“and when we sing I hear another devil dies”

I love fall and winter. These two season are an equation for both stark and abundant beauty. And together, they equal lots of hot chocolate and tea and coffee and cuddling up in blankets to read my favorite books. Well, at least as a kid they equaled my favorite books. Now it’s more like homework. Can I ask a question to northerners? Is there an equation for determining when it is appropriate to get out one’s winter coat? I didn’t even own one until I came to Messiah, since I live in Alabama where we get an annual snowfall of one flurry. And it never even sticks to the red Alabama clay.

Maybe I over-reacted to the cold, just a little, that first winter. I wore three layers at all times and the coat my family kindly purchased so I didn’t freeze to death on the way to class is so puffy and huge that in itself it weighs fifteen pounds. It is also, coincidentally, the same bright yellow-green of my living room walls back home. I didn’t exactly master appropriate footgear for winter at first, either. The first snow delay we had at Messiah, I went out to play in the snow — in clogs. Um. . . yeah, that was cold.

Then came learning to drive in snow. I didn’t realize that I should check my antifreeze, get a shovel to put in the trunk of the car, or budget time to warm up the car before driving anywhere. I also didn’t exactly grasp how much extra time I would need for braking, either. At least I learned without actually getting into an accident.

So now I’m seeking out things to do indoors to entertain myself. Not that midnight walks are unpleasant in the winter, there is just much more gearing up and girding of the loins that goes on. And somehow I lost one of my gloves since last winter. How does that happen? Are there glove gremlins or something?

One of the indoor activities my boyfriend and I enjoyed last weekend was a visit to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire, conveniently located only 45 minutes from campus (although maybe Messiah does not tout that as a local attraction).

Mmmm. . . I remember my sophomore year Lucy and I visited the Faire and had roasted pecans. . . So delicious! So sugary and warm! It rained all day, so we were among the very few visitors and got to interact with many of the Faire’s denizens (including Will Shakespeare!). And Lucy is an individualized major here at Messiah, studying Medieval and Renaissance history, so she loves the old language and food and of course the enthusiastic improv. My favorite part of that visit involved Will Shakespeare. He tried to get us to act out Romeo and Juliet, feeding lines from the play to participants. He abridged, them, however — and Lucy knew the play so well that she quoted the correct, full lines, and Will was flabbergasted. We were so glad to get into the car afterwards and turn the heat on high.

But wait, you say, it sounds like the Renaissance Faire is outside, and I thought you were seeking indoor activities! Why yes, it is outdoors, and in fact it’s also closed for the winter. However, the Faire also hosts various performances throughout the winter months, such as spooky performances of Edgar Allen Poe’s work near Halloween and Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol near (you guessed it) Christmas.

Greg & I went to the super spooky Edgar Allen Poe performances, where we saw interpretations of “The Cask of Amontillado,” “The Pit and the Pendulum,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” and last but certainly not least, “The Raven.” All the characters came back from the dead (so to speak) to entertain visitors at the old mansion on the Faire property. Surprisingly enough, Will Shakespeare appeared in this performance at the Faire as well. Only this time, he appeared as Fortunato, who gets walled up in a basement and buried alive in “The Cask of Amontillado.” I’m sure he didn’t remember Lucy or I, but I enjoyed seeing him take on another role.

I admit, I enjoy blogging on Fridays. I can wholeheartedly speak cheerfully about the coming days, because they’re the weekend. I myself intend to abandon the role of conscientous student, at least for today, and curl up with a movie, some hot chocolate, and maybe a book. Have a happy Friday!

Filed under general, lollipops, the renaissance faire, winter, fall, snow, incompetent southerners | Comment (1)

eleven more days of freedom

I cannot wait for my roommates to arrive. I moved into my on-campus apartment last Friday. . . and while I love having space which is solely mine, on some level I feel a little lost without roommates. My roommates next year, Katie and Elena, were in Italy last spring with me (that’s us on a field trip in that picture! It’s Katie’s photo, and from left to right it’s me, Katie, and Elena). They’re stimulating, challenging people, with whom I just have a whole lot of fun. Artistically, I value their judgments highly (I took wood-block printing and stone-carving with both of them in Italy) and conversationally, I value their wit. With them, any remotely interesting topic results in debate and hilarity. (The weekend trip to Sardinia pictured below definitely resulted in hilarity!)

And we’re all art majors, so we have plans afoot to decorate our apartment. Posters are key, as are photographs of Orvieto and our travels. And, since we are art majors, we decided to exploit the sketching process to decorate our apartment; we plan to hang huge sheets of paper on our walls and use them as giant sketchbooks. I’m jazzed. I think it will be heck of rocking.

Yes, we’re mildly art obsessed. Because at college, your major eats your soul (in the best way possible). I’ve never lived with art majors before, but I’m excited. I’m excited to live with people who really have an appreciation of what it takes to be an art major, the hours of work required, the all-nighters before projects are due, the delight in finally getting something you can be proud of. Also, I think it will be great to have other artists always around to bounce ideas off of – and not just artists, but artists for whom I have a solid respect.

In Italy, Elena and I ran together before class in the morning. I think I’m going to have to start running early in the mornings again, even before Elena moves in. My body has finally settled into a regular sleep pattern, one that wakes me up briefly at 6:30 a.m before I roll over and tell myself sternly not to wake up for another hour. In Orvieto, running provided me with a chance to see the landscape waking up – to soak in the new light pouring over the edge of the cliff and into the valley. If I could force myself to open my eyes as regularly here at Messiah, I think that I might find enough inspiration to carry me through my senior show.

Speaking of senior show? Yesterday I saw one of my favorite professors ever. His name is Daniel Finch, and talking to him is like drinking three cups of espresso. I’m lucky enough to be working with him for my advanced two-dimensional studies course next semester, and already he’s prompting me to consider senior show questions. What makes me make images rather than turning to any other form of self-expression? What do I lack that I try to supply through image-making?

I’ll admit, after talking to Daniel my stomach is doing nervous, excited flips. I’m a senior now, and I have to prove myself by making senior-level work! And there are so many fascinating, difficult, delving questions that I’ll spend the next year trying to answer. . . .

Countdown: 11 days to the start of classes

Filed under general, reflections, lollipops, Italian experiences, photography, vitality | Comment (1)