Playing Well With Others

It's been a busy few weeks. I've been taking pictures, making props con mi madre, visiting with family, and trying to get things together so I can actually get paid for what I love to do.


And here is a look-see at what has been going on. this week i worked with the talented fabricio alvarado, fellow artist and high school compadre. he transforms photos into real works of art. visit his website for more information and be sure to like his facebook page and  subscribe to his youtube channel for a chance to have your picture turned into a masterpiece! And he's FAST. Super fast! This painting here took him a little over 4 hours. No wonder he calls it Speed Painting!

watch fabricio make this photo:

into this speed painting:

Cat Lady

I'm not a cat lady. Promise. I talk to people. I do stuff, sometimes. Besides you would like your cat too if she:

• liked Taco Bell as much as you do
• napped with you
• slept in your armpit
• and her favorite toy was a straw.
• or if she was this cute.

Realizing that some of my dear loving family members think that I may have hermitized myself, I will confess, it has happened a little bit. But that's just because I have been so swamped with art work. I am buried in art assignments, not cat hair. REALLY!

And here is something I have been meaning to say:

I promise to get married someday. I promise to not avoid men (after this summer). I promise to have as much fun as I can. I promise to give my parents grandchildren. I promise to not be the Cat Lady of the family. We don't need any of those. We have enough special quirks. Anyway, I still like guys, I still shower, I still wear SOME makeup. I even did my hair today.

Again.

I promise to get married some day.

Love,
Ruthie K.

(This picture was just funny...)

Can I Take Your Picture?

I'm taking a photography class right now, and I can honestly say that I love it. I may not be very good, but, I am determined. I am determined to hone my skills and improve my ideas and vision. Also, I need to understand how to use my camera in the dark. It's tricky. And no one likes a flash. It's also tricky when your light source dies in the middle of taking pictures. But, it doesn't mean the picture taking process is dead. It just means you have a new opportunity.

So, can I take your picture?

Spinster-Hood

Here it goes. I have been thinking a lot about life and what I can do in the world that would be of some good, you know, the kind of thing that improves the quality of life for others. I want to make a difference. Seriously, I have given this a lot of thought. And I know that if I stuck with shoe design I could be happy, but let's face it, as wonderful as beautiful shoes are, they don't make a difference in the long run. (Just so you are aware, that is a painful thing for me to admit.)

Anyway, I was talking with my mom the other night and I'm not entirely how we got onto the topic, but I started ranting about how I felt like so many women did not understand that they could do so much with their lives, and that even in today's society, women are still under appreciated. She told me to get down off of my soap-box because she didn't need to be convinced. But it made me realize that this was something that I was passionate about. My mom suggested that I look into Women's Studies. Now. This is something that my mother would never bring up without some provocation or prompting. I talked to her today, and she has no idea why she said it, or how she came up with the idea. Anyway, BYU has a Women's Studies minor, and I have been looking at everything that I can get my little hands on. And I am hooked. Completely hooked. I talked to an advisor in the Women's Studies department and it just made me wish that I had done this all along.

Anyone that knows me knows that I don't generally have good feelings toward school and learning. But, now, I have found something that I am genuinely excited about. I just want to dive right in and soak it all up! All day today I was just bubbling over with excitement, it was hard to think about anything else!

So here is the plan for my bachelors degree: BFA in Studio Art, and a minor in Women's Studies.
Tentative plan for my masters: MFA in Studio Art, and either an emphasis in Women's Studies or a second masters degree. (This could possibly make my life miserable. But as long as I take classes that are relevant, I can always change my mind.)
And the grand possibility that is making my head spin like a top: a PhD in Women's Studies.

Ah! But ahhhh! Wouldn't it be so mind-blowingly amazing if I was a professor in both Art and Women's Studies! Hah! Yes! Yes it would! And that's what I'm going for. And I am really happy about this prospect. Really happy.

I am going to be an awesome professor. I can feel it in my bones.

I know that some may fear that I will end up being a spinster. But don't worry, if that's what happens, I will be a cool spinster. Never fear. I'll get a dog.

And contrary to whatever your beliefs about extreme feminist ideals, I don't hate men. I am quite a fan of them. I still want to get married and be a mother. In all honesty, I do. But, because of who I am, I think this could make me be able to do those things better.

P.S. I've been reading a bunch of stuff by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. She is a feminist writer, and it isn't what I had expected. She writes about things that are sensible. Her writings, from what I have read so far, are focused on how women should be respected as people. Pretty smart, huh. I really like her short stories The Yellow Wallpaper and If I Were a Man. I love the ending of If I Were a Man. I would definitely recommend reading these stories.