Fall Quarter Synopsis

I realize that I say this every quarter, but I'll pretend I don't and say it anyway - "This quarter was incredibly intense!" I think it's fair to say that I took on way more than I ever imagined I could (or probably should have) and I lived another day to talk about it. Two major factors contributed to said intensity.

1) I started my journey in WFTDA skills testing so that I could skate in bouts with the Ohio Roller Girls. WFTDA stands for Women's Flat Track Derby Association for those who are new to derby. I'm a baby in this sport. It's frightening, humbling and exciting all at the same time. And it's engrossing.

2) As for my course work, this quarter was completely tech heavy. I went to Gaga technique once or twice a week as an independent study, but other than that my physical practice really involved skating, hitting, and falling during derby practice. If it weren't for derby, I really wouldn't have had much time away from the computer. BUT a lot of great things came out of this quarter. Here goes:

Since the video file is too large, these are some snapshots from an animation I created in Maya. This was my first class in modeling, animating and lighting objects using software - yet another new world I visited this quarter. More humiliation perhaps, but a lot of little discoveries. I'm not sure what the future holds for me and Maya, but I do know that I would like to take the concept from this project and apply it to a redesign of my website.

And then there's "Women of the Flat Track." For my Dance for Camera/Video Editing class, I decided to focus on derby. Hey - it's movement! Kind of hard to deny that. What I discovered was that I wanted to make a feature-length documentary about the Ohio Roller Girls. My final project became a trailer (since obviously I wasn't going to make a documentary in less than 10 weeks). I'm super psyched to make the documentary now. Some of the footage will actually tie into my MFA project as well, which is tentative called "Portraiture and Perception." (That's another thing, I handed in my first draft of my final project to my committee. Things are moving along with this grad degree business!) You can find the trailer at my vimeo account, however, you'll need a password to see the video. Let me know if you have any questions....

As a continued independent study project, I am collaborating with Maree ReMalia and Michael Morris to develop merrygogo, Maree's website that examines her choreographic process. The attached image is a screenshot of "my" process. The mind map was started by Michael and at this point, I was just testing how the embedding of the map was going to work. I have more formating and transparency issues, but development is coming along.

It's already the week of Christmas. Now that I've wrapped up the 2010 Fall Quarter, I think I can move on (well except for the fact that all of these projects are continuing in one way or another). For now though - Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Yeah For an Extra Hour

What a great weekend! I spent most of it at home working on Maree ReMalia's website for her MFA project. While I'm excited by the possibilities of future animations for the site, I'm really happy with the current state of the design right now - simple. A nice clean design makes me smile. I'll post the web address when it's ready. The logo was designed by Michael Morris.

Reality of Being a Grad Student

There are so many wonderful opportunities at this big university and in Columbus. I have fallen in love with roller derby. The fact of the matter though is that grad school requires a lot of time - that really goes without saying. Tonight, instead of going to derby practice I'm working on a video project for my editing class (albeit the video is about roller derby) and hopefully getting some sleep tonight. I'm exhausted!

I also have an animation project coming up. Below is a short animation that I'm building on:

Next Performance coming up!

this physical body is the meeting place of worlds
a presentation of writing and choreography

Fellow graduate student, Lisa Ferrugia Atkinson, will present her Master of Fine Arts thesis project. I am honored to be a part of her project. Enjoy some art on a Monday evening!

Monday, November 8, 2010, 5:00pm
The Ohio State University, Sullivant Hall, Studio 1
1813 N. High Street at 15th Avenue and High Street
Free Admission!

Phew! Back After a Blogging Break

I can't believe a month has already passed since my last entry. I've been busy trying to get a handle on this quarter. It's definitely different from last year. While Gaga technique serves to save my sanity and my joints and muscles, I'm predominately preoccupied with technology and roller derby. After derby practice at night, a morning Gaga class works out muscle soreness nicely! I am thankful for this. I am also thankful that I have Friday off to rest, spend time with David or have meetings with my new advising committee, Valarie Williams and Melanye White Dixon. Friday makes all the difference, especially since the weekend seems to be full of going to performances, volunteering for derby events and completing chores. There's still barely time for homework. That said, today I am combining a derby practice with storyboarding homework. I'm not skating today, but am going to practice anyway to do my storyboarding. We'll see if it helps with inspiration or if it's just plain distracting.

My final MFA project will consist of several video shorts that have a documentary feel. I am taking a project I did last fall and developing some of the ideas and concepts. Here's a link to the 100th post.

Autumn 2010 Class Begin

First day of classes started today. I've held off reporting what I will be up to this quarter till I knew exactly what that is and now, finally (I think) I know.

Mondays, Wednesdays

• 10:30 - 12:00 - Gaga Technique by visiting artists from the Batsheva Dance Company. (An hour and a half non-stop moving - really - you can't stop and you can't talk. Perfect!)
• 12:30 - 6:30 - working at The Wexner Center

Tuesdays, Thursdays

• 10:00 - 12:00 - 3d Computer Animation (crazy excited for this!)
• 12:30 - 4:30 - working at The Wexner Center
• 4:30 - 6:30 - Video Editing and Video Dance (again - very excited)
• 9:00 - 11:00 - Roller Derby practice (that's right 9-11 at night) Check out Ohio Rollergirls for more information about the league - http://www.ohiorollergirls.com.

Saturdays

• 4:15 - 6:30 - Rehearsal with Maungsai Somboon for his MFA final project

Sundays

• noon - 2:00 - Roller Derby practice

It's going to be another full load. Well, less than 15 credits, but I'm adding roller derby to the mix and still working 20 hours at The Wexner Center. Also, I'll be doing an Independent Study concerning web development for dance sites. This ought to be an interesting quarter!