Four beat pattern

My schola friend Teresa took her conducting final this semester. She conducted a Palastrina Mass for us and it was lovely. We were all so proud of her. I think she will be a really great conductor. She wants to teach middle school choir. This makes me thing she is a very brave woman. Anyway, she let me take pictures of her hands while she conducted for my art project. I did one page for each beat in a four beat conducting pattern. I was pretty pleased with how they turned out. My teacher spent most of the semester telling me not to be so careful so I was proud that I got these done in about ten minutes a page.
Down Beat


Beat Two

Beat Three Beat Four or the Up Beat

Hands up

I'm done! Schools out till the new year! After a careful inventory check, I have determined that I survived pretty well. I still have all my limbs and senses and so on. My shoulders and back protest that back packs are an instrument of torture and my girls club probably feels a bit neglected but beyond that I think I'm okay.

So, my last project for my drawing class was to pick an object and draw it fifty times. The idea was to get us to stretch and scramble for new ways to present an object. I don't think it worked for me cause I chose an object with SO many variations that I didn't ever have to think very hard to come up with more composition ideas. I chose to draw hands. Several people in my class looked at my like I was crazy when I told them. That kind of made me feel all egotistical and like I was bold and talented. Ah, self deception! Anyway, some of them really turned out nice so I thought I'd post a few here over the break.

Also, Jessie bought me an easel! I was drawing at her house one day and the next day when I walked in she asked me if I could stop by the art supply store tomorrow and take a look at the easel she had on hold there for me. Then she handed me a check. I was a little bit speechless. I ended up buying a different one than the one she picked out but it was just a really odd feeling. I would never buy myself something like that. I walked out of the store with this thing under my arm and I then I realized I was walking out of an art store with an easel that was now mine and that I had an easel and ... well... words fail.... It's the little things...
So, obviously, the hand above is the front of Jessie's thank you note. She has a little paper weight that looks something like that and she let me draw it.

Yesterday was the last Chant Mass of the year until January.
Now I have to be really creative to find ways to sing with people every week.
Dana took me to see the Big Bing Theory. That was pretty cool. Once again, I love a cappella music! I want to do something like that SO bad. They really own the songs they do, even songs that have been done a thousand times. They are just having fun up there preforming together. That's what I really miss; being in a group where you will probably make a fool of yourself but you're all in it together and you're mostly just having fun. It's something you get in theater but not so often in a choir situation. It makes me miss CYT and Christmas Quartets especially.

Fire of Hope is our only warmth

Have I mentioned that Advent is absolutely my favorite part of the Church year? I think I say that about Holy Week too. But it's not Holy Week now, it's Advent. Or it will be tomorrow. We can't listen to Christmas music in my house until the first Sunday of Advent. I've been waiting FOREVER and I really NEED to sing Christmas carols now. So I was on project playlist looking for nice Christmas music to put up here and I found one of my favorite obscure Advent songs of all time. I can't believe that had it! I wanted an a cappella recording of Veni Emanuel but of course they didn't have that. But they did have Night of Silence. Not a very well preformed version but I LOVE this song SO much that I don't really care. Christmas is not complete unless we sing it. I'm so glad they have guitar in this version. That's important for me cause my dad plays it. Anyway, that made me happy. I should do homework now. I'm not out of school till most of Advent is over but I will make the most of it.