thank you & merry christmas

The printer I use was having a sale, so new postcards have been ordered! I love sending personalized postcards. Most of the ones I ordered are photos, but I did one new doodle for a few thank-you cards:



&
Merry Christmas!

twenty-three today

birthday cake coffee.
polaroids at the park.
flea market-ing.
falafel.
& vegan chocolate cake.

it's my 23rd birthday today!

so long, undergrad

I graduated!
I now have my BFA!

save the date

New doodle project! This was a custom-designed save-the-date map! Such maps are available for commission by way of my Etsy.

meredith & chris

Some favorites from the most recent wedding I photographed, Meredith & Chris!







Surprise! I was even asked to doodle and hand-write the program.

when it's over, it's over

Peace.

The BA/BFA Exhibit is up and running! The first opening was wonderful. So many people came and showed their support. I loved it. There is another opening today, and the show runs through December 3rd.

I have less than one month of undergraduate school left! I'm done with almost everything, so I want to spend these last few weeks soaking it all up. It's hard to believe it's almost all said and done. My experience here has been excellent. I know without a doubt that I chose the right place to go to school. I've learned so much, it's hard to put into words how I feel about it. "Real world," I am ready for you.

And some of my latest efforts from the kitchen:


Apple cider donuts (these are the donut holes...yes, heart-shaped!). I made these from the recipe on Smitten Kitchen. The recipe itself was very good, but seeing as I am the World's Worst Fryer, I kept messing them up while trying to fry them, so I ended up baking them. They are okay. They would be better with a crispy outside. If you are good at frying, you will like this recipe.

These are vegan banana waffles (recipe does not say explicitly that they are banana-flavored, but let's be real, when you use bananas as a substitute in baking, the end result is a banana-flavored product, always) topped with natural peanut butter. Soooo delicious. I made these with Corey for brunch on Saturday. We made a few adaptations, such as substituting part of the wheat flour with oatmeal flour (my favorite), and using 2 Tbsp vegetable oil rather than apple sauce (didn't have any). They turned out amazingly. They take like a slice of banana bread in a waffle.

identity

Last week I spent framing everything for my senior exhibit which opens this Thursday! Hanging begins tomorrow...

We also had an opening in the Black Box and it was a big hit. I love how it turned out! The show was juried, so all students were invited to enter work. At the last minute, my fellow co-directors and I came up with the idea for a photo-taking wall to use at the opening, which turned out to be lots of fun. The photo wall went with the show's theme, "identity."

Working in the Black Box is easily one of the best and most fulfilling things I have done in college. I'll miss it! It has been such an interesting job, and I've gotten to know so many people through it. I'm so proud of how it has evolved in the past few years. I think the space has great things in store for it in the future.

This week I have way too many things to do! Hanging work for the show, an online test due Thursday, the show opening on Thursday (easily the best part of the week!), a 10-page paper due Friday, and a photography project due Friday. I'm trying to get everything finished before the show opens so I can just enjoy Thursday and not worry about what's due on Friday! That is going to be difficult, however....

the doodle fairy paid me a visit

For framing my BFA Problem body of work, I had to buy a lot of really nice mat board. It is archival and has the most wonderful rag. The best part is that after cutting the mats, I was left with a 3.5" wide strip down the side of each piece of mat board, which means a total of 13 42" strips. I've been cutting them into tiny 3.5"x3.5" squares and doodling on them...it's perfect! I also saved the middles of my mats for larger drawings or possibly for making smaller mats in the future. Either way I'm excited to have some Very Nice paper to draw on! I've started with these doodles and watercolored them. I'm going to have to restrain myself from making any more until after all of my senior show work is finished on Friday...

1. self-portrait, 2. lately I have been eating so many apples! I love apple season, 3. Corey's hamster Pennypacker, who keeps him up at night, 4. Corey

never too busy to cook

1. sandwich on homemade bread with lettuce, onion, tomato, tofu, olives, and guacamole


2. wheat rotini with veggies stir fried in nutritional yeast


2. basmati rice, lentils, and stir fried veggies


4. pizza on homemade wheat crust, with tofu, bell pepper, onion, and mushroom


5. homemade pumpkin pie granola with soy milk


6. wheat rotini with stir fried veggies and tomato sauce

7. peanut butter chocolate chip cookies...cookie dough was vegan, the chips were not this time

8. salad with roasted red pepper hummus, sunflower seeds, and tofu


9. vegan chicken and dumplings...soooooo good...will write up a recipe asap!


