There is another shore, you know

"What matters it how far we go?"
His scaly friend replied, 
"There is another shore, you know,
Upon the other side. 
The further off from England
The nearer is to France - 
Then turn not pale, beloved snail,
But come and join the dance."


Franz Ferdinand's version of the Lobster Quadrille


My sister and I finally graduated from West Boylston High on June 3rd, it's great to finally be done! I have my orientation at the University of Maine soon: June 19-20. After that I will be away for the majority of the summer, first staying on Long Lake in Maine, then Lake Michigan, and finally heading out for my third season on the glaciers in the North Cascades. I'll have just about a week to pack and head off for college when I return!
Tomorrow at 9 am, I am running in my town's 5k around the Wachusett Reservoir!
I was amazed that both my sister and I received the Elton & Kathleen Drew Scholarship for Continued Study in the Arts ($5000!) and I also received the Mass. Foreign Language Association Board of Directors Award, which I believe will be $500.
Yesterday I went on my final art trip with the NAHS. This year we went to Boston and visited the MFA, Faneuil Hall, and saw the Blue Man Group. We saw actress Rachel McAdams at the MFA which I thought was pretty cool!

Wachusett and Breadth Part 2

The route

I ran in the Mt. Wachusett race last Saturday on the 28th. Last year I was participating in Art All State and I wasn't able to run it, so it wasn't until just before the race I found out that the course was different now. The old course was entirely on the road, 4.3 miles up to the summit. It was a tough race, all uphill - some especially tough climbs - and on pavement. I've always been a trail runner, and I certainly wouldn't call it a fun race, it was about the challenge. Now, the route covers 4.7 miles and the majority of it is on trails. Some areas were tricky because the trails were narrow, and it was hard to pass/ be passed. The steep uphill section about halfway through was the worst. It's very narrow with a lot of rocks and roots, the type of trail I often run on, but a lot of people decided it wasn't worth putting in the effort. I got stuck behind a large group of walkers, and I barely had the breath or strength to pass them. I managed to pass at least 20 people on that section. Many of them were obviously better runners than me - but they didn't even try to keep running, which confuses me. Sure, it's really tough, but it's a race, and you have to endure it and do your best to keep running!

Portrait of Inspiration
I created this for the assignment "create a self-portrait without your face." I chose to represent myself through challenges, and the "swirl" of inspiration I get from these challenges.

Salmon Boy
I created this illustration originally as part of my concentration when I was considering veering into the negative effects of glaciers' recession. People around the world depend on the melt-water from glaciers. A Chinese boy is watching, saddened by what he sees. The stream he depends on has retreated, leaving dry stream-bed exposed. The salmon that he also relies on are struggling with the lower waters, and some have died where the stream once was. 

Transforming
I created this piece in Studio Art, under the instruction to create a "self-warped-trait." I chose to illustrate my face mid-transformation into a creature. I actually went back to add more tentacles on the right later on, and I definitely like how it looks better than before.

Vases
I created this in Studio Art from observation. I chose a cropped view of a still-life my art teacher, Mrs. Tetler, set up. The floral background is actually a larger Chinese-flower print vase.

Violet Baudelaire
I created this portrait of Violet Baudelaire based off of the third book in A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Wide Window. Growing up, these were some of my absolute favorite books, I read and re-read them!