School is out! I passed political science, HORRAY! So now for the summer agenda. I plan on finishing the dragon statue that I started so many years ago. It will be done this summer for sure. I have already begun working on it and I have made good progress so far. There are still repairs to be made to the feet and a seam at the lower torso as well, but these are technical details that wont take too long once I start on them. The big concern is the face. What will he look like? So far he has had about 5 different faces that have all been incomplete. The one he has now is about to be broken off too as it does not match his body very well. I will figure this out, and it will be done this summer. As far as the technical aspects, I am wondering what material to do certain repairs with. I have been using Sculpey clay for the entire process, but since he has been damaged so many times and repaired in layers, there are some seams that pose a difficult challenge. The structure has a braided wire skeleton that keeps him fairly stable, but some major stress points have sheared through the clay leaving me with a wobbly leg here and there with an unforgiving core that will not shift. If left alone for too long (like it has been) the wiggle room causes chips in the brittle clay. I have thought of using an A-B type putty for some parts that will bond to the sculpey without having to put it into an oven. Epoxy is another option that I am considering, since it can fill a gap in the clay to bond it back together where it has sheared around the skeleton. I might use a combination of things to fix these issues as well. Time will tell here. I figure the experience that I am gaining in this project alone will be valuable to me, as I will be hopefully taking my first sculpture class in the fall semester at UNT. Either way, he will be finished and ready to mold and recast so that I can finally market this creation. It will be a fun summer! (If only I had funds to keep up with my living expenses along the way)

Spring Semester

I just finished a research paper for English class over a policy position on food. I chose to write on school gardens. I am really glad its behind me now. If I am lucky, my tardies in Fibers won't fail me in that class, and if I make an A on my final test for political science, I can scrape by with a D for the class. It's been a tough and busy semester. Drawing has gone well though, and I can rest assured that my grade in that class will be an A for certain. I worked for about a month at school for intramural basketball. It was fun being an official for that, but now I am unemployed once more. If I can ever get my act together, then I'll update my portfolio online. I need to get pictures taken first, and I don't have a decent camera to do it. When I do get pictures taken, I will let everyone know. There's been some good stuff done this semester as far as artwork goes.

December is upon us

As the Autumn passes and the leaves fall to the earth, our lives rush forward into the onslaught of winter, with nations at odds around the globe. Let our hearts and prayers go out to the brave soldiers that are risking their lives to protect the liberties that we cherish so much in these United States of America. The troops of many countries have come together with ours to help restore the simple liberties, that have been so long denied to those under tyranny and oppression. There are yet those who would greatly desire to withhold these natural rights from the sons and daughters of God. Ever vigilant we must be for these ravenous wolves that are all around us.
The weather in Texas this last season has been marvelously pleasant, the cold not yet below freezing and more than a few days in the 80's. Interspersed with rain and several days of windchill in the 20's last week, I am still amazed that there are still so many leaves on the trees in Denton. (I am more used to a heavy storm blowing them all away before thanksgiving each year, leaving them bare till late march)
The hope of a wedding was not yet to be, as Cat and I continue in our relationship with a hopeful eye to the future. Maizy will turn 5 years old on the 5th. She is a near identical twin to her great-grandmother Lajuan, I learned this holiday on seeing one of her baby pictures that she was so exited to show me. Maizy had caps put on her teeth earlier this year that bothered her terribly at first, while Hannah has been losing her teeth left and right, although she has grown 2 adult teeth in on top.
My life has been centered on going to church every week and bringing my girls with me. Cat has been braving the Relief Society, and we have both been actively helping the Missionaries in our area. It has been so wonderful to get to know so many new friends, neighbors, and families.