10. amazing salad with homemade croutons and green olives


Amidst the busyness I have still had time for cooking (and these photographs are snapped awfully quickly with only available light from a window or a certain adjustable fluorescent lamp, let me tell you!) because I have put all of my other hobbies on hold until my senior show is up (sewing, reading, drawing, jewelry-making, the list goes on, oy...sometimes even laundry!). I still have to eat, however, and I just really don't believe in having premade, overly processed food at every meal. And so I continue to cook. Easy things, mostly. After my show is up, I have a ton of recipes I have been waiting to try.

hello, blurb

I decided to enter the self-publishing world with my BFA Problem series...I should have my book in about a week...just in time for the show! The black and white prints will be framed and on the walls but I wanted to find some small way to show off the colored versions that I also worked very hard on. It wasn't always convenient shooting each picture in film and digitally but I am really glad I did it.

I went with Blurb after hearing lots of positive reviews from fellow artist-friends, and seeing one in person at my internship this summer. I'm sure there are other good self-publishing places but I just went with what the majority has been telling me.

I even got $10 off my order by doing a quick little coupon code search on Yahoo before buying. This was excellent because 2-day shipping was $11 and I have been dragging my feet on getting this ordered and must have it here by the 11th. It won't actually ship for more than 2 days, that's 2 days in transit after it leaves the printer. So, thank you, coupon. My 44-page, full-color, hardback book with full images printed on the front and back cover was only $38, and with Blurb's software I was able to customize it to my preferences. I can't wait to see it! If it turns out well I will definitely be ordering more. I think I'd rather get books like this made of trips and such or even just a year in pictures. It would end up being less than having all the 4x6 prints made. Anyway, check it out...

Family Photo

By Kristen Spickard

Book Preview

a slower start

Hello, world. This morning I am up with the rain, a cup of warm coffee at my fingertips and a slice of homemade bread waiting for me in the pantry. My first class is canceled, so I am getting a slower start to my morning. It is wonderful--I hate rushing. I am ready to live more slowly every day. I am hoping this happens after graduating. It is my mission! I don't mean that I want to be lazy, or let go of my dreams and goals. Of course, I won't do that. But I have been putting too many things into each day and I can't go on like this forever. I just want more time to enjoy my friends and family, to sit down and drink a cup of coffee, to go for a run, to take a weekend adventure and not have a lengthy to-do list in the back of my mind.

lights

stir fries and snickerdoodles

This weekend was my Fall Break...four days off from school should have been enough, right? Not at all! I worked some, did homework, caught up on chores...this word "break" means little to me right now! I got to have a little fun cooking and visiting one of my favorite parks with Corey, though. Here are just a few pictures...more soon.

On Friday night, we did one of our favorite activities...supermarket browsing. I know that might sound funny, but checking out different grocery stores happens to be a pastime of mine. We got some delicious stir fry ingredients including Japanese noodles, mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, a special sauce (Corey is the sauce expert, so he picked it out, and it was delicious), nuts, and a few others, then cooked them up in my trusty green skillet.

And these are some vegan snickerdoodle cookies I made...fall is here! (recipe from vegweb.com) This season I am especially looking forward to...

- showing work in the senior art exhibit
- graduating college (eep!)
- turning 23!

And as always, I anticipate...

- cool weather--scarves, coats, and boots

- changing leaves

- overcast days perfect for picture-taking

- the holiday season

too busy for fall

Things I have made lately....1. pumpkin smoothie, 2. stir fry with farmer's market finds + basmati rice, 3. vegan peanut butter cookies, 4. lettuceless salad, homemade croutons, and iced tea, 5. roasted red pepper hummus.

School is so busy, busy, busy for me right now. My life will return to normal after November 12, the opening of the BA/BFA Exhibit. I can't wait to have free time again! It's all I can do right now to keep my apartment clean and throw together these simple foods in what little leisurely time I have.

new things for sale

Just an update...I have been listing new sorts of items on my Etsy as of late and just wanted to inform you about them!

lightning speed

Hello, dear friends and readers. Forgive my lack of posts since starting classes...this last semester of undergraduate school is jam-packed! Everything is falling into place and I feel very fulfilled, like I am going out the way I should. Tying up loose ends, coming around full circle, connecting the dots on all of the things I have learned. It feels good. But I won't deny that I'm crazy busy! In the past year, however, I have learned some things about managing my stress, and somehow everything doesn't feel as daunting as it once did. Also, I feel myself coming to terms with letting go of undergraduate school and all of the wonderful things it has entailed.

These images are from my final project...dun dun dun...the BFA Problem. I am recreating old family photos. It's turning out great. Um, only 17 left to go...whew. So far, so good, however.