Seriously?

(Rebecca Dautremer knows good faces)

...what happened to March? It's like I woke up one morning and March was gone!

Spring Break is here now, and I came back from a fun weekend in Cleveland, Ohio, visiting a former college roommate. =) Sometimes I just can't believe the time flies by so fast... like how it's almost been 4 years since she and I were roommates, planning out our summer after graduation.

Life sort of takes us places we can't imagine. I went to Boston, she went to D.C., a year later I moved back to Chicago while she stayed in D.C. Flash forward to now, and I'm still here in Chicago while she's living in Cleveland and finally establishing a serious relationship with her guy and raising a wonderful puppy. Life really is precious, and it's not about the numbers or the jobs or the drama that happens on the outside, but rather how you grow with dealing with those situations.

Next weekend, I'm heading out to San Francisco to meet with my potential roommates and go apartment-searching for the Fall. I'm nervous, excited, and a little stressed to think about everything I need to take into consideration. I have my good moments, where I think 'sure, this'll work out, no problem!' but then I think about the other things... like my cat, my current salary, my health questions, and my family - how they'll be continuing with their routines without me. It's ridiculous, considering that everyone's pretty much adults now, but the worries are still there. I think I've been the one holding on to my youth the longest, trying to tell myself that I don't have to grow up and take responsibilities until I'm older. I can't make overnight rash decisions anymore, nor can I really tell myself that if something doesn't work out, it's no big deal.

I've been like that for quite a long time.

Now I have to own up to these decisions and be fully aware of the consequences they bring me, and not cry because I'm scared to deal with it. To instead, be happy that I'm putting up a brave a face and thinking for myself for the first time in my life.

San Francisco should be interesting.


But wow! There's a lot that I gotta do for April:

- Work on my ACEN '11 Avatar buttons to sell there!

- Turn 27. Get a MacBook Pro.

- Finish my sister's painting.

- Start another painting.

- Decide whether or not I want to keep my cat for next year.

- Apply for summer barista jobs.

- Do some animatics on my new lightbox!

- Drink less coffee and milk. = (

- Keep up with my classes and pick my Fall semester classes.

- Get my feet wet with the business sector of community arts in my new internship! =D

Spring is here!

(Time to whip out the Skates!)

With ACEN '11 coming up in just about 2 months, I have a lot to put together. I'm pretty sure I'll be dressed up as Toph once more before I retire that costume (maybe... we'll see if I ever make it to SDCC in California!), but what am I going to sell this year at Artists' Alley?

I have a bunch of Avatar magnets, Katara necklaces, Earth Kingdom earrings. and watercolors left over from last year. I will try to also sell some Avatar buttons, too! My thought was to also sell cartoon portraits of some of my favorite shows at the moment: Modern Family, Glee, Cougar Town, and LOST. I may also do anime portrait commissions (!) and also make small posters and bookmarks of my best work this past year.

Here are some of the illustrations I'm considering to put for bookmarks:

(Hummingbird, '11)

(Evil Red Balloon, '11)

(Animal Hats, '11)

I'm really excited for selling my work again. Hopefully it'll turn out well!

Nickelodeon madness

I've feel like the brunt of work outside of work these past couple of weeks have been entirely centered on one Animation studio... and for good reason.

BAMM! Korra has a FACE!!!
(Is she waterbending and firebending to hint at Zutara? =P)

But seriously, folks.. I'm pumped for this spin-off series. Lots of news releases about it came out this past week, consisting of that awesome picture, a series voice cast list (including "Juno"s JK Simmons and "The Last Airbender"s only excuse for good acting, Seychelle Gabrielle), and the fact that Mike & Bryan have already been ok'd to do 14 more episodes after their initial 12. Yayz! The bad news? "Korra" won't be airing until mid-2012 now. Meh, no rush for great art!

In other Nickelodeon related news, I put a little bit of my artistic-professional self out there for them. The Nick Writing Fellowship application was due at the end of February, and I wrote a 30 page spec script (my first attempt at writing a screenplay ever!) in a month, just in time to send it out via FedEx to Nick headquarters. If I get the gig, I'll get to shadow Nick Writers for various TV shows - both Live Action and Animation - and learn the business of screenwriting for an entire year. =D

Of course, they only accept a few people among thousands... but I'm crossing my fingers. I also applied for the Nickelodeon internship this summer, and sent out a portfolio application for Nickelodeon's first Artist Fellowship - where people can shadow storyboarders and character artists who work in various animated shows! The odds for getting any of these are pretty slim, but it's such a great (nerve-wrecking) feeling when you know people will be seeing your work. I need this for the big animation world out there.

I'm gonna take a break from applications and get back to drawing every day, as well as focusing on my college classes! I'm taking Acting for Animators and Art in Cultural Context this semester, which is a nice break from the drawing intensive courses I've had in the past. Personally, I don't feel like I get enough out of online drawing classes, so I'll be looking forward to those in the Fall.

In a more serious note, I want to ask people to donate and help with the devastating events that have recently occurred in Japan. There was a tsunami, with an earthquake that was said to be the deadliest in Japanese history, and reports are coming in saying that it shifted the entire country 8 feet, and moved the entire planet 4 degrees out of its axis. This is scary, and it's the natural disaster that wakes us up into vulnerability, to realize that none of us are born lucky. I definitely felt vulnerable when Chicago was hit with a power-breaking blizzard back in February. Think about what happened in Haiti. Donate to the Red Cross. Do what you can to help the ones who can't help themselves right now.