It's been a great start to the fall semester. My grade average in Biology so far is an A, and my other classes are holding strong. Biology was my greatest concern since its been 12 years since I've taken a science class. I was hoping to begin a ceramics class this semester, but that didn't happen because I accidently scheduled an advanced studio instead of the intro. Ooops! Just as well I suppose, but I am glad to finally get drawing 1 out of the way. I am enjoying my drawing class and look forward to putting together a solid portfolio for the subject.
This past summer has been one to remember. Not only because of school, but also for love. I met Cat in the spring at the beginning of March. I fell in love with her immediately. She was finalizing her divorce from her previous marriage that had some similarities to my own. We were both victims of a spouse who would not return affection, but instead took it elsewhere. Cat is a wonderful person who has blessed my life in so many ways since we first met. She began talking with the missionaries and was recently baptized last month. We are planning to be married in November on the 19th. We have a couple of financial hurdles to work through before that can happen, the main one is getting a marriage license. Neither of us is working right now, but hopefully that situation will change soon. My budget has run very thin, and it needs to be supplemented with some additional income.
During the summer, I began making hemp jewelry. Cat spurred me on in this endeavor and with her help I made a couple of sales to local shops here in Denton. Look for the PaC labeled hemp at Sleeping Lizards and Easy's Smoke Shop. That did give me some hope for a new business. It has not been much, but the experience is great. I couldn't have done this with any success without Cat's partnership. I hope to do more business soon, and will be at the Harvest Fest on the 23rd of October here in Denton.

some catching up to do

It has been way too long since my last update, so here's a brief lowdown on how the spring went.
I did well in my classes for the semester, and though I could have done better in a couple of them, I was really happy with how well I did in my Design II class where I pulled 2 trophies for best project! I cant take all that credit though, the final project was judged solely on the weight of canned goods donated for each entry, and my friends helped me out there by donating 62 lbs of canned goods. Thanks for that you guys!
After the spring, I took a couple summer classes to boost the GPA, and here we are again for the Fall already under way. Sorry for the slow rate of my updates, but hopefully ill get back in the swing of things and start posting more frequently.

Spring semester begins soon

After all the mishaps and complications of this last fall that caused me to drop the semester, I am much relieved and very excited to begin again for the spring. Picking up where I left off in the curriculum and moving closer to school, I also will be able to attend full time. This will be an important stretch for me, and I have moved all my classes to a morning schedule in the hopes of having my afternoons and evenings open for getting work of some kind. Although this might be a challenge for me, I feel prepared to meet it head on as I pull myself out of my recent troubles to immerse myself into my schooling on a completely new level than I had anticipated before. School starts on the 19th of this month, a little over a week, and I still need to do a lot of things before that time, (mainly packing and moving) but I am very excited at the opportunities I will have this year with this new approach to my life. On a final note, GO COWBOYS! Looking forward to playing in Minnesota next sunday!

White winter Christmas

Snow on Christmas eve in Texas, A cowboys shutout in Washington, more snow tonight, and a great football game to look forward to this Sunday. My girls had a great Christmas this year, thanks to all the friends and family who pitched in, and especially the ward members from church. Between the Barbies, kitchen toys, and new clothes, it was great to see my daughters have so much fun this year. I really enjoyed being able to have them with me for the holiday, and visiting family that I haven't seen in a while. I am also excited to see the Cowboys getting into the playoffs this year, and playing great defence while doing so. Playing the last game at home, and a slim chance for a bye week if we win that game gives me some hope that we can get some post-season wins this time around. To put all things in perspective, none of that really matters when compared to what we should be remembering during this holiday season. Presents are fun, and sports are exciting, but Christmas was supposed to be about the birth of our savior Jesus Christ. It becomes easy to forget what he did for us when we become distracted by so much over-stimulation in our minds. As we creep towards this new year, may we remember that the spirit of God can be with us every day of the year if we but ask for it. So instead of thinking about how much money we can save by shopping early this new year, try to think about how we can all live a little wiser instead. My prayers go out to all my family and friends to be prosperous in their lives so long as they remember to keep the council of our living savior with them in all they do. That is my resolution for myself as well, and with faith in him, all things are possible.