( So yeah, mushroom clouds are annoying! )

I assembled that thing THREE TIMES. The first two times I was using armature wire, but the structure was way too heavy for just that to hold it up. I ended up gluing a USPS poster tube, cut not quite in half, to a square of cardboard (you can see it in the pic, I haven't totally covered it up yet) and building it again from there. I'm not using cotton balls, but the stuff used to stuff quilts and things like that. At first couldn't stand it, but it's not so bad. The problem is actually keeping the fluff in place. I'm gluing it, but it's a bit annoying at times. I AM happy that the top of the cloud is staying in place, though. I think I should build up the ring some more. For my first foray into sculpture, especially with a material that isn't exactly solid, not bad. ^_^ I'm a little concerned with getting it to school. Mom's going to drive me back there, though. I can put it in the Blick shopping bags I got. Hopefully it'll hold up okay.

Printed out some stuff I'll be putting on the board. I looked on Wikipedia for Cold War info, and found the bit about Samantha Smith, a (then) ten-year-old that wrote a letter to the new prime minister of the Soviet Union worrying about nuclear war. Really liked her letter and his response, so I printed both letters and photos of each; I'm going to put them somewhere on the board near America and Russia. That's a bit of the canvas covered up. Still have LOTS to cover. Also debating whether or not to cover Israel on the map, because as Wiki puts it, it's speculated that they have nukes, but they don't acknowledge it, so who's to say they do?

I'm being really (stupidly?) ambitious with this project, so we'll see what happens. I don't have to do everything I was planning to do with the cloud--that's my 5" off the board element (and really it's closer to 20-something inches), so in that respect, I'm done... but I want the piece to be one that you can look at from above AND head-on, and see something different from both perspectives. I think that would be cool.

MICA's having an accepted student day a week from tomorrow. Excellent timing, because the following week is spring break! Mom said we could take a drive down there; she has a relative in Waldorf, MD that she could visit, especially since I don't have to go anywhere that Monday. Would mean that Craig would have to handle Oliver for a day or two; he'd go to school on Monday and Oliver would be home by himself, which he wouldn't like, but we can't really bring him with us.

I'm friggin' exhausted. I felt like I needed a nap like eight hours ago and didn't lay down because I wanted to get the cloud finished. I'm working on printing the other elements for the head-on view, but I might just stop for tonight and continue it tomorrow. I still have to figure out how I'm going to paint it.

... and I have a good hour before I need to go to class. Update time!

Nov. 10/11: Got on the bus with three others (out of a group of seven) to head to Springfield, MA. We actually ended up getting on an earlier bus. The driver was a fuckwad with a hair-trigger temper and almost didn't let me and Alisha get on the bus because we tried to explain that he'd ripped her return ticket when he was supposed to only rip the one to Springfield. He lost his shit. The official next to him was just as bad, basically saying we were trying to say he didn't know how to do his job. Uh, no, we wanted to make sure Alisha would be able to get home. Because the tickets say "Not valid if detached." But, you know, we're just a couple of dumb girls. Alisha actually had to apologize to him for him to let us on. Assholes. Said I'd write an angry letter, haven't gotten around to it yet.

The trip was nice. Our trip further, to South Hadley, was delayed because the bus we were supposed to get on was late. The other three women got off that bus and joined us, and we got off the bus at Mount Holyoke's front gates, where Prof. Macheski from school and a couple of MHC students were waiting. Checked in at the hotel, had a really delicious dinner, got a preview tour of the incredible library (seriously, that building...), and then walked over to the Frances Perkins House, the house specifically got nontraditional-aged students. Lisa had made brownies, and we sat around the living room asking questions of Karen, who I really should have gotten a picture of, because she really looks like a younger version of Prof. Mayer. It's uncanny. I almost asked her if she knows a Rosemary.

