A few months ago I submitted a piece to the Black and White journal that's hosted by WCSU's writing department. Usually the art department hears of the deadline a day or two before submissions are due and we never make it, but this year a few of us made it in time for the cut!

At first I was a bit worried that I wouldn't be featured in the magazine since I only submitted one piece, but lo and behold, I was there! If you'd like to see a close up of the image, please visit my art website.

A few days after my graduation, I had quite an unexpected gift waiting for me in the mail. See that little pin on my sweater? That's right, I'm officially a DMC mentor! DMC sent me a package in the mail with a few cross-stitching kits to pass around to friends and family who are interested in learning the art. The program also provides coupons and seasonal templates to spice up any sessions I decide to hold. I'm extremely excited that I already have a few candidates wanting to participate in a session, so hopefully I'll send DMC a few updates sometime soon!

Last but not least, I'm going to Puerto Rico next week with my parents. This is going to be my last vacation together with them before I marry, so here's to making it a memorable experience!

(I only had a .1 micron so pardon the thickness!)

Wow, now this was quite a busy week! My graduation was held on Mother's Day during one off the hottest (and sunniest) days to hit Connecticut this year. It's safe to say everyone was sweating buckets towards the ending, but we all pushed through with a smile. The ceremony itself was quite lovely and the president of the Student Government Association gave one helluva speech that even had the mayor of Connecticut looking quite impressed. 

A few days later, I found myself surrounded by children in PS/IS 295Q in Queens, NY. I was invited to speak at the second annual Career Day at the school with 29 other adults with careers ranging from the U.S. Marshalls, N.Y.P.D, Cardiologist, Actor, Journalist, Accountant, Web Designer and much, much more. I personally don't have much experience nor exposure to children, so I became quite stressed by the amount of energy and volume that kindergartners and second graders have. By the time I visited the eighth graders, I was burnt out and barely had the energy to stand. I'm not sure how teachers do it every single day, but they DEFINITELY should be paid a lot more for what they go through!

Many of the students were genuinely interested in pursing a future in Illustration and I was more than happy to answer any questions they had. All of them were already extremely talented, and I could see the light in their eyes when they spoke about their work. I really hope they push through and don't become disillusioned with the thought that "they are not good enough."

I also met the amazing Art teacher and we got along swimmingly! If I wasn't so far from Queens, I would love to come back and help her set up a few of the shows she has planned for her students. 

I have a few other announcements to make, but in order to keep this blog post light on the images, I'll post them another day. :] Time to enjoy this rainy friday with a nice cup of tea and a book.

I know I'm terribly late with an update, but it's been quite a week! Let's start off with the bad news: there won't be any updates for the next two weeks. 

My graduation is held this weekend and my family and I have been going bananas with all the preparations. Not to mention having to go back to WestConn to collect any last minute artwork and wrap up any club related responsibilities to help keep things clean for the new officers.

A few days following the ceremony, I'm expected to speak at a middle school that's smack dab in the middle of Queens, New York. My task is to guide and educate any students who may be interested in pursuing an Art degree, and to present my (school appropriate work) to inspire and motivate students. Oh my! I'm actually a bit scared of speaking in front of middle schoolers! Let's hope my speech will be a smashing success and somehow keep hundreds of students entertained.

And finally, I was able to update the illustrations page on my website with a few new pieces, please check it out!