The magic card

Our student id cards give us free bus rides on Rhode Island transit. Anywhere in RI you want to go, it's free so we've nicknamed our id cards the magic cards because of all the access to activities we are discovering come with that card. A small group of exchange students and I took a one hour bus trip south of Providence to Newport, which is on an island.

from left to right: Anjali from England, myself, Amaury from France, and Katharina from Germany.


Newport is a lot like Providence with its old homes, but windy with the ocean wind. The tourist info guy said that during the Revolutionary war, the British blockaded Newport, if they had not, Newport would have been as big as New York. But it isn't.



USA's oldest pub is in Newport:




But one thing that is different from Providence is that Newport is quite tourist-y. It's the home of former "summer homes" of the likes of the Vanderbilts and Astors. These mansions are so huge no one can afford to live in them so they're just museums people pay to tour inside. They looked menacing and over the top to me.



I saw some photos of the interiors and they look like faux-Versailles Donald Trump style.

So we did a lot of walking that day and then were invited to a house party that night, which had a lot of positive vibrations, the mostly Brown students were super friendly.



Last night our id cards gave us access to a free concert on the Brown campus with free pizza, curry, ice cream and coffee, and then a midnight showing of This is Spinal Tap where popcorn was provided. There are so many activities around college hill, it's almost like a summer camp. As exchange students we're benifiting from the high tuition these kids pay, and we're constantly surprised at the little privileges that come with this magic card.

painting studios

Yesterday I went to the painting department to register for my painting class. At first I went to the old painting building headquarters:



The painting department was all the way up on the 5th floor, and while being really nice, it felt so hot and stuffy and claustrophobic to me. And while looking airy and light, it actually felt cramped:





So I was happy to hear that the painting department headquarters had moved to newer offices, and that the studios for third year students were in a different building all together. They are in the "What Cheer" building (the What what?), and each studio space will be allocated with a lottery. The class is called Painting III and it's a 6 credit class but it happens over two days - Thursdays from 1pm - 6pm and Fridays 9am - 1pm. That's a lot of class time.

Third year or "junior" classes will be more self directed, but with a lot of critique. There are two other Painting III classes being held on different days.
I'm not sure where I'll go with painting this year, probably continue with abstract mixing together with figurative.

Junior painting studios:


At any rate, it's comforting to know that these painting studios also double as a fall out shelter.

carded

Yesterday I finally got legitimized when I received my RISD id card, which literally opens doors (at least to the library anyway).



It turns out the old fashioned technology of knocking on doors leads to some fun times. Not having a computer or phone, in order to connect with people, I will just say, for example, to Amaury, "see you tomorrow", and having no idea when or how, we usually connect. Yesterday I just "popped in" to his apartment, and it led to an impromptu dinner party with Amaury and his Wisconsin roommate (oops, forgot his name) who is attending Illustration at RISD. It was his first time cooking he said (Wisconsin roommate), not his first time ever, but his first time in which if he didn't cook, he'd go hungry. It was spaghetti. I almost never just pop in on people, it's something my Mom used to do with her neighbours, but watch out, I just might try it in Vancouver! Here is a photo right after leaving Amaury's:

a little blurry


I don't feel quite as at home in my own apartment for some reason, I usually just leave in the morning at around 8 or 9, and come back around 8 or 9 in the evening, and eat the lunch that I pack. But the weather is so nice, I just leave the house wearing a t-shirt and come home in the same shirt, and it's completely warm! Here is the temperature a few minutes ago. 78 degrees. I've lost my farenheit/celsius translation skills - maybe 25 celsius?



Today I'm going to the painting department to check out the studios and sign up for my class, hopefully buy a phone - but maybe I shouldn't, this semester could be an experiment in non-phone, no-computer-owning living. I'll think about it. And will meet up with a German exchange student who is sounds like she is feeling as isolated as I did/do.

Brown campus:



looking up a hill:

ivy league tourist

Hello! This is my first blog post from Providence.