The next morning, we had a quick breakfast and attended the welcome panel. A couple of my companions were amused/annoyed that a couple of the students got emotional when talking about MHC. I thought it was touching, really, but I think Alisha and Lillian thought they were trying to con everyone. Hardened New Yorker attitude. They took us on a tour of the campus, where we went into the library again, and this time I was able to take pictures. We didn't get to the art building. We had the previous night--I forget why we were in there--but there was no time on the tour, and had I come up by myself, I could have explored some more. (I experienced the same problem at Smith: not enough time to actually look around before we had to catch our bus.) Nice campus. It's old, so the buildings are as well, most of them. I found it aesthetically pleasing. Didn't get to look at housing, but Karen and Lisa offered to take pictures or have someone take pictures for us. Karen warned us that if we're interested in attending MHC, we should take our foreign language requirement before coming, because the classes are intense; she's taking Intensive Spanish (which might be why, but I'm heeding her warning) and gets two hours of homework a night. Not sure if my high school Spanish would qualify me to skip the reqiurement; I did three years between high school and junior high and got an 89 on my Regents. Have to ask.

After lunch, we hopped into a shuttle van to take us to Smith College. Smith is right across the street from town. Northampton's a cute place. Very liberal, very gay-friendly, lots of little shops, and apparently there's an ice cream place that's the best. Smith's buildings are newer, and there's more steel and exposed glass. Wasn't as pretty as MHC's campus. We had the welcome session and then embarked on tours, where we got to see (the lobby of) the art building, the gym and exercise facilities, and some other places. (I'm tired and my brain's not really remembering right now. I'll look at the pictures later.) They don't have one central library, but one big one and three or four satellite libraries for specific subjects.

Each school had its merits. Another trip up would be good, so I can get a more in-depth look at everything--living space, art facilities, student artwork. Neither school has anything up. MHC doesn't have examples on their website, and Smith does, but the files aren't found.

ANYWAY. Two days later...

Nov. 13: Got up early with the family, got into the car, and drove... a good 3 1/2 hours to the small, middle-of-nowhere town of Alfred, NY. Blah blah blah, welcome session, questions and answers, the usual stuff. Then lunch, then the art tour (they had specific tours for art and engineering). The facilities are freaking awesome. They have everything. They even have a space for working with neon. The tour was specifically for art, so everything our guide, Christie, could show us, she did. Photography rooms, printmaking, the enormous printers, painting and drawing studios, the space that juniors and seniors get to work, the ceramics studios, the glassmaking rooms, the kilns, and a room full of student glasswork. Very nice. Mom was like, "You have to go to this school!"

Alfred University is #1 right now for several reasons: Art facilities, not that far from home (in case I want to come home every once in a while), the students seem really quirky and fun, and the price. Because the art school is funded by the state, I don't pay the full private school tution as a state resident, but about $15,000. (Without room and board, of course.) I'd get a scholarship for $8,000 for being a Phi Theta Kappa member. (Originally thought I could get more than one, and counted the Presidential Scholarship, too, which would've been another $8,000. Sadly, no stacking, except in the case of competitive scholarships.) A good enough portfolio might net me another $8,000. Boom, tuition. Even if I didn't get anything, though, only $15K for all that? For the quirkiness: One of the traditions is to dress a statue of King Alfred up. When we visited, he was wearing an Iron Man mask. On the Facebook page for the class of 2015, he's sporting a grass skirt, a coconut bra, and a lei. Just... yeah. Also, there was mention of a huge snowball fight between the colleges that was once outlawed, and some people dressing up in, like, medieval costumes and chasing each other around with sticks. I was amused (and so was Mom when I told her about King Alfred XD).

There's a PE requirement, but I'm old, so I don't need it. XD;; I'd still take a horseback riding lesson. The only thing I wasn't pleased with was the freshman dorm we toured, which wouldn't even apply to me because (a) I wouldn't be a freshman, and (b) I'm old enough that I don't even need to live on campus if I don't want to. Freshmen/traditional-aged students have to live on campus for three years or so (I think there are exceptions to that, too), but anyone older than 24 can skip that.

Alfred's basically a college town, since Alfred University and Alfred State College (AKA SUNY Alfred) are literally right across the street from one another. As such, there's housing advertised for students to rent. Very good. I'll likely live on campus, but it's good to know I could get something elsewhere if I wanted.

So, yeah. Two or three more colleges I want to visit. Not sure I'll be able to. Those schools are Ohio Wesleyan University (has a great art department), SCAD (the largest school I'm looking at, with around 9,000 pepole, but everyone sings its praises), and Juniata College (which is more known for its sciences, but I looked at the student artwork and I liked it, plus there's an Amtrak station right by the school, so transportation! Oh, and a scholarship for left-handed people, haha. Not much, but still).

My stomach's feeling all gross. Going to class, and if I feel like crap in a few hours, I'm coming home.