my mom dropped me off cause carrying that pad of paper on the bus again would have been a pain. i get to campus a quarter to my class so i rush to the book store to get the even bigger pad of paper (24x36) and some 3" clips (they were out so 2.75" would do good). upon setting the flimsy pad of paper on the counter a nice fello starts up a convo by asking "intro to drawing?" i reply with a "yes" then he goes on asking if it was some teacher... i forgot the name i look back at him "no, it's with stephanie A (i don't like sharing last names on the internet so A shall do)" 

"oh shame, he's a good teacher. nice and chill. i really enjoyed the class"

"oh really? yeah no i have steph, she seems nice"

"yeah? well goodluck, hope you enjoy it"

and just as i'm about to pay he pulls out his spc card and tells the girl ringing up my purchase "oh she has an SPC card" oh these suave college boys hah

she looks puzzled (probably cause she heard the entire convo and figured i don't know who he is, therefore the card in his hand isn't mine at all) and let's out a "huuuh?" as her eyes widen and mouth gaps open.

he cooly implies "doesn't that get her 10% off anything in store?"

she just stares and slowly states "uh...noooo?"

"really? i thought it got 10% off everything in store?"

and too avoid any more confussion or awkardness as the line behind me is getting a bit bigger i add "it's only 10% off school merchandise right?"

" yeaah" she says now un-confused "like items with the school crest/logo"

and then she rings up my purchase and then goes forth to ring up another fello's items as i struggle to get the darn flimsy pad of paper in addition to the other one i had in a bag. i grabbed it very oddly so i rushed to the couch and sturdy myself, or so i thought. while exiting the store the suave college boy held the doors open for me. i said thank you and he kindly said "no problem, have fun in class" and then we parted directions. thank goodness he didn't ask for my number or anything. the journey across the courtyard to the art/science building was a hassle. i really need to get myself a portfolio/folder to make carry those pads waaaaaaay simpler. thankfully students were exiting the building so i was able to sneak in quick, as for the first door to the stars another guy exited and i ran to kick the door open a bit more then speedily entered. rush up the stairs for class was about to start and i then have to cautiously balance the two over sized flimsy pads on my lap as i reach to pull the door. they didn't fall! whew. make it to class, everyone is in a circle with huge easels in front of them and paper set. so i grab one quickly and place the giant pad of paper atop it and clip it to the board. my heart felt like it was going to drop. i was so utterly nervous and felt out of place. yes there are a couple students who haven't drawn a think since they were in elementary school. but that didn't help me with the knots in my stomach whatsoever. i felt ill, and not ill as in the slang term for cool, ill as in i wanted to collapse in bed. okay maybe that's a bit of a hyperbole but you get the idea. steph finally walks in telling us what were going to with terms i have no idea what they mean. yes i draw but i've never actually taken a class so art terms and lingo is like a foreign language. you might as well be speaking mandarin to me. shortly after the model, i'd say an about 50 year old man, tiny, slim, kind eyes, entered the room and went to the center of the class where the little stage/block is located. steph continues to walk around telling us we'll have to draw the poses that laurence will be doing in a minute. as she says this i look at laurence whose now sitting on the block with just a tee-shirt on. and it answered the question i had all week which would be "yes, we are drawing a nude person". i was tense for a couple of seconds, but then he stood up facing the other side of the class now fully undressed i kinda felt a bit of a calmness. we drew 1 minute poses for several minutes as he rotated in various stances. kay well actually we did that for four hours but different methods, mediums, periods of time. we started off with gesture drawing, then did some contouring, and blind drawing. oh blind drawing is quite the method. you're just focusing on one area of the subject and drawing ever so slowly on the paper (without looking at). you continue to draw the figure without gazing back at your work, solely on the subject and drawing every detail. it was such a bizarre feeling, you just have to trust. as steph walked around and came behind me she looked at paper and said "yes! excellent". i looked at the sheet to see his figure everywhere in an abstract form. apparently some people in class weren't doing this quite well so she told them to come over to my corner to learn from me and the girl sharing the cart next to my left. we did that for about 15 minutes. i had to learn how to draw a little bit slower cause i finished all i could and nothing left to draw, plus she told the class if we thought we were done to stop before we ruined it. we then had a quick 15 minute break,i went to timmy's to get myself a donut then strolled back to class. class begun again and more contouring and gesture drawing laurence in his calm, peaceful naked self. then it ended with another blind drawing and finally contouring & gesture drawing for 5-10 minutes using whatever medium we wished. she came around and said "woah interesting" to my work. made me smile, it was a boost for sure. glad to know i do have some bits of talent when it comes to drawing and i'm not completely out of my element. at the end of class (and prior to break) my hands and fngers were coated in black, and so were my pants for that matter.no matter what medium i use be it: charcoal, contour sticks, pen, sharpee, paint or pencil crayon, i can't seem to not getting the product all over my hands and arms. oh well i kinda like it. i can't wait to see what next wednesday has in store. drawing people in their skin ain't as bad as people make it seem, well for me at least. i found it a calming experience and somewhat pleasant. you just focus on their emotion, stance and nothing else. it's beautiful.

as for homework: draw 5 blind drawings of 5 different people (myself included) for 20 minutes. so i just need to find two subjects willing to sit still for 20 minutes, in addtion to me staring at them for that long. 

goal: to be able to draw like this very soon.

ps. got home at around 11, next time i'm leaving class at 9:35 to catch the last bus back home so i don't have to take three. last night i only took two cause my mom picked me up at the skytrain station/bus loop.