I've been here for 3 days already, the first two days were very lonesome, as it was a long weekend and I didn't know anybody, I don't have a phone or a computer, and it seemed like the 9 days until class starts would be an eternity of lonesomeness. My first day I just walked around all day on "College Hill" in Providence, mostly around Brown University. Brown and RISD buildings are clustered together, but Brown classes start today, so there was a lot of activity, whereas RISD starts in one week, so it's very quiet around there. There were a lot of parents saying goodbye to their kids:



Just as my parents had done the day before at the Vancouver airport, which seems like a different stratosphere of socio-economics realities:




But yesterday, I was able to meet with Amaury Poudray, another exchange student from France. Since I have no phone or email, I could only connect with him through the old technology of door-knocking. We walked around a lot, since I was here one day earlier than him I had so much more wisdom to impart such as where the best coffee shop is and where the interesting streets are. It was nice to connect with someone, I didn't feel so lonely. Amaury taking a photo on Thayer Street:



The houses here are really old Americana, lots of brick, clapboard siding & real working shutters. I learned from a house owner named Peter who was watering his flowers near the sidewalk that these old houses are the Federal style, most of the houses I have seen are built in the early 1800s.




Here is a shot of a house built in the 1790s - really nice wide plank flooring (Don't forget to click on the images to enlarge them) -



My room is okay, pretty dirty though! A lot of dirt on the window sills and the bathroom floor is crunchy with dirt - I felt so envious of Amaury's place all clean and furnished. I still need to find a bed, this is one from the apartment for guests to sleep on. I woke up the other night thinking I had a kidney disease, but it was only the futon frame sticking into my back.


My roommate Thomas letting me in the apartment for the first time. I still don't have keys though, so annoying.


Well, that's a lot of photos, but it's been three days, so there is a lot to show. I'll probably be posting something new everyday. I'm looking forward to the farmer's market tomorrow in a quad at Brown - I'll have to figure out where that is. Now that my camera is empty of photos, I can start filling it up again for tomorrow's post!

Summer of the Brother

This summer I've been working full time with my brother, Rick, painting houses. We have been spending a LOT of time together, sometimes 16 hour days, as we would drive down to Victoria and back together also. Spending that much time with anyone can test the best of friendships. Luckily, with a brother, you can say, "Shut up" and "Leave me alone" and it's not a big deal. And since he's my boss, I can say things like that when we get on each other's nerves, and I won't get fired, but it helps to clear the air.
When I go with my brother I usually end up places I would have probably never experienced without him. I have great memories of running together through the mountains in Invermere, up mountains around Duncan, and even beautiful canyon trails in the forest near Seattle. A lot of beautiful spots in nature that I've seen in my life, I wouldn't have seen if it weren't for my brother.
Here are some photos from one of our lunchtime jogs while working in Victoria:
This is the skinny trail that goes along the cliff's edge by the ocean. Normally I would have stopped at the beach, but with my brother, we kept going, we ran up and down these rocky outcroppings, over driftwood logs, and through these skinny trails that lead to a point at the edge of the ocean.





We ran back from the rocky point into a beautiful forest of Gary Oak trees. Running through there feels really special, the trees are gnarly and look ancient, the grasses are dry and there are lots of crows, and it feels like we're in Africa or somewhere. And I know for sure, if it weren't for my brother taking me, I would have never seen this place in my life.

found palettes

I saw these flowers in my neighbours' yard a few weeks ago.I thought the colour combo was so intense! I tried to recreate it in a painting but heck if I just could not mix that orange. It's like a flourescent orange. Dang.

And then, I was going by the cafe in Victoria where my brother and I always go for coffee at lunch and I saw these tiles and I loved the colours, especially the red, it just makes the colours all pop. The palette looked so fresh I thought it was new tiles, but they're from a modern building built probably in the sixties. Fresh! That's what our Painting 200 teacher, Elizabeth McIntosh would always say.


And then, my mom brought home these eggs a couple days ago and they were so dang purdy. Kind of Martha Stewart. Definitely what would be called a low intensity palette, which I like a lot.

It would be fun to do one painting with each of these found palettes, it would save having to think up colours for yourself.

new painting

This painting was just finished yesterday, it is panel #2. and 4 out of 9 in the series.
I haven't been posting to the blog as often because of being so busy at work, so I'll probably just post once a week now. Thanks for looking