I’m Back Y’all.

Hello All!

School is back in session, I’m officially a ceramics major, and a senior, and back into my blogging routine. So much has happened this summer, while I was not able to write often, I managed to move, start a new job and a new internship, and even make it to the beach a couple of times.

Here’s a shot from my room mate trip to OCMD.

As sad as I am to see this summer end, I am much more excited to get back to school! This is my first semester as a full blown Ceramics major and I am so ready to learn some new techniques and get my portfolio built up!

Here’s my first little mug of the semester! Its the most satisfying feeling to see this.

I also started a new adventure as the production intern at Karen Singer Tileworks here in Philadelphia!

Home

So being that this is a new semseter, in a new house, a new major, new job, new internship , with lots of new summer friends and life lessons; I’d imagine now is as good a time as any to lay out some broad goals for myself…

1. My number 1 goal is to expand my Ceramics portfolio, keep the blog up to date on my studio shenanigans, and update my artist website. (http://www.jenniferkhall.com/) <<This thing needs some major work

2. Expand my photography repertoire (I’m assisting to shoot a wedding this weekend!)

3. Find a healthy balance between work and play (isn’t this everyone’s biggest issue?)

On that note I’d like to leave you with some words of wisdom I stumbled upon the other day which really inspired me for this upcoming Autumn…

 

Hope everyone is as ready for Fall as I (think) I am!

Pumpkin Spice Latte anyone???

Jen

Let’s Go See Some Art Shall We?

Moving to Philadelphia was a strategic decision for me 3 years ago. I come from rural Pennsylvania where their idea of art is barn decoration. So, in an attempt to become more cultured, I moved to mega- city full of museums, galleries, artists, and opportunities. To be honest, I had NO idea what I was getting myself into. And sometimes, I still feel like I know nothing about my city. The art scene is an ever- evolving enigma to me. Once you grasp one thing there is something new to see.

So last week James and I took a trip to see an opening at a Gallery run by our professor, Tiger Strikes Asteroid, in center city Philly. Like most awesome places in Philly, it is particularly unassuming from the outside, just an old warehouse. But open the door and you’re entering the artistic “speak- easy” of Philly; the most cutting edge sculpture, video work, printmaking, photos, and paintings.

I feel so “Sex and the City” at things like this.

I enjoy a good night out, seeing lots of art with a good friend. But While scanning the rooms of highly politically charged and abstract work, I feel pretty lost. As an artist myself, it is particularly frustrating to feel as if the concept of a work is totally lost on me. I wander the galleries and formally analyze work, but 95% of the time, I have no idea what it means.

James always seems to understand everything… or so he says.

I’m beginning to question if I even want to be part of the “fine art conversation” to begin with. I feel as though my brain is more wired towards an educational standpoint, and the goal of my work is to always remain accessible and approachable to anyone. I never want my work to appear pretentious or exclusive to any audience.

Which is why I am so excited to be shifting gears from painting (which I will always continue to do) to a larger focus on functional pottery. My biggest complement is someone choosing to incorporate my art into their daily life; hanging my painting in their kitchen, using my mug for their morning coffee, anything. I have no desire to gain artistic recognition for this work, I just wish to quietly add beauty to the ordinary.

I’m working on researching different clay bodies, functional forms, and glaze techniques. And I’m hoping to get myself into the studio next week. Wish me luck!

Jen

3 Finals and a New Job

Hello All!

Happy Monday! Things are wrapping up on my Junior year of college and it could not have come soon enough. I have 3 pieces of exciting news that I have been meaning to share:

1. I am 99% finished my Junior year at Temple U

2. I switched my major from painting to ceramics last week, and I am still graduating on time!

3. I got a new job working for the Spirit of Philadelphia cruise ship!

So my summer is shaping up to be pretty interesting. It is so funny to see how much can change in just one year.

This is the heap I left my painting finals in last night at 4 AM after a 6 hour shift on the boat and another 5 hours of schoolwork. Critique is today!

On my second day of training with the Spirit we did a lovely afternoon of wine and specialty drink tasting on the bow of the boat… life is good.

This boat is NOT the spirit of Philadelphia, it is the Moshulu which neighbors us in the Penn’s Landing harbor. What a lovely view!

I am so excited about this new job, I will be working lots of big events like weddings, charity benefits, and children’s educational cruises. I’ve only been there for 3 days and I’ve already watched/ helped with 2 proposals! It’s insane!

I’m a little worried that working here is going to make me hate proposals, and weddings, and the cha cha slide… let’s hope not!

Wish me luck on my final critique of Junior year today! Hopefully everyone has a creative monday!

Things Are Taking Shape

Hello All!

We are nearing the end of finals here at Temple U. So my final painting project is starting to take shape. Originally I had planned on leaving it in a rectangular format but my professor gave me the idea to take it apart and put it back together in a new, inventive way… I think it’s working out!

