Nature

it's all done!!!

FINALLY!


What a ride. Many thoughts went through my head as this day was being prepared for.


What now?
Was it worth it?
What's the point?


It all just seemed like a waste almost, like I never really learned anything except whose ass to kiss and whose to kick.


I've graduated from college. Written a million papers, power points, entered discussions and debates. For what? A piece of paper? I've graduated from college and I am no closer to professional employment then the person sitting next to me. Or the other three thousand kids sitting in the perfectly organized seats of the coliseum ceremony. 


So what now? I'm not sure to tell you the truth. 


I have my creative outlets. My photography and my screen printing which I've decided are absolutely essential to my well-being. Then again I have this very political degree and I want nothing to do with it. It aids in my art making, in creating something meaningful in the world rather than something cute. In that aspect I respect my degree. Other than that it's really pointless. 


but how do you explain to your family and friends and others that you want to spend your life being creative?
you can't
it's impossible
people just don't understand because somehow going to college equates to the perfect interview leading to a skirt and tie and a 401k. 


explaining to people that I want to travel, going to craft shows and festivals and selling my work has not gone over well. I should be in the right mind and not care what others think, but being able to communicate your livelihood is essential to the success of your plans!

i need to sit with my life motto of no worries and take it in and stop thinking about where i'll be in ten years and just let it happen and be.

Capstone

I'm writing my final paper for my final year at college. The capstone paper in my area of study has to be written on either a study abroad trip or an internship. If you've read my blog you know which one I chose to write it on. Which is what my blog is about, "looking for the world" began at the start of this journey. My trip to Finalnd in the fall of 2009.

I'm about half way through this 10-15 page paper and i've been going back into my blog to try and remember key points in this story that I can't remember as crisply as I would like. Well, I should have written it as soon as I returned from the trip, but procrastination is evil.

Now, I wish to insert a portion of my paper and story here. So that maybe I (and others) may read it a few years later. Here it is:

_____________________________________________________________________________________

In my bedroom (with two open suitcases and a carry-on backpack) was the moment when I realized that I was going to leave this house and this country for the longest I have ever spent away. Throughout all the necessary steps that transpired in the previous semester, I had never known that this study abroad trip was actually going to take place. Again, my mind was numb to all the running around I was doing for this trip. The tiring, paper pushing process was never seen as a “trip abroad” until I stepped foot in the Pittsburgh airport a few months later. I have traveled by plane before, so I knew all the necessary desk locations and procedures of the airport. However, this was the first time I had traveled completely alone. Passing through security and waving good-bye for the final time to my loved ones was the last point of dependency. From then on, I had to rely on myself and all the street smarts my father had taught me throughout my life were taking control of my very trustful heart. Walking through the crowds and ultimately finding my terminal gate was relieving. All I had to do was sit and wait for my row on the airplane to be called. My connecting flight to Washington D.C Dulles International Airport would soon arrive and my long journey to Finland would begin at last. Arriving in Washington D.C was a new experience. I had not been to this airport before with its heavenly white walls and sky light ceilings. Once again, I had to be self-reliant to find the next terminal gate and when I did; I was met with a crowd of very blonde people speaking in a language I had never heard before. A moment of culture shock (even though I slightly fit in physically because of my blonde hair and fair skin) took place and I found my seat in the waiting area. My next flight would take me overseas to Denmark. The largest plane I had ever boarded! With three rows of seating split with two aisles, my dark blue floatation device was a window seat in the middle section of the plane. Later, I found out I was sitting next to a Canadian on his way to a big environmental conference happening that year. “Always be prepared for the unexpected,” my father’s voice in my head didn’t let me sleep for this eight hour voyage.

______________________________________________________________________________

so here is a piece of my story. If im as proud of the rest of the paper, maybe i'll continue to post sections of it.

Brew Day

 

 Brew Day.

Now I don't know a lot about brewing beer, but I'm learnig. I think.

Mathieu set up around nine in the morning right outside his apartment on a gravel lot. The day didn't end till around 6. Long day! People were walking by all throughout the day, most just staring but the braves ones would come up and see what we were doing. It was awesome to talk to people we see all the time walking by on their way to class. We even got to meet some pretty cool kids that lived across the street. Mathieu let them try some of his beer that was set up inside from his home-made kegerator. All of them got great reviews of course, his beer is pretty great!!

 The purpose of this brew day was to make a large batch for a wedding both Mathieu and I are working. He's bringing the beer and I'm photographing. The wedding is next month! So we got right to work on finishing this beer early enough to be ready for the big day.

