Four Months

For the last four months I've only had one thing on my mind. Whenever I sat down to blog, it was all I could think of to write about. But I couldn't! I didn't dare put it in writing lest I jinx it somehow. So I avoided blogging entirely.

But now I can say it: I've been accepted to Indiana University to pursue my masters degree!

Going to graduate school has been a dream of mine for a long time, but I was beginning to worry it was never going to happen. Being married, I obviously had to consider Sean and his career goals and dreams. And being practical adults, we had to consider the cost in both money and time. And being me, I had to settle on what I actually wanted to study.

My big moment came when Sean landed a job with a company in Chicago, that allowed him to work remotely. This eliminated the concern we had over moving to wherever I was accepted and alleviated some of the concern about the cost. And finally, I decided that literature was my one true love, but it would be a better hobby than career path in these troubled times for the humanities. So I turned to my second great love, art, and started researching programs in Arts Administration.

All this happened so quickly I didn't really have a lot of time before applications were due in February. I studied math for the first time in eight years and took the GRE after only four weeks of studying. I can proudly say did fantastically in the verbal portion and equally horrendously in the analytical portion, just to keep things balanced. I reached out to former professors, revamped my resume and wrote a two page paper which boiled down how everything I've ever done has led me to Arts Administration! It was all I worked on or thought about from December 20th to February 12th.

Then the waiting began. I had only applied to Indiana University because I really couldn't see myself going anywhere else. It just seemed like such the perfect school for me, with the perfect dual degree program. But it made the waiting hard knowing that I had no back up if I wasn't accepted.

Ha, but I spoiled you already. I totally got in and will be starting classes in the fall. And bigger yet, will be moving to Bloomington, Indiana. A little while back I had written about where we were hoping to move and made a list of qualifications. Unfortunately, the only qualification Bloomington has is that is seems to have a great arts community. Other than that... eh. I'm seriously worried about the sushi availability! But either way, we'll be calling it home for the next two years and I am beyond excited that one of my lifelong goals is about to get crossed off the list!

Kiyoshi Saito - Winter in Aizu

Like many people, I often google things. The other day I decided to google mid-century Japanese prints, because I like the modern aesthetic, Japan and art. Logic!

Anyway, I discovered an amazing artist named Kiyoshi Saito. The brilliant part was that he was born in Bange, Fukushima, a town very near the city I lived in for three years. Even better, his most famous series of woodblock prints is Winter in Aizu. Each print depicts different places and landmarks around the Aizu region, most of which were very familiar to me.

I'm not a big fan of 18th and 19th century woodblock works, like those done by Hokusai or Hiroshige, but 20th century prints are completely different. Saito was a member of the Sōsaku-hanga school which advocated principles of "self-creation" where the artist was the sole creator at each stage of the print-making process. Traditionally, artists collaborated with carvers, printers and publishers to produce and sell their work but the Sōsaku-hanga artists were more concerned with producing art for art's sake and less about its marketability.

There are still many of Saito's prints available for purchase online and through art auctions. Many of the prints within larger print runnings are even affordable, so I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a good deal on eBay.

And yes, this is exactly what Aizu looks like in winter!

Handmade

Lernert & Sander are conceptual artists based in Amsterdam whose videos keep me chuckling with their dry wit, clever concepts and perfect styling. They often create videos and promotional materials for companies in the fashion industry, but they certainly don't shy from poking fun of it at the same time. One of their recent projects is Everything, a massive 1.5 liter "sample" of perfume created by mixing every perfume launched in 2012. I really want to smell that stuff! I bet its deliciously disgusting, ha ha.

Handmade is one of my favorites for some reason. Its simple, cute and just really well made. It perfectly highlights the skills of the bespoke Italian tailors who create the perfect little suit for their, uh, client...


Handmade from Lernert & Sander on Vimeo.

& Other Stories

H&M quickly became one of my favorite places to shop in Tokyo. I had never been to one prior since there are no locations in West Michigan, but that may change this year! Its been confirmed that they're scouting locations and may open before the end of 2013. How amazing would that be.

And just when I thought all my dreams were about to come true... H&M had to go and launch a brand new venture & Other Stories. Of course, their only current location is in London and shipping isn't available to the U.S. but the designs are so lovely and the website is so fresh I can't help but dream! Its like a more detailed, grown up, colorful version of the classic H&M line. Take a look at the beautiful images on their tumblr page as well as the website itself.

The brand will carry clothing and accessories as well as a full line of makeup and skin care products. SIGH. I love the whole esthetic. Well done, once again, H&M.