Sacrificing Screens and Entertainment for Creation.

      My apartment is about to become one of the lamest places to hang out.

      One of the reasons I settled on the apartment I am in now is because of the natural light. I live in a one bedroom space on my own, so the living room isn't really used unless I have people over. It is splendid, but I was spending some time in it this morning, reading, when I looked around and noticed the light. Perfect, diffused, jaw-dropping natural light that wraps around objects like they're being glorified for sale. I had this moment (I have a lot of these moments, lately) where I chastised myself for being silly, wasting valuable resources, and reassessing the objects I own.

      I do not care about tv (I have Netflix on my tablet-), video games take up too much of my time these days, and the couch is rarely used and constantly in the way. Why are these objects here? So I can waste valuable light on a couch and a tv from the 70's? No.

      I am ditching the telelvision, and the couch, relocating the frames on the wall, and turning my entire living room into a natural light studio. I literally have an abundance of reflectors (all sizes!), a tripod, a fan, etc. just laying in one of my cedar closets! The only thing that is going to stay are my bookshelves and my coffee table, right in the corner. I'm going to hang a mood board on the wall opposite to image-making. I am really invigorated by this idea, and I hope by the end of this weekend I'll be in "business." This space will give me a chance to create and change environments at my will.

Yes, it will be sad to see my couch go along with my television and 360, but there are so many screens in this apartment, not to mention my brand new landscape of a bed, I will be happy, and with a quick fix of a blow-up mattress, my guests can be, as well. I am doing this because I care more about creation and making images this summer than sitting around, watching every episode of Lost for the nth time, or getting my headshot count up in Left 4 Dead. Shouldn't you?

Keep you posted,

Mel.

fellow art students-

just some food for thought for all of you.

while this is diction unlike my own, i believe it gives me something to think about, and perhaps you as well?

-mel.

Italian Language in American-English Akron

New decorating.

Fall 2012 and Spring 2013 have finally passed with their ups and downs, and summer is in full swing! That means staying in bed all day (on my days off), not leaving my apartment until the sun is setting or already down, reading mountains of books, marathoning my favorite tv shows, and drinking sangria like it is my job. With this foreign concept of "free time," I also have slots to practice and buff up on my Italian.

During fall semester and especially spring, I became more frustrated each day as I woke up and discovered that I had displaced my Italian command. Forgetting my practiced and learned language skills that I learned from native speakers was like being consistently hit over my head with a stupefying stick; very, very annoying. Being in college full time while working thirty hours a week made it extremely difficult to find patience, energy, or time to expand on my skill or even put to practice what I already knew.

HOWEVER, that is behind me now and I am pleased to report that each day this week I've practiced my language in one way or another. I am trying to find the best way to learn more and utilize what I already know, so I've attempted watching a movie in Italian, reading in Italian and translating it (slow and arduous...), speaking to friends from Florence, or simply writing my thoughts down in Italian. All of these methods have a varying degree of effectiveness. I decided to really immerse myself (as much as I can) this morning, and began papering my apartment with post-its of singular and plural nouns stuck on their respective object.

I have found that the easiest words (then, again, though, etc) and nouns (chair, oven, window, door) are the things that slip my mind the quickest. I can't say why concretely, but I am going to take a shot in the dark here and guess that it is due to the fact that I learned through conversation, and topics like chairs, ovens, windows, or doors weren't often brought up....do people even talk about those things?

Wall clock(s).

This way, when I am lounging around my space all day, I am constantly being confronted with Italian nouns. I don't know how many of you know another language, but sometimes just being put in that frame of mind each day really makes all of the difference.

Lightswitch.

Wine Glass(es)I hid some of them. ;]I am hoping that this helps me out! If anyone out there (I don't think anyone is reading this and I'm yelling into cyberspace...or rather, whispering quietly) has any tips or methodologies on learning a new language, toss them my way! I'd love to hear about your experience.

-Mel xx

Even the simple words.

Planes, Trains, and Melmobiles...

       I think it is obvious now that travel and exploration are things I hold as a priority. Florence was an adventure that taught me a lot about myself and humans in general! To commemorate this love of travel that I've had since I was small along with my rabid wanderlust, I have graced myself with the following...

planes...

trains...

The numbers (in blue) on the plane and the train (on the cab of the train, your left, not really viewable by the above), are the zip codes of my first apartment and my school while I was in Florence. Indirect, but memorable of my very big first adventure. I drew them while I was in Florence and designed them to look like blueprints; I'm extremely pleased with how they turned out!

Ciao for now,

Melmobile ;]

Home.

Succeeding in missing my Trans-Atlantic flight sans sleep, watching half of The Avengers on my rerouted flight, getting violated by Customs and stepping back into Cleveland  to a monsoon, I have made it home and settled back in after a week.

My Jet Lag lasted for four long days. Truly, it gave me a reason to randomly sleep: one of my favorite activities to pass the time spent here in Akron! 

...so my European Adventure comes to an end. I am safe and sound, drenched in familiarity again.

To see a small and often updated album of my Grand European Adventure, click here.

I have torn down my room:

Before.

In progress......I began to build it back up with treasures of Florence, Paris, London, Hamburg, Arnhem, and Meerhout married with all of the other things that trigger memories of the last seven months of my life. 

Now.For now, I have nothing else to say. If ever I have a moment of reflection or feel the driving need to speak up, this will be my platform! Any questions, comments, etc, feel free to email me at mgk11@zips.uakron.edu. I'm always a fan of getting coffee and talking about my wonderful experiences abroad. 

Thank you for reading,

-m.