Also, I've been working on a few label designs to try and make something that would work for the tap handles a friend of ours is making for the kegerator. I think we've narrowed it down to a great design and I'm excited that we will get to see our hand-made design on a hand-made tap handle. Our two worlds collide perfectly together once again.

  Even little Barley got to get in on the action of the day. ^^

 she seems happy to be apart of the day.

 

 We eventually put Barley outside, she and our growing house plants enjoyed the sunshine.

 Around 6pm, our huge day ended. It was really great to spend most of the day outside. Even if it was a bit cold and windy, but the sun was shining all day! The beer is inside and covered so as not to be infected by any light and hopefully in a months time it will be ready to drink and enjoy!

Brew Day.

A day filled with heavy lifting, great smells from brewing ingredients and meeting some great people along the way.

Baby Brent

The weather in Morgantown has been unusually warm lately! almost flip flop weather, well not quite but i can dream. So i got together with a friend from high school who just had a little baby boy! He's three months old and makes the cutest faces. We just propped him up on a pillow and that made it very easy to photograph his squirmy little baby body. Here's a small preview of our day!

to see more of my work, click the link!
Heather Lynn Photography

{shingdig}

Here's a fun wedding collection made from the many hours I spend on pinterest.

1. pretty flowers // 2. wedding colors // 3. lovely dress

5. perfect seating // 6. photobooth idea

Beer Beer Beer

as many of you know, Mathieu's big passion in life is beer! so much so that our little puppy is named after a key ingredient: barley. i've been trying to learn as much as i can from him about his craft, but i can't stop envisioning his brewery design to learn the basics of brewing beer! Sorry dear.

to illustrate how well our minds work together, here's a situation that often occurs. two things happen when we enter a bar or pub: he notices all the craft beer on tap and orders samples of everything before deciding, and i notice the design of the place. everything from the tile floor to the color of the wall and the techniques used to build the bar top. 

his dream of opening a brew pub quickly comes to life when we are able to sit down and collaborate ideas. his beer making ideas and my design ideas. more recently, we've been working on signs, logos and labels to make his own unique stamp on the world of craft brew. some things will be used for t-shirts and the like and others used for signs and labels.
let me know your thoughts and your favorites, getting any advice really helps make these first steps so much greater!

we haven't decided on colors or anything yet. just a few ideas. and mathieu really liked the font i found for the word brew, so we just went with that for the rest.

so here's what we've come up with so far. what do you think? any advice or comments. one thing i would like to do for the labels for example. is to add a little colored texture or something so it's not just white. but that's for another day.

so

what color do you think works best?

what are your favorite versions of the designs?

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Weekly Instagram

i am in love with instagram!! i am on it all the time, i mean everyday. it offers a great opportunity to share your everyday moments with all of your followers. consider it like a facebook profile, but instead of wordy interests..the photos tell your interests and tell better stories than status updates.

so here we go...

  

1. here's barley. being herself. caked with mud from the dog park... we decided to take her that day because it was the first nice day out from all the rain storms we've been having. but, it was muddy! this was her face from five minutes of running around! poor little barley.

2. i found this lovely craft idea on pinterest. another of my great loves. it is a handy-dandy coat rack! how awesome right. it is just made from thick wood cuts with branches as the hangers. being that i am nestled between all the beautiful west virginia mountains, i think this is a major possiblity to make! a couple screws here, some brackets there and voila! you've got yourself a brand spanken recycled coat rack!

3. Ceramics class. i wish i would've taken it earlier on instead of my last semester! then i would have known how awesome it is and taken more classes!! oh well, everything happens for a reason. anything ceramics related is really hard. you have to have a lot of patience and time if you want it to come out right. we just finished our first assignment which was a pot or vase 12" in any direction. mine turned out alright, a bit lumpy but it was hand-made not thrown on the wheel. despite it's toughness, i love it!!

4. Woodburn Hall. { the building on the right with the clock tower } one of the first building to be used at WVU. It holds all history, political science, international studies majors and courses. it is such an old building and rightly just as beautiful. every holiday season, they light up the building with decorative lights and the whole center just glows at night!

5. here's barley and me this time! snuggling on the couch. she's jumped up and just went to sleep on my chest. she was so warm that i decided to let her lay there. she seemed comfortable enough. hopefully this does not become a habit because she is only going to get bigger.!

6. this photo was taken from my walk home from classes. these pipes were placed on the side of a very old church in Morgantown. I assume they are for exhaust or heating outlets for the building. the lines of the pipes add a visually interesting effect to the composition.

 

there's my wrap up from instagram this week. come back and be sure to check out next weeks photos!

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