Mustache Here and Gone

I am actively singing Fresh Prince of Bel-Air right now.  Just got off the phone with Comcast.  They tried to pull a fast one and start charging us extra for the second cable outlet.  Their hold music is terrible, and so much louder than it should be.  So, my hair is getting longer.  I have been doing a mustache fundraiser for the past six weeks.  It ended yesterday and was called Mustaches vs Cancer.  Contestants grow a mustache and update pictures of it on the website.  If people like your ’stache they can donate and all the money goes to a childrens’ hospital.  As soon as it was over I shaved.  The mustache was uncomfortable and I looked like a 70’s porn star.  Hah.  I raised $75 and I feel like I’ve done some serious good for the kids.  Going to go finish Fresh Prince now.  Here’s a picture of the stache and one from tonight.

-Brandon

Storm, Inside and Out

I feel like the storm in my brain is finally calming down.  Meanwhile the storm outside is going crazy!  I’ve been super anxious lately about my projects for school.  It’s been bad, but I feel like now that I have some of the project fleshed out I can relax a bit.  I have also realized that it is my project; it doesn’t belong to the teacher or my classmates.  I am also taking a bit of advice from a book my father gave me when I was in high school.  It’s called “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living.”  It has a lot of useful suggestions for conquering worry.  What is helping me right now is the suggestion of thinking about my options instead of just freaking out.  “What can I do about the problem?  What are the possible solutions?  Decide on a solution and don’t look back.”  There is no way to worry about a problem once you know exactly how you’re going to deal with it.  It’s been helping me a lot and I feel a lot more calm  Oh, and the mention of the storm outside… it’s so intense!  Pouring rain and 25-40mph winds.  It’s supposed to get even crazier later too!  Up to 60mph winds by 11am!  Wow.  So I’d really like to go into school and work on my projects but I’m a bit skeptical about leaving the house.  I think I’m going to push forward anyway though and just go.  A little water will be fun.

-Brandon

Best Trip Ever

I had an absolutely incredible time in Portland!  It was stunningly beautiful and all the people were so nice.  The car ride was also a ton of fun; lots of singing and chatting with my best friend.  I found a couple jewelry places where I can sell my work when I go up there.  I’m not going into extreme detail at the moment about the trip as I’ve already told the story so many times lately.  I started school a week ago and so far I love all of my classes.  Welding 2 is going to be amazing!  I haven’t had sculpture 2 yet but I hear it’s pretty fun.  Thinking about my self portrait already.  I don’t much like creating facebook galleries, but I’ll make one of the Portland trip as soon as I muster the drive to do it.

This is the new permanent home of my blog, but www.brandonrubin.com still exists.  It is reserved solely for my art and creative process posts.  Check it out if you want to see what I’m up to creatively!

-Brandon

Portland!

Wow!!!  I’m going to Portland tomorrow!  Well, not exactly.  Medford is the stop for tomorrow and we’ll be in Portland the next day.  It’s so incredibly exciting.  This the first vacation Kenzie and I have ever been on by ourselves.  Sure, we’ve gone to So Cal, but that’s just going home to visit family.  We’re actually g0ing to visit and see if we want to live there.  So exciting!!!  Today is the day of packing, but there’s not too much we need to do.  Just clothes and cameras.  Thought about taking a computer but there’s really no need for it.  I’m also really happy about being done with school.  It was quite an intense semester, especially at the end.  My critique went really well, better than I hoped actually.  The critique was on Wednesday, and on Tuesday I was in the lab for fourteen hours!  Got there at 9:00am and got kicked out at 11:00pm!  Well, I’m off to pack, or procrastinate and pack later.  Either one will be so cool!

Check out my work from the summer on the Metals page!   http://brandonrubin.com/metal-works/

-Brandon

Lost in a Daze

I feel confused at the moment.  I’m not sure what I want or where I’m going.  Ok so that’s really dramatic, but sometimes over-stating a situation is necessary for perspective.  Basically I am lacking inspiration for my jewelry final project.  Perhaps I have been searching too hard for that elusive creative insight.  Like searching for a lost item that is positively in the house somewhere.  It just cannot seem to be found until you stop caring and stop looking.  I think my ideas are like that.  It would probably also help to think of something to make instead of a concept to embody.  I have realized this in the past, but teachers are so interested in concept that I forget my own realizations and give in to the pressure.  It works so much better to think of something cool to make and bullshit a concept afterwards.  That’s right, I called it bullshit.  Sure many artists have profound revelations about themselves or the world, I just don’t feel it.  The awakening in me to something greater is just the process of creating.  I don’t care to convey some deep meaning, to show the world an obscure vision;  I just want to create, to make something I’m proud of.  Something I look at and say “Wow, I made that.”  Maybe someday an arousal of ideas will come to me, but right now I don’t care to have them.  So stay back concept, I banish you.  Let in the creativity without obscuring ideas.  I can almost feel them waiting to get into my head.  Here they come.

