So, for all you people who have ever worked in three dimensions, that is, sculpture, there is a material I recently found out about, and used to great success. It is called PaperClay. It's malleable and can be used just like normal clay. However, it hardens on its own, no oven or kiln required.
Even better than that, if you want to rework it, even after it hardens, just get it wet and it becomes clay again. 
Even better than that, once it is hardened, you can paint on it, like you would paint on paper, hence PaperClay!
I am currently working on a art nouveau statue in it, which works especially well with the PaperClay, because it is lightweight and thereby great at creating billowing fabric and cloth. I'll post a pic as soon as it is finished.

So, I have two pieces of big news! First news, personal: I found a design studio in Knoxville. Like,  a reputable one, with clients all over the country, offering such services as illustration and creative writing. Can anyone say, "my dream job"? I've already got my career advisor looking over my resume and cover letter, and as soon as that's ship shape, I'm gonna be sending that company a letter, asking about a summer internship. Doing art, in a paid job, at home. I'm flying so high.
Second news, public: Christopher Nolan has announced that he will be doing another Batman movie. This will feature the lovely Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, and sexy Tom Hardy as villain Bane. As a fan of both Mr. Nolan, and his Batman movies, I can only wait with bat-ed breath (ha, wordplay) for its midnight release, which won't come soon enough. Now, to research Catwoman costumes...

As part of my Poetry III class, it's my job not to just write poetry, but read it too. I found this today in a wonderful poetry collection called "Staying Alive: Real Poems for Unreal Times". It's called "The Journey" by Mary Oliver, quickly becoming one of my favorite poets:

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice - 
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You know what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do -
determined to save
the only life you could save.

Isn't she absolutely the greatest? With such simple words, she tells you a story of an awakening self-journey. I think she proves you don't have to be in an extreme of happiness or sadness for a poem to impact you, if you let it.

It's not worth it anymore, is it? All of it was for naught. They were just waiting in the wings for me to leave, and then they swooped in, and now I've been dethroned.

I'm talking, of course, about the gold Mustang in the O-House parking lot.

I don't know where it came from, whose it is, anything. All I know is that it wasn't here when my car was here. I have a lovely '04 Mustang, in the perfect shade of yellow - not that pale, sickly hue, nor the one that's browning towards orange. It's race car yellow. And, to save money, I didn't bring it down to school with me this semester.

And then, this joker comes in. There are very, very few cars you can put in gold without them looking cheap. You know what I mean, those four door non-descript cars in a faded gold that looks more like tan silver. This car is a bold gold, that doesn't even need to be shiny to look golden. And it's my exact make and model. Copycat, because I was the first. But now, no one will know, with that golden car sunning in the parking lot. At least, when I go home, I'll be the one with the cool yellow Mustang again.

...Unless the gold Mustang follows me home.

What an auspicious day to start a blog! Some people might think that the first day of the new year would be the best day to start something new, like a website. But today's date has more more 1's in it than the first. The only better date would be the eleventh of November, 11/11/11. But I can't wait nearly a whole year to start. I promise, the next post with be not nearly so numbers-oriented. :)