Also, I wanted to post some of the photos that I'd like to use to print on. Hopefully tonight I can get them editted and printed so that I can start the printmaking process.

Ok, so I was told to blog about my fat clothes shopping spree. Since I'm on steroids, I will gain weight. There is no way around it, well, unless you had really strong free will. Steroids make you constantly hungry. Even when my stomach feels like it's going to explode, I still want to eat more and I can never feel full. Because I knew that this would happen, I went shopping online while I was in the hospital for some clothes. I think I got some good deals from Gap and Old Navy, and hopefully I will have enough clothes for my spring break trip. Last time I went on a cruise while I was on steroids, I gained 2 lbs. per day and I couldn't fit into my pants after 3 days. So this time I not only got pants that are one size too big, but a got a pair that is two sizes too big. I hope this will fix the problem so that I will have clothes that fit. I still need to get dress pants, which is that hard part, because I only need one pair, but I'm not sure what size to get them in. I have to order pants online because I need petite sizes, so I will have to wait for the jeans to arrive and then pick a size for dress pants and have them overnighted so they come in time. I know it seems like something small, but trust me, it's frustrating when you wake up in the morning and realize that your clothing choices for the day are pants that you won't be able to button or the one pair of pants you still fit into, but you've worn for the past 3 days. Yea, fat pants!

My weekend was fun... I had a kidney biopsy on Thursday and spent the day in the hospital recovering. I came back on campus on Friday so I could take a math test, then went back home to house sit. My parents left for vacation on Friday morning and I was to watch the farm animals and the cat. At 8:30pm I got a call from one of my doctor's partners telling me to go to the hospital immediately. So I freaked out and went with my fiancee to the downtown Columbus hospital where a bed was waiting for me. I knew that I had kidney damage, but it was hard to understand why I had to go right away. Well, it turns out that it was good that I had to go right away, because the damage doesn't seem to be completely permanent. If scar tissue builds up in your kidneys, then that damage is irreversible. Luckily I have very like scar tissue, so the doctors wanted to start treatment as soon as possible, so that I don't build up scar tissue. So, I spent Friday night through late Monday afternoon in the hospital. I was put on super steroids through IV and got poked with a needle every hour. So, that was my weekend... Now I will wait for some more test results to continue treatment. I will be on steroids for awhile, so watch out, because I'll be beefing up. Hopefully by spring break I'll be on some other drugs and I'll be good to go on vacation.

Well, anyway, I might add some mixed media stuff this semester. Last year I did some printing in Drawing II. I'd like to make some photos on the computer and then print over them. I know this is a long process, so I don't think I'll do very many, but I feel like I need to do something different.

So my semester hasn't been going well. Since winter break I have been in pain and no one could tell me why. This week I finally saw a specialist and was told that my kidneys are shutting down. Currently I have 34% function of my kidneys. Both the doctor and I believe that my childhood kidney disease has returned. When I was 5 I was diagnosed with an autoimmune form of kidney disease. After a year of drugs the disease went into remission. Well, I guess now it's back, and I think I caught it too late. At this point I can just extend the life of my kidneys. If I respond well to the drugs, then I could last 5 years before I need a transplant. There is a chance that this all could be caused by something curable, but it's not very likely. On Thursday I will have a kidney biopsy to confirm that my disease is back. I'm sorry if I've seemed tired or distant.... There are a lot of things that I'm feeling now. I want to blame the doctors who ignored my blood tests that showed a year ago that something was wrong. I also want to blame myself for pumping drugs into my body and hurting my kidneys. Then I feel like I'm letting my family down, because my mom is still sick, and I shouldn't be also. I don't want to be a burden on my family. How can I ever ask my brother to give me a kidney if he's still in college? What happens if I can't finish college?

Well, on a lighter note I'm super itchy. It's a symptom of my dying kidneys... But it makes me crazy! It's like having mosquito bites all over. Ahhhh!!!

I'm the first to post on the "new media/craft" topic, so I'm sorry if I get some things wrong. I really think that there has to be a middle ground between doing as little work as possible and spending years on one piece. Now, there has to be some consideration for the media that an artist is working in also. One painting could take as long as 10 digital pieces. But, I don't think that just because you can, that you should spend 5 minutes on a piece, or five years. An artist should have a goal and should work towards that goal. I also think that every art piece should take into consideration the audience that will see it. There is always an audience, whether or not one is wanted. So a piece should take so medium amount of time, achieve some goal of the artist, and have some intended (or unintended) audience. Another personal thought of mine is that no art piece should deprive an artist from the necessities. This means that if an artist has to work so hard on a piece that they loss sleep for days (we've all lost sleep working on a piece, but this is not the same) or if they can't afford to eat or have a home, then it is too much. If an artist spends so much time on an artwork that they can't eat or sleep or live under a roof, then it is too much. This also takes into account if an artist is not working for the audience that will be seeing the piece. An artist can make hundreds of pieces, but if they are not intended for the audience that sees them, and the artist suffers for it, then it's not worth it. Don't take me wrong, I know that it can be hard to sell work or get a paying art job, this is not what I'm talking about. If an artist can't sell their work, but their shows do well then that's okay, but if they can't sell their work, because it's not for an audience or the audience that sees it, then maybe they're getting something wrong.