Friday, August 28, 2009

First month in Arkansas




I moved into my new apartment at the beginning of the month and was very excited to get settled in. The area seems really nice and my neighbors are quiet, which is a plus. I was able to do a little exploring before the fall semester started. My mom and I went to visit the War Eagle Mill, a great experience.
Fayetteville is very different from Jacksonville. First of all, there are a lot of hills. I discovered that a beach cruiser may not be the best hill climber when I tried using it during orientation week. I ended up pushing the bike most of the way. It was painfully slow going. I decided against using the bike in the more hilly areas. I found a bike riding friend and he seemed very intrigued by the idea of a beach cruiser. He was excited to get the opportunity to try it out. A beach cruiser is quite the oddity around here strangely enough.
I was able to meet the other grad students and they all seem nice and very talented. They are all so different. We even have a good number of international students in the program. It is a great atmosphere to work in. I moved into my studio and have a huge space. I will be able to make a lot of work.
I am now at the end of my first week of classes. I am taking a pretty heavy course load and have an assistantship. I was really overwhelmed by the amount of work I have ahead of me, but at the same time, it was so much fun. There will be a lot of reading and time spent in my studio. I am so happy and lucky to have this opportunity to really develop my work. I was also just named president of the student clay club, A.C.E. (Association of Ceramic Enthusiasts). I have not really learned all that I am in charge of, but I know the group has a sale every semester which brings in lots of visiting artists and helps send a group to NCECA every year.
So all in all a very good start to my grad school experience. Time to get to work!