Back in Orlando

I can't believe how fast five weeks went by. The last 10 days were great, they had their ups and downs, just like the rest of project, but getting the show together was amazing. I think I'll just post some pics instead of writing anything about the show...there's just too much to say. I'm missing NY and all of the people that I met while I was there like crazy. Please pray for us all as we adjust to life after project. We really need it. 

Only 10 days left.... :/

As the title of this entry says, there are only ten days left of project. So sad. I am really not wanting to leave. Don't get me wrong...I miss people at home, but I am loving project....exhausting as it can be at times. This week has been especially busy. Monday night is our weekly all-Tribeca dinner and celebration, Tuesday night all of project went to either the Lion King or In the Heights (I went to Lion King..I think only staff went to In the Heights), Wednesday...actually, I don't really remember Wednesday-wait, yes I do. On Wednesday we had our D-group dinners, Thursday we had track night (dinner and speaker), so we were more than ready for our quasi-free day on Friday. Actually, we were ready on Thursday, but we pressed through and made it until Friday. And we had a great time at the pier. We ended up hanging out for six hours before the fireworks to ensure that our entire group had a spot on the pier before they closed it off. I think everyone enjoyed having time off with no real agenda. And it was fun trying to figure out the subway's holiday schedule. The sign lied...the Q was definitely not running local. Neither was the E, but that is a different story. 

Okay, I just ran to McDonalds w/ some people, so I really have no idea where I was going with anything I just said. Oh well. I have so many stories that I want to tell, but there is so little time to write them here on the blog. The only reason I have time right now is because I finished my projects earlier today :). Almost. I still need to get a frame for my individual project, and one of the frames for the group project was scratched, so we need to get one more for that. But aside from those few finishing touches, I am done. But I have a feeling that I will be spending quite a bit of time at the studio this weekend anyway, simply because everyone else is. Our projects are due by Monday morning, so everyone is working furiously trying to get everything finished. 

The show opens this Wednesday and runs until Friday. I can't wait to see everyone's finished projects...especially the collaborative ones. I helped out with one this morning that was really cool. A dancer and a painter were paired up, and they did a performance piece in Washington Square Park. It poured the whole time, but it was so much fun. And it incorporated an extra element to their whole idea of restoration. 

I think this might actually be a real update

Since I'm taking a few minutes for myself to check my email, and add photos to facebook, I think I might actually have time to write a real update. I mentioned last week that we were going to look through trash in the fashion district...it was a fun walk, but we found absolutely nothing. Which is fine. We ended up going back to the studio and hanging out for a while. 

This past Sunday I went to Origins church again, except I went to their 7pm service. It was even better than the morning service. I plan on going again this week, but I might also visit another church in the morning to get  a feel for some other churches. This saturday Shane Claiborne (sp?) is speaking at Origins and a few of us are planning to attend that. He wrote a book called the Irresistible Revolution...you should check it out. I read it last year and it was amazing. He just came out with a new book called Jesus for President. I'm sure it will be just as good. 

I would upload a few photos, but I'm still uploading photos onto facebook right now, and I don't want to risk messing that up, so I'll do that later. 

Whitney

Hello again

Since my "update" this morning was really short, and I have a few more minutes right now, I figured I'd say a little more than I did this morning. We have moved on to our second project. I am collaborating with three other people, and we have yet to form a complete idea. But I'm trusting that God knows what He's doing in putting the four of us together as a team. As soon as everyone gets here, we'll be going back to work, and hopefully, get started on something. We pretty much have the rest of this week and then next week to get our projects done, so time is a bit tight. Pray that God is glorified in this project-our individual projects and the overall summer project. 

Speaking of being short on time, we are about to get to work...

Whitney

really short update

Hey..not much time right now, but I haven't updated in a while so I thought I should probably stop by and say hello :). I'm still here, and I'm still having a great time. We now have 2 projects instead of 3...it was just too much to get done well in a short amount of time. We have a speaker in like 20 min., so I'm off :)

Whitney

hello again...again :)

I know it has been a little while since I last updated, and so much has happened since then...well sort of. But this will probably be a little short since I'm just taking a short break from the darkroom. I want to finish pretty early because we are going dumpster-diving tonight :). I know that probably doesn't sound like much fun, but this isn't like digging through ordinary trash...It is trash night in the fashion district. So this is supposed to be quite the experience. We are looking for tables among other things. 

I am (hopefully) just about done with my first project. I have at least one print done that I'm really happy with. If I had a scanner handy, I'd show you. But I don't, so I can't. Then I have one more that I think I'm going to use, and I have one in the wash right now that I have decided not to look at until it is completely washed and on the drying rack. I'm not sure why...maybe the chemicals are getting to me :)...just kidding. Sort of. 

I am still having the time of my life, and I am loving New York. Today I met with my mentor for our first "official" meeting. It was cool. We talked about what it's like living in NY and photography and such. And we had really good coffee...or at least I did. I know that shouldn't really be a highlight of my day, but it is. I've only had Starbucks and McDonald's coffee since I've been here, and while they don't have gross coffee, it's not the best either. We walked back to the studio afterward, so we got to explore a little, which I love. 

