I went to my first wedding yesterday.  It was a really fun experience.  The wedding itself was much faster than I anticipated, but very beautiful.  I was a little teary eyed with everything happening, but that is all.  The bride’s wedding dress was beautiful and she looked radiant all night.  The reception was a lot of fun.  I was able to hang out with three of my art friends and eat and drink a bit.  I did not drink a lot because I had to drive back home, which probably limited how much fun I was able to have on the dance floor.  I did dance a little bit.  It was very bad and awkward dancing if anyone is curious.  I wish I could have had a date, it would have made everything much more fun and easier.  I will have one eventually.  

I was not aware of all of the traditions that go into weddings until yesterday.  I feel like that made me a little anti-wedding.  I still do not understand the wedding gift.  Why do I have to shower the couple with money or some object if they invite to their wedding?  Why do I owe them anything if I go to the event?  I just don’t get it.  Incase anyone was wondering, I did give the couple some money.  

Going back to the anti-wedding feelings, I am irritated because I don’t see myself being able to experience any of this for my future partner and I.  I can not legally be married now nor for a very long time and even then it feels like a shame because it is only recognized by a state and not the federal government.  I am different and therefore the whole idea of marriage is supposed to be different, but I don’t believe in that philosphy.  I will find someone and live by what we consider normal.

I am going to stop my rambling now and I hope I am not boring everyone with what I experience in my life.  This is me, take it or leave it.

On another note, I will probably post some new artwork next month sometime.  I have been relaxing and taking a break for a while now, but I am ready to start my life anew.  It will be interesting to see the artwork I produce during the summer.

I have only been out of school for about two weeks and already I am trying to create some sort of plan for the rest of this year.  I have applied for a couple of art based jobs and am hoping that I can get at least one part time job from these applications.  I didn’ t get one job I really wanted, but what can you do?  That is life and there is no reason to get wrapped up in something that did not happen.  I am just going to continue looking for jobs that could advance my career in the art field.  I will be looking at galleries and residences for the rest of the year in order to learn more and get my own story out into the world.

I have some ideas as to what I want to do regarding my artwork.  I want to continue pushing my mixed media photography and paper collages, but push them even further.  I want to explore scuplture and combine them together even more.  I want to find a way to utilize the space as well as the walls in which it is shown.  It will be an experimental summer adventure.  

I have also decided to make a bunch of little artworks for a lot of my friends relating to subject matter or concepts they like to explore.  I want to make something for them as a thank you for being so supportive during the past year with my own struggles.  It is nice to know I have friends that will just listen to my problems or tell me I am being stupid about certain things.  If any of my friends read this expect a fun little artwork by the end of the summer.  

The last thing I want to do is have a social life.  I really have never invested any time in just hanging out with friends and just having fun.  I always have to be serious or it has to be art related.  I want to enjoy my time with friends and make new ones as well.  I also feel having a social life is the only way I will be able to have any success in the dating world.  I do not have any idea as to where I should look or what I should do regarding dating.  A “social life” would at least create some bridges to finding someone that could make me happy and hopefully make the other person happy as well.

I decided to do this Self Competition. I have posted my photography senior exhibition for it. I have my artist statement along with installation and detail images. Vote for me

I officially have my BFA in Art, with a double concentration in Painting & Drawing and Photography today.  I also got an Art History minor as well. Graduation was a lot of fun, but there were a lot of mistakes.  I was almost forgotten when they were calling out honors students.  I am the only Summa Cum Launde and was missed in the callout.  Every one of the graduating seniors ended up yelling out something like “Wait! What about Paul!”  It was really strange and surreal, but funny.  I ended up getting to stand all on my own and got a big applause. It was awesome.  It made for a really memorable experience that I will tell people forever.  

Today was amazing and I could not have asked for a better end to my undergraduate career.   

I was able to have a critique with Kymia Nawabi today.  She graduated from ECU with a BFA in Painting & Drawing in 2003.  She recently won the Bravo reality show, Work of Art.  She is such a sweet and intriguing person.  Kymia was interested in my work, which makes me feel really good.  She gave me a lot of great advise regarding presentation and future pieces.  It was a good conversation.

Her lecture was great as well.  I love how her work progressed through the years and what each series was about.  I can relate to a lot of the feelings of fear and discomfort she faced throughout her life.  

I want to keep in contact with her if I can.  

She is speaking at my graduation ceremony tomorrow.  It will be awesome.