Cornell graduation and other things

This weekend my sister graduated from Cornell University with a graduate degree in Biomedical Engineering- Go Kirsten!! (Although we're similar in many ways, our areas of study are as different as night and day, but that's part of what makes us such great friends I guess.) So Friday my mom drove to Syracuse to pick me up, after putting in a few hours in the ceramics studio of course, to spend the weekend with Kirsten. It was a beautiful weekend in Ithaca (although extra busy with graduates and their families.) The ceremony on Sunday was lovely (although I wish I would have put on a little more sunscreen-ouch!) and it was great to finally meet all of my sister's friends and classmates whom I have heard so much about. On Monday, driving away from Cornell, I felt really sad to be leaving the campus knowing that I'll never go back to visit Kirsten there again. The drive from Syracuse to Ithaca is just under an hour and it has been so fantastic to have my sister so close (she also earned her undergraduate degree from Cornell) and was actually one of the reasons why I choose SU. Although shes no longer at CU shes not moving far. She landed a job in NYC which will also be a really fun place to visit her.

So far this summer the most time consuming thing has been my ceramics class. I've put in time at the studio almost every day and although its a bit tiring (clay can be tough to move around sometimes) the hard work is beginning to pay off. My cups are becoming more even, thinner, taller, and I'm beginning to be able to control the shape that I'm making a bit. This week we've advanced from straight cylindrical cups to mugs with handles-I'm learning that there are a lot of elements (both aesthetic and functional) that need to be taken into consideration when adding a handle to a mug. For Thursday's class we have to have eight mugs completed which is somewhat of an overwhelming amount of work for a beginner to produce in one day. Despite being a lot of work, its also a really fun and laid-back class. After Tuesday's class my professor-a graduate student- fired up a grill outside of the studio and we had a little cookout (eating and drinking off of hand made plates and cups of course). It's little events like this that make VPA a strong community and such a fun place to be.

Some other things that have been weighing on my mind:

It's funny but talking to the prospective students who come into the admissions office makes me realize how full circle I've come. Not only can I imagine 3 years ago when I was in their shoes-thinking about the future, applying to universities, nervously awaiting their responses-I'm in that same situation again. As my senior year rapidly approaches I'm trying to map out the future which is incredibly difficult and tremendously scary. As of right now I am unsure of what life after graduation holds-not because options are scarce, rather because there are too many directions that I could go. Should I continue my education (where), should I work (where and for whom), should I try and contact an artist in the field for some sort of apprenticeship (again where, for whom and how?). In order to figure this all out I need to develop more pieces for my portfolio, shoot photographs for a portfolio, write a resume and artists statement, work on applications, search the web for job opportunities, and so many other things that I'm sure I'm forgetting at this point. It's an overwhelming list of things to do but I'm sure with hard work and guidance from the professors whom I'm closest to I'll be able to complete it all and make the decisions that are right for my future.

Until next time
Gitta