Graduate Symposium

As part of this year and getting ready for actually doing the thesis project, we are required to take this class.  It's main pupose is to help people get organized with and presenting our thesis proposal to our committee and if tcohort members have never had a "real" job before get a CV/Resume together among other items that will be important such as a teaching philiosphy, workshop proposal, etc.
Today was round one on the thesis proposals with just the cohort and professor.  I felt prepared and except for a few minor changes in schedule layout, it was thought to be good.  But the real test will be next Thurs. when we meet with the people who approve it.  I'll let  you know what happens next week.

Paper making in San Antonio

Back from a great week of making paper and teaching letterpress at The Southwest School of Art.  On Monday I beat the fiber I'd brought with me from Alabama and Tuesday was an all day event of paper making.  It took a total of 6 hours to beat all of the fiber and then all of the next day to make the paper. The paper turned out a nice oatmeal color with flecks of DCU/ABU in them.  In total I made 141 sheets of 9 x 14 paper.

All of the pulp blended together

Wet Sheets of paper couched (cooched) on a pellon

Drying system at SSA

This is the stack of paper made there!

Papermaking

Next week is Spring Break and I'm going to San Antonio to teach a letterpress class at the San Antonio School of Art.  I'm also going to take advantage of their fantastic paper making studio.  I started making paper for the thesis project over Christmas break and now I'm going to make more.  I figure that I'll need to make 980 pieces of 8 x 10 paper in order to make an edition of 45 books.  I'm using a mix of cotton rag, cotton linter, abaca and uniform.  It make a great beige paper.

                                                                    Paper studio at SSA

                                            J helping make thesis paper at school paper studio

Viewpoints from the past

Lat night I was doing a search for guides for wives, any branch service, on how to conduct yourself and the family.  I remembered seeing one in the 80's at a base commanders house and chuckling and rolling my eyes at the formal conduct expected as a military spouse.  Not to long ago a friend of mine received a new version of the same and it too was just as funny.  Anyway, I thought it might be interesting to incorporate some of that in my book.  (Just a thought)
As I was searching, I came across an obit for a lady, Peggy Teeters, who in the 60's write a column for the Atlanta Constitution on being an Army wife during WWII.  I am going to try to find these articles.  Might just have to do a road trip to Atlanta for research - Trader Joes and Dekalb Farmers Market here I come!

Who are you?

OK, I my exuberance to get this project started I neglected to tell you all about myself and a nice person pointed that out to me today.

My name is Sonja Rossow.  I grew up in the Army, so I'm a brat.  Then as an adult I joined the ANG and stayed for almost 13 years.  I married my husband, who's active AF, during the latter part of my ANG time, and he and I have been married for 16 years.  We have no two legged children but currently have 2 cats, Oliver and Daisy.

I love the military life even as hard as it is sometimes.  As a married couple we've been stationed all over from Fairbanks, AK to Miami and a few places in between.  I've been through 3 deployments, which I know for some of you is nothing.  Each time I find myself in school doing something to keep me busy.  This time he was gone a year so I decided to get my MFA. Although this degree takes longer than his deployment (he's back) and we are still geographically separated.  Although he's getting an assignment to Maxwell AFB so this summer we can live again.  :)

If you've read one of my previous posts you'll know what it is I'm doing.  Prior to returning to school, I was an art teacher of Middle and High School students in Fairfax County.  I love art and in addition to book arts, I'm also a printmaker and paint landscapes.  Here is my website if you want to check out previous work.  www.curlyheadpress.com

I hope this gives all of you a little insight as to who I am and why I'm passionate about my topic.

Changing title of blog

I decided to change the name of the blog to the title of my thesis project.  I hope too that more people come and look at this blog.  I've joined several sites in hopes that I get some more participation in this project.  If you come across this and aren't a military spouse, please continue to read and enjoy but I would also sake that you pass this blog along to anyone that you know who is a military spouse.  I hope it will be an amazing journey.

Oprah and a working title

I missed the Oprah show yesterday. I had class. Not that I'm a big follower anymore but the show was special. Michelle Obama and others were on yesterday to announce a new initiative for military families. I went to her website and looked at the comments that people had made in response to the show. Many were made by military wives. I was blown away by a lot of them. I wish I could include some of their comments in my book but I'm would not want to come off sounding like I'm in left field. I did make my own comment.

I have also been thinking about what I would title the book. I thought about a few options but I nothing really stood out. Then it popped into my brain. Holding Down the Fort. I don't know if that's what it will end up to be but.. This is something my mom would say when dad was gone on TDY or deployment when we were kids. She'd say something like, OK now I'm holding down the fort while your dad is gone.... I know it has a distinct Army feel and that's OK. I grew up Army and I also like that it gives a nod to my mom who for 30 of my dad's 32 year Army career stood by him and sacrificed along with all those other wives.