I don't think there is anything else worth mentioning at the moment, and my print is almost done in the wash, so I'm going to go. 

Whitney

Oh, wait...my cell phone charger finally made it to me, so I have one now, and I don't have to borrow my roomie's charger :)

Ok, now I'm really done..Bye.

I need to start thinking of better titles...

So, since I last updated I have visited an amazing church, met my mentor, experienced the B&H Photo store(it is really cool), shot half of a roll of film, and voluntarily woken up at 7am. 

The church I visited was called Origins...I wish it were in Orlando so I could keep going. It was just very down to earth and all about God. The pastor mentioned that people email him all of the time asking about the theology of his church and who they are affiliated with, but no one has ever asked him how they deal with conflict within the church or whether the staff spends regular time in prayer. While I think theology is important, I do not believe that it is nearly as important as how it is put into practice. You can say you believe anything, but if you don't live it, then it is useless. I really liked that he was willing to say that in front of the congregation...even better, no one seemed shocked. 

My mentor is a photographer named Eric (www.ericryananderson.com). He is really good...if you don't believe me (or even if you do) check out his website. I will probably say more about that after we talk more. I met him at the mentor dinner, but we didn't dive right into deep discussion of Christianity, photography, or how to be a christian and a professional artist. 

What was next? Oh, B&H. B&H is the most amazing store for anyone into photography. There are conveyor belts and every photo supply you could ever dream of owning. And it's two stories. Their used equipment section (which we don't have at home) is as big as the entire photo section at Colonial Photo& Hobby at home. We were talking about it at the mentor dinner, and my mentor described it as "Disney World for photographers". I agree. 

I don't think I've said this yet, but for this first project, I will be taking black and white photos and layering them on top of each other in the darkroom. It should be fun. I'm still shooting, so we'll see how that turns out. Pray that I will get some good shots :)

Today we will be going out to the campuses and soulariuming. For those of you who do not know what soularium is, check out www.mysoularium.com. They can describe it much better than I ever could. And since today is the day that I voluntarily woke up at 7am, I am going to go finish my coffee and get ready to go out to the campuses. 

Whitney :)

Hello again :)

                     

Today was the first day of studio time, and I'm already putting in extra hours...well, sort of. A few of us left a little early to go to an art show so two of us came back to work a little more. One of the photography mentors (possibly mine...I'll find out for sure tomorrow) runs a photo program for high school kids after school in Washington Heights, and today, her kids had a show. They are amazing...nobody in my high school  could shoot like that at their age....at least not anyone I met. I am still trying to figure out this whole blog thing, so the pics are in no real order or layout...the first two are of the art show, and the last one is of my workspace at the studio. I'll probably post more of those later. I meet my mentor tomorrow and we officially start the first project on Monday, so I need to have a plan for that tonight. I would greatly appreciate prayers for practical inspiration...I have lots of ideas, just none that I can really get done this week :) 

Whitney :)

Two updates in one day..yay!

Ok, since this morning's update was quite short and not very complete and I have time right now, I thought I'd update again. Today we did our first real evangelism training and soularium adventures. Our group went to Central Park and did the survey with a total of seven women in a range of ages. The last three girls had just graduated from high school, and were dreading starting college in the fall. One was an atheist, one agnostic, and one was a Christian who was a little shaky in regard to what she believed. By the end of our conversation we had the atheist questioning why she was an atheist, the agnostic admitting that she was agnostic, not atheist, and the christian said that she wanted to become more committed to one religion. And all three are coming to our show :) It should be fun. 

This is the point in the blog where I would give you an overview of what we will be doing for the rest of the trip, but I don't have my schedule with me, and I can't think of anything specific right now, so I'm going to go. 

Whitney 

Hello...

It is day 4 of project and this is the first chance I've had to update the blog. Everything has been going great. We have internet at the studio (NYCAMS) , but not at NYSUM, where we are staying, so updates may be sporadic. The past few days have been an orientation to project and the city in general. On our second day here (first real day), after an overview of how to use the subway, we were sent out in small groups with a subway map and a list of destinations. We only got lost 1 1/2 times :) Yesterday we learned more about the art side of things. We will be working on three projects. The first project is an individual assignment, and the second two are collaborations....and not necessarily within the same medium. So that should be fun. Our theme is "Re-humanization". People are starting to get here for the next meeting, so I should get going. Hopefully, my next few updates will be a little more in depth.

Whitney

Project Mailing Address

Here is the mailing address for while I'm in NY:

c/o Campus Crusade for Christ

144 E. 44th St., #710

New York, NY 10017

About this blog

I have created this blog to keep everyone updated while I am in NYC for summer project. My plan is to update at least once a week, but I won't know for sure until I get there and see what my schedule is like. I will email as many people as possible to let them know about this blog, but I know I will miss a few people, so feel free to spread the word :)

It's news I'm most proud to proclaim, this extraordinary Message of God's powerful plan to rescue everyone who trusts him, starting with Jews and then right on to everyone else! God's way of putting people right shows up in the acts of faith, confirming what Scripture has said all along: "the person in right standing before God by trusting him really lives." - Romans 1:16-17 (The Message...check out the NIV version too-I'd type it, but it's 2am and I really need to go to bed)

Whitney :)