indy food tour 2012, part two

After deciding to start Indy Food Tour 2012, Avery and I decided we needed to go out with a bang on the last weekend of our time in Indianapolis. Which is why we chose to do a special edition. The Broad Ripple Walking Tour version. It was a one-time, only on television special. All for the pleasure of our stomachs.

We decided to go to several different restaurants and only order one thing to split at each. Get more bang for our buck. And to make a night of it. And to experience as many restaurants as we could. And to just eat lot. Which is really the whole purpose of the whole Food Tour. We gave our obsession with eating a name and so it sounds like there is more of a purpose than just getting fat on...well....lots of fats & sugars & deliciousness.

The Indy Food Tour 2012: Broad Ripple Walking Tour Special Edition was extra special because two great people, Jessica & Mary Ellen joined us. We started at a Greek restaurant called Canal Bistro where we got feta cheese fries. Let me repeat that...fries covered in feta cheese, the cheese from the gods. They were delicious. I don't even know if I tasted them, I ate them so fast.

The second restaurant was Broad Ripple Brew Pub. We ordered beer cheese. Yes, more cheese. Except this one we ate with bread. Totally different. And just as delicious.

Our third stop was called 10-01, pronounced ten-oh-one. Very fancy. Most expensive one of the night. But you could totally tell. The food was DELICIOUS. Even though I've used that word like twelve times already. I'm just really passionate about food, okay? We ordered some salmon. The picture speaks for itself. It's making me hungry just looking at it.

Our food tour was interrupted for a short commercial break shopping at a cute boutique store. Where they were giving away free cupcakes. So that counts as a stop on the food tour. We all tried on fun outfits & I really just loved their decorations. I will definitely be going back there. Maybe not to purchase, but just to hang out.

Our last stop was for ice cream. Of course. The night wouldn't be complete without it. Don't mind the fact that we eat had already eaten three cupcakes. Brics, also known as Broad Ripple Ice Cream Station, might be my favorite restaurant in Indy. I'm serious. I would eat their ice cream for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And then probably a late night dessert.

All in all, the food tour went out with a lot of food on the last weekend. I mean, Avery and I had to sustain ourselves on Indy food until we get back in the fall. Until then, the Indy Food Tour 2012 is on summer hiatus.

the end of an era

This semester, my roommates, Meredith & Brady, and I decided to watch all the seasons of the TV show, Friends. Wow! That was such a good choice!

We watched the finale last week. We ended our time together as roommates at the same time we ended the tenth season. So perfect.

Such a great goal! I love things like this. And, for the record, we watched over 100 hours of Friends this semester.

shredding dreams

Way back in January, I started the semester long journey towards one of my first official art projects. My friend, Kodi and I ended up collaborating on a project. And it's all done.

And you know what, it feels good. It felt good to make something, to use my creative brain, to put something that I've been thinking about in physical form, to let other people know what's going on in my head.

Here's my artist statement that went along with my art. Kind of long, but it describes the whole process.

Abby Miller and Kodi Colip embarked on a journey with an unknown end. We each began the artistic process with differing statements of inquiry. While Abby had hoped to explore handwritten communication, Kodi wanted to examine transitions through life. Together, our powers combined, to create an art force to be reckoned with. Who knew handwritten communication and transitions in life could become the most dynamic of duos? Through much deliberation, we developed a process in which we would ask different questions to a variety of people at different stages of life. Using the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” for younger children; “Where do you see yourself after college? What do you hope to accomplish?” for college students; and “If you could go back and change anything in your life, what would it be and why?” for adults, we were able to track transitions through handwritten communication. Participants were asked to interpret these questions by writing or drawing their responses on a blank sheet of computer paper with their choice of colored markers. We kept the responses anonymous and asked each participant to exclude their name. After gathering approximately 300 responses, we then took a picture of each to document their initial form. After documenting each response, we then placed the paper into a shredder. Despite belief that we were intending to crush people’s dreams by shredding their responses, we hoped to form our own interpretive art reaction to each of our individual inquiries. From here we invite you to view our individual works that stemmed from the same beginning process. 

Going to college so far away from home, I have tried to stay in touch with my friends and family. Sometimes phone calls, text messages, and emails seem too impersonal. I started writing letters. However, this year, as my course load and co-curricular activities increased, I felt like I had less time to dedicate to staying in touch that way. Through this class, I wanted to reexamine the disparity between handwritten communication and the current technology that we use. In my artwork, I wanted to explore how we connect through handwritten communication, based on my previous experiences. In today’s society, I think that we are too often looking at a screen or sending messages through a phone. I wanted to see how people interact when they must stop, think, and concentrate on the words they are writing. In the collection process, people interacted with their own thoughts and that experience itself was part of my work of art. Their experiences told a story and their reflection papers are just the evidence of this. Their reflections were shredded and encased in wax to symbolize the collectiveness of dreams, regrets, and hopes. I chose to use encaustic art processes to show that people’s reflections are true for this time, but might be different tomorrow. 

It may not have turned out as great as I wanted it to, but it was the process that was important. Art is something different to everyone. It doesn't have to look beautiful and put together for it to be important to someone. It's more important for me to make something than to have people like it. And I can call myself an artist because of that. 

one for one

Sometimes spontaneity is a great thing. I think my best friend, Ellen agrees with me. 

So, yesterday, instead of forcing myself to sit in a room and pretend to work on a paper that I knew I wasn't going to work on, I spontaneously went downtown to hear the founder of Toms Shoes, Blake Mycoskie. 

FUN! 

He was a really cool dude. Here's his blog...