This weekend I am planning on going back into it and adding some heavy acrylic accents to add varying levels of opacity. We’ll see where it goes!

-Jen

The Makings of a Final

Hello All!

It’s finally the last week of school and everything is surprisingly coming together. Even with my busy weekends of dancing I’ve somehow managed to keep myself on track for a finals week with no all- nighters.

As you can probably tell, My weekend was a little crazy.

But I did manage to accomplish a few art- related things! For my final color theory project I wanted to mount my paintings on dark stained wood. So Tori and I made a morning out of it!

It was so beautiful and sunny!

The whole process only took a little over an hour but it made a world of difference! Also, Tori is so tan, she is almost the same color as our dark walnut stain!

Back to the finals grind!

-Jen

Alright Neighbors. This is War.

Happy Tuesday! (Well, technically, it’s now Wednesday.)

I’m getting so little sleep these days, they all just blend together. I’d like to say it’s because I’m working hard on finals but it’s really just a lot of thinking and cleaning… and my downstair neighbor’s bongos… all night.

I’ve mentioned my lovely neighbors before in this post:

Phlaryngitis?

It takes a lot of beauty sleep to look this good 😛

But it seems the fun does not stop here. My neighbor seems to think he is going to be the next John Mayer/ Macklemore/ Jack Johnson/ Beyonce. Therefore, he finds it necessary to practice all day every day. It is currently 1:12 AM and all I can hear are pounding bongos… REALLY?

The funniest part of this story is that he cornered my room mate tonight while she was taking her dog for a walk and told her that we walk too loudly. Also, that the massive pounding from our neanderthal feet is causing their light bulbs to burn out…

I may have exaggerated for dramatic affect.

I have decided to take matters into my own hands (actually feet) and walk around in my tap shoes at 3 in the morning the next time I pull an all nighter… maybe not the most mature way to handle things but a girl can dream right?

More than likely I’ll need the bongos to keep me up all night for all of these paintings! Updates on those to come!

Let’s Go Phils!

Happy Wednesday! 

It’s a gorgeous day in Philadelphia and of course I left all of my shorts at my parent’s house. So looks like it’s skirts all week for me! This beautiful weather is also becoming a serious problem, I can’t get myself to care about anything. All I want to do is lay in the grass and get sunburnt. But, life goes on and I still have classes and papers due tomorrow. But I thought I’d take a break from pretending to care about school today to blog about my first  Phillies game! 

I know, it’s pathetic that it took me 3 years of living in Philly to get to a game. 

But it was awesome! Not only did I get to spend the day with my friends BUT it was also dollar dog night! I ain’t mad at that. I know the Phillies won and that they played the mets, I have no idea what the score was though, I wasn’t really paying that much attention. There’s a lot to take in at the ball park! 

like the beautiful view! 

And truly great friends. 

By the time I got home, I was so exhausted I passed out and slept like a rock. Which I also think is contributing to my lack of cares today. I’m usually sleep deprived and wired on coffee. 

Well, back to the grind! 

Jen

“Getting it Together”

Happy Friday!

So, as many of you have heard already, I’m a Painting major at the Tyler School of Art (Temple University). And I’m coming up fast on the beginning of my senior year (WHAT?)… So that can only mean one thing here at Tyler… SENIOR STUDIO JURYING.

What this means is that all of the painting majors who choose to apply for their own studio space (most of us) have to hang up 4 pieces along with a brief statement… and then set the wolves on them. A panel of professors and professional artists will critique the work and select the 15 who will be admitted to the class. For obvious reason I’m pretty terrified about all this. How could I make it this far in one of the best art schools in the country and NOT get in to the senior cap stone!?!? I mean, it really isn’t the end of the world if I don’t get in. I can always try again in the spring, and it’s not required to graduate. Plus there are a million other electives I really wanted to take before I graduate (illustration, web design, etc.) So I’ll be alright if I get a studio or not.

…BUT THAT’S NOT THE POINT. At this point it’s a matter of validation. So I’m going to kick some serious ass and do everything I can to get excepted. Which is why I decided to make a big new painting… today… 5 days before jurying.

totally do-able.

So! My new work is going to be a self portrait. My recent thoughts have revolved pretty exclusively around the idea of “getting it together”. And how no one ever really does. We’re always striving to be on top of everything but there’s always something else. So I decided to play on my morning routine of getting myself presentable for the real world. And how to make myself pretty, it really isn’t very pretty.

Clearly, I’m pretty dramatic about getting ready in the morning.

These are just photos I took myself and then photoshop- collaged to make a tentative composition. I’m interested to figure out how I’m going to translate this into paint!

I’ll post updates of my progress! Wish me luck! 

Jen