-Brandon

Photo Booth is fun.

Fireworks Day

It was a day of new friendships and glorious food.  A day with not many fireworks at all, but with no lack of fun.  Kenzie and I went to Alameda on a ferry boat to meet her friend Stacey from class.  We went to her house and watched haunted house stories while the food was being made.  I also had my first encounter with a Walmart yesterday.  It was incredibly large.  So much that I think I was in shock.  Bubble wands were purchased for a dollar each, what a deal.  The food was amazing; burgers, steak fries, corn, and salad.  Beer was involved too.  Her husband Brian came home from work and we hung out for a while before taking the dog on a walk.  Surprising how a big weimaraner can be afraid of some bubbles.  There were barely any fireworks this year.  We could see some from Oakland, but they were far away and we were freezing.  It’s ok though, like I said.  It was a day of friends and food.  Fireworks Day is only a title.

-Brandon

Glorious Summer

Finally I am working with metal again!  It’s been a long time since working any metal at all, but even longer since I’ve done jewelry.  Not only am I using some fun new techniques, like Mokume Gane, but I’m also full of ideas for projects.  I usually have a hard time finding inspiration for pieces I’d like to create, but this semester feels different.  Maybe it’s the fact that I feel more on my own.  The “advanced jewelry class” is running simultaneously with a Jewelry I, so the teacher is with us less than half the time.  There are five of us in the advanced group and we work in the second jewelry room next door to the bulk of the students.  It feels like I’m sharing a studio with a couple colleagues and every so often a professional comes by for critiques.  Quite nice actually.

By the way, mokume gane translates from Japanese to mean “wood grain.”  It is a technique for precious metals that looks similar to damascus steel.  The first step is to fuse multiple layers of metal together into a block.  Then the block is carved into from the top with any method, revealing the layers underneath.  Last is to roll the carved block through a mill or hammer it out flat and create a normal thickness sheet of metal.  It looks so cool!  So far my only successful piece is a mix of copper and silver.  I made two rings out of it and hope to get some quality pics taken soon.

I’m off to the school building now to work on some jewelry.  Yay!

-Brandon

Photo Shoot

A piece I made a few semesters ago was used in a fashion photo shoot recently!  It was my Jewelry I final, a chainmaille neck piece.  It can be laced all the way up the neck or done up partway and folded over into a collar.  The way it was used in the shoot was without any lace, draped sideways to hang over the shoulder.  The chainmaille fits in so well with the visual style of the clothes.  I brought the piece in and my friend who makes jewelry and clothes saw it.  She said it would be great for a shoot she was doing soon, so here it is.  Hooray!

-Brandon

Summer Begins

Ok so it’s been quite a while since I’ve posted.  I was going to make excuses as to why I haven’t, but screw it.  I just didn’t feel like it.  There, I said it.  I’m on vacation now.  So Cal is a whole lot of fun.  I’ve already hung out with all of the family at least once.  Had a blast with my sister and Kenz at dinner last night.  Then we chilled with my parents and that was awesome.  All of my finals went really well, some better than expected even.  Summer and Fall are going to be amazing semesters.  Filled with metalworking and I love it that way.  I was going a little insane this past semester not having any metal to play with.  Ceramics was enjoyable, but never quite the same.  And color and design… let’s just say I’m so glad that’s over.

Currently I’m taking Power of Myth and Symbol for the Summer intersession.  It’s half as long as a normal summer semester.  Only three weeks and class is every day.  Luckily its online only, or I wouldn’t be able to come down for vacation.  I’m taking intersession this summer and next, so I’ll be able to finish a whole semester early.  I’d rather not have my last semester be only two classes.  It will be nice to be done in a year and start working.  I’m not saying I don’t enjoy every minute of my current life, just that the future is exciting.  In no way though am I trying to rush the inevitable.  Well, I’m going to do today’s module for class now so I can watch the most recent episode of Southland.  Amazing show and I heard the finale is mindblowing.  Peace!

-Brandon

Hoorah!

All I have left is one class!  All of my finals are done and I did really well on my two work-oriented classes.  The tests in the other two are still being graded.  Overall it was a great semester and but I’m glad it’s over.  I can’t wait to go home soon!  I’m going to play some Bioshock right now and then hang out with Kenzie when she gets home in about a half hour.  It’s going to be a fun day chilling with my lady.  We haven’t had  much chance to hang out lately because of finals and it’ll be good to just relax.  We’re definitely going to watch the three hour season finale of Lost tonight.  I was so hoping it would be two hours instead of one, but we get THREE!!!  Holy moly.  Wow that is cheesier in writing than it sounds out loud.  Never mind that.  Anyway, off to play.